[Avalon ASIC] Batch #2 pre-Sale Thread

[siggy]

I am curious if you order a batch #2 unit.. and then order 3 extra modules.. how will they ship?
...
Maybe you would be better off just ordering 2 units and having a shot at getting everything
at once or very close together. You could just combine the two units into 1 if you desire (i guess).

Price wise it does not make sense to buy extra units. Just buy more complete kit units. Then cooling
is less of an issue, more redundancy, etc...

I'm curious:  will batch #2 base units be a larger form factor? or will the Batch #2 modules have a smaller form factor to be able to fit 6 modules in the same space as 4 batch #1's ??  (( Possibly as thinner, but more efficient heat sink? ))

Also, are there enough power connectors avaliable that we could add 2 additional fans to increase airflow?

Sigg

[PuertoLibre]

It might depend on shipping, but why would you buy one unit and three upgrades for $3000 when you could just buy two units for $3000? If you really want to space, gut one unit, mount the three boards in the other, and sell the PSU and other stuff.

+1 Interesting idea.

[rustyh17]

When is Batch#2 open for sale?

[fcmatt]

It might depend on shipping, but why would you buy one unit and three upgrades for $3000 when you could just buy two units for $3000? If you really want to space, gut one unit, mount the three boards in the other, and sell the PSU and other stuff.

+1 Interesting idea.

The only possible reason to order extra modules is to save on shipping costs I guess.
If they stick them in the batch #2 unit you order and only charge $50 in shipping.. I guess
that would be a small savings.

This appears just to be a case of a price that was not thought out very well or they have
very little desire to sell extra modules.

[fcmatt]

When is Batch#2 open for sale?

Pretty darn soon so keep an eye out. Check every few hours is your only hope to get in on this.

[PuertoLibre]

Bitcoin bug = changes to hashing algorithm or the like. Things beyond their control is how I interpreted.

OK, that can make sense and is reasonable for an ASIC company to take. If BitCoin changes the algorithm, the boxes are done.

But the statement refers to the time between when a customer orders and the batch is fulfilled, which is just 2-3 months. Considering the fact that there are zero chances of the algorithm changing this year, why bother to make the statement at all? The statement also refers to a bitcoin bug, the core developers still make updates to fix security issues, but my understanding is none of these changes have effected or will effect the core hashing algorithm. This is why the same FPGA bitstreams have worked for so long...

I just want to be sure the statement refers to changes outside of Avalon's control (completely reasonable), and not to development bugs on their end (worrying statement).

This introduces an interesting risk.

Any ASIC is vulnerable to changes in Bitcoin. (Including BFL)

Should any changes occur, the losses could be staggering. Those with FPGA's ought to keep them as insurance. Especially in light of the GPU miner shutting down once ASICs dominate the market.

[Tesla71]

When is Batch#2 open for sale?

Pretty darn soon so keep an eye out. Check every few hours is your only hope to get in on this.

I hope the will inform prior per email (not only 5 mins before..)

[kaerf]

It might depend on shipping, but why would you buy one unit and three upgrades for $3000 when you could just buy two units for $3000? If you really want to space, gut one unit, mount the three boards in the other, and sell the PSU and other stuff.

+1 Interesting idea.

The only possible reason to order extra modules is to save on shipping costs I guess.
If they stick them in the batch #2 unit you order and only charge $50 in shipping.. I guess
that would be a small savings.

This appears just to be a case of a price that was not thought out very well or they have
very little desire to sell extra modules.

Another reason not to order the extra modules is the power supply. I doubt the stock 3 module unit is going to ship with a power supply that can support 6 modules.

In fact, if you look at the bitcoin foundation pictures, there is a different PSU in the 4 module box that jeff has in his 3 module box. the bitcoin foundation PSU looks like an enermax while jeff's is an antec.

i was expecting upgrade modules to be much cheaper...somewhere in the 2-300 range. it definitely shouldn't be 1/3 the price for a full unit, since the full unit contains a bunch of extra things (e.g. case, psu, controller board, fans, etc).

$500 for an extra module would only make sense if the new modules were an actual upgrade in technology (e.g. 55nm or lower GH/W)

[Tesla71]

Any ASIC is vulnerable to changes in Bitcoin. (Including BFL)

Should any changes occur, the losses could be staggering. Those with FPGA's ought to keep them as insurance. Especially in light of the GPU miner shutting down once ASICs dominate the market.

How and from whom could such a change be done ? is there any kind of "consortium" who decides which algorythm is used ?

[Fuzzy]

Any ASIC is vulnerable to changes in Bitcoin. (Including BFL)

Should any changes occur, the losses could be staggering. Those with FPGA's ought to keep them as insurance. Especially in light of the GPU miner shutting down once ASICs dominate the market.

How and from whom could such a change be done ? is there any kind of "consortium" who decides which algorythm is used ?

Any change in the bitcoin code will create a new fork, which will no longer be the the original "Bitcoin".

So while you COULD change the code, none of your new coins will work on the original Bitcoin platform, where all the ASICs are.

[Korbman]

It might depend on shipping, but why would you buy one unit and three upgrades for $3000 when you could just buy two units for $3000? If you really want to space, gut one unit, mount the three boards in the other, and sell the PSU and other stuff.

Ha, indeed!

They never said running a business was their strongest trait..all those silly pricing models get in the way of engineering!

[Fuzzy]

it will be at least 24 hours from now before order, but I do not expect the delay to extend past this week.

I'm gonna need a new F5 key soon.

[Vicus]

Text below "Agree" button

orders open on febuary, 2nd, 2013. 9:00 am EST

[Fuzzy]

Text below "Agree" button

orders open on febuary, 2nd, 2013. 9:00 am EST

So much for sleeping in...

[Carlton Banks]

Another reason not to order the extra modules is the power supply. I doubt the stock 3 module unit is going to ship with a power supply that can support 6 modules.

In fact, if you look at the bitcoin foundation pictures, there is a different PSU in the 4 module box that jeff has in his 3 module box. the bitcoin foundation PSU looks like an enermax while jeff's is an antec.

What if Avalon release a 55nm chip revision with the same board layout? It'd be interesting to hear how much wattage headroom the 3x20 GH/s have with their stock PSU, people that don't upgrade their 110nm boards early on might be able to use the space more efficiently if Avalon can stick with their module dimensions through their chip upgrades.

[monkee]

Text below "Agree" button

orders open on febuary, 2nd, 2013. 9:00 am EST

what agree button? where is  this stated?  sorry!

[darkip]

what agree button? where is  this stated?  sorry!

http://launch.avalon-asics.com/?page_id=778

[Dalkore]

Text below "Agree" button

orders open on febuary, 2nd, 2013. 9:00 am EST

Thank you for pointing that out. 

[Korbman]

Another reason not to order the extra modules is the power supply. I doubt the stock 3 module unit is going to ship with a power supply that can support 6 modules.

In fact, if you look at the bitcoin foundation pictures, there is a different PSU in the 4 module box that jeff has in his 3 module box. the bitcoin foundation PSU looks like an enermax while jeff's is an antec.

What if Avalon release a 55nm chip revision with the same board layout? It'd be interesting to hear how much wattage headroom the 3x20 GH/s have with their stock PSU, people that don't upgrade their 110nm boards early on might be able to use the space more efficiently if Avalon can stick with their module dimensions through their chip upgrades.

I'm actually quite curious about this as well. It would be very cool if they were able to maintain the current board layout while packing more chips on each module at 55nm..not to mention the power efficiency increase.

[eleuthria]

Sure would be nice if this didn't require waking up before 6 AM on the west coast .  I didn't need that sleep anyways.