FPGA Version of Miner

[AxelMi]

In the Minor section they are searching for a cheap Xilinx Spartan 6 - 150 Board.
here it is:
Look for trenz-electronic in bünde in Germany, they have a Industriemodul with an Spartan6 -150 none T and a cheap Baseboard with ethernet connector.
 

[1713488494]

1713488494

[1713488494]

1713488494

[1713488494]

1713488494

[WithaC]

I'm not convinced that FPGA is the next wave. I have discussed this with a few hardware designers who don't give me the numbers that I would like to see out of the 'next generation' miner.  Am I missing something fundamental?

[naukop]

Axel,
  Can you provide the link to that Spartan 6 board with 150 LEs ?

I've been around Trenz site a few times and have not noticed that particular board.

Is this the one you have in mind?
http://shop.trenz-electronic.de/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_65_143&products_id=917

What is confusing about the above one is that title says:
Trenz Electronic GigaBee XC6SLX150
yet  Key-Specifications say:
 Industrial-grade Xilinx Spartan-6 LX FPGA micromodule LX100

Also, I suspect you will not be able to use free Xilinx WebPack on LX150...

[rampagewsu]

I'm not convinced that FPGA is the next wave. I have discussed this with a few hardware designers who don't give me the numbers that I would like to see out of the 'next generation' miner.  Am I missing something fundamental?

Neither am I. The costs are astronomical per hash.

ASIC looks much more promising.

[lame.duck]

I doubt if ASIC are really a viable way to go, since the initial cost are much higher as for FPGA and it takes 3 month or so till you have the chips and there is no way to prediction about difficulty nor bitcoin price.

[earthmeLon]

Are FPGA boards cheaper than their GPU counterparts?

I am talking about initial cost of hardware, not trying to get into cost of watts and such.

[themike5000]

Are FPGA boards cheaper than their GPU counterparts?

I am talking about initial cost of hardware, not trying to get into cost of watts and such.

Much more expensive.  $800 for a 120Mhash/second FPG.  But it is much more efficient.  They are VERY good at doing particular tasks.  If you can program it right, they can do mining very well.  But yes, very expensive initial cost.