I noticed in the right sidebar under operating system, it lists Ubuntu. Is it possible to run the Apollo firmware on a PC either directly or by emulation? Maybe my PC could hash faster than the Apollo?
No, the hashing hardware is on the PCB itself, not on the controller. It would run at the same rate and dont need more power than a small micro controller to control the hashboard (it would run on the same rate on an arduino or your gaming PC). The only thing that would run faster on your PC is the full node, but then you would need to run your PC 24/7, which would probably consume more power than the whole Apollo while mining AND running a full node, so defeats the purpose.