Ran into this youtube video about a supercomputer for under $500,000.
Nagasaki University Assistant Professor Tsuyoshi Hamada talks about how it was build. Fun to watch:
Hamada won Gordon Bell prize for price/performance in 2009 and was nominated again in 2010.
How much does a supercomputer cost to buy?…
After reading Kalyana’s response I wanted to throw in the other extreme. One was rumored to cost under $500,000. Not very pretty, but it works. http://stackthem.wordpress.com/2011/12/25/cheapest-supercomputer…