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Title: Relatively n00b miner here wanting to make the big switch to FPGA Post by: Trance104 on July 02, 2012, 06:08:27 PM Hello all! :0)
Can anyone recommend some things about mining using FPGA boards? I would like to know what OS is most "energy efficient" to idle with and if I was to build a PC to "house" this, what would I be looking at buying? Unless I'm mistaken, a cheap dual core processor would be more than enough for "just a PC". Any links to guides appreciated! Also, if you can link me to some boards that are worth buying I would be interested in checking them out. Title: Re: Relatively n00b miner here wanting to make the big switch to FPGA Post by: Definit on July 02, 2012, 06:16:52 PM You mean BFL/ASIC?
FPGA is about to be phased out in October by the asic's that BFL is providing. Title: Re: Relatively n00b miner here wanting to make the big switch to FPGA Post by: crazyates on July 02, 2012, 06:33:17 PM Right now is a precarious time to get invested into mining. You can ether invest in FPGAs, and hope they pay off before the reward half / ASIC explosion, or you can invest in ASICs and not mine until they start shipping in an estimated 4-6 months (yes, months)
Your best bet? Pick up some cheap GPUs or some used BFL singles (mine now, trade in later). As far as setting up a computer to run FPGAs on, any FPGA can be run on a laptop/netbook. My EeePc pulls 10watts while idle (everything disabled in the BIOS except for LAN). CGMiner uses almost no resources, and can be run on almost any hardware, regardless of specs. As far as OS choice, it's not going to matter for power consumption that much. It's actually better to disable any hardware you don't need in the BIOS, as that will net you some power savings. Title: Re: Relatively n00b miner here wanting to make the big switch to FPGA Post by: Trance104 on July 02, 2012, 08:02:26 PM Thanks! I guess I have to start reading about ASIC's now. lol...
I have a 5570 and a 5770 currently. I'm looking to amp it up. Title: Re: Relatively n00b miner here wanting to make the big switch to FPGA Post by: GernMiester on July 03, 2012, 01:14:26 AM Mine with what you have now. Maybe order a jalapeno or 2 to play with. If difficulty skyrockets like it appears it will with ASIC, GPU's will be kinda lame for mining.
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