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I just preordered the BTCFPGA 27Gh/s bASIC NextGen Bitcoin Mine https://www.bitcoinasic.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=50 (https://www.bitcoinasic.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=50) what are the system minimum requirements to run this? What other hardware should I need? what software should I familiarize myself with? I have never done any mining, but plan to start once chip ships and what to be ready. I appreciate any help. The biggest ?'s  I would like answered are about any additional hardware I will need. Power supplies, minimum system requirements for the computer I am running it through? I just have a cheap dell inspiron laptop right now will this work or is there something else that I should invest in? Does internet connection speed effect mining abilities? I don't have dialup or anything, but right now I only have DSL available will this hinder me much?

Shouldn't you have asked this questions before prepurchasing one?

If you read their thread here all questions considering Hardware requirements should be answered.

who is "their" thread and where do I find it? I have a hard time finding information in forums. Do you have any pointers on how to search through them to find the right info. Its just hard to sort through "noise" and helpful information.

Here you go: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=79637.0

Another one lost his money...

BTCFPGA and BFL are so similar that most likely it is run by the same scamers.

Thanks, Akka

I've read a lot of this about the ASICs being a scam, I was just wondering why you feel that way? Are they not a real company, are ASICs just a made up thing to get peoples money. What do you recommend?

BFL states they are testing the produced ASICs with they own algorithm. Not Bitcoin network, no Testnet. If they have ASIC ready the increase in difficulty as a result of ASIC coming online will be clearly noticeable. But as they have no ASIC and probably not even a blueprint of them they invent such bullshit as "not testing on Testnet, testing using own algorithm".

Both BFL and BTCFPGA first sold the FPGA mining hardware that is easy to produce to gain trust. Now they are buying back and asking for preorders.

That makes sense, so in your opinion are they just using the hype of ASICs  to get the FPGA's back, and steal money from their previous and new customers. Now they will have tons of cash, and a bunch of FPGA's that they can 1. Sell back to people once everyone realizes ASICs are fake 2. use them to do their own mining

I just want to pick your brain. are ASICs a real thing that can be used for mining, if so are there any reputable sellers.
What would you recommend than, sticking with FPGA?

again thanks for the link. Their is a 107 pages of posts though, how would you recommend searching through it to find the valuable information.

Part of the problem is that people have the wrong perception. (But rightful so). They pre-ordered devices without a clear due date. However, that is technically not even allowed. When you offer a product for pre-order you have to have clear due dates.

Another part of the problem is that the competition is not well established yet. Thus people have a lack of alternatives. Thus there is no real penalty for BFL to push back their due dates. Same holds technically true for BTCFPGA/BITCOINASIC, however they seem to be more transparent.

We will see how things play out. Luckily there is a lot of pressure on the companies, because of the reputation damage a significant delay may cause in the long run.

Most likely they will run away with cash. Personally me are just waiting for drama to happen and I'm curious what this will do to bitcoin prices.ASICs are the ultimate mining devices, they are possible to build bot none have built one for now. To build ASIC you need degree in microprocessor engineering.There are no reputable sellers for personal spacecraft. The items are not built.Run whatever device you prefer that will bring you positive income. That will cover hardware costs and operational electricity costs in reasonable way.We will see the drama that will follow.

Part of my newbie penance but I agree, I was hesitant to pull the trigger on a ASIC and now I'm glad I haven't.  Still not sure their advent would be a good thing.

And some millions of $ to make the masks and to invest to start producing the chips.

It's not like with FPGA where you run a program in your computer, code the bitstream, buy a fpga for 500$ and then copy-paste the bitstream in it.

To make an ASIC you must do the blueprints of the chip and then pay to produce the masks to produce the chips. Millions of $!

Or You could take preorders to fund the development of ASIC chips. Or even better - take preorders, pretend that ASIC chips are in development, run away with money! That is what BFL are doing right now!It is next logical thing to do. And the best. We don't need to wait for government to build ASIC and pull DoS attack with >50% while we are mining with GPUs that are orders of magnitude slower!

You just need a computer with USB to run it. I'm not sure on the initial supported operating systems.

You forget that you need the actual ASIC to run it! I have read 2 weeks ago that the rigs are available and being tested. Why there is no video of them, no actual pictures, anything! Pure scam that no fanboys and early losers are willing to acknowledge!

I admire your testicular fortitude in ordering something you don't know how to use  ;D

Answering your original questions:

System requirements: You probably don't need anything powerful; any computer with USB 2.0 connection should do.  Your Inspiron should work fine.
You might need to research and find out what kind of power supply to get for the bASIC if it doesn't come with one.
There is no software out that supports bASIC yet; I would recommend that you learn to mine with an existing graphics card, or even play with CPU mining, just so you know how to use the existing mining software. (cgminer/bfgminer, etc.)  Read through the forums and wiki, soak up knowledge.
Having DSL is enough.

cancerofthecancer -

You can safely ignore MysteryMiner, ElectricMucus and the like... they are just butthurt over the fact that they didn't get in the pre-order for any ASIC devices, so they try to poison the waters through bitterness.  If you don't believe me, ask them to back up their ridiculous claims with any sort of proof... They won't be able to provide it (because it's all fabricated/made up) and you'll have your answer as to whether or not you should bother listening to people like that.

TROLLOLOLOLL am I butthurt for not losing money in scam scheme? If the ASIC are real I will probably buy the device straight away!The burden of proof is on believers side! All I can tell is that there is no proof of existence of ASIC chips but they are keeping posting bullshit and even promoting the preorders trough stupid people and contests.

Better give us:

1. Actual pictures and video of working devices.
2. Mining software source code, no matter if it is unstable or alpha.
3. Real performance data. The ASIC are ready at least 2 weeks! Why so long testing?
4. Manufacturer (the fab) of the chips and any additional data.

Then we can start to talk that the "pink elephant" aka ASIC exists!

Thanks for proving my point MysteryMiner... unable to provide a shred of proof for your claims, WTG!

What should I prove? That BFL have no ASIC devices?

Prove any of your wild claims, take your pick.

It is ridiculous! Will talk again half year later when the ASIC is still not made.

So there you go, when pressed for proof... poof!  Nothing shows up.  Haha, love it :)  Thanks for being so obvious MM, I appreciate you making my point so well.

Still waiting to see you prove any of 'your' wild claims. 
MM is right, the burden of proof is upon you.

How can he prove a negative? 

He also isn't taking pre-orders on some product no one, as far as I can tell, has yet held in their hand and tried out.


LOL 

The irony is delicious...

Yup, we'll see.    :D

And thanks for confirming my suspicion of scam again! It is now way past the 6 confirmations required! You are taking this approach seriously and doing it well!

How can I prove that You don't have a white unicorn? If I can't prove that You don't have it, is it a proof that white unicorns are real? Is it OK to sell the expensive tickets to ride the unicorn even if none have seen them and You don't provide any proof that You really have unicorn?

I just wanted to thank all the members that are weighing in on the situation. At this point it seems no one can prove anything on either side. It looks like the next few months will be extremely interesting.
Thanks to everyone and all of the advice, it is nice to be able to come here as a newb as still get constructive feedback. The only conclusion that I can come to is that their is a lot of valuable information on the forums if you are willing to look for it, and their are members that are very passionate about the scene. I plan on doing a lot of research, and eventually doing some mining.
This is a little off topic,  but does anyone have any suggestions on where a newb should go to learn about using linux. I think while I wait for the ASICs to drop I will teach myself how to use it, it seems like it can't hurt to be knowledgeable on using it for mining.

And still not an ounce of proof to back up your claims. 

This link should help:
http://bit.ly/UmskfB

The sad thing is, I'm pretty sure you actually believe this.

would you like to buy my 35gh/s gpu farm?

I'd be more than happy to let it go right now for say... 25 grand.

Sorry, but MysteryMiner is right and you are wrong.  He doesn't have to disprove the nonexistence of anything.  You do have to prove the existence of the entity you posit.  Please do not poison the forums with religious logic.

I am not on either side, I have doubts too because I don't want to loose money on this. But they did posted pictures

https://forums.butterflylabs.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116&d=1351570910

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with linux unless you code or just want to play around with it for fun.

You want reliability and depth of support for something you're doing professionally.

A windows machine that doesn't do anything except mine is just as secure as a linux machine that only mines is just as secure as a mac that only mines. Just don't do anything silly on the machine (like warez, facebook, general browsing, porn) and you'll be fine.

And when/if something does go wrong with your machine... at least you'll be able to figure it out quickly because it's a windows machine and there's so many more users, and better support structure.

Understood. I would kind of like to play around with it to learn as well as to better understand coding concepts

I used to lurk around http://www.linux-noob.com/forums/ back in the day.

You act like Real Solid but this time on crack cocaine!If I manage to get subsidized electricity or tap into industrial grid we can have a deal. You send me the equipment and we mine together and split the profits.The image is inaccessible to unregistered members. All this looks like typical scam. And believe me I have seen more internet scam than all of you combined. Last picture I seen looks like a MXM videocard for notebooks. I'm sure it is not a video card but some other device and the "ASIC" chips look more like memory chips. The packaging is the same.

For what it's worth, I fully agree with MisteryMiner.

Also, proofing always depends on the person claiming something. Even discussing this is ridiculous.

I personally don't believe that ASICs are a Scam, but I wouldn't bet on it (= prepurchase) until there is proof of their existence.

But anyhow, there are already enough threads discussing BFL.
Can we please make a point on this and go back to topic?

Thanks.

At the last page you can find a useful link to http://forum.btcfpga.com (http://forum.btcfpga.com).

Ignore MysteryMiner. I mean use "Ignore" button.
It's not worth listening to someone who makes bold claims while he can't even find pictures which were widely republished at bitcointalk.org or at Bitcoin Magazine.

The promise of owning a quantum leap in technology for mining, which theoretically would pay for itself in almost no time, is tempting isn't it.

I guess I better hold off on that new pre-ordered kit.

Thanks for hint! Now You are the first sockpuppet who became ignored by me!

I seen the pictures and I told my opinion about them! Saying that the pictures are fake are bold claims? Saying that the way BFL is operating have ALL signs of scam in action are bold claims?

And still not a shred of evidence to back up a single claim made by MysteryMiner... just more of the  "Nuh uh, I don't have to provide any evidence that what I say is true!"

I did finally get there after quite awhile. I registered for forum.btcfpga.com last night. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone yet, but it does seem kind of weird that they are supposed to start shipping in what, like the next 60 days or less, and correct me if I'm wrong, but there doesn't seem to be any official answers for what the 12v power supply is needed. Just speculation on the forums. The molex, which I"ll be honest with you I don't even know what is, seems standardized. They, btcfpa, "recommends" the seasonic psu that they sell on their site, but I don't see the point of spending nearly $300 for a device that can runn up to 10 basics when I just want to start with 1 unit. Again this is just what I have been able to find out with a couple of days of research and no technical training or education of the subject. I do appreciate all of the feedback from everyone. Its been lively discussion

Prove that Butterfly Labs have the ASIC devices! Take a camera and record video of assembly lines or engineering samples in action, post the source code of mining software. Tell what fab are used for making the chips so I can contact them and ask if the Butterfly Labs really are their customers. Providing any or all of these proofs will prove that ASICs really are in the making.

Instead of this You attack me with nonsense request for me to prove that You don't have the devices! BFL already promised to start shipping in late September. BFL told 2 weeks ago that the units are tested by unique algorithm (sic) and as a result the performance is not visible to anyone not in bitcoin network not in testnet. This is smart move because BFL have nothing except FPGAs!

You are even more stubborn than Real Solid!

I'm also finding it odd that the btcfpga forums only have 118 members, and they are supposed to be one of the only 3? companies about to drop revolutionary device. I'm not saying scam,  but a few things seem, lets say, "off".

I suspect that the two others are run by the same gang but I'm not sure yet. At least the method of operation is identical. This might turn out to be the largest and most elaborate scam in Bitcoin community to this date, shadowing Mybitcoin and everything else!

You are lying about this "unique algorithm" BS you keep spewing. You are lying about "promises to start shipping in late September."   

Yes, I attack you because you are a liar.  You lie, lie, lie and when pressed for any shred of credibility to back up your claims you scream and cry that "I can't prove a negative. HERP DERP!!!" 

There are pictures, dates, times, etc... to back up the existence of the ASICs, you have shown NOTHING... not a SINGLE link, picture, anything to back up your claims.  Nothing but your useless word, the word of a confirmed, verifiable liar.

The small forum is simply quite new, and was kind of forked from here several days ago.
Simply use "SEARCH" button at the beginning of the page and search for BTCFPGA or cablepair. Than read a bit.

There are more than three companies preparing ASIC miners, but the others seem to be late.

I was reading it on Butterfly Labs homepage. I can't find it now and I did not make a screenshot because I did not gave it any importance. I can't prove that I'm right but as for myself now I'm 100% sure who of us are layer!The pictures are from mockup that possibly can be a FPGA or single nonsense device just for showing to buy buy buy! You did not post direct links on imageshack.us for people to see them and examine.

The dates already are delayed several times. I can invent the shipping date from thin air. This does not prove that I have ASIC to ship. All I see is false promises from guy who just happened to work across the street from Butterfly Labs registration address. What a bullshit! And the BFL is run by fraudster that did just that before - a $25million mail fraud. And You have asked non disclosure in your correspondence with some guy that run in problems with BFL. And in the same scanned picture BFL acknowledged that it is run by multi million fraudster. And the thread was censored by some BFL asslicker who might have some conflict of interest between Bitcointalk and BFL.

And You and BFL sockpuppet profiles here call me a layer because I don't eat Your medicine!

Since molex is standard, you can get a much cheaper psu with less wattage from elsewhere (if you don't already have one) to power your bASIC.

   I ordered a BFL ASICs jalepeno,they're coming.......coming.......patience.

For learning linux, I would actually suggest staying on Windows, but downloading cygwin. It's a windows port of a lot of GNU applications, and getting used to using it will get you used to using linux but keep you in a familiar OS.

Cool, that sounds interesting. I will check it out. thank  you

Let me be the first to call you "a layer"... what exactly is it that you're laying? Also, are you a nester as well? If so how long does whatever you lay take to hatch?

 ;D

It does not mean anything. I have preordered 8 bASIC units from Tom and I have no account on his new forum. All questions important for me in this stage have been already answered (both via this forum or via direct communication with Tom).

Once/if they come out, will the current software have to be modified in order to use it?  Do they have software they are using already to test this stuff?  I'd like to see a youtube video at least with actual performance results.

I've also pre-ordered some ASIC hardware.  Should be interesting. :)

You anxiously refresh their website hoping for some updated info on a shipping ETA

I am going to make a few assumptions here.

• You have some technical background
• You are jumping in via ASICs and following a non-traditional bitcoin path, ie skipping CPU, GPU & FPGA
• A big assumption is that you probably didn't didn't pay via BTC, but rather used paypal.  Which in turn means you have a decent amount of personal cash flow or a extra cash that allows you to make a spontaneous purchase - good treat it like a hobby not an income stream and you will be happy with the results

You probably wanted some guidance rather than a critic of your purchase.  It's actually one thing I find fault in the extroverts on this board; the instability to tolerate a deviation from the path they took when they started.  It's ironic considering that anyone involved in bitcoin is probably a non-traditional personality, ie someone who tends to experiment.  Anyway, from what I can tell these ASIC companies are following an exponential startup path.  However, you should realize that FPGAs are slowing killing the GPU miners.  Understandably, folks don't like change when it affects their bottom line.  BFL was the first to introduced a disruptive technology into bitcoin, which many many GPU miners have not forgiven them for.

Personally, I skipped CPU & GPU mining and went straight to FPGA. I ordered after BFL started shipping and received one of their FPGA products; it did what was advertised (I chose my words very carefully).  Full disclosure: I also sold my FPGA and cancelled my SC preorder due to personal reasons combined with the uncertainty that was going to occur to ROI due to ASICs and the 210000 block reward reduction.

Anyway, my advice is to start becoming familiar with mining before it arrives.  I would personally start downloading CPU/GPU miner clients and signing up for some pools.  I would do some research on which pools are preparing for ASICs and the getwork bandwidth problem(research this).  If you don't want to do any research take my unvetted opinion: I would expect that the BFGMINER client & Eclipse Mining Pool would be one of the first combinations to work with ASIC miners, so that's a good starting point.   ASIC miners are going to stress pool servers internet connection, your connection if it's DSL should have enough bandwidth.  However, if it turns out there is a problem, it will be a bandwidth problem that affects everyone, so a solution will be pretty quickly found and released.

One of the other things that I had to figure out late, was how to convert BTC to USD.  I would try do this early, so you don't run into a problem of having to wait when you need $$ quickly.  It seems like the sign-up process for many of the exchange services is increasing.

My next bit of guidance is after you have played with the mining clients, you need to setup a stable environment to maximize your return.  ie computer, internet, routers etc.  It gets pretty annoying if the miner goes down every few hours due to a computer or power issue. It would be useful to setup a watchdog reboot, hardware or software.  If your power is stable you can skip the line conditioners & UPS.  Be sure to setup failover pools in your miner.  If you are going to use the computer while it's mining be sure it's at least a dual-core, otherwise any one will do.  If you are going to run a bitcoind node on the same computer...don't.  Run that somewhere else.

I hope that helps

It would be nice if ASIC providers were even releasing protocol specs for communications. I know Con Kolivas (cgminer) was complaining that they haven't yet. That to me is troubling.

I don't want all the new hardware to turn up (when it does) and not be able to use it.