When the Department of Defense wanted to upgrade one of their supercomputers they didn’t call Intel, AMD or another specialty microprocessor maker, instead they simply ordered 2,200 PS3 gaming systems.
According to BoingBoing the DoD ordered the PS3 consoles to add more power to their PS3 supercomputer, a system that already features 336 consoles in a Linux cluster.
The DoD uses the systems because their cell processors are specifically aimed at handling complex multitasking which makes them perfect for supercomputing applications.
The processors are also cheaper than standard processors since Sony books them at a loss in order to add more systems to their sales numbers so they can boost game sales, A fact that makes creating the DoD supercomputer all the more attractive.
