Acorn M.2 FPGA based GPU Accelerator

[natedagger]

Looks interesting, do you have an aprox. order/ship date or not yet?

Mid to Late June for all orders and information. First batch ship a few weeks after.

Thanks GPUH and put me down for 14 of them, best guess.  I haven't made it out to my rigs to know how many m2 slots I have...

To all: does anyone want to help me compile a list of the best parts necessary to run the accelerator? I am such a novice, so forgive me if this isn't helpful.  Here's my first iteration, and of course let me say that I haven't ordered yet and am not "counting on" GPUH to come through or any of that.  Just trying to be ready if this ends up being a "thing."  Without further ado:


https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?N=100007627%20600307108&IsNodeId=1&Submit=ENE .  This is a starting point that's a filter for the mobos with the most pcie x16 slots.  You have to dig in each one to find out the true numbers - it's not entirely clear to me but it looks like even with that filter, some slots are the x16 length but not x16 strength.  For example, this ASUS one looks to be able to provide 4 slots at x16 strength (power? data? not even sure what x16 is, lol) https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182968

As far as CPU's, it looks like they need to be strong but nobody has stated how strong.  It also sounds like iterations of software could come out that rely less on the CPU's strength.  Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

m2: Well obviously you need to have at least 1.  It has been said that 1x m2 slot can work for multiple cards, but it isn't entirely clear whether or not 2 will work better enough to justify buying 2 for 4 cards, 2 for 6 cards, etc.  I could have missed something or obviously something could have went over my head.

@Iamtutut has the x470 which seems a great value.  It's here: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813144177&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Motherboards+-+AMD-_-N82E16813144177&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgMnYBRDRARIsANC2dfk4QffGNjnVh_uI4dD9TGFwDHk6Kz4uV5Dxoz2wodzJ5Pi1dkECO8waAt7kEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

It indicates it has 3 x16 slots, but one covers up an m2.  That will probably be OK (3 GPU's on 1 m2 connected FPGA accelerator), but I def am not an authority.  That represents my best target on first pass.

Hopefully this helps, spurns some discussion and research. 

Thanks,

Nate

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[starmax]

Got a couple Ryzen Rigs with open M.2 slots, both have 6x GPUs (all using risers).  Will be curious to see how this performs.

Thank you!

[cryptodunno]

sonds tempting, but cannot open website, it`s simply doesnt load.
will it be available for worldwide shipping?

What url/ browser?

opened it using proxy and already completed the survey.
hope for a smooth start and looking forward to see actual tests

[P4ndoraBox]

Completed the survey.

Thank you.

[grendel25]

David,

This is great!  Thank you for sharing your information with all of us.  I am really excited to see you develop this product and if it all looks as attractive as it does now whenever pre-ordering comes online then I'll be interested in possibly 10+ depending on performance characteristics as this is tested and developed further.

I guess the only question I have at this point is regarding the tangibility of reporting.  You said you wouldn't want to release some shoddy looking video but do you plan to release at least 'some' video that is of a reasonable quality?  

Other than that, I would just like to share this little write up on M.2 slot tech.  50-650% data transfer boost is really impressive  https://www.howtogeek.com/320421/what-is-the-m.2-expansion-slot/

[GPUHoarder]

David,

This is great!  Thank you for sharing your information with all of us.  I am really excited to see you develop this product and if it all looks as attractive as it does now whenever pre-ordering comes online then I'll be interested in possibly 10+ depending on performance characteristics as this is tested and developed further.

I guess the only question I have at this point is regarding the tangibility of reporting.  You said you wouldn't want to release some shoddy looking video but do you plan to release at least 'some' video that is of a reasonable quality?  

Other than that, I would just like to share this little write up on M.2 slot tech.  50-650% data transfer boost is really impressive  https://www.howtogeek.com/320421/what-is-the-m.2-expansion-slot/

I’m sure we can produce a video. I’ll never understand why so many people like to watch videos online, but ok

[Sgsg666]

David,

This is great!  Thank you for sharing your information with all of us.  I am really excited to see you develop this product and if it all looks as attractive as it does now whenever pre-ordering comes online then I'll be interested in possibly 10+ depending on performance characteristics as this is tested and developed further.

I guess the only question I have at this point is regarding the tangibility of reporting.  You said you wouldn't want to release some shoddy looking video but do you plan to release at least 'some' video that is of a reasonable quality?  

Other than that, I would just like to share this little write up on M.2 slot tech.  50-650% data transfer boost is really impressive  https://www.howtogeek.com/320421/what-is-the-m.2-expansion-slot/

I’m sure we can produce a video. I’ll never understand why so many people like to watch videos online, but ok

Isnt the cost of entry too high for normal miners? You already admitted that prices for memory and FPGA's are high. Are you guys trying to be like AMD/Intel/Nvidia?(using large demand to bring down prices). That would be awesome for sure(low wattage&high h/s), but bitmain will just play dirty again and sell FPGAs too. Conclusion: no GPU miners, almost all coins are mined by FPGA's, no Asics since we have forks. Bitmain won't hurt normal miners at the cost of no gaming card??? (not guaranteed since they have a lot of engineers)hmmm...

[cryptodunno]

David,

This is great!  Thank you for sharing your information with all of us.  I am really excited to see you develop this product and if it all looks as attractive as it does now whenever pre-ordering comes online then I'll be interested in possibly 10+ depending on performance characteristics as this is tested and developed further.

I guess the only question I have at this point is regarding the tangibility of reporting.  You said you wouldn't want to release some shoddy looking video but do you plan to release at least 'some' video that is of a reasonable quality?  

Other than that, I would just like to share this little write up on M.2 slot tech.  50-650% data transfer boost is really impressive  https://www.howtogeek.com/320421/what-is-the-m.2-expansion-slot/

I’m sure we can produce a video. I’ll never understand why so many people like to watch videos online, but ok

Isnt the cost of entry too high for normal miners? You already admitted that prices for memory and FPGA's are high. Are you guys trying to be like AMD/Intel/Nvidia?(using large demand to bring down prices). That would be awesome for sure(low wattage&high h/s), but bitmain will just play dirty again and sell FPGAs too. Conclusion: no GPU miners, almost all coins are mined by FPGA's, no Asics since we have forks. Bitmain won't hurt normal miners at the cost of no gaming card??? (not guaranteed since they have a lot of engineers)hmmm...

dont forget that everything is possible in crypto.
I`m 99% sure that once FPGA usability will be much more explored in mining Chineese vendors will say it`s work and create some cheap FPGAs..
OR there will be such projects like this one which will allow to strenghten GPU mining.
GPU mining will not yet die, there are too many black areas in mining still.

[GPUHoarder]

David,

This is great!  Thank you for sharing your information with all of us.  I am really excited to see you develop this product and if it all looks as attractive as it does now whenever pre-ordering comes online then I'll be interested in possibly 10+ depending on performance characteristics as this is tested and developed further.

I guess the only question I have at this point is regarding the tangibility of reporting.  You said you wouldn't want to release some shoddy looking video but do you plan to release at least 'some' video that is of a reasonable quality?  

Other than that, I would just like to share this little write up on M.2 slot tech.  50-650% data transfer boost is really impressive  https://www.howtogeek.com/320421/what-is-the-m.2-expansion-slot/

I’m sure we can produce a video. I’ll never understand why so many people like to watch videos online, but ok

Isnt the cost of entry too high for normal miners? You already admitted that prices for memory and FPGA's are high. Are you guys trying to be like AMD/Intel/Nvidia?(using large demand to bring down prices). That would be awesome for sure(low wattage&high h/s), but bitmain will just play dirty again and sell FPGAs too. Conclusion: no GPU miners, almost all coins are mined by FPGA's, no Asics since we have forks. Bitmain won't hurt normal miners at the cost of no gaming card??? (not guaranteed since they have a lot of engineers)hmmm...

dont forget that everything is possible in crypto.
I`m 99% sure that once FPGA usability will be much more explored in mining Chineese vendors will say it`s work and create some cheap FPGAs..
OR there will be such projects like this one which will allow to strenghten GPU mining.
GPU mining will not yet die, there are too many black areas in mining still.

Acorns already outperform price on GPUs on some algorithms.

And that’s only going to progress. Personally I’m not going to stop until we have GPU price parity for FPGA power at FPGA cost. GPUs are not data crunchers they’re just good at it. Right took for the job.

[ManeBjorn]

Now this is indeed cool. Nice work. I look forward to getting some of these.

[nsummy]

Looks interesting, do you have an aprox. order/ship date or not yet?

Mid to Late June for all orders and information. First batch ship a few weeks after.

Thanks GPUH and put me down for 14 of them, best guess.  I haven't made it out to my rigs to know how many m2 slots I have...

To all: does anyone want to help me compile a list of the best parts necessary to run the accelerator? I am such a novice, so forgive me if this isn't helpful.  Here's my first iteration, and of course let me say that I haven't ordered yet and am not "counting on" GPUH to come through or any of that.  Just trying to be ready if this ends up being a "thing."  Without further ado:


https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?N=100007627%20600307108&IsNodeId=1&Submit=ENE .  This is a starting point that's a filter for the mobos with the most pcie x16 slots.  You have to dig in each one to find out the true numbers - it's not entirely clear to me but it looks like even with that filter, some slots are the x16 length but not x16 strength.  For example, this ASUS one looks to be able to provide 4 slots at x16 strength (power? data? not even sure what x16 is, lol) https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182968

As far as CPU's, it looks like they need to be strong but nobody has stated how strong.  It also sounds like iterations of software could come out that rely less on the CPU's strength.  Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

m2: Well obviously you need to have at least 1.  It has been said that 1x m2 slot can work for multiple cards, but it isn't entirely clear whether or not 2 will work better enough to justify buying 2 for 4 cards, 2 for 6 cards, etc.  I could have missed something or obviously something could have went over my head.

@Iamtutut has the x470 which seems a great value.  It's here: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813144177&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Motherboards+-+AMD-_-N82E16813144177&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgMnYBRDRARIsANC2dfk4QffGNjnVh_uI4dD9TGFwDHk6Kz4uV5Dxoz2wodzJ5Pi1dkECO8waAt7kEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

It indicates it has 3 x16 slots, but one covers up an m2.  That will probably be OK (3 GPU's on 1 m2 connected FPGA accelerator), but I def am not an authority.  That represents my best target on first pass.

Hopefully this helps, spurns some discussion and research. 

Thanks,

Nate

The x16 (or 16 lanes) number refers to the bandwidth and size, that said, just because it is a x16 size slot does not mean it will run full bandwidth.  The processor has a certain number of PCIE lanes that it will support, as does the chipset.  Most modern consumer intel cpus will support 16 lanes, with the chipset supporting another 16+ lanes.  For example the z270 chipset supports 24, so any system with that will support 40 lanes total.  This is why you see these mining motherboards with an insane amount of 1x sized pci slots to use with risers.  Normally mining doesnt require much pcie bandwidth as everything is computed on the GPUs.  But when you have instances where the gpu needs to communicate with something else (i.e. an accelerator) then bandwidth becomes an issue

[vapourminer]

It indicates it has 3 x16 slots, but one covers up an m2.  That will probably be OK (3 GPU's on 1 m2 connected FPGA accelerator), but I def am not an authority.  That represents my best target on first pass.

Hopefully this helps, spurns some discussion and research. 

The x16 (or 16 lanes) number refers to the bandwidth and size, that said, just because it is a x16 size slot does not mean it will run full bandwidth.  The processor has a certain number of PCIE lanes that it will support, as does the chipset.  Most modern consumer intel cpus will support 16 lanes, with the chipset supporting another 16+ lanes.  For example the z270 chipset supports 24, so any system with that will support 40 lanes total.  This is why you see these mining motherboards with an insane amount of 1x sized pci slots to use with risers.  Normally mining doesnt require much pcie bandwidth as everything is computed on the GPUs.  But when you have instances where the gpu needs to communicate with something else (i.e. an accelerator) then bandwidth becomes an issue

short version is this (pls correct me if im wrong):

acorn needs 4 pcie lanes at gen 3 speed. this can be via an acorn in a m2 slot or in a pcie-m2 adapter provided the pcie slot that adapter is in is configured for 4 pcie lanes at gen 3 speed. this allows up to 4 gpus, each connected with one pcie lane at gen 3 speed to be accelerated. ie cards on x1 risers for example.

not all 16x slots have 16 pcie lanes, the bios can change that to a point.

my onda board (8 full size x16 slots, most that run with one pcie lane) for example has no m2 slots, but slot 0 can be run with 4 pcie lanes at gen 3 speed. so i put a pcie->m2 adapter with the acorn in that, and 4 cards get the benefit. the three other cards run on their own with no help from the acorn.

btw AFAIK cpu power has not been mentioned yet. G4400 here but easy to upgrade. memory was mentioned also but no minimum, just more is better.

not sure if this is what you were asking, if not my apologies

[cryptodunno]

David,

This is great!  Thank you for sharing your information with all of us.  I am really excited to see you develop this product and if it all looks as attractive as it does now whenever pre-ordering comes online then I'll be interested in possibly 10+ depending on performance characteristics as this is tested and developed further.

I guess the only question I have at this point is regarding the tangibility of reporting.  You said you wouldn't want to release some shoddy looking video but do you plan to release at least 'some' video that is of a reasonable quality?  

Other than that, I would just like to share this little write up on M.2 slot tech.  50-650% data transfer boost is really impressive  https://www.howtogeek.com/320421/what-is-the-m.2-expansion-slot/

I’m sure we can produce a video. I’ll never understand why so many people like to watch videos online, but ok

Isnt the cost of entry too high for normal miners? You already admitted that prices for memory and FPGA's are high. Are you guys trying to be like AMD/Intel/Nvidia?(using large demand to bring down prices). That would be awesome for sure(low wattage&high h/s), but bitmain will just play dirty again and sell FPGAs too. Conclusion: no GPU miners, almost all coins are mined by FPGA's, no Asics since we have forks. Bitmain won't hurt normal miners at the cost of no gaming card??? (not guaranteed since they have a lot of engineers)hmmm...

dont forget that everything is possible in crypto.
I`m 99% sure that once FPGA usability will be much more explored in mining Chineese vendors will say it`s work and create some cheap FPGAs..
OR there will be such projects like this one which will allow to strenghten GPU mining.
GPU mining will not yet die, there are too many black areas in mining still.

Acorns already outperform price on GPUs on some algorithms.

And that’s only going to progress. Personally I’m not going to stop until we have GPU price parity for FPGA power at FPGA cost. GPUs are not data crunchers they’re just good at it. Right took for the job.

sonds tempting, so looking forward to see the tests and sale/shipping release as soonest

[dragonmike]

Very interesting, have completed the survey.

Sounds like it could be a great addition to a sturdy rig that might need a bit of a lift. I happen to have one or two of those!

We're indeed going to need some detailed real world scenarios, eg. what to expect from mobos with three full size slots running in 8x,8x,4x with risers, without risers, with weak CPU, low RAM etc...

[darkdude]

It indicates it has 3 x16 slots, but one covers up an m2.  That will probably be OK (3 GPU's on 1 m2 connected FPGA accelerator), but I def am not an authority.  That represents my best target on first pass.

Hopefully this helps, spurns some discussion and research. 

The x16 (or 16 lanes) number refers to the bandwidth and size, that said, just because it is a x16 size slot does not mean it will run full bandwidth.  The processor has a certain number of PCIE lanes that it will support, as does the chipset.  Most modern consumer intel cpus will support 16 lanes, with the chipset supporting another 16+ lanes.  For example the z270 chipset supports 24, so any system with that will support 40 lanes total.  This is why you see these mining motherboards with an insane amount of 1x sized pci slots to use with risers.  Normally mining doesnt require much pcie bandwidth as everything is computed on the GPUs.  But when you have instances where the gpu needs to communicate with something else (i.e. an accelerator) then bandwidth becomes an issue

short version is this (pls correct me if im wrong):

acorn needs 4 pcie lanes at gen 3 speed. this can be via an acorn in a m2 slot or in a pcie-m2 adapter provided the pcie slot that adapter is in is configured for 4 pcie lanes at gen 3 speed. this allows up to 4 gpus, each connected with one pcie lane at gen 3 speed to be accelerated. ie cards on x1 risers for example.

not all 16x slots have 16 pcie lanes, the bios can change that to a point.

my onda board (8 full size x16 slots, most that run with one pcie lane) for example has no m2 slots, but slot 0 can be run with 4 pcie lanes at gen 3 speed. so i put a pcie->m2 adapter with the acorn in that, and 4 cards get the benefit. the three other cards run on their own with no help from the acorn.

btw AFAIK cpu power has not been mentioned yet. G4400 here but easy to upgrade. memory was mentioned also but no minimum, just more is better.

not sure if this is what you were asking, if not my apologies

I agree with everything you said but with one thing.  My understanding from GPUH was that each of the attached GPUs only required one pcie lane at gen 2.0 speeds, not 3.0.  I could be wrong here as well, that is what I understood from the discord channel.

And as for CPU, on the discord channel, I asked about how old our CPUs can be, and i7 gen 2 are fine, heck even old Pentium e5200 are fine, so other than running your OS, the CPU does not play a role

[Bittrboy]

Considering I have placed orders for VCU1525's, as well as having plenty of different models of GPU's/mobo/cpu's to test with, I would love to do a side by side comparison on the price/performance of these. Also very interested in seeing how this does paired with a 1950x vega rig. Keep us updated.

[bswilmington]

I'm also waiting for updates on these.  Maybe more info on the best mother board configuration.  I currently have a Biostar with 1 16x and 5 1x slots and no m2.  Wondering what the best setup would be?  Connect it in the 16x slot?  Or buy another mother board with m2 connector?  Would the difference in performance pay for the motherboard in time of maybe 6 months?

Keep us updated

[The Denver Crypto Group]

I'll take 3:    $329 on the high end highest speed grade CLE-215+ 1GB DRAM version, Thank You!

[lesjokolat]

How important is pcie 3.0 4x bandwidth for this FPGA? Because I use 8 gpu riserless Onda mobos; the only way it'll connect is via m2 key host boards on Pcie 1x lanes.

Unfortunately if you don’t have any place with at least 4x PCIe 2.0 it will be difficult to use in the GPU hybrid role. You would be limited to standalone algorithms.

I would like to pre order
1 gig version please.

thanks

[mineyour.biz]

Survey completed- and syndicated on YouTube