On Thursday 03 October 2002 01:49 am, martin f krafft wrote: > also sprach Oleg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [2002.10.03.0048 +0200]: > >�Firstly, you need a mod chip for each Xbox. Secondly, you need to > >�install them into each Xbox. Thirdly, how many Xboxes, �mod chips, > >�expensive Myrinet networks, and how much labor would it take to > >�replace *one* dual Athlon 4? > > These are valid points that speak for regular machines rather than > XBoxes. However, in terms of size and stackability, the XBox beats any > small tower or similar.
A node can be just a motherboard in a big box called "cluster". It can also have its own case, but it will still be just as small. So I'd even say a single Xbox takes up as much space as a single regular node. The fallacy of such comparison is in that it does not take into account the fact that you need _many_ Xboxes to replace one regular node. Consider a node that is a _dual_ Athlon 4 at 2000+ MHz. To match it with pure CPU speed using XBoxes, one will need 6 of them. That's $1000 right there. Add the mod chips, labor, network costs, maintenance extras, inability to upgrade; and the XBox option just doesn't seem very attractive to me. OTOH I wouldn't want to stand in the way of innovation, so if you _must_ make a Linux cluster out of Xboxes, good luck! Oleg -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
