DIY FPGA Mining rig for any algorithm with fast ROI

[senseless]

Is this a joke:
"Cutting a custom copper plate from stock metal, and using SAC305 solder paste to solder it to a Thermaltake water cooling block using a toaster oven"

from: http://zetheron.com/index.php/hardware-modifications/

This is crypto after all!

We will be offering some of whitefire's mods on our boards when we ship. You won't need to do them yourself, if you don't want to.

Personally, I'm excited to do a little experimenting

[melpheos]

Is this a joke:
"Cutting a custom copper plate from stock metal, and using SAC305 solder paste to solder it to a Thermaltake water cooling block using a toaster oven"

from: http://zetheron.com/index.php/hardware-modifications/

I don't have the picture of my watercooling anymore but you cannot imagine how dangerous/stupid one can go to cool something that is not manufactured to support watercooling

[suchmoon]

What ASIC were you using? Mine only uses about $2/day electricity...

It's just a copy-pasta spammer peddling their shitnodes.

[Antyyyy]

How would mineral oil cooling work with this card? would it make sense to buy the modded card with VRM heatsinks and thermal upgrade?

[senseless]

Correct and these are not being designed and manufactured in secret, they can just as easily be forked away. And anyone that thinks because just their array can change on the fly does not understand the basic restrictions inherent in the design.

1. The supply chains to build these things are not infinite, and some lead time components stretch 42 weeks or more now.

2. You can not “fork away” from what’s coming in the FPGA world. There is exactly one piece - memory bandwidth - left, and it will be solved with in the year. It is already in the works.

OK, so your point 1 is making my point from above that they are not being made in secret and you point 2 is just wrong. Bandwidth is but one component and GPU's are not even Memory Bandwidth limited yet and when they are there is a thing called a bus that can be increased. Your arguments on memory can all be applied to any processing unit so your running on circular logic with that argument when it comes to a advantage one process has over another. Sure Programmable dies are not eproms anymore but what differentiates them from hard coded substrate is what makes it impossible for them to ever be on a even level. I am not arguing that they have not made great strides but you are in a fantasy land here if you think they can ever compete evenly.

This is just a foolish statement, it's about curtailing future centralization such as what we see with bitcoin. Lose the hyperbole. We tend to play the long game and are not the fools in this scene that can be manipulated like your off the cuff suggestion. You might be able to catch some redditt fools on that but not here. This has been a ongoing discussion since day one and in no way shape or form came as a surprise, as a matter of fact I would bet it was staved off for years just do to the discussions about what our stated reaction would be.

"some" reddit fools? You should check the subreddits again. Also, Those fools are what give your coin value. You might not want to call them fools.

Zcoin forked away from a single [marketing] comment. My lyra2z 8,8,8 design isn't even complete yet.

My coin? I do not control any coin, I just want to free the world from the yoke of tyranny through the monetary system. ATM monero is the best case scenario for that, if that changes then I will change with it. BTW that value was in existence long before those fools showed up, the only reason they are there is because its one big moderated echo chamber.

So Zcash forked away from a single marketing comment? I wouldn't know or care about that. I have no interest in any trusted setup, if I did I wouldn't be here I'd just stay under the banking yoke. BTW I find that hard to believe but stranger things have happened. My guess is you don't have all the information.

Your sole reason for being here may be monetary gain but don't automatically assume the same is for everyone else.

So just looking at FPGA mining. Intresting but what a price $4k-$5 per card. Any other cards out there cheaper and do the job.
I see intel offering some FPGA https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/fpga/devices.html

This is a niche industry that has been around for far longer than crypto currency and has it's place in many applications. IIRC inititially it was used as a testbed for cpu logic before the costly manufacturing process. It's alot more fun to find a bug in the logic before you roll out a few million cpu's. Just ask Intel.

I have no illusions about that fact. Like, some people are here to troll us into hardware discussions while being intentionally deceptive to anyone who doesn't know that what they're saying is factually inaccurate.

Exhausting...

[Hueristic]

....

I have no illusions about that fact. Like, some people are here to troll us into hardware discussions while being intentionally deceptive to anyone who doesn't know that what they're saying is factually inaccurate.

Exhausting...

Please point out where I've been inaccurate. I'm here because I find the new FPGAs interesting, not to troll and was considering picking one up.

[senseless]

....

I have no illusions about that fact. Like, some people are here to troll us into hardware discussions while being intentionally deceptive to anyone who doesn't know that what they're saying is factually inaccurate.

Exhausting...

Please point out where I've been inaccurate. I'm here because I find the new FPGAs interesting, not to troll and was considering picking one up.

Everything you said about memory bandwidth and gpus.

(waiting for the incoming "zomg well show me how im wrong and waste some of your time" -- I'm not going to, I'm not your professor or your personal wikipedia.).

[GPUHoarder]

Correct and these are not being designed and manufactured in secret, they can just as easily be forked away. And anyone that thinks because just their array can change on the fly does not understand the basic restrictions inherent in the design.

1. The supply chains to build these things are not infinite, and some lead time components stretch 42 weeks or more now.

2. You can not “fork away” from what’s coming in the FPGA world. There is exactly one piece - memory bandwidth - left, and it will be solved with in the year. It is already in the works.

OK, so your point 1 is making my point from above that they are not being made in secret and you point 2 is just wrong. Bandwidth is but one component and GPU's are not even Memory Bandwidth limited yet and when they are there is a thing called a bus that can be increased. Your arguments on memory can all be applied to any processing unit so your running on circular logic with that argument when it comes to a advantage one process has over another. Sure Programmable dies are not eproms anymore but what differentiates them from hard coded substrate is what makes it impossible for them to ever be on a even level. I am not arguing that they have not made great strides but you are in a fantasy land here if you think they can ever compete evenly.

This is just a foolish statement, it's about curtailing future centralization such as what we see with bitcoin. Lose the hyperbole. We tend to play the long game and are not the fools in this scene that can be manipulated like your off the cuff suggestion. You might be able to catch some redditt fools on that but not here. This has been a ongoing discussion since day one and in no way shape or form came as a surprise, as a matter of fact I would bet it was staved off for years just do to the discussions about what our stated reaction would be.

"some" reddit fools? You should check the subreddits again. Also, Those fools are what give your coin value. You might not want to call them fools.

Zcoin forked away from a single [marketing] comment. My lyra2z 8,8,8 design isn't even complete yet.

My coin? I do not control any coin, I just want to free the world from the yoke of tyranny through the monetary system. ATM monero is the best case scenario for that, if that changes then I will change with it. BTW that value was in existence long before those fools showed up, the only reason they are there is because its one big moderated echo chamber.

So Zcash forked away from a single marketing comment? I wouldn't know or care about that. I have no interest in any trusted setup, if I did I wouldn't be here I'd just stay under the banking yoke. BTW I find that hard to believe but stranger things have happened. My guess is you don't have all the information.

Your sole reason for being here may be monetary gain but don't automatically assume the same is for everyone else.

So just looking at FPGA mining. Intresting but what a price $4k-$5 per card. Any other cards out there cheaper and do the job.
I see intel offering some FPGA https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/fpga/devices.html

This is a niche industry that has been around for far longer than crypto currency and has it's place in many applications. IIRC inititially it was used as a testbed for cpu logic before the costly manufacturing process. It's alot more fun to find a bug in the logic before you roll out a few million cpu's. Just ask Intel.

Your comments are a circle around things that aren’t true - ETH is absolutely bandwidth limited, achieving incredible efficiencies on many GPUs. No one said FPGAs were being produced by the millions in secret.

“Bus can be increased” - FPGAs have the largest “bus” of any general purpose reconfigurable computational device bar none. What are you referring to? FPGA is also far from a niche industry, enjoying a market cap as big as the big GPU manufactures. If you want to argue give me real numbers in technical terms. Your statements are largely incoherent.

[melpheos]

How much hash I can get out of a Nexys Video Artix 7 at whatever algo it is good at ? I can get them from a retail shop in my city, so I will buy them just for fun and experiment. and how much power does it consume ? Do these FPGAs require a custom miner software or they can work with gpu miners like ccminer. Can they work with linux ?

Start with one as you are not a developper and learn (a lot)

[gameboy366]

How much hash I can get out of a Nexys Video Artix 7 at whatever algo it is good at ? I can get them from a retail shop in my city, so I will buy them just for fun and experiment. and how much power does it consume ? Do these FPGAs require a custom miner software or they can work with gpu miners like ccminer ?

Start with one as you are not a developper and learn (a lot)

Thanks for suggestion but can you answer any one of my real question.

[melpheos]

How much hash I can get out of a Nexys Video Artix 7 at whatever algo it is good at ? I can get them from a retail shop in my city, so I will buy them just for fun and experiment. and how much power does it consume ? Do these FPGAs require a custom miner software or they can work with gpu miners like ccminer ?

Start with one as you are not a developper and learn (a lot)

Thanks for suggestion but can you answer any one of my real question.

So you want someone else to do your research ?
Can you program a FPGA ?
Do you have experience in developpement ?
Have you checked the datasheet of the Nexys card ?
What algorithm are you talking about ?
You haven't done any research at all but except to be spoon fed :-/

[Hueristic]

....

I have no illusions about that fact. Like, some people are here to troll us into hardware discussions while being intentionally deceptive to anyone who doesn't know that what they're saying is factually inaccurate.

Exhausting...

Please point out where I've been inaccurate. I'm here because I find the new FPGAs interesting, not to troll and was considering picking one up.

Everything you said about memory bandwidth and gpus.

(waiting for the incoming "zomg well show me how im wrong and waste some of your time" -- I'm not going to, I'm not your professor or your personal wikipedia.).

Your correct in specific cases while I am correct globally.

[lesjokolat]

Some answers:

- The exact part number for VCU1525 is: DK-U1-VCU1525-A-G
(this is the version with a fan; it also comes in a fanless version which needs some type of external air movement system, not recommended; definitely go for the version with a fan)

- I realize even a single VU9P FPGA card might be out of range (pricewise) for some people.  The Avnet KU040 is $975:
https://www.avnet.com/shop/us/products/avnet-engineering-services/aes-ku040-db-g-3074457345630043740/
This FPGA is much smaller than the VU9P.  It can mine Keccak at 3GH/s, SHA-224 is profitable as well, and I am trying to fit Tribus into it which would run at 600MH/s and be quite profitable, but it is a tight squeeze to fit Tribus in there and I can't promise it yet.

- The smallest/cheapest board is the Nexys Video
https://store.digilentinc.com/nexys-video-artix-7-fpga-trainer-board-for-multimedia-applications/
(also available from Digikey and Avnet)
This board has an even smaller FPGA and can only do Keccak and SHA-224 (Bismuth), with an ROI of around 200 days.  So it isn't the most profitable, but it does have the amazing advantage that it needs no fan only can get by with a passive heat sink. 

- Some people have asked me about future boards.  There is the upcoming VCU1526 (VU13P FPGA), XUPP3R-VU13P, as well as the VU35P/VU37P FPGA's with high bandwidth memory (most useful for ethereum).  I do have some plans on supporting upcoming boards, it does require changes to the software, but for the near term the only four boards I am supporting are the VCU1525, XUPP3R-VU9P, KU040 and Nexys Video.  The reason I am focusing on those boards is they have the best ROI.  The absolute biggest FPGA available (VU13P) used in some of the 'upcoming' boards is so much more expensive that the ROI is actually worse.  It's kind of like the Titan V GPU; faster than a 1080 Ti, but the extra price isn't worth it.

For clarity sake. What mining software do you have that will mine Keccak ? Is it the same one that run the VCU1525? It has a 4% dev fee as well?  thanks in advance

[Xinhad]

What is the eth performance of this card? what is the estimated price?

Best Regards.

[melpheos]

What is the eth performance of this card? what is the estimated price?

Best Regards.

According to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9DJ18y8LcI&t=2s it could be 1.9Gh/s Ethash at 150w which is incredible

[gameboy366]

How much hash I can get out of a Nexys Video Artix 7 at whatever algo it is good at ? I can get them from a retail shop in my city, so I will buy them just for fun and experiment. and how much power does it consume ? Do these FPGAs require a custom miner software or they can work with gpu miners like ccminer ?

Start with one as you are not a developper and learn (a lot)

Thanks for suggestion but can you answer any one of my real question.

So you want someone else to do your research ?
Can you program a FPGA ?
Do you have experience in developpement ?
Have you checked the datasheet of the Nexys card ?
What algorithm are you talking about ?
You haven't done any research at all but except to be spoon fed :-/

Didn't you read my question ? Why even bother replying when you don't even know. Waste of post.

[Xinhad]

What is the eth performance of this card? what is the estimated price?

Best Regards.

According to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9DJ18y8LcI&t=2s it could be 1.9Gh/s Ethash at 150w which is incredible

Dude it's true?

[powerload79]

According to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9DJ18y8LcI&t=2s it could be 1.9Gh/s Ethash at 150w which is incredible

If the video isn't an outright fake, I'm going to hazard a guess on what is going on here. It is almost certainly doing a solo running benchmark run with 0 generation DAG, which fits into the card's UltraRAM.
You'll never achieve that kind of a number any other way. Even if you put in QDR2 SRAM modules in those DIMM slots it won't help you because IIRC you can only get 288MB worth of those in - far less than the 3GB+ you need for current DAG size for ethash based coins.

[melpheos]

What is the eth performance of this card? what is the estimated price?

Best Regards.

According to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9DJ18y8LcI&t=2s it could be 1.9Gh/s Ethash at 150w which is incredible

Dude it's true?

I doubt it... There is probably some trick used here

[ilia_2s]

Dude it's true?

It can't be true! Due to memory bandwidth limitation. There is a lot of many FPGA-mining manipulations last time, IMHO it's only a marketing strategy of some dev-kits distribution corps.