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Andy-Buddy wrote on 2010-12-09 04:14
[Image: http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/playstations-in-racksjpg-4434650ba63131af.jpg]
The Condor Cluster Department of Defense
The holidays may be driving video game console sales, but apparently so is the military. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has strung together 1,760 PlayStation 3 gaming systems to create what it’s calling the fastest interactive computer system in the entire DoD, capable of executing 500 trillion floating point operations per second.
Known as the Condor Cluster, the array also packs 168 GPUs and 84 servers to direct traffic within the system, allowing all that power to work in parallel. At a total cost of about $2 million, the AFRL estimates the cluster costs something like five to 10 percent of equivalent computers built from scratch. It also consumes just 10 percent of the power.
The array employs the older model PS3s (the larger ones) because new models don’t allow the installation of Linux, a key component for turning the consoles into pliable computing hubs. The AFRL will use the Condor Cluster for quickly processing high-res satellite imagery, radar enhancement, and even research into artificial intelligence.
[Gamasutra]
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-12/air-forces-new-supercomputer-made-1760-playstation-3s
Sweeet.
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Time wrote on 2010-12-09 04:16
Sounds pretty cool actually.o.o
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krpr wrote on 2010-12-09 04:25
Knew these were old news.
They got pretty pissed off after sony stopped supporting linux in their ps3s. Didn't followed this thing but i think after the divorce between sony and linux, that super computer got decommissioned
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TA wrote on 2010-12-09 04:36
lol, that's amusing...
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Zid wrote on 2010-12-09 17:07
What is this, I don't even...
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Adelynn wrote on 2010-12-09 19:50
That is a lot of PS3s..
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Mentosftw wrote on 2010-12-09 20:18
That's actually really smart, cost-wise. If the military replaced all their high costing computers with ps3s, I'm sure they'd save a lot more money (assuming if they started with ps3s of course).
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WiseAz wrote on 2010-12-09 23:45
I bet that runs little big planet like a boss.
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BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2010-12-09 23:45
Quote from krpr;241820:
Knew these were old news.
They got pretty pissed off after sony stopped supporting linux in their ps3s. Didn't followed this thing but i think after the divorce between sony and linux, that super computer got decommissioned
Quote from Mentosftw;242381:
That's actually really smart, cost-wise. If the military replaced all their high costing computers with ps3s, I'm sure they'd save a lot more money (assuming if they started with ps3s of course).
the cat doesnt see how you correlate ps3s with computers if they no longer support linux
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Moppy wrote on 2010-12-10 01:46
Already heard about this but nice to read again. :D
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Mentosftw wrote on 2010-12-10 02:21
Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;242788:
the cat doesnt see how you correlate ps3s with computers if they no longer support linux
I know it doesn't support linux, but that's why I put down "assuming if they started with ps3s of course".
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Spartaaaaa wrote on 2010-12-11 19:41
Since the PS3 has no games, I don't really see any other purpose for them!