when people discuss fpga boards, like the ones recently released, are they adding in the power usage
of the host computer which has a usb port to connect it to? buying just one means having a PC on all the
time too. And buying a low power PC, while not being that expensive, has to be factored in. Lets say 200
dollars for something small and just as efficient as the fpga board. And lets triple the power usage?
thoughts?
I guess I'm a geek, but I assumed everyone had a computer on all the time anyway? I mean, where are all your files stored? What do you stream to your TV from? What does all your music play off of if you don't have a computer on 24/7?
I really cannot imagine having 10 of these fpga boards laying out in the living room or in some type of tray...
They use a molex connector right? They all need a usb port thus some type of hub comes into play. What good
is an laptop in that case when you need molex connectors (10 of them)? Some type of stand alone PSU with
an old laptop?
In my case, my main PC is in the living room connected to a aud/vid receiver which then goes to the tv.
I really do not want a bunch of these cards sitting around so the cat will sleep on them to stay warm.
So down in the basement they would go sitting on top of an old 1U half size rack mount server.. which aint
exactly power efficient if it contains a 350 watt power supply.
I am just trying to envision the most efficient way to hook up 10 of these boards without doubling the power
usage compared to the boards themselves. Lets say you get the dual fpga boards that draw about 15 watts..
so that is 150 watts for about 2 gh/s. Does one basically have to double or triple that power usage to get
them to be actually useful?