BFL Single in the wild (BOUNTY RECEIVED!!!)

[SysRun]

Now, can we run a few units on a Raspberry Pi? This could very quickly make a turnkey solution with very little power consumption added.

I can see it now, 3/14 special offer from BFL.

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[pieppiep]

Or a SheevaPlug.
Are the Raspberry Pi computers on stock?

[SysRun]

Or a SheevaPlug.
Are the Raspberry Pi computers on stock?

They've announced that pre-orders will be available by the end of this month. There was a part shortage at their assembly plant, but I think they have that sorted now.   <edit> check http://raspberrypi.com/ for updates. It should show up there some time soon.

[abeaulieu]

Raspberry Pi would be a great option as a host computer. Only problem is driver/communications compatibility, but it should be a worthwhile pursuit. My guess is it would be quicker to obtain a RasPi than a BFL single.

[bulanula]

Raspberry Pi would be a great option as a host computer. Only problem is driver/communications compatibility, but it should be a worthwhile pursuit. My guess is it would be quicker to obtain a RasPi than a BFL single.

Yeah. If one orders a single now when can we expect delivery ?

In 3 months

[cypherdoc]

If this is real, then the "Rig Box" would be still a much much more efficient beast in comparison.

50.4 Giga Hash / S @ 2,500w @ $24,980

About $4M in these would take over the network.

or "add/support"  the network 

[Syke]

Even "shifting somewhat", it's several times more efficient. So provided it's even close to their claims, it's immense.

Why would you assume that? Their initial claims were wildly wrong.

[lueo]

What a great product! I want one now!

Do they support international shipping? (I'm in Asia)

[SysRun]

What a great product! I want one now!

Do they support international shipping? (I'm in Asia)

http://www.butterflylabs.com/pre-order-form/

[Turbor]

I like that BFL got their product running. Well done ! Now create a new box to cover those fans

[jamesg]

OK. Now that the product seems to be genuine I have some questions for you all :

-what do you think will happen with the rest of the network ? Will all GPU miners cease to be profitable like the CPU miners ? What about free elec people ?

-has all the FPGA competition been wiped out with this weapon ?

-what will an ASIC do to the bitcoin network ?

-could this still be a long con and how can we see the warning signs in that case ?

Discuss !

Please take your FUD discussion elsewhere....

This topic was to validate that the BFL single is not a unicorn and to collect the bounty.

[Epoch]

OK. Now that the product seems to be genuine I have some questions for you all :
-what do you think will happen with the rest of the network ? Will all GPU miners cease to be profitable like the CPU miners ? What about free elec people ?
-has all the FPGA competition been wiped out with this weapon ?
-what will an ASIC do to the bitcoin network ?
-could this still be a long con and how can we see the warning signs in that case ?

Consider this: Even if 100% of the network suddenly replaced their GPUs with FPGA, come December the block reward gets cut in half and the Single will be generating $1.50/day (assuming today's difficulty and BTC/USD exchange). That gives it a 400-day payback period. Is that good? Not particularly.

In other words, look at the Big Picture: the days of 'cheap' bitcoins are almost over. Mine while you can now; next year it won't be so rosy.

DeathAndTaxes already showed that the Single isn't significantly more power efficient (Mhash/W) than an undervolted and underclocked 5970. If you have cheap power, you may be better off with something like a 5970 (which is cheaper than a Single to begin with). All other FPGA offerings (X6500, Icarus, ...) are at least TWICE as efficient as BFL because BFL is using old 65nm tech. So, no, the other FPGA competition has certainly NOT been wiped out with this.

[nmat]

OK. Now that the product seems to be genuine I have some questions for you all :

-what do you think will happen with the rest of the network ? Will all GPU miners cease to be profitable like the CPU miners ? What about free elec people ?

-has all the FPGA competition been wiped out with this weapon ?

-what will an ASIC do to the bitcoin network ?

-could this still be a long con and how can we see the warning signs in that case ?

Discuss !

1 - Yes, but slowly because FPGAs are much harder to buy (you need to wait for production, shipping, etc.) and because people with cheap electricity don't really care about this right now. Eventually the difficulty increase due to specialised hardware will push out GPUs, but this will probably take years.
2 - No. Icarus is nearly 2 times as efficient so it could be a better choice for people with expensive electricity. I also believe that we will see other products similar to BFL's in the following months
3 - It will increase the difficulty
4 - N/A

[triplehelix]

Consider this: Even if 100% of the network suddenly replaced their GPUs with FPGA, come December the block reward gets cut in half and the Single will be generating $1.50/day (assuming today's difficulty and BTC/USD exchange). That gives it a 400-day payback period. Is that good? Not particularly.

yeah, but there are still ~300 days until the approximate time when the reward will be halved to 25btc.

[simonk83]

I'm enjoying this immensely  Great to see proper discussion instead of just inane comments from bored people.   Looking forward to the community working together to improve the software over time

[Epoch]

Consider this: Even if 100% of the network suddenly replaced their GPUs with FPGA, come December the block reward gets cut in half and the Single will be generating $1.50/day (assuming today's difficulty and BTC/USD exchange). That gives it a 400-day payback period. Is that good? Not particularly.

yeah, but there are still ~300 days until the approximate time when the reward will be halved to 25btc.

If you are planning to mine with a Single, there are only 300 days if you ordered it back in November and it arrives now. People ordering today will not see it for 2 months. There go 60 days.  

[bulanula]

I'm enjoying this immensely  Great to see proper discussion instead of just inane comments from bored people.   Looking forward to the community working together to improve the software over time

Yeah there is no point trolling when they have seemingly delivered.

I really am thinking about what to do next.

I need people smarter than me to discuss so I can learn from them.

People like D&T etc.

Buy FPGA or GPUs

Can these singles really push the difficulty sky high just like the GPUs did to the CPUs ?

Lots of people that did not have enough cooling, amps, skill etc. can now start mining at the click of a button with the speed of a 5970 !

I am unsure as to how the mining environment and competition will change from here on etc.

[triplehelix]

Consider this: Even if 100% of the network suddenly replaced their GPUs with FPGA, come December the block reward gets cut in half and the Single will be generating $1.50/day (assuming today's difficulty and BTC/USD exchange). That gives it a 400-day payback period. Is that good? Not particularly.

yeah, but there are still ~300 days until the approximate time when the reward will be halved to 25btc.

If you are planning to mine with a Single, there are only 300 days if you ordered it back in November and it arrives now. People ordering today will not see it for 2 months. Then there will be 250 days left.  

yeah, i thought about the production delays as i was posting.  hopefully many of the production kinks have been worked out, and they will be in a position to start delivering in a quicker more efficient manner.

regardless though, as long as you can get a unit in the next few months, you should be able to take a huge chunk off the time to payback prior to the adjustment.

[The-Real-Link]

Wow those look really tempting now.  Pretty close to a 5970 / 6990 but without the power, heat, or noise.  But as was said, they're only *just* slightly more efficient for MH/$.

[Turbor]

I am unsure as to how the mining environment and competition will change from here on etc.

You can't go wrong with Spartan 6 boards.