precalculating cluster performance

[NotQuiteSane]

I'm interested in building a cluster to compile on. I figure i'll be spending near $1000 for the parts. What worries me is the fact I may end up with only half the computing power (FLOPS) a cheaper machine can provide.

So without having hardware to test, how can i calculate potential performance of both a cluster and of individual machines to compile it against?

If it matters, I was thinking of using 4 800 mhz mini itx boards with (at least) 128mb ram and a smallish IDE drive for each (for swap) all stuffed into a old 8088 case I gutted.

NQS
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