Bitmain sold Sidehack a batch of chips they knew were going to be outdated shortly after the sale.
IMO just part and parcel of their "dump all the BM1384 gear we can, dump all the chips we can however, before we start selling this BM1385 chip-based stuff we just started building".
KNC has zero interest in home miners, they burnt themselves too often trying to deal with folks that actually expected specs and timeframes to be met - keeping their stuff for themselves avoids all that hassle, at a small cost in potential profits (and a MAJOR net profit gain in lack of lawsuits for non-performance and broken junk shipped etc.).
Avalon seems to have a competent design team - my only issue with them is they think they are Apple or Rolls and can price at a significant premium for perceived quality when the quality doesn't matter that much to a unit that will be obsolete in a year or two.
What would be interesting is if someone with a large chunk of change decided to get into the market and hired Sidehack and Novak and a good semi design team (too bad they're way too small potatoes for Berkshire to get interested in)....
That would be great, but you probably already know how many times Sidehack has said they would never give up creative control, and knowing Sidehack even a little from a few posts, he probably isn't giving up much control of anything except with he and Novac.
Hey, could anyone blame them? If you are in a position to answer to yourself, a partner, and maybe a bank at times, why be in any other position.
I'm confident there are many creative, talented, smart people working at Bitmain, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the founder also the driving engineer and wasn't there a recent interview where he stated he did most of the design work?
The S7 has been a solid performer for the most part. I do not mean to detract from anyone who has, is, or will be having issues, there have been some major complaints about heat sinks falling off. Well
In the S5+ guide, easily confirmed by posting a pic if it isn't laying around, but it clearly states to inspect the heat sinks prior to starting the unit. It did not say you could not dismantle the unit to check the heatsinks. I am talking about my S5+, not my S7s, but wouldn't it make more sense for most people to do that very thing?
IT is so minor to slide the boards out and do a light look over the heatsinks.
Are people going to swap boards between units?
If so, how were S5+ owners supposed to comply with SOP re: warranty compliance?
I think that is where people need to use common sense and make a choice, but do not turn the unit on with a loose heatsink.
I'm not telling anyone what to do, I am commenting in this thread regarding the topic of Bitmain, but wanted to throw that out there.
