Repurpose Xbox / Xbox 360 into ... ?

[Waterclown]

Hi All,

First of all apologies in advance if this has already been answered. I did do a search for xboxes on the forum but it didn't look like what I am asking about ...

Limited knowledge of networking software / hardware.... I am trying to downsize and reclaim space in the home. Am currently in posession of several old xbox360s from my youth that haven't been used in years. Looking to sell off / donate / or ... Is it possible to repurpose the xboxes as a server or a beowolf (I am old - not sure if that is the correct nomenclature any more for a computing cluster these days).

Concurrently I am interested in going back to school and studying / modeling diffusion type problems / differential equations so I would like to consider using the xboxes to build a computation machine but have zero idea how to even start. This is preferable to just throwing them out or, giving them away, or selling on ebay, etc. (not really interested in the $$ anyway). I would like to explore options before parting ways... Would like some help, direction, advice, recommended reading from anyone in the know to see what is possible regarding linking the boxes together and exploiting the computing power. What peripherals, software would be needed, etc?

I have done some cursory google searches about this and most results provide suggestions about using your old xbox as a media center or arcade emulator. Thats cool and I may go down that road but first I'm interested to see if there is any possibility of converting 2 or 3 xboxes into a modest computer cluster that can help solves
Fick's laws through matlab. This would be my first choice. As I said I have no background in this area so it would be a nice learning experience for me to try (even if I'm not ultimately successful). Any constructive feedback would be appreciated !!!!

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help !!

-waterclown

 

[MintJulep]

Apparent it's possible to run Linux on an xBox. From there you can do mostly whatever.

Maybe.

Linux

While not as useful today, one can install Linux on their RGH/JTAG exploited Xbox 360. A special Linux distro was made specifically for the Xbox 360, called Ubuntu Xenon. It is compatible with a USB keyboard and mouse, and can connect to the internet via ethernet.

consolemods.org

Turn your Xbox console into a home PC with this guide

In order to Turn Xbox into PC, you will need a set of items including: Mechassault software, and a compatible version of Linux.

windowsreport.com

 

[IRstuff]

While the Xbox processor could run Linux, it's unclear whether you can take advantage of the GPU to the maximum extent plausible https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/xbox/ The GPU interface appears to be custom, along with its memory, so unless something was already written for the Xbox GPU, you're going to have to write your own drivers and hand optimize any code that runs on the GPU.