Hi guys, first, I'm sure you have your own opinions about companies outside of the two mentioned in the topic, but I would like to focus on those two specifically in this post (dealing with house money here, so I'd like to at least see a ROI before the year is out). The price for both units specified is ~$6,100 w/ shipping and handling. Both expected to arrive in May if ordered today (so maybe I will be lucky to make 1 BTC a week by then; hopefully 10 days at most).
First up is Black Arrow (Software)'s "Prospero X-3". Personally, I love these guys. I remember spending something like 3.6BTC on a Lancelot + programmer (I did this more recently than I like to think about, but lets just say FPGAs actually had died out for the most part by then) and I got to know the crew at BAS very well (I still use the Lancelot board for other projects and the programmer comes in handy, most recently when dealing with BFL products =p).
Pros: Have shipped products before (though not ASICs). Seem to have only slipped roughly a month behind schedule and have been very upfront about it. I know the team and their support is amazing.
Cons: Unknown internal hardware running the control/mining software (not really a huge concern I just had to think of something to counter what I know about the device coming up). Chinese-based - everything is made in China, esp. chips and sometimes assembled locally, however this would involve dealing with China + DHL + a heavy box (I have had a very bad experience with this type of scenario and no one admitted fault; I considered going to small claims court for the missing $700 in hardware but instead took it as a lesson). Fits into a 2U rackmount space; slightly moot for me as I do not plan on hosting at a datacenter.
Next we have CoinTerra and their TerraMiner IV. I have heard the name TerraMiner get tossed around a lot but I know very little about them. Based on my limited research, they seem like a bunch that knows what they are doing and a final product seems within reach.
Pros: US-based! Of course this is what lead me to BFL in the first place and while I did receive a ROI many times over (only thanks to the fact that they were still accepting credit cards at the time I ordered), I know location is not everything (however the fact that I can use UPS Ground for my shipping needs lets me breath easier). I know that the Begalbone Black is up to the task of being used as a control unit (for those of you unfamiliar with this board, it is like a Raspberry Pi except more powerful) and frankly I really like the design and features (BAS is a bit vague when it comes to the internals of its box). I *love* how the design is basically split into two separate compartments.
Cons: Here is the big one... will they ship? Rather, will they hit a large snag before fulfillment commences? There are some great minds behind this but if I the hardware I order doesn't arrive until November, that will hurt my pocket (as well as my inner-geek). Also, it's a damnable beast! Yes the compartmentalizing and water-cooling features are neat, but besides being twice as tall as BAS's offering, the "nominal" power consumption is 1650 watts compared to Black Arrow's product (which when running stock, is estimated to come in at slightly over 1kW with a best guess of 1050 watts). Where I live, the power is slightly lower than the national average ($0.0911 per kWh) but that still adds up over time. I'm also worried about the possibility of it flipping a breaker, but thankfully I have a friend who is a licensed electrician who could move the circuit to a 2nd box I'm starting to populate if need be.
Thanks so much guys, I only have a few days to decide who I'm sending the wire transfer out to so if you have anything useful that you think I should know, please let me have it! Assuming this all works out, I might take a small percent (5% - 10%) and try and play the exchange market, but you better believe I'm sitting on any coins I make until they are worth 5 digits or dust =p.
