Can an OS Emulate the PS3?

[Ultimas Gamer 5]

Hello, I have been brainstorming and I have a theory. Since there is a version of linux that works on powerpcs ans ps3, is it possible, that running a cell simulator and that os could run the PS3's games?
What does Linux do when it is on the PS3?

[Jale]

The answer is simple: No.

[Ultimas Gamer 5]

And why would it be that impossible?

[Jale]

It's not impossible, it's just that the PS3 hardware is a lot more powerful than a PC. A PC can't even emulate a PS2 decently.

[Ultimas Gamer 5]

It's not impossible, it's just that the PS3 hardware is a lot more powerful than a PC. A PC can't even emulate a PS2 decently.

So its not that its not a good idea, its just that no pc is strong enough to do that. oh ok. Why does it take such a strong pc to emulate the ps2 if the ps2 only runs at 299 Mhz?

[Jale]

200 MHz is a recommended requirement to run a SNES emulator. A SNES operates at 3 MHz. See the huge difference? The number of processors applies too. A PS3 has like 3 processors running at 3 GHz each. How will a computer emulate that?

The same applies to every emulator.

[FatTrucker]

So its not that its not a good idea, its just that no pc is strong enough to do that. oh ok. Why does it take such a strong pc to emulate the ps2 if the ps2 only runs at 299 Mhz?

You need to understand the nature of emulation.

An original system performs all of its functions in hardware. To emulate that you need to perform all of those functions in software which is massively processor intensive.

You can't emulate a PS3 or X-Box 360 in the same way that a Pentium 3 with an MX400 graphics card can't emulate a core 2 duo with a Geforce 8800GTX.

The PS3 will not be emulated in a usable state for many years - if ever, because processors simply aren't fast enough to do the maths in software.

[Ultimas Gamer 5]

So lets say we did have a pc that could do that. Could my plan work?

There is a simulator of the cell hardware.

[Jale]

Let's say you have to wait for like 5 or 10 years before that happens, depending of how fast technology develops.

[FatTrucker]

So lets say we did have a pc that could do that. Could my plan work?

There is a simulator of the cell hardware.

No. The OS (or bios) is a tiny part of the emulator. The real nuts and bolts are in the code that emulates the functions of the hardware and chips inside it. Even with a PC that was physically capable of running the emulation routines, simply bunging a modified Linux install on it wouldn't allow it to emulate the PS3, since the modified version of Linux in the PS3 is designed specifically to work with all the custom chips inside the PS3, so wouldn't be compatible with any other type of hardware.
In exactly the same way that you can't install the bios of any other console onto a PC and run it, without having an emulator to emulate the functions of all the hardware the operating system is designed to talk to.