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yohan (OP)
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April 30, 2012, 10:02:57 AM |
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You might well be right although in our standard products, i.e. ones you see on our website, that go into "normal" applications we have only ever had 2-5 boards returned, or reported, as faulty over 9 years of making boards. That's over an awful lot of boards and a fail rate way below industry norms. Resultantly we don't have to think about warranties very much. The Bitcoin market is different in that we know people are going to try and stress these boards to get the maximum out of them and will attempt to take them beyond sensible operation. I have even seen posts on the forum where people have blown boards by abuse and are being told to try and "cover up" to get a warranty repair.Now in my book that's not fair to the manufacturers either.
So in here there is a fairness thing between us and the customer and that is something we need to try and get right and we will do our best on that front. Most of our existing traditional customers have had an excellent service from us and keep buying again and again and we think we have done a good job there. We are hoping that the Bitcoin community with end up thinking in the same way and that is a matter of time whilst you all get to know us and what we do.
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bulanula
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April 30, 2012, 10:07:32 AM |
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You might well be right although in our standard products, i.e. ones you see on our website, that go into "normal" applications we have only ever had 2-5 boards returned, or reported, as faulty over 9 years of making boards. That's over an awful lot of boards and a fail rate way below industry norms. Resultantly we don't have to think about warranties very much. The Bitcoin market is different in that we know people are going to try and stress these boards to get the maximum out of them and will attempt to take them beyond sensible operation. I have even seen posts on the forum where people have blown boards by abuse and are being told to try and "cover up" to get a warranty repair.Now in my book that's not fair to the manufacturers either.
So in here there is a fairness thing between us and the customer and that is something we need to try and get right and we will do our best on that front. Most of our existing traditional customers have had an excellent service from us and keep buying again and again and we think we have done a good job there. We are hoping that the Bitcoin community with end up thinking in the same way and that is a matter of time whilst you all get to know us and what we do.
Very valid points. Same thing people are doing with GPUs. No wonder the high costs we are charged. If you treat your products with care ( and if the product is designed right and works for 2 years or more 90+% of the time ) then you have no reason to worry. |
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Keninishna
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May 01, 2012, 11:27:38 PM |
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No pretty cad pix to look at today? :/
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simon66
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May 02, 2012, 03:28:58 AM |
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I'm dying to see some CAD pics.
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sadpandatech
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May 02, 2012, 04:14:52 AM |
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*chants* cad, cad, cad  |
If you're not excited by the idea of being an early adopter 'now', then you should come back in three or four years and either tell us "Told you it'd never work!" or join what should, by then, be a much more stable and easier-to-use system.
- GA
It is being worked on by smart people. -DamienBlack
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Garr255
Legendary
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Activity: 938
Merit: 1000
What's a GPU?
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May 02, 2012, 04:28:45 AM |
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*chants* cad, cad, cad +1 |
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” -- Mahatma Gandhi
Average time between signing on to bitcointalk: Two weeks. Please don't expect responses any faster than that!
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Ilovebitcoins
Newbie
Offline
Activity: 22
Merit: 0
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May 02, 2012, 04:39:08 AM |
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So I want to make sure I understand this topic correctly because I am about a week away from having enough money to get my first piece of mining equipment and I am so excited.
So from what I understand this company is offering a 4 chip FPGA mining board correct?
Also this product will be able to connect to my laptop usb port correct?
Last question is I am understanding this will be ready to use out of the box by simply plug and play. So basically I will open the box connect the usb cord to the FPGA board and the other end to the PC. Once that is done I just install the software and begin mining right?
Sorry for such newbie questions but from what I understand about the Butter Fly labs unit I can do just that. Plug in to the PC install software and mine.
I have some computer knowledge so I am not computer illiterate. I mean I know I could build a mining rig using GPU's but I just want to be ahead of the game and slowly start to acquire FPGA boards. Now I know it will take a while to break even and such but I want to get into mining for the hobby. I will constantly be saving so I can continue to buy new boards and such. I know that I can make more by trading coins but I really want to get into mining. I wish I new how to design a board because I can solder it together and make it work. Its just I have no knowledge of how to make a PCB board as well as not being able to make my own bit streams and mining programs. I am slowly reading all about it because I would like to design and build my own FPGA board and be able to use it. I know it is really far off considering my knowledge at this point but I will continue to learn. I only plan to try and tackle the idea once I know that I can guarantee that my board should work. Basically this is like 3-5 years away but hey I want to learn.
Like I said I would like to make mining bitcoins a hobby. I need a new hobby and I enjoy reading the forums. I mean I love the idea behind the e currency, I also like financial markets, and computer related things. So this is right up my ally. I learned all by myself how to reprogram DTV and Dish Network cards to receive free television. It only took about 2 years to learn how to write my own scripts and build my own smart-card reader/writer but I accomplished it. That was a hobby that I got into when I was like 13-15 years old. So like I said I know it will take time to understand everything but I am starting to learn.
So what is the easiest FPGA/BFL board card to use for a newbie? It may take a couple weeks longer to get the ZTEX 4 FPGA board but if it is easiest to use I will just save a little longer. Please let me know.
Also the price point on this product if ordered before the end of May is $640.00 American correct.
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BinaryMage
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May 02, 2012, 04:49:52 AM |
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So I want to make sure I understand this topic correctly because I am about a week away from having enough money to get my first piece of mining equipment and I am so excited.
So from what I understand this company is offering a 4 chip FPGA mining board correct?
Also this product will be able to connect to my laptop usb port correct?
Last question is I am understanding this will be ready to use out of the box by simply plug and play. So basically I will open the box connect the usb cord to the FPGA board and the other end to the PC. Once that is done I just install the software and begin mining right?
Sorry for such newbie questions but from what I understand about the Butter Fly labs unit I can do just that. Plug in to the PC install software and mine.
I have some computer knowledge so I am not computer illiterate. I mean I know I could build a mining rig using GPU's but I just want to be ahead of the game and slowly start to acquire FPGA boards. Now I know it will take a while to break even and such but I want to get into mining for the hobby. I will constantly be saving so I can continue to buy new boards and such. I know that I can make more by trading coins but I really want to get into mining. I wish I new how to design a board because I can solder it together and make it work. Its just I have no knowledge of how to make a PCB board as well as not being able to make my own bit streams and mining programs. I am slowly reading all about it because I would like to design and build my own FPGA board and be able to use it. I know it is really far off considering my knowledge at this point but I will continue to learn. I only plan to try and tackle the idea once I know that I can guarantee that my board should work. Basically this is like 3-5 years away but hey I want to learn.
Like I said I would like to make mining bitcoins a hobby. I need a new hobby and I enjoy reading the forums. I mean I love the idea behind the e currency, I also like financial markets, and computer related things. So this is right up my ally. I learned all by myself how to reprogram DTV and Dish Network cards to receive free television. It only took about 2 years to learn how to write my own scripts and build my own smart-card reader/writer but I accomplished it. That was a hobby that I got into when I was like 13-15 years old. So like I said I know it will take time to understand everything but I am starting to learn.
So what is the easiest FPGA/BFL board card to use for a newbie? It may take a couple weeks longer to get the ZTEX 4 FPGA board but if it is easiest to use I will just save a little longer. Please let me know.
Also the price point on this product if ordered before the end of May is $640.00 American correct.
Newbie questions are never a problem when they're phrased well and politely as yours are. Yes, this is a 4-FPGA mining board. Yes, it will connect to your USB port. No, it is not plug and play. The version being sold right now is akin to a beta/testing version, for less than the general release. Unless you know a lot about FPGAs and have a decent understanding of the mining protocol and mining software, this would not be a good place to start. For new miners I would still recommend starting with a GPU due to ease of use, low entry cost, and ease of integration with current systems. If you are staunchly committed to an FPGA, the BFL unit is certainly the most plug-and-play, but ZTEX/Icarus would both be significantly easier to use than this. Right now, BFL has a est. ~2 month wait time, so keep that in mind when making your decision. Best of luck in your mining enterprises! |
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ice_chill
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May 02, 2012, 08:26:58 AM |
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Would be nice to see a Mini-Rig competitor from you.
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TheSeven
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May 02, 2012, 08:30:53 AM |
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I'm wondering what the plans on host interface / mining software compatitility/support are...
Once the hardware has been sorted out we can probably make an agreement on MPBM support if desired.
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My tip jar: 13kwqR7B4WcSAJCYJH1eXQcxG5vVUwKAqY
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norulezapply
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May 02, 2012, 08:33:21 AM |
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Would be nice to see a Mini-Rig competitor from you.
Steady! The initial board proof-of-concept designs aren't even finished yet. Forget about a mini rig alternative for now... |
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Timbo925
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May 02, 2012, 09:11:00 AM |
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watching
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yohan (OP)
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May 02, 2012, 12:20:35 PM |
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CAD image should be up this afternoon. We are a few hours behind on our target schedule but nothing serious or a show stopper. We are just doing final tidy up and checking through the design. We are aiming to order a fast prototype PCB today so that is taking priority at the moment. If it goes to plan we will start assembling this prototype on Friday or Tuesday depending on what time we complete the design today.
As soon as we are happy on the design it will be there and I will post again.
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BinaryMage
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May 02, 2012, 03:07:59 PM |
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Would be nice to see a Mini-Rig competitor from you.
Steady! The initial board proof-of-concept designs aren't even finished yet. Forget about a mini rig alternative for now... Hope springs eternal.  |
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Garr255
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 938
Merit: 1000
What's a GPU?
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May 02, 2012, 03:42:13 PM |
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That's looking good! A much higher res photo would be nice though.
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“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” -- Mahatma Gandhi
Average time between signing on to bitcointalk: Two weeks. Please don't expect responses any faster than that!
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ice_chill
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May 02, 2012, 03:45:35 PM |
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That's looking good! A much higher res photo would be nice though.
The image fills up my whole screen at 1240x1024. Big enough  |
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rjk
Sr. Member
Offline
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
1ngldh
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May 02, 2012, 03:49:46 PM |
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That's looking good! A much higher res photo would be nice though.
The image fills up my whole screen at 1240x1024. Big enough Plenty big enough, but there seems to be some kind of rendering artifacts. We can see the general layout though, and it looks good. |
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shad
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May 02, 2012, 04:01:23 PM |
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no standard cooler mount holes?
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15dUzJEUkxgjrtcvDSdsEDkXu7E7RCbNN3
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Glasswalker
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May 02, 2012, 04:03:07 PM |
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there appear to be mount holes on 2 corners of each FPGA for chipset size (or similar) heatsink mount. They just don't appear to go all the way through the board on the cad image, could be artifact or minor bug in the design. (ie: hole not associated with all layers in the design for some reason)
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