Gitbrew Releases OtherOS++ PS3 Linux Dual Boot 240
An anonymous reader writes "Gitbrew has proudly released otherOS++ Linux Dual Boot v1.0b1, enabling PS3 users to install an alternative OS to their console with full access to all system hardware, including all 8 CELL cores (making the PS3 the world's most affordable supercomputer). For more information check out the installation instructions and source code."
Benchmarks! (Score:2, Insightful)
The PS3 suddenly became an interesting product again :-) Now lets give us some benchmarks of some scientific number crunching apps!
Defamation (Score:5, Insightful)
George Hotz widely distributed information on how to install another operating system onto the PS3 to run illegal versions of PS3 games and software.
Libel much?
Re:Supercomputer? Really? (Score:4, Insightful)
Oh stop with the supercomputer bullshit (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, calling devices "supercomputers" reeks of either fanboyism or extreme ignorance. If a desktop device can do a given amount of calculations, that amount of calculations don't make something a supercomputer anymore.
Please remember that the first supercomputer, the Cray-1, did 250 MFLOPS. So if that is what it takes to be a supercomputer then my cellphone qualifies. Of course it doesn't anymore, these days you need to talk multiple TFLOPS (or more).
A PS3 is not a supercomputer. In fact these days, it isn't all that impressive. The best they claim is 25.6 GFLOPS per cell in theoretical performance, so 205 GFLOPS is the best you theoretically get, if there are no bandwidth constraints (which there are on a PS3) for single precision math. Ok well testing my actual Radeon 5870, I get 800 GFLOPS for single precision, 227 for double precision. That is an actual benchmark of the card running on my desktop. It also can handle a much larger problem set, having much more RAM (1GB on the card).
Heck even my i7 benches at 80 GFLOPS on a real test, without using AVX, and of course is far more flexible than the SPUs since all cores are full featured.
Not saying there is anything wrong with the Cell and indeed there may be some cases where it is the best choice. It is something of a hybrid between a pure stream processor like a GPU and a very general CPU like an i7. However trying to claim it makes the PS3 a "supercomputer" is stupid. Even if it were the most powerful chip out there, the PS3 still would be a supercomputer by virtue of the fact that if one made a large computer with a lot of Cells, it would be much faster (this has been done).
However that aside, it really isn't all that fast. Modern GPUs out do it at stream processing many times over. My 5870, which is not the latest tech and just a consumer card, was about 4 times as fast in reality as a Cell is in theory, and that is running on a desktop system doing other things (I didn't boot to a special graphics benchmark or anything).
Re:If you want a cheap laugh.... (Score:3, Insightful)
If Sony respected its consumers, OtherOS would still be there.
FTFY
Re:Benchmarks! (Score:1, Insightful)
> blow the CD rootkit thing out of proportion.
OMG we deserve to be raped. Erm... make that YOU.
Re:Benchmarks! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Benchmarks! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Benchmarks! (Score:4, Insightful)
Lik-Sang
Re:Benchmarks! (Score:2, Insightful)
Looking at them solely from the PS3 angle, several reasons:
(1) People buy the console because it plays the games they are interested in (particularly games exclusive for the console).
(2) People in general don't care about OtherOS support as most people won't need the functionality, and so doesn't factor into their decision making.
(3) If you spend a lot of money on ANYTHING (and from memory the PS3 is the most expensive of all current consoles), you're naturally going to want to defend your purchase. Any criticism leveled against it is rejected by the so-called fanbois because they don't want to be proven to have bought a dud, or be on the "wrong side". It hurts to know you've been suckered out of a lot of cash.