Microsoft, Cray Unleash $25K Mainstream Supercomputer

Impulse buyers, lock your credit cards in a drawer when you're browsing Amazon.com: You might end up purchasing a $25,000 compact supercomputer on a whim.

In an effort to make supercomputers mainstream, Microsoft and Cray teamed up to produce the Cray CX1, the "most affordable super computer Cray has ever offered." Unveiled Tuesday morning, the CX1 will run a new version of Microsoft Windows on either 32 or 64 Intel cores, and the desktop will carry 4 terabytes of storage, according to a GigaOM story.

By making the CX1 compact and affordable (relatively speaking) the two companies are hoping to make supercomputers accessible to a broad user group, including industry professionals and designers. In the past, supercomputers have primarily been designed and priced for scientific researchers, universities and military agencies.

And to make the desktop even more friendly to consumers, you'll be able to order this behemoth online just like any ordinary computer, says Windows Server blogger Tina Couch.

"It’s as easy as shopping on Amazon.com," Couch wrote. "Customers can go online, order the CX1 system using a configurator, and pay with credit card. If that’s not making supercomputing mainstream, I don’t know what is."