The surge in computing power is helped in part by the technology many home users have at their disposal. Users have multi-core CPUs and many-core GPUs that deliver far more power than they would have even a few years ago. Moreover, there's an abundance of cryptocurrency mining machines that are practically tailor-made for data crunching projects like this.

There are positive early signs. Summit, for instance, already found 77 drug compounds that might be helpful for fighting the coronavirus. While we wouldn't absolutely count on Folding@Home accelerating the development of a vaccine or treatment, there's a real chance that your spare computer could help make an important discovery.