4 ms·

More descriptive title, e.g. ‘Tiny Titan, a $1,000 classroom supercomputer’ would be helpful.

gtm1260 9y ago
How does this cost $1,000? The budget is clearly not being used efficiently. The only computing part, the 9 RPi's are 315$ all together. So what, 685$ of plastic and accessories. Hmm....
- adrianN 9y ago
  30 bucks per USB LED Light, 15 bucks per USB cable... they don't choose cheap components.
  - Cthulhu_ 9y ago
    Yeah they could save a bunch on those; the USB LEDs are things they could make themselves, stick them into the gpio pins. Actually they don't need those. If your parts are more expensive than the rPI itself, you're not going to need it. Those cases aren't cheap either.
    - jowsie 9y ago
      It needs to be presentable and easy to understand. Whilst those things may not be required for someone with a basic understanding of parallel computing, they probably make it easier to explain the concepts to someone going in with zero knowledge. Considering it's sat in front of a Titan super computer, it was probably easy to get the thousand dollar budget considering how much went into the box behind it :P
    - jtbigwoo 9y ago
      I help to run a once-a-week STEAM program for kids. Here's what we've found about cheap tools. + When they are new to a program, kids and parents care about how tools look. We have a nicely organized wall of tools and six identical work tables. It helps get participants excited and helps convince parents that the program is legitimate. + Once they buy in, kids don't care about how a tool or project looks. Some of our most popular projects are built from scrap wood or cardboard. + Even after they buy in, kids get easily frustrated when a tool doesn't work. I think it makes perfect sense for the Titan team (or anyone without a pre-existing relationship to a group) to make everything nice-looking since it helps to establish credibility. If you're making something at home or you've already established credibility, you could absolutely cut some corners by using cheaper parts or making parts yourself. Make sure to use quality parts, though. If you rig something that constantly requires little fixes or nudges to stay running, your audience is going to quickly lose interest.
- make3 9y ago
  (joking) gotta get that rgb man
  - pc86 9y ago
    (If you have to preface a statement with the fact that you're joking, either it's not a good joke, it's not the correct time/place/context for a joke, or both)
- eloisant 9y ago
  In all of my RPi projects, the RPi itself always ends up being less than half the price. Case, sd-card, cables, power supply... It goes up quickly, especially if you don't cheap out on the quality.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- kitd 9y ago
  The suggested components also include 16-port switch, monitor and XBox360 controller. I think they have added everything you might need for the full set up and maybe rounded up.
- mw6621 9y ago
  I'm not sure about historical prices of the components, but this article is from 2015, as noted in the footer and in the PDF guide linked at the top.

How does this cost $1,000? The budget is clearly not being used efficiently. The only computing part, the 9 RPi's are 315$ all together. So what, 685$ of plastic and accessories. Hmm....

adrianN 9y ago
30 bucks per USB LED Light, 15 bucks per USB cable... they don't choose cheap components.
- Cthulhu_ 9y ago
  Yeah they could save a bunch on those; the USB LEDs are things they could make themselves, stick them into the gpio pins. Actually they don't need those. If your parts are more expensive than the rPI itself, you're not going to need it. Those cases aren't cheap either.
  - jowsie 9y ago
    It needs to be presentable and easy to understand. Whilst those things may not be required for someone with a basic understanding of parallel computing, they probably make it easier to explain the concepts to someone going in with zero knowledge. Considering it's sat in front of a Titan super computer, it was probably easy to get the thousand dollar budget considering how much went into the box behind it :P
  - jtbigwoo 9y ago
    I help to run a once-a-week STEAM program for kids. Here's what we've found about cheap tools. + When they are new to a program, kids and parents care about how tools look. We have a nicely organized wall of tools and six identical work tables. It helps get participants excited and helps convince parents that the program is legitimate. + Once they buy in, kids don't care about how a tool or project looks. Some of our most popular projects are built from scrap wood or cardboard. + Even after they buy in, kids get easily frustrated when a tool doesn't work. I think it makes perfect sense for the Titan team (or anyone without a pre-existing relationship to a group) to make everything nice-looking since it helps to establish credibility. If you're making something at home or you've already established credibility, you could absolutely cut some corners by using cheaper parts or making parts yourself. Make sure to use quality parts, though. If you rig something that constantly requires little fixes or nudges to stay running, your audience is going to quickly lose interest.
make3 9y ago
(joking) gotta get that rgb man
- pc86 9y ago
  (If you have to preface a statement with the fact that you're joking, either it's not a good joke, it's not the correct time/place/context for a joke, or both)
eloisant 9y ago
In all of my RPi projects, the RPi itself always ends up being less than half the price. Case, sd-card, cables, power supply... It goes up quickly, especially if you don't cheap out on the quality.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
kitd 9y ago
The suggested components also include 16-port switch, monitor and XBox360 controller. I think they have added everything you might need for the full set up and maybe rounded up.
mw6621 9y ago
I'm not sure about historical prices of the components, but this article is from 2015, as noted in the footer and in the PDF guide linked at the top.