I've heard of cluster computers for supercomputer apps.is there anything like that for general

general apps beyond gaming-music/video editing. cluster computers are networked.....I wonder if you can make a direct conection between multiple mobos(retrofit chipset,bios) and combine their resourses/power into one big computer that would work with apps just like any ordinary pc. the advantige in my mind is you could use pc parts that aren't good for much anymore and make them into a powerful computer for less money than a new high-end pc.

I've heard of cluster computers for supercomputer apps.is there anything like that for general apps,gamingariel

yes it is possible and ive seen it BUT, the software that enables all this combined power is big $$$ and the programs have to be written in parellel so they understand how to re-assemble the date that comes back.

you can google:Oscar,Beowulf,ROCKS,Scali

to get an idea of whats involved.

I've heard of cluster computers for supercomputer apps.is there anything like that for general apps,gamingcomputers

Its a nice thought, but the special purpose programming to get the cluster operating correctly is the tough part. You will quickly evaporate the budget you saved on hardware on time programming.
Unfortunately many applications don't really handle multiple processors very well. The applications have to be coded so that parallel tasks can be split between processors along with the management of bringing everything back together to present the results. Where you will likely see the most benefit for a home system will be minimizing the effect of running a second application (example your "on demand" for the virus scan could only take up to 50% of the CPU power on the system, leaving the other processor for your game). A practical application for playing around at home would be to setup a web or application server on the system. Generally applications like that can initialize a few processes to keep them on hand for processing multiple request (and therefore each process can be on its own CPU).
Software has to be written to take advantage of multiple CPUS and Operating systems.