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After days of communication with custom, finally they released the package and I managed to fetch the Avalon machine before weekend. I planned to order 2 units, but since that batch is so small and order system is crowded, I ordered just one. But now I know that some people ordered 10 or more, seems centralization is the destiny for everything  :P


I opened the Avalon before I connected it, took some photos and admired ngzhang's artworks  8) 8)

Chinese cable and wifi antenna are the only accessories
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a01s.jpg



Well protected packaging
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a02s.jpg



Machine feels solid and heavy
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a03s.jpg





The case is very simple but smartly connected by 6 pieces of 3mm thick aluminum PLATE, the material Avalon used are quite generous, if not unnecessary

To my surprise, the overall finish of the machine, especially PCB board is much better than I expected, it is not only used for mining, it can also be used for decorating ;D ;D Many years ago my first batch of PCB production had much worse layout and components, but still sold for more than 200 dollars each. Consider that Avalon contains 3 large hashing unit and two routing board, many quality components, it worth the dollar spent from a hardware perspective

The protective plast and the IKEA-style conjunction
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a04s.jpg



3 hashunit-v1. On left side of hashing unit, just after the fan, I observed lot's of dirt, it means unit has been thoroughly tested for days
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a05s.jpg



WR703, the usb cable was fixed by the tape
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a06s.jpg



Power routing module, this part and the data routing module on the left are crowded by lot's of wires, difficult to get a clear photo
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a07s.jpg



The heatsink is directly mounted on the bottom plate, so bottom plate also works as part of the heatsink
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a08s.jpg



The special 2x6 power connector and HDD cable, now my HDD cable in closet will have some use again, I think the hashing module can be re-arranged to improve cooling
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a09s.jpg



A memory of PATA hard drive and 2xPCIE graphic card power supply
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a10s.jpg



The backplane
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a11s.jpg



The backplane connects 8 small hashing units together, part of my unit are full of thermal compound
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a12s.jpg



Closely examine all the small hashing units, I can see that most of them have only 2-3 screws attached, I don't know if adding more will improve the cooling
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a13s.jpg



Avalon Project by ngzhang  ;D  Modulized power supply design proved how much power are required by each small unit
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a14s.jpg



Compare to previous popular hashing unit
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a15s.jpg



Now test running,  when the fan speed is relatively low, noise is around 55-60 DB at a 50cm distance. Close the case won't improve the noise performance much, since the case is not isolated. Better open it to improve cooling. Anyway such noise is not suitable for putting in the bedroom
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a16s.jpg


It is very interesting to see how these engineers cleverly utilized many existing PC technologys to reduce the custom design effort and accelerated the final delivery process


Now snow fall attacked Avalon

http://avalon.mystisland.org/a17s.jpg


Larger version of photos:
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a01.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a01.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a02.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a02.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a03.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a03.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a04.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a04.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a05.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a05.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a06.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a06.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a07.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a07.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a08.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a08.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a09.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a09.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a10.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a10.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a11.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a11.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a12.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a12.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a13.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a13.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a14.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a14.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a15.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a15.jpg)
http://avalon.mystisland.org/a16.jpg (http://avalon.mystisland.org/a16.jpg)

Thanks man !

Ok, now can you take those photos down until you watermark them?
Because I can guarantee if you leave them like they are they will end up on ebay on scam listings.

The community thanks you.

So each larger module is composed of 8 smaller modules?

I really do wonder what Gen 2 will bring. I had thought that the large modules were one solid piece....apparently they break down into even smaller ones....

Hi jonnyj Can you tell me if you where in Batch #1 or Batch #2 and location thx.

You are a  lucky dog. I'm in China and have not received my batch#1

Great unboxing thread.

You say wow about the tape but I said my own wow about it - just not the wow you are thinking of. As someone who is involved with materials testing I instantly recognize that as Kapton tape. Google it. It was used on the Apollo missions and has the best temperature resistance of any tape out there. It is truly a space age material. It may just be one of (if not) the most expensive tapes you can buy.  ;D

batch 1 order 198

I remember that I waited until count down and the ordering website was immediately overloaded by users and crashed, I tried again and again for another 1-2 hour and finally got one order in, just lucky and some patient

I believe Avalon team is working full speed to make the delivery. But it is a tough task for a small team to deliver 900 units in one-two month, include the test

That backplate holds 8 submodules, but the heatsink size is fixed. I think gen2 will be the same as gen1 for hashing unit, maybe the control unit is upgraded

I just checked Avalon's claim back then: "If the prototype can be made before the end of January, then mass volume production will be guaranteed. If the prototype can not be made before end of January, you will get refund."

So they did follow the schedule, just no time to talk, no tracking email...  All my messages and tickets were ignored, kind of scaring

They should use a modular PSU to get rid of all the excess cables. Very messy.

And why the third different fan? Probably just there to prevent circulation back through the third hole and they use the same front/rear plates.

Hopefully they make improvements for V2. However I don't think they will last much after V3 with the 28nm ASICs due later in the year.

They can keep it backward compatible so that v3 modules fits in the case, the case is really luxury, pure aluminum ;D

congrats.   even a lots of chinese customer haven't got the unit yet. I really doubt they can finish batch #!  before May, according the delivery rate

2 points:

1, keep the case closed.
2, the 40pin ribbon cable our using is not IDE cable. IDE cables have some internal connect.

Thank you for the great pictures!

Ngzhang, you should feel very proud!


- originally, due to lack of high quality photos and some misunderstanding, I was under the impression that the fans were exhausting heat, blowing out. Now from your photos it *looks* like the fans are intake fans to blow cold air into the case (makes much better sense) can you confirm?

- also, I am assuming that I should have no problem replacing the PSU with a modular one? (I've got a silverstone 1200 gold that is sadly under-utilized atm) - should easily handle a fourth module when the time comes.

- I was also thinking of using some ducting in the extra space from the missing 4th module to force air through the fins. I'm now thinking this is unnecessary as the bottom module should be the coolest one anyways, and ducting may have no effect on increasing air flow through the upper 2 modules.

  After seeing some of Ngzhang's comments I'm thinking the only mods I'll be making are replacing the PSU and directing an AC unit blowing towards the intake. And of course adding 4th module when they come available  ;D

Thanks for the advice, is this mean that I can not use the own cable to re-arrange the modules? I think they should be shifted to the other side of case to avoid overheating close to the PSU  :-\

The upper side close to PSU is very crowded, I think the airflow here is not very good, I can feel by hand that module close to PSU is the hottest one. So I plan to move them to the lower part, but I'm afraid the cables are not long enough. Anyway I plan to use an external blower fan directly blow on top of them no matter the temperature. I might take everything out of the box and put them into my totally ventilated basket on balcony  :D

Wow, nice pictures.  I wish I'd been the guy to do it, but I instead just plugged mine in first thing.

I think it's a shame how some ppl are failing to appreciate the design that went into the Avalon cases, and are planning to drill them full of holes, or get rid of the case completely.  I can only hope that they'll sell what's left of the Avalon to me after they kill it.

Thanks J for the time and effort in taking and posting pics.

Yes the fans suck in cold air and push it into the machine over the cooling fins, thus creating positive pressure inside the machine, the hot air just rolls out on the other side (nothing in it's way is obstructing it's path)
 

You basicly want to do this?

http://img3.douban.com/view/photo/photo/public/p1876706078.jpg

I'm a hardware fan, it is something close to the physical world  :D

I think the placement of WR703 is questionable: It is directly exposed under the hot air blowed from the heatsink, and 43 degree is not an ideal working temperature for such a small device without cooling. I have seen someone placed it outside of the box and that makes some sense

Same with PSU, it is located near the end of the heatsink where hotest air is sucked into PSU

Currently my unit is put on balcony and the temperature there is -2c degree, but my weather sensor still reports a 37 degree at exhaust

What is the warranty on the Avalon devices?

Do you think they have not planned that far ahead?

What is the PSU  ???  I've never seen a 12pin cable,8pin for mobo,8pin for PCIE sure,but not a 12pin.

Is it in lieu of a main 20 or 24pin mobo connector  ???

Thanks johnyj .

Thanks for the detailed photos  ;D

Its a standard ATX PSU going to a power routing board (pic #5).  It looks like the 24pin and three 6+2 PCIe cables are used from the PSU to power everything.

Ok,I'm so duh sometimes  :D  It's 2 PCIE connected to a single adapter cable ::)

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s665/bobsyeruncle666/tv/Emily-Litella-Never-mind_zps472ddb90.jpg

WR703 has an airflow so it's "cooled", even if temperature of the air is more than 40c.
PSU: probably the third fan gives enough air to it, module radiators are on the other side.
-2c => 37c ??? strange. This means that inside at 25c ambient it will have 64c exhaust (improbable).

Thanks for the time you took to take the high quality photos, johnyj.

It will run the fans faster when the ambient temp is higher. I've not seen temp3 (exhaust?) over 50C even when temp1 (intake) was over 40C, but the fans run much faster to reduce the difference between the two.

Nice, thanks for the photos!

another cutout, rotate PSU by 180 degree

there are NO heatsinks near the PSU.

the PSU fan is not power enough to maintain a low temperature. the front fan will help the PSU to cool it self.

this is the last time i post about heat dissipation design, do what ever you want to do to your own machine and void your warranty please.

Keeping the case closed will give overpressure inside the unit and pump out the hot air.

A design change I might suggest for future revisions would be to also attach the module heatsinks to the top panel, and dissipate heat there too.  This would also help to better physically anchor the hashing modules.

I realize that this would make opening the case more difficult.

Thanks, I fully follow your advice :P

I added a 120MM FAN at the exhaust near PSU to draw out the hot air, now module temp is 28 degree at ambient temp of -2, intake Fans at 720 RPM
   [fan1] => 0
   [fan2] => 720
   [fan3] => 720
   [temp1] => -2
   [temp2] => -1
   [temp3] => 28
   [temp_max] => 102

But I don't understand why the temp_max has ever stayed at 102? Is it real or a bug mentioned in change log? Since it works, I have not updated firmware to the latest

Second time I ask,

What are the warranty terms? Is there a warranty?

About that WiFi antenna.... can I connect by a normal ethernet cable without using WiFi ?

This is probably a dumb question but... I live in Canada, will I need a special transformer for the ASIC or it's okay to plug it in directly from my outlet?

If you have a power cable for PC, it should work. The PSU used in Avalon is actually a PC compatible PSU,  draws 620W @ 120V-AC

Yup, there's an RJ45 on the back.  That's how mine is connected.  I never even attached the antenna.

Thanks for point that out, I thought the exif in the image is enough to identify, but maybe not everyone is so careful  :)

Yeah, not everybody even know that exif data is so watermarking would be good thing to do.

I saw the first photo of the power plug. I get the end that plugs into the AVALON, but the other end that plugs into the wall is not what I use in my home - USA.

The attached picture is what I have at my home and that doesn't seem compatible with the power cord picture.

http://www.photopiks.com/electricaloutlet.jpg

That's a Chinese plug that comes with the unit. You will have to use a standard ATX power supply plug for your home.

Mine came with a regular US power cord.  The power cord pictured was not delivered to the US.

It's a regular ATX power supply.  Any IEC power cable will work.

did u ever find out how to solo mine with eloipool?

Nice one the new picture with the snow.  :D

Poor little Avalon unit, I hope it has recovered.

does anyone know if its possible to install a 240V outlet with this style of plug?

That's a NEMA 5-20 outlet which is spec'ed for 120V.  To do it properly just use a 6-20 outlet for 240V, it's pretty trivial to wire it up.  See here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEMA_connector

Ex:
http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-5461-W-20-Amp-250-Volt-Receptacle/dp/B0050T2D56/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1
http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Electronics-C13620P15A-6F-60320-C13-6-Feet/dp/B0093WFT6G/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1364746864&sr=1-4&keywords=6-20p+c13

since i want to run 3 Avalons off this one 240V outlet and they come with the Nema 5-20 power cords, i assume there is a surge protector available that has Nema 6-20 plugs?

Edited last post to add link for C13/6-20P power cable.

For power strips, I use this one -
http://internationalconfig.com/icc6.asp?item=60820

It's a bit pricey (~$220 iirc) but you could run 6 Avalons on it safely with enough headroom.

sorry not to be clear, but to save money on cords what i'm looking for is a surge protector that will plug into the Nema 6-20 240V outlet and have 6 or so outlets of the Nema 5-20 style so as to be able to use the power cords supplied by Avalon.

i did google around for this but can't find any sources.

NEMA 5 series is rated for 125V maximum.  I'm sure you *could* do it but I wouldn't, personally.  FWIW, one Avalon should mine enough in a day at the current difficulty/exg. rate to pay for the whole 6-20 setup...  ;)

Did anyone try to add little heatsinks to each of the chips and did it lead to better performance somehow? Maybe more stable overclocking?

no one's mentioned doing that yet.

I wonder how many BTC's they generate before it is deemed a valid test???

Thats something im wondering about. I read somewhere about people trying to overclock with software and finding a magical wall at a setting of 300(something). I read about plans of oil submerged or water cooling but no real things were someone did such thing. Or if someone were able to overclock it some more. Maybe voltmodding or somehow change the clockrate or something that can be done.
Maybe the reason is only that no one will shut down his machine for testing or dont want to risk the miner.
But i think once the batch 3 avalons come in this topic will become more important because the difficulty will be a good chunk higher then.

the only revelation in regards to heatsinking is ngzhang's strong recommendation to leave the case shut as shipped utilizing the case itself as a heatsink and generating positive pressure to help expel heat.  apparently even stacking these things create an even larger block of a heatsink.  not sure i get the concept but they're the experts.

Official Avalon Wiki strongly discourage doing this.

Dr. Zhang recommend NOT to add any heatsinks on these chips and saying that will reduce the surface airflow for PCB board


I'm interested in opening one of the module's heatsink and have a look at the contacts, but since there are so many small units, it is not as easy as opening a GPU heatsink, I might wait until some time later when outdoor temp rised above 15c. Currently outdoor temp is -5c, I only need to worry about snowflakes  :)

Very nice photos :)
Thank you for the opportunity to look inside Avalon!

let me just make sure i understand you correctly.

it seems you're saying that Nema 6-20 power cords (connecting the Avalon to the surge protector) should be used together with the Nema 6-20 surge protector you linked to, correct?

I see the point in this but i wonder if you would put it on following the airflow and not blocking it if the effect wouldnt be the opposite. The air could flow free but has more time to take on the hot temperatures.

I asked this already but didnt get an answer... how is the capability of an avalon for being overclocked? I only read someone experiencing a wall at 300(something) but no info if this is a wall by design or if it could be fixed with better cooling. For example, if one would try, watercooling the single chips.
And is it somehow possible to change clockrates, volts and so on? Only theoretical for the moment because i dont have an avalon yet. But i mean... only 10% more hashingpower would have a big impact. And such a number is easily achievable with normal GPUs too. So im wondering if something is possible there. Of course one would have to be ready to lose the miner when playing with such things.

My past experience from GPU mining tell me: Do not overclock too much, the long term stability of the mining rig is far more important than a small gain in hashing performance, especially if you want one rig to run for a long time (Now we see that BFL is also power hungry, so avalon would at least be around for a year or two)

I had a pair of 5970 overclocked quite high (just 20Mhz below the crash point), undervolted, installed custom cooling device and the best thermal compound I can find (liquid metal), although the GPU temp never goes above 55 degree, all 4 GPUs on both card still died one after another in 1 year. I guess some of the components on the board are just not designed to endure that kind of added load for a sustained long period. For a gaming rig that run once a while it is fine, but for a machine running 24x7 like a server, the stability is the highest priority

I'm considering to put better thermal compound on avalon when summer arrives, but that is a lot of work, when I do it I will post some photos of the other side of the PCB

By the way, my avalon running firmware 0225 shows nice stability, cgminer has been running uninterrupted for days, really a robust and solid product

Do you use a custom PSU, if so which?

I doubt a bit that your cards died because of the overclocking. Im not a pro but at least i believe i learned that overclocking itself only has  very slight negative effect on lifetime. And that only comes from higher temperature. The real threat is overvolting it. Its something with leaking electrons that destroy the circuits or so and make them age. So i always downvolted and overclocked my gpus and they never died. But i didnt use them 24/7 of course. I tend to think that you didnt do anything wrong with undervolting and overclocking and it was because of the fullpower-use all the time.
But like i said im no pro in it... :)

I really would like to have an avalon hashing now too... :)