BFL upgrade now offered on 5ghz orders.(screenshot) YES, IT'S BACK!!

[Matthew N. Wright]

Get refund guys and walk a way .

This. This is looking more and more like a long con every single day. Reminds me of 419 scammers who after stealing money come back later to promise to pay it back but need a little more to send it to them. Milking every last dime.

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[erk]

So do the newer (post-April price increase) orders also receive the same request to voluntarily pay more?

What does this mean to the larger units that presumably require twice the chips and wafers as well? Everything being directly proportional...

I'm not a BFL customer, but am following the story unfold.

They change the design in April, the 4.5GH/s low profile unit is no more on their site. The smallest unit is 5GH/s cube shaped unit, more expensive. So you couldn't order the old style unit even if you wanted to anymore.

[Bicknellski]

Also, this is a response to requests from customers on their forum to be able to upgrade for an additional $100. It didn't come from BFL to begin with.

However, whether those customers on the forum were BFL employees or not I don't know.

In the movie The Sting, the nose tapping is a signal between the con men.

[Bitcoinorama]

So do the newer (post-April price increase) orders also receive the same request to voluntarily pay more?

What does this mean to the larger units that presumably require twice the chips and wafers as well? Everything being directly proportional...

I'm not a BFL customer, but am following the story unfold.

They change the design in April, the 4.5GH/s low profile unit is no more on their site. The smallest unit is 5GH/s cube shaped unit, more expensive. So you couldn't order the old style unit even if you wanted to anymore.

Yes, obviously, that doesn't answer the question though. Will the newer orders also be requested to pay additional?

Has anyone with a post April order number seen a similar request?

[os2sam]

It looks like to me that they are selling a 2nd 2Ghs box for $100?!?

If that is true then that is a much better deal that the 300Mhs USB thingy for 2 BTC.

If it is a 2nd box then maybe they have a supply of rejects that don't meet the needed performance and are trying to recoup some of the loss in building them?

[YipYip]

It looks like to me that they are selling a 2nd 2Ghs box for $100?!?

If that is true then that is a much better deal that the 300Mhs USB thingy for 2 BTC.

If it is a 2nd box then maybe they have a supply of rejects that don't meet the needed performance and are trying to recoup some of the loss in building them?

Real bottom of the barrel type stuff

Things must be getting tight !

[PuertoLibre]

Sounds like their Jalepenos are either under, or over-performing with a revised design and it's costing them. They can't force you to pay more, but to cover their costs they have to request you do.

Gut feeling, seems odd they would have two board revisions this late in the day otherwise.

Would love to know what people get if they don't upgrade, whether it will be under spec or over spec.

Guess we will find out in due course.

The original design had one chip and no heatsink,

<Sigh>

False. The original design used the top plate as the heatsink. (Hence the name "Jalepeno" and it's coffee warming capability.

the current design is much larger, two chips and a big heatsink and fan. So all of a sudden they can only make half as many units from a wafer,

True, up to this point.

but they can drive them harder then just having one chip if they want to.

False premise, if that were true, they wouldn't need two chips.

Early April when they discovered that they would need more parts to make a unit, the price went up too.

False, the ASIC chips themselves don't double the price. They just "wanted" to raise the price to double the cost across all their product lines.

The ASIC chips aren't the cause of the price going up. BFL reps can correct me if they object to this statement, but won't, because that isn't the case.

[Bitcoinorama]

It looks like to me that they are selling a 2nd 2Ghs box for $100?!?

If that is true then that is a much better deal that the 300Mhs USB thingy for 2 BTC.

If it is a 2nd box then maybe they have a supply of rejects that don't meet the needed performance and are trying to recoup some of the loss in building them?

I doubt that, and remember ASIC miner make additional monies by selling used old stock at whatever excessive price the market allows them because they have working shipable products. BFL currently don't, they are clearly not satisfied with anything they have shipped or they wouldn't continue to revise the basic offering.

The ASIC miner 'USB' thingy contains one ASIC chip, they have no NRE costs as they covered that a long time back. BFL are still burning NRE prototype by prototype. So a chip costs ASIC miner between $0.50 and $2 dependant on volume ordered and design intricacy...they make a huuuuuuge profit and bizarrely sell it at a price that a buyer will unlikely see a return on!?

[bowen151]

Is the "upgrade" mandatory then?

This is a bit shoddy, loads of you already shelled out to get your place in line, why should you have to shell out some more because the company is inept and couldnt deliver their promised performance/power targets.

[PuertoLibre]

Also, this is a response to requests from customers on their forum to be able to upgrade for an additional $100. It didn't come from BFL to begin with.

However, whether those customers on the forum were BFL employees or not I don't know.

50$ per extra GH/s? When the first GH/s are significantly less?

4.5Gh/s /divide by/ 149 = 33.11USD per Gh/s
5Gh/s /divide by/ 274 = 54.80USD per Gh/s

Hmm, I take it back, the Bitforce 5 is REALLY expensive per Gh/s.

I guess I will have to bear the bad news to you folks. Overclocking was one of the selling points of BFL hardware. The company stayed mostly quiet on the specifics of that. But many were led to believe it would be a free software option. (It is apparently not)

Avalon has free overclocking settings. BFL? Nope.

How many dollars does it take to get to 71Gh/s?

[Bitcoinorama]

Also, this is a response to requests from customers on their forum to be able to upgrade for an additional $100. It didn't come from BFL to begin with.

However, whether those customers on the forum were BFL employees or not I don't know.

50$ per extra GH/s? When the first GH/s are significantly less?

I guess I will have to bear the bad news to you folks. Overclocking was one of the selling points of BFL hardware. The company stayed mostly quiet on the specifics of that. But many were led to believe it would be a free software option. (It is apparently not)

Avalon has free overclocking settings. BFL? Nope.

How many dollars does it take to get to 71Gh/s?

Well it would take 252 Avalon chips.

Once NRE is out the way (it now is for Avalon), taking an industry price per ASIC of $0.50 - $2.50 per ASIC, it takes US$126(min)-US$630(Max) for Avalon to produce 71Gh/s.

After casing, wires, heatsinks, PCB, and optional PSU, the rest is profit.

Alternatively they sell the chips to you at a current BTC price equivalent to approx $10 a chip, or a combined 71Gh/s bundle at approx US$2,553 (today's equivalent - chips only). A tidy profit of between $1,923-$2,427!!!

[rograz]

Gut feeling, seems odd they would have two board revisions this late in the day otherwise.

I doubt they use different boards, more than likely just flashing a different firmware since the chips have additional headroom. As long as it's not mandatory I don't really see the problem, shit like this is more or less standard in this world, anyone really think HT is broken on every single 3570k? Yep better pay Intel to NOT disable it for a 3770k ;P

[seleme]

Also, this is a response to requests from customers on their forum to be able to upgrade for an additional $100. It didn't come from BFL to begin with.

However, whether those customers on the forum were BFL employees or not I don't know.

50$ per extra GH/s? When the first GH/s are significantly less?

I guess I will have to bear the bad news to you folks. Overclocking was one of the selling points of BFL hardware. The company stayed mostly quiet on the specifics of that. But many were led to believe it would be a free software option. (It is apparently not)

Avalon has free overclocking settings. BFL? Nope.

How many dollars does it take to get to 71Gh/s?

Well it would take 252 Avalon chips.

Once NRE is out the way (it now is for Avalon), taking an industry price per ASIC of $0.50 - $2.50 per ASIC, it takes US$126(min)-US$630(Max) for Avalon to produce 71Gh/s.

After casing, wires, heatsinks, PCB, and optional PSU, the rest is profit.

Alternatively they sell the chips to you at a current BTC price equivalent to approx $10 a chip, or a combined 71Gh/s bundle at approx US$2,553 (today's equivalent - chips only). A tidy profit of between $1,923-$2,427!!!

Nah, they're not in for money, it's to help decentralization  

ASIC manufacturers and maybe Avalon 1 batch users are the only who'll make good money from asics, it looks.

[Cluster2k]

I wonder if people who pay the extra money get their orders shipped first.  They better not be.

I have Jalapenos on order and will not be shipping more money off to BFL.  I would like them to ship what I ordered in mid 2012 ASAP, no upgrade offers, speed increases, new firmware.  Just ship what I paid for.  Simple.

[sniffinpoprocks]

Upgrade option has currently been removed. It was available for both older 4.5 and newer 5ghz orders.
Hopefully this option has been reconsidered.

[dentldir]

Apparently removed sometime today as it was there last night when I first checked it.

No word on the BFL forums on what it was about either.

[th3joker]

Weird it was there earlier today and now it's gone.

[Frizz23]

It looks like to me that they are selling a 2nd 2Ghs box for $100?!?

If that is true then that is a much better deal that the 300Mhs USB thingy for 2 BTC.

If it is a 2nd box then maybe they have a supply of rejects that don't meet the needed performance and are trying to recoup some of the loss in building them?

Selling: yes
Shipping: no

[sniffinpoprocks]

I'm just glad it's gone. Firmware's should be free.

[mvidetto]

Do a 360 and walk away...