FPGA recommended?

[pamuc]

Hi,

Currently I'm mining using 3 5850 (running for 1 year now) but I want to switch to the next level: FPGA.
Which boards can you recommend?

Cheers
pamuc

[Dargo]

ASIC is going to be the next level for mining, and it will likely make GPU and FPGA obsolete. ASICs may be coming out as early as October, but probably it will be at least a month or two later than this. Personally I wouldn't invest in FPGA now. If you don't know what ASIC is, head over to the Custom Hardware subforum and start reading. 

[serp]

Yeah, with ASICS coming out it wouldn't seem wise to put money into FGPA's now.

I suppose if you must you might consider the singles by bfl since they offer trade in value on their ASICS preorders.  They seem to take a long time to get to you though from what people say.  You might not even get it before it's time to trade it in.  You might find someone to sell you one of theirs but I don't think there are a whole lot of them out there that people are willing to give up and people already offering inflated prices for them.

[algar32]

Yeah, with ASICS coming out it wouldn't seem wise to put money into FGPA's now.

I suppose if you must you might consider the singles by bfl since they offer trade in value on their ASICS preorders.  They seem to take a long time to get to you though from what people say.  You might not even get it before it's time to trade it in.  You might find someone to sell you one of theirs but I don't think there are a whole lot of them out there that people are willing to give up and people already offering inflated prices for them.

I have always wanted to get into mining, but know I missed the prime time. If I were to invest in an ASIC/ASICs, is there a chance I could make profit off of it?(or at least pay it off). When they first come out, will that be the best time to buy them?

[serp]

I have always wanted to get into mining, but know I missed the prime time. If I were to invest in an ASIC/ASICs, is there a chance I could make profit off of it?(or at least pay it off). When they first come out, will that be the best time to buy them?

Well it's all speculation.  I don't want to try and estimate if/when you'd make money by investing in ASIC hardware.  The only thing that seems certain is that if ASIC turns out to produce anywhere near it's estimated hashes/second with as many people as have preordered the gear already that trying to mine on non-ASIC gear will be near useless.

If I were forced to guess, I would say that there would be a spike in profit for those that were the first to preorder and thus had the hardware in the network first.  Then as the hardware becomes more available all the miners will be using the gear and the investment to return will be about the same.

Also of note, is the number of bitcoins to enter the economy per day is going to half probably around the end of this year (December?).  How that plays out with the bitcoin value might affect your calculations as well.

[bigasic]

yep, its all speculation. But to cover your bet, its probably wise to buy the BFL singles since they give you the upgrade option.. Thats still kind of unknown. who knows when they will deliver, etc...

[algar32]

I have always wanted to get into mining, but know I missed the prime time. If I were to invest in an ASIC/ASICs, is there a chance I could make profit off of it?(or at least pay it off). When they first come out, will that be the best time to buy them?

Well it's all speculation.  I don't want to try and estimate if/when you'd make money by investing in ASIC hardware.  The only thing that seems certain is that if ASIC turns out to produce anywhere near it's estimated hashes/second with as many people as have preordered the gear already that trying to mine on non-ASIC gear will be near useless.

If I were forced to guess, I would say that there would be a spike in profit for those that were the first to preorder and thus had the hardware in the network first.  Then as the hardware becomes more available all the miners will be using the gear and the investment to return will be about the same.

Also of note, is the number of bitcoins to enter the economy per day is going to half probably around the end of this year (December?).  How that plays out with the bitcoin value might affect your calculations as well.

Thanks guys... Figured about this much... I don't pay for power so this is a tough decision for me. Not sure if I should preorder or not...

[DiCE1904]

 I had a BFL single, a BTCFPGA mod miner with one miner on it and a BTCFPGA mod miner quad and I love them all. It took A LONG time to get my single from BFL and I actually had to remind them that I was waiting before it was sent.  Personally I dont trust BFL to give them money upfront until I see pictures and some hard numbers of these ASIC claims. IF or when the ASICs come out, Ill be able to trade in my BFL single for the ASIC single and use my Mod Miners for something else besides bitcoins.   
I got them and Im happy I did even with the rumors of ASICs so I could make as much money back as I can right now before the ASICs hit the market and the block reward gets cut in half.

[Raralith]

DiCE1904, how long is "A LONG time?" I was interested in doing this and upgrade later but if I'm going to get them in October...

[DiCE1904]

about 12 weeks.

I read it was 4 weeks out, so I ordered. 4 weeks later I emailed them asking what the status was, then they emailed me back saying they were 8 weeks out = 12 weeks

[moparguy528]

I am not as optimistic of BFLs ASIC plan at all, based on past company release history, I'd expect to see them early next year if they are not just vaporware.  I find it hard to believe that it is worth investing much money in designing very expensive chips jusf for BTC mining. FPGAs at leasr have multiple uses.

If ASICs can be done profitably in the near future they will kill the economics of GPUs quickly. But FPGAs should still be a able to compete st just a lowering profit rate.

I've put my money where my mouth is too....I created a GLBSE Ticker to invest in a current and growing FPGA only mining operation. Ticker is FPGAMINING and so far have bought about have the shares invested so i have skin in the game. You better returns than on GPU investments.....and they actually exist.

[DiCE1904]

yea im not very optimistic at all, but im also not sure if i want to dump more money into FPGAs right now.
IF I was going to however, I wouldnt buy stock into a FPGA mining company to mine for me. I would just shell out the money myself, get another ModMiner Quad in 2 weeks and use that. So IF ASICs come out and its no longer profitable to mine with FGPAs due to the dramatic increase in difficulty, like you said, i would still be able to use them for something else. Or sell them to someone who would have a better use for my FPGAs and then turn to the ASIC side.

Its interesting however that I have yet to hear about any other company developing ASICs for mining. 

[UofM_Matt]

I'm thinking of doing solar power to get my FPGA going so it doesn't cost me much.  17w at load isn't too much.  We'll see though.  That'd make mining much more equitable I think.

[DiCE1904]

840mhash @ only 40 watts isnt that much at all, how much is your electric?

[Factory]

I had a BFL single, a BTCFPGA mod miner with one miner on it and a BTCFPGA mod miner quad and I love them all. It took A LONG time to get my single from BFL and I actually had to remind them that I was waiting before it was sent.  Personally I dont trust BFL to give them money upfront until I see pictures and some hard numbers of these ASIC claims. IF or when the ASICs come out, Ill be able to trade in my BFL single for the ASIC single and use my Mod Miners for something else besides bitcoins.   
I got them and Im happy I did even with the rumors of ASICs so I could make as much money back as I can right now before the ASICs hit the market and the block reward gets cut in half.

I agree. On paper the ASICs seem amazing. Maybe even too good to be true. I am waiting to see the data before I touch ASICs.