Swedish ASIC miner company kncminer.com

[Soros Shorts]

BitFury rig: the long term effect of running 550 watts through 2 x PCI-e 6-pin connectors. The quick repair job was to solder the wires from 4 x 6-pin connectors directly to the bottom of board and this has worked fine since.

[Biodom]

https://i.imgur.com/DBCIP95.jpg

This was on one of my CoinCraft Desk modules, which draws around 200W.

Replacing the connectors was a pain in the butt.  It took me about 4 hours from start to finish.

It's entirely possible that it simply got 'cooked' by the heat sink rather than the current.

<snip>

Molex (company making the pci-e power connectors) dictates the max spec per pin to 8A according to an earlier posted PDF, so 400W is outside even the most optimistic estimates! Not saying it wont work, but why are they even gambling with this when it would cost them a few bucks tops to use 2 of them.

Molex has several series of minifit jr connectors. Their HCS series is spec'd in at 13A per pin: http://www.molex.com/molex/products/family?key=minifit_plus_connector_system&channel=products&chanName=family&pageTitle=Introduction&parentKey=minifit_products

Re Molex at 13A-I wonder which companies PCIe connectors are rated this high. There is no info on EVGA1300 or Corsair pins as far as I could find.

[dropt]

Molex has several series of minifit jr connectors. Their HCS series is spec'd in at 13A per pin: http://www.molex.com/molex/products/family?key=minifit_plus_connector_system&channel=products&chanName=family&pageTitle=Introduction&parentKey=minifit_products

Molex makes a crapload of connectors, many of which can handle current up to these levels, but the real question is: are they keyed to PCI-E?  And in the event they're keyed to PCI-E are the PCI-E plugs on the PSU rated for those power levels?  It's unlikely.  

The bottom line is that it adds negligible BOM and assembly costs to double up the PCI-E connectors on the boards.  Hell, even the original AM cubes had 2 PCI-E plugs and it only consumed ~320W OC'd.  Cutting costs and/or poor choices in something as simple as this makes me wonder what other kind of issues are going to crop up with the design.  People can sit here and argue until they're blue in the face as to whether it can or can't theoretically handle the power, but cheaping out and assuming that kind of liability is absolutely stupid.  If someone's house burns down, the sign-off Engineer can be personally liable for the bad design.  It's that simple.  If you want to take the risk of having FIVE of these potential fire hazards running in a closet in your house unmonitored 24/7 then be my guest, but I strongly recommend against it.

[Biodom]

Molex has several series of minifit jr connectors. Their HCS series is spec'd in at 13A per pin: http://www.molex.com/molex/products/family?key=minifit_plus_connector_system&channel=products&chanName=family&pageTitle=Introduction&parentKey=minifit_products

Molex makes a crapload of connectors, many of which can handle current up to these levels, but the real question is: are they keyed to PCI-E?  And in the event they're keyed to PCI-E are the PCI-E plugs on the PSU rated for those power levels?  It's unlikely.  

The bottom line is that it adds negligible BOM and assembly costs to double up the PCI-E connectors on the boards.  Hell, even the original AM cubes had 2 PCI-E plugs and it only consumed ~320W OC'd.  Cutting costs and/or poor choices in something as simple as this makes me wonder what other kind of issues are going to crop up with the design.  People can sit here and argue until they're blue in the face as to whether it can or can't theoretically handle the power, but cheaping out and assuming that kind of liability is absolutely stupid.  If someone's house burns down, the sign-off Engineer can be personally liable for the bad design.  It's that simple.  If you want to take the risk of having FIVE of these potential fire hazards running in a closet in your house unmonitored 24/7 then be my guest, but I strongly recommend against it.

^I totally agree, even upcoming 390W S3 has four PCIe connectors.

[CYPER]

It feels so f***ing great that I made the only logical choice and asked for a refund.
There are some really delusional people in this thread thinking that waiting for the Neptune is a good thing.
A Neptune will never mine 22BTC, NEVER.
Most customers will start mining at over 15 billion difficulty.

Btw I remember back in November when I ordered mine I was expecting difficulty to be at around 10 billion maximum, but then again I was expecting delivery in April/May.

[faetos]

It feels so f***ing great that I made the only logical choice and asked for a refund.
There are some really delusional people in this thread thinking that waiting for the Neptune is a good thing.
A Neptune will never mine 22BTC, NEVER.
Most customers will start mining at over 15 billion difficulty.

Btw I remember back in November when I ordered mine I was expecting difficulty to be at around 10 billion maximum, but then again I was expecting delivery in April/May.

I thought it would only be 2-3 billion and I really thought I would get it in April, too. As soon as Bitcoinorama let loose they were still in the design phase in Feb and realized they had done absolutely nothing in Nov and Dec. I knew then that 'ol Avenger was right and Q1 was a marketing ploy. Punched out and turned the refund into a house. Much more enjoyable experience than what you folks are going to go through. I really just hope that no one gets hurt from these BBQ boxes. It's one thing to bring out that gimp and really f' your customers, but it's another thing altogether if a fire breaks out and God forbid someone gets seriously hurt or killed.

[1Neptune]

It feels so f***ing great that I made the only logical choice and asked for a refund.
There are some really delusional people in this thread thinking that waiting for the Neptune is a good thing.
A Neptune will never mine 22BTC, NEVER.
Most customers will start mining at over 15 billion difficulty.

Btw I remember back in November when I ordered mine I was expecting difficulty to be at around 10 billion maximum, but then again I was expecting delivery in April/May.

I thought it would only be 2-3 billion and I really thought I would get it in April, too. As soon as Bitcoinorama let loose they were still in the design phase in Feb and realized they had done absolutely nothing in Nov and Dec. I knew then that 'ol Avenger was right and Q1 was a marketing ploy. Punched out and turned the refund into a house. Much more enjoyable experience than what you folks are going to go through. I really just hope that no one gets hurt from these BBQ boxes. It's one thing to bring out that gimp and really f' your customers, but it's another thing altogether if a fire breaks out and God forbid someone gets seriously hurt or killed.

No news heading to the end of March led me to begin the refund process then. I've seen nothing yet that makes me regret that choice.

[xstr8guy]

Maybe a bit off-topic but still relevant to the thread...

But what does "gimp" mean when used to describe the Neptune? I've always known it to mean handicapped. But does it have another meaning here?

[faetos]

Maybe a bit off-topic but still relevant to the thread...

But what does "gimp" mean when used to describe the Neptune? I've always known it to mean handicapped. But does it have another meaning here?

It is a line in the movie "Pulp Fiction" by Quentin Tarantino. It's a very unpleasant scene, but the gimp is locked up and used in situations by two crooks to do nasty stuff to their captors. Here's a bit on it from npr - video is unpleasant (don't click if you're squeamish or have some righteous indignation), but you'll understand the reference of what KnC is doing to its customers: http://www.npr.org/2014/05/24/315251305/bring-out-the-gimp-the-man-behind-the-mask-in-pulp-fiction

[xstr8guy]

Maybe a bit off-topic but still relevant to the thread...

But what does "gimp" mean when used to describe the Neptune? I've always known it to mean handicapped. But does it have another meaning here?

It is a line in the movie "Pulp Fiction" by Quentin Tarantino. It's a very unpleasant scene, but the gimp is locked up and used in situations by two crooks to do nasty stuff to their captors. Here's a bit on it from npr - video is unpleasant (don't click if you're squeamish or have some righteous indignation), but you'll understand the reference of what KnC is doing to its customers: http://www.npr.org/2014/05/24/315251305/bring-out-the-gimp-the-man-behind-the-mask-in-pulp-fiction

Big big Tarantino fan so I get the reference now. Thanks!

[tolip_wen]

Whats the cheapest KNCminer u can get ?

Sam Cole?

[xstr8guy]

Whats the cheapest KNCminer u can get ?

Sam Cole?

WAHAHA! Best. Answer. Ever.

[Pt0x]

Maybe a bit off-topic but still relevant to the thread...

But what does "gimp" mean when used to describe the Neptune? I've always known it to mean handicapped. But does it have another meaning here?

It is a line in the movie "Pulp Fiction" by Quentin Tarantino. It's a very unpleasant scene, but the gimp is locked up and used in situations by two crooks to do nasty stuff to their captors. Here's a bit on it from npr - video is unpleasant (don't click if you're squeamish or have some righteous indignation), but you'll understand the reference of what KnC is doing to its customers: http://www.npr.org/2014/05/24/315251305/bring-out-the-gimp-the-man-behind-the-mask-in-pulp-fiction

Big big Tarantino fan so I get the reference now. Thanks!

I'm a big fan too! Thanks for the info!

[Searing]

are those PSU's for the Neptunes?

No they're the five ASIC boxes.  Those things plus a controller and a pile of PSUs are the "neptune".

I really don't get this company, how could they change the design of the final products at the last moment, without even telling the customers, they showed a single box when they did the pre-sale and now you have 5 boxes, why didn't they just stick with the 28nm and make a bunch of single miners, they just could have hired bitmain to do the final product, looks like the upcoming Antminer S1 will be similar looking.

They could have used the same 28nm chip and undervolt them, and it would have been out 5 months ago, when difficulty was 1.5 Billion

Hmmm...hard for them to 'share' if they did they would not have been able to mine with your 28mm chip/box till now...see clear as mud .they win you lose.

Searing

[Collider]

Does anyone know how much power and maintenance KnC will charge for their cloudmining?

[l3sny]

they must be in serious troubles if they are tricking their customers this way. I do not know if it is a technical problem with the design or low value of BTC or growing amount of refunds. I was really thinking that HWUW and the second Neptune was a fair compensation for all the hassle we had with knc. Now they buried all hope. I do not think any prudent customer would ever buy anything from them as they cannot prove that they have ever satisfied customers expectation based on their promises.

[wasubii]

Does anyone know how much power and maintenance KnC will charge for their cloudmining?

Power and maintenance usually relate to hosting actual miners, not buying hash power.

Most likely KnC will build it into the cost of the hash rate - this is what other cloud miners do and it does simplify things. i.e. you pay $XX per month for YY Gh/s and they worry about electricity, maintenance etc.

[lemonte]

https://www.kncminer.com/pages/neptune-setup-info

[RoadStress]

https://www.kncminer.com/pages/neptune-setup-info

The act of inserting/removing cable connectors into ports degrades connection surfaces every time it’s done and should be minimized.

I have seen it all now...

[Collider]

WEll, everyone have fun with their overpriced 20nm miners, i don´t think you will ever make it to ROI city.

The only one getting anything out of this is KNC, as they can now deploy 20nm on a large scale in their Data Center.

They will probably set up the chips at a lower clock speed and higher efficiency there, as i don´t really think that they have managed to build SUCH a shitty design on 20nm that it only gets 0.7W//GH.

If they had, well it is purely a waste of Silicon.

I bet Bitfury is laughing at them right now from atop of his mountain of 55nm miners on 0.78W/GH and 1/5th of the NRE.