How many of these boards can we expect to run on a single molex from an ATX PSU ? I have seasonic 1250 golds, so I hope they can run several of these plus a few 5970's. Could we expect to run like 3 5970's on the PCI E connectors and then 4-5 of these on the molex connectors and then maybe 2 on the extra PCI-E ?
I would like to run rigs with 3 5970's and 6-8 Quad FPGA's for a while, per rig.
Hmmm, 7-8.5 GH/s per rig at maybe 1100-1200 watts would be sweet.
This might get me to 40 GH/s...
Topic: Cairnsmore1 - Quad XC6SLX150 Board - page 107. (Read 286370 times)
Are you kidding me? Delta AFB1212. There is no reason to not use industrial fans, no cheap Chinese shit.
Hi I'm not sure what you mean. I just did some comments regarding the suggestion to use Silenx fans instead of Arctic F12.
There is no question that there are also other, interesting or even better fans on the market.
What you define as a better fan highly depends on your needs.
Your Delta fan is quite 'different' to the two other mentioned fans. If someone is looking for a really quiet fan with still good airflow the Arctic F12 and also the Silenx is very interesting.
With over 32db(A) the Delta fan is, compared to the other 2, MUCH MORE noisy - too noisy for me.
My BFL singles were equipped with a 32db Fan. I was totally disappointed, because I expected something more quiet than a GPU solution. My singles are not running with other fans.
AFB1212s will start at 5v. Driving fans at full voltage are noisy anyhow.
Also, WTF, my GPU drowns out my AFB1212HHE, thats 47dBA! Also, don't trust cheap fans to have accurate noise measurements. Almost every consumer fan lies or has an unfavorable pitch to the noise.
Don't say its loud until you've bought and tried one.
Are you kidding me? Delta AFB1212. There is no reason to not use industrial fans, no cheap Chinese shit.
Well in that case, why AFB? Why not the TSB or PFB series? lol Such powerful fans need their own boards with separate power circuitry so that they don't insert all kinds of inductive shit into the ground and power planes of the main board electronics.
Powerful? I don't think you realize AFB1212 comes in many different speeds.
http://www.delta.com.tw/product/cp/dcfans/download/pdf/AFB/AFB120x120x38mm.pdf
The slowest is 2000 rpm, 32dbA, 71cfm and uses 1.68 watts. As for the other series, they're just as high quality, I just prefer AFBs.
Are you kidding me? Delta AFB1212. There is no reason to not use industrial fans, no cheap Chinese shit.
Hi I'm not sure what you mean. I just did some comments regarding the suggestion to use Silenx fans instead of Arctic F12.
There is no question that there are also other, interesting or even better fans on the market.
What you define as a better fan highly depends on your needs.
Your Delta fan is quite 'different' to the two other mentioned fans. If someone is looking for a really quiet fan with still good airflow the Arctic F12 and also the Silenx is very interesting.
With over 32db(A) the Delta fan is, compared to the other 2, MUCH MORE noisy - too noisy for me.
My BFL singles were equipped with a 32db Fan. I was totally disappointed, because I expected something more quiet than a GPU solution. My singles are not running with other fans.
Looking forward to seeing some epic results from these boards.
So do these 4 spartan 6's actually have the potential to do 250 - 300Mhash/s each?
I understand it's hard so won't get my hopes up.
However it's just a software thing that makes is possible?
So do these 4 spartan 6's actually have the potential to do 250 - 300Mhash/s each?
I understand it's hard so won't get my hopes up.
However it's just a software thing that makes is possible?
Currently EldenTyrell has a custom bitstream which can push these same chips to 250MHash/s approx.
And BitFury has a custom bitstream pushing (liquid cooled I believe) LX150s (same chips as Cairnsmore) to 300MHash/s or more.
But it should be pointed out that neither of those has been "independently verified" by a third party.
So yes the chips have the potential to reach much higher hash rates using a new bitstream (essentially firmware for an FPGA).
But right now, I think Enterpoints goal is to get "icarus-like hashing per chip" (so 190-200mhash) out of them to get them in customers hands, with an easy method of usb updating the boards so that once a new/improved bitstream is available, they can be updated easily.
Thanks for that.
I'm going to start reading up on what it takes to code these bitstreams.
Expect it to be difficult, but I kinda like tweaking things so I could really get into this.
Are you kidding me? Delta AFB1212. There is no reason to not use industrial fans, no cheap Chinese shit.
Well in that case, why AFB? Why not the TSB or PFB series? lol Such powerful fans need their own boards with separate power circuitry so that they don't insert all kinds of inductive shit into the ground and power planes of the main board electronics.
FAN spec looks good but I looked up the nearest distributor and no listing of the 12cm model that I could so it sort of suggests that it's very new and maybe not quite available yet.
We are committed anyway in a large way to the Arctic F12. It's pretty quiet and more to the point available in large numbers to us in a short leadtime. When you start looking at the quantities we are buying many of them have to take the boat from china and that's usually 6 weeks min delivery.
If people want they have the option to change the fan themselves it will be simple enough to do that.
We are committed anyway in a large way to the Arctic F12. It's pretty quiet and more to the point available in large numbers to us in a short leadtime. When you start looking at the quantities we are buying many of them have to take the boat from china and that's usually 6 weeks min delivery.
If people want they have the option to change the fan themselves it will be simple enough to do that.
My recommendation is stay with the Arctic F12.
My experience regarding the Silenx fan vs. the Arctic F12 fan is the following.
If you compare the datasheets the fan from Silenx looks in most things better than the Arctic (or others), especially the sound level and air flow.
I've compared the Silenx fans with fans from other vendors including Arctic and I would say that the specified data from Silenx is not correct.
The Silenx fan is good, but the '15db'-Version is comparable to the Arctic F12. The real air-flow is not so good like from the ARCTIC F12 and the sound level is only slightly better. According the datasheet the air-flow and sound level should be much better. I've done Silenx orders from two different supplies to decrease the risk of just having a copy or broken fan.
Are you kidding me? Delta AFB1212. There is no reason to not use industrial fans, no cheap Chinese shit.
What are people using to mine?
... does it work with cgminer as an Icarus? (i.e. as 2 Icarus /dev/ttyUSBx or 2 COM ports?)
the latest (a few weeks old) cgminer git pull I have up may also help with that if it's a different speed to an Icarus Rev3
(the new --icarus-timing option)
Though, the fact that it is 4 chips (and not 2) may? need some minor changes to cgminer
(if it doesn't appear to the OS as 2 tty/COM ports)
Just an FYI (when someone can try mining on one of these boards)... does it work with cgminer as an Icarus? (i.e. as 2 Icarus /dev/ttyUSBx or 2 COM ports?)
the latest (a few weeks old) cgminer git pull I have up may also help with that if it's a different speed to an Icarus Rev3
(the new --icarus-timing option)
Though, the fact that it is 4 chips (and not 2) may? need some minor changes to cgminer
(if it doesn't appear to the OS as 2 tty/COM ports)
These changes are now in ckolivas main git (see FGPA-README if you want to try it)
The pre-order price was said to be until the end of June. However the pre-order is now closed? 
Can you clarify if we can still preorder the board?
Can you clarify if we can still preorder the board?
Looking forward to seeing some epic results from these boards.
So do these 4 spartan 6's actually have the potential to do 250 - 300Mhash/s each?
I understand it's hard so won't get my hopes up.
However it's just a software thing that makes is possible?
So do these 4 spartan 6's actually have the potential to do 250 - 300Mhash/s each?
I understand it's hard so won't get my hopes up.
However it's just a software thing that makes is possible?
Currently EldenTyrell has a custom bitstream which can push these same chips to 250MHash/s approx.
And BitFury has a custom bitstream pushing (liquid cooled I believe) LX150s (same chips as Cairnsmore) to 300MHash/s or more.
But it should be pointed out that neither of those has been "independently verified" by a third party.
So yes the chips have the potential to reach much higher hash rates using a new bitstream (essentially firmware for an FPGA).
But right now, I think Enterpoints goal is to get "icarus-like hashing per chip" (so 190-200mhash) out of them to get them in customers hands, with an easy method of usb updating the boards so that once a new/improved bitstream is available, they can be updated easily.
FAN spec looks good but I looked up the nearest distributor and no listing of the 12cm model that I could so it sort of suggests that it's very new and maybe not quite available yet.
We are committed anyway in a large way to the Arctic F12. It's pretty quiet and more to the point available in large numbers to us in a short leadtime. When you start looking at the quantities we are buying many of them have to take the boat from china and that's usually 6 weeks min delivery.
If people want they have the option to change the fan themselves it will be simple enough to do that.
We are committed anyway in a large way to the Arctic F12. It's pretty quiet and more to the point available in large numbers to us in a short leadtime. When you start looking at the quantities we are buying many of them have to take the boat from china and that's usually 6 weeks min delivery.
If people want they have the option to change the fan themselves it will be simple enough to do that.
My recommendation is stay with the Arctic F12.
My experience regarding the Silenx fan vs. the Arctic F12 fan is the following.
If you compare the datasheets the fan from Silenx looks in most things better than the Arctic (or others), especially the sound level and air flow.
I've compared the Silenx fans with fans from other vendors including Arctic and I would say that the specified data from Silenx is not correct.
The Silenx fan is good, but the '15db'-Version is comparable to the Arctic F12. The real air-flow is not so good like from the ARCTIC F12 and the sound level is only slightly better. According the datasheet the air-flow and sound level should be much better. I've done Silenx orders from two different supplies to decrease the risk of just having a copy or broken fan.
So do these 4 spartan 6's actually have the potential to do 250 - 300Mhash/s each?
More likely 190-210Mh/sec each.
Others have speculated that customized bitstreams can run the fpa faster and more efficiently, but that is just speculation at the moment.
Expect to see around 800Mh/sec from these boards.
kind regards
I'd be happy with that, I know it's all speculation until real results are posted and proven.
I'll be getting two of these in the next month I believe. Unfortunately I am a programmer with no experience with this area of coding, so I'm not opted to be involved with the developer boards but it will be nice to one day know the bitstream could be improved. Maybe next time once I learn how it's done.
So do these 4 spartan 6's actually have the potential to do 250 - 300Mhash/s each?
More likely 190-210Mh/sec each.
Others have speculated that customized bitstreams can run the fpa faster and more efficiently, but that is just speculation at the moment.
Expect to see around 800Mh/sec from these boards.
kind regards
Looking forward to seeing some epic results from these boards.
So do these 4 spartan 6's actually have the potential to do 250 - 300Mhash/s each?
I understand it's hard so won't get my hopes up.
However it's just a software thing that makes is possible?
So do these 4 spartan 6's actually have the potential to do 250 - 300Mhash/s each?
I understand it's hard so won't get my hopes up.
However it's just a software thing that makes is possible?
As far as I know, ngzhang has not provided an ncd file.
Please double check. I currently have no access to my main computer, but I do distincly remember that he provided the design in an relatively easily editable form. The main hashing pipelines were created using Synopsys and the placed&routed netlist from that step was fed to the Xilinx ISE as a black box to be sorrounded by the glue/interface logic. The only reason that I couldn't play with it was that my main machine couldn't be upgraded with enough RAM to get sensible speed in the toolchain.
Correct. As far as I know, ngzhang has not provided an ncd file. In addition a bitstream needs to be installed on the Control FPGA as well (Spartan 3E). To route traffic from the USB to the 4x matrix FPGAs.
So I'll be synthesizing (from HDL source) the bitstream for the Control chip (custom code), and for the 4 matrix chips, based on a modified version of the Icarus firmware (which I modified from the github source.)
Yes it's quite tough, and I have limited time. Which is why I said Enterpoint would likely beat me
(won't stop me from trying though).
Ultimately I've been working on another bitstream specifically designed for this board (for some time now). But this is a quick fix to get it mining just so I can get some performance numbers for it. The other bitstream is quite some time away still. And I have no idea how my bitstream will perform. Since the Icarus bitstream performs in a known way on icarus hardware, the modified version should give an interesting comparison on the Cairnsmore1 board.
Anyway, no promises. I'm poking at it as I have time. If I succeed, I'll post numbers ASAP.
So I'll be synthesizing (from HDL source) the bitstream for the Control chip (custom code), and for the 4 matrix chips, based on a modified version of the Icarus firmware (which I modified from the github source.)
Yes it's quite tough, and I have limited time. Which is why I said Enterpoint would likely beat me
(won't stop me from trying though).Ultimately I've been working on another bitstream specifically designed for this board (for some time now). But this is a quick fix to get it mining just so I can get some performance numbers for it. The other bitstream is quite some time away still. And I have no idea how my bitstream will perform. Since the Icarus bitstream performs in a known way on icarus hardware, the modified version should give an interesting comparison on the Cairnsmore1 board.
Anyway, no promises. I'm poking at it as I have time. If I succeed, I'll post numbers ASAP.
I fear that you will find out that synthesizing a bitstream for the Spartan6-150 is not as easy as some people think it is.
I somehow got an impression that the fault is just a swap of RxD/TxD lines. This should be doable with "fpgaeditor" on the ".ncd" file. But I may be wrong.1. If he takes someone else's bitstream and runs it verbatim, that's easy as pie, as long as pinout and input clock are compatible.
2. But a bitstream cannot be edited at all, unless someone (like ngzhang, or Stefan) chose to provide the placed&routed .ncd file to a competitor. As you correctly point out, the .ncd file can be edited and a bitstream can be generated from it.
3. But if he literally tries to QUOTE synthesize a bitstream UNQUOTE - that's quite tough.
I fear that you will find out that synthesizing a bitstream for the Spartan6-150 is not as easy as some people think it is.
I somehow got an impression that the fault is just a swap of RxD/TxD lines. This should be doable with "fpgaeditor" on the ".ncd" file. But I may be wrong. "Outright difficult" ::= "the most difficult thing you've ever done in your life"
Speaking of which, isn't Eldentyrell's bitstream due sometime today / tomorrow?
According to the following website - yes.
http://www.tricone-mining.com
"Outright difficult" ::= "the most difficult thing you've ever done in your life"
Speaking of which, isn't Eldentyrell's bitstream due sometime today / tomorrow?
On June 1st, I think.
But Bitfury's 300 MH/s bitstream and then, in turn, BFL's ASIC announcement have, as far as I see it, dramatically reduced the price he can reasonably charge for it. Furthermore, some FPGA boards (ZTEX boards, for instance) have DC/DC converters that are too weak to even run it.
Edit: It turns out, his website will go live in the wee morning hours of May 31st.
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