Futurebit Apollo II BTC Founders Edition Full Node Review - PIC HEAVY

[Omarkoman]

Once logged in click on settings on the lower left side. The first page that pops up there is Pools which allows you to select from a pre-populated pool or choose a custom one so that you can enter in the pool info and mine to whatever pool you choose.

hi, I got my Apollo II but when I go to pools section in settings and select Setup custom pool I can not edit the URL or username or anything, its greyed out.

is this normal or do I need to do anything else? (note - my node is still synchronising but that shouldnt affect me being able to setup a custom pool right?)

[Sledge0001]

You will need to have the node fully sync before the solo mining option becomes available.

Additionally, when using a custom pool you need to select one of the existing pool options first then you can select custom and make your desired entry.

Once logged in click on settings on the lower left side. The first page that pops up there is Pools which allows you to select from a pre-populated pool or choose a custom one so that you can enter in the pool info and mine to whatever pool you choose.

hi, I got my Apollo II but when I go to pools section in settings and select Setup custom pool I can not edit the URL or username or anything, its greyed out.

is this normal or do I need to do anything else? (note - my node is still synchronising but that shouldnt affect me being able to setup a custom pool right?)

[Omarkoman]

thanks, I figured it out now and setup custom pool.

I am going to open up the case and see if there is any chance to figure out how to water cool these using a computer 360 AIO.

the device is fantastic BUT ... even in ECO mode and fan at 2200rpm its LOUD to sit on your desk in office or bedroom. on Balanced mode and fan at 3300rpm its VERY loud and unless you you have a house and can keep it in garage away from you, its just not practical to have in an apartment. The Turbo mode is ridiculously loud, like a jet taking off.

frankly even in Balanced mode, I dont see the longevity of the fan spinning at such high RPMs for months and years and the amount of dust it will collect with so much air being sucked in will require regular maintenance / cleaning as it will otherwise overheat.

its a great device but the cooling just doesnt work above ECO mode and needs watercooling solution.

the device cost me $2000 Australian dollars after shipping and taxes. A 360 AIO costs $100 so Im surprised they have not offered it as an option with an external box attached to the Apollo II with the fan and radiator. I would be very happy with that as who cares about aesthetics.

[Sledge0001]

thanks, I figured it out now and setup custom pool.

I am going to open up the case and see if there is any chance to figure out how to water cool these using a computer 360 AIO.

the device is fantastic BUT ... even in ECO mode and fan at 2200rpm its LOUD to sit on your desk in office or bedroom. on Balanced mode and fan at 3300rpm its VERY loud and unless you you have a house and can keep it in garage away from you, its just not practical to have in an apartment. The Turbo mode is ridiculously loud, like a jet taking off.

frankly even in Balanced mode, I dont see the longevity of the fan spinning at such high RPMs for months and years and the amount of dust it will collect with so much air being sucked in will require regular maintenance / cleaning as it will otherwise overheat.

its a great device but the cooling just doesnt work above ECO mode and needs watercooling solution.

the device cost me $2000 Australian dollars after shipping and taxes. A 360 AIO costs $100 so Im surprised they have not offered it as an option with an external box attached to the Apollo II with the fan and radiator. I would be very happy with that as who cares about aesthetics.

I'd be curious to see how you make out with this and how much it really helps with the cooling! They do run hot but no hotter than a S19 would. 

Balanced is where I am running mine currently and using the solo mining pool aspect heavily with just over 9PH pointed to it.

[Omarkoman]

I love to tinker so will have to take it apart and go from there.

I can see there are copper blocks I can get off aliexpress with various dimensions / sizes, I imagine a 10x10cm would suffice plus a decent 420 radiator + pump with res should be more than efficient to extract heat from water. I have dabbled in watercooling in computers for last 20 years and water is ALWAYS much more efficient to cool vs traditional aircoolers.

taking the Apollo II apart is first step to see the required surface area that needs to be cooled (eg how many chips there are etc).

I just want max performance but no way I can stand the noise with current cooling!

[heslo]

I love to tinker so will have to take it apart and go from there.

I can see there are copper blocks I can get off aliexpress with various dimensions / sizes, I imagine a 10x10cm would suffice plus a decent 420 radiator + pump with res should be more than efficient to extract heat from water. I have dabbled in watercooling in computers for last 20 years and water is ALWAYS much more efficient to cool vs traditional aircoolers.

taking the Apollo II apart is first step to see the required surface area that needs to be cooled (eg how many chips there are etc).

I just want max performance but no way I can stand the noise with current cooling!

Please share pics of the teardown too!

[jstefanop]

thanks, I figured it out now and setup custom pool.

I am going to open up the case and see if there is any chance to figure out how to water cool these using a computer 360 AIO.

the device is fantastic BUT ... even in ECO mode and fan at 2200rpm its LOUD to sit on your desk in office or bedroom. on Balanced mode and fan at 3300rpm its VERY loud and unless you you have a house and can keep it in garage away from you, its just not practical to have in an apartment. The Turbo mode is ridiculously loud, like a jet taking off.

frankly even in Balanced mode, I dont see the longevity of the fan spinning at such high RPMs for months and years and the amount of dust it will collect with so much air being sucked in will require regular maintenance / cleaning as it will otherwise overheat.

its a great device but the cooling just doesnt work above ECO mode and needs watercooling solution.

the device cost me $2000 Australian dollars after shipping and taxes. A 360 AIO costs $100 so Im surprised they have not offered it as an option with an external box attached to the Apollo II with the fan and radiator. I would be very happy with that as who cares about aesthetics.

We already have a custom water block and radiator solution, I didn't like how loud the device was as well in balance/turbo but 90% of customer feedback from the Apollo BTC was maximum utilization of the ASICs which meant higher noise levels in balance/turbo.

Was worth it for us since almost everyone runs the devices in eco so noise levels were comparable there, and the 10% that want max performance run them in garages etc where slightly higher noise does not matter.

Waterblock we have is crazy overkill, we are talking about 500+ watts at under 2k RPM speeds. Cost alone of the water block/radiator is over 200 so adding that much more to the cost was not worth it.

Next gen asics might get interesting since those can burn up to 20 watts each which requires either crazy high fan speeds or some kind of water/immersion solution. If we can 2-3x hashrate again and keep prices close to where they are water block might make sense.

[Sledge0001]

thanks, I figured it out now and setup custom pool.

I am going to open up the case and see if there is any chance to figure out how to water cool these using a computer 360 AIO.

the device is fantastic BUT ... even in ECO mode and fan at 2200rpm its LOUD to sit on your desk in office or bedroom. on Balanced mode and fan at 3300rpm its VERY loud and unless you you have a house and can keep it in garage away from you, its just not practical to have in an apartment. The Turbo mode is ridiculously loud, like a jet taking off.

frankly even in Balanced mode, I dont see the longevity of the fan spinning at such high RPMs for months and years and the amount of dust it will collect with so much air being sucked in will require regular maintenance / cleaning as it will otherwise overheat.

its a great device but the cooling just doesnt work above ECO mode and needs watercooling solution.

the device cost me $2000 Australian dollars after shipping and taxes. A 360 AIO costs $100 so Im surprised they have not offered it as an option with an external box attached to the Apollo II with the fan and radiator. I would be very happy with that as who cares about aesthetics.

We already have a custom water block and radiator solution, I didn't like how loud the device was as well in balance/turbo but 90% of customer feedback from the Apollo BTC was maximum utilization of the ASICs which meant higher noise levels in balance/turbo.

Was worth it for us since almost everyone runs the devices in eco so noise levels were comparable there, and the 10% that want max performance run them in garages etc where slightly higher noise does not matter.

Waterblock we have is crazy overkill, we are talking about 500+ watts at under 2k RPM speeds. Cost alone of the water block/radiator is over 200 so adding that much more to the cost was not worth it.

Next gen asics might get interesting since those can burn up to 20 watts each which requires either crazy high fan speeds or some kind of water/immersion solution. If we can 2-3x hashrate again and keep prices close to where they are water block might make sense.

@jstefanop the people are looking for something like this!

I would love to see a "do it yourself" upgrade or option from the factory that would leverage this type of cooling!

Personally I have 3 Apollo II units. I would buy a multi-unit cooler unit with a larger radiator / fan combo. That would be bad ass!