Cheap and supercomputer are not normally used in the same sentence. However, thanks to a University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth physics professor, supercomputing is fast becoming affordable.
The professor, Dr. Gaurav Khanna, also associate director of the
Center for Scientific Computing and Visualization Research (CSCVR), back in 2007, figured out how to turn PlayStation 3 hardware into
PS3 Gravity Grid, a powerful, working supercomputer that cost considerably less than current supercomputers of equivalent capacity. In 2014, Dr. Khanna upped the ante, building a next-generation supercomputer called
PS3 Reefer.
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An interesting and possibly insightful conclusion by Dr. Khanna:
"It is well known that if we attempt to build the next generation supercomputer using today's technology, we will need multiple nuclear power stations to simply turn it on. Power efficiency is the key in the future of supercomputing and that is why I am convinced that the next generation machines will be built using mobile phone parts."