Topic: [Group Buy] BFL ASICs, + Board Design Underway. - page 9. (Read 15454 times)
Put me down for 32 chips.
Also, from talking to Josh it seems that now that they are shipping a limited number of Singles and close to volume shipment, Nasser will be working on prepping the documentation for the units. While some work is happening now, I really expect design work to take off soon once preliminary documentation gets out the door.
Bumping this up now that BFL is live with chip sales.
At this point, I am in for in the range of 30-50 chips.
At this point, I am in for in the range of 30-50 chips.
Just FYI, I'm still sceptical of whether I should escrow BFL chip group buys. :/ I would prefer that the chips were somewhat more confirmed before even starting this as given their track record, 100 days could easily turn into 1000 days... (and I'll need to hold the coins for god knows how long 
)
)Wise words.
John stay far away. You don't need gray hairs at your age.
Just FYI, I'm still sceptical of whether I should escrow BFL chip group buys. :/ I would prefer that the chips were somewhat more confirmed before even starting this as given their track record, 100 days could easily turn into 1000 days... (and I'll need to hold the coins for god knows how long )
)Wise words.
i LOLed at the TITLE. 
Translation: "Let's put our money together and get scammed as one!"
Translation: "Let's put our money together and get scammed as one!"
That's what I thought too. Interesting typo here, "1/10th the silicon area per GH as the closest competitor"For a lot of folks, they would say it's about "0/10th the silicon area per GH."
The idea is to start the process and get interest in place early, so that there isn't and delays in organizing once move information is available.
I'm not going to defend BFL, their track record speaks for itself.Thjs thread is for people who are interested in buying BFL asics, not people who want to debate whether they're a scam or not. I think their FCBGA package opens up interesting enough new board designs that I want to make a.few, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I'm not going to defend BFL, their track record speaks for itself.Thjs thread is for people who are interested in buying BFL asics, not people who want to debate whether they're a scam or not. I think their FCBGA package opens up interesting enough new board designs that I want to make a.few, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
TBH, I have more faith in Bitfury than BFL at this point. 
Needs documentations for the chip, only then I might consider.
Needs documentations for the chip, only then I might consider. 
I will leave the question of escrow up to the buyers. I haven't talked to JohnK about it and he's expressed hesitation to escrow a BFL transaction.
Can you clarify this? This sounds pretty damn important. JohnK would be the guy to go to for escrow, and he doesn't want to do it for anything involving BFL?
I will leave the question of escrow up to the buyers. I haven't talked to JohnK about it and he's expressed hesitation to escrow a BFL transaction.
Can you clarify this? This sounds pretty damn important. JohnK would be the guy to go to for escrow, and he doesn't want to do it for anything involving BFL?
Ignoring the OP and this thread. Silly to buy from BFL just silly
i LOLed at the TITLE.
Translation: "Let's put our money together and get scammed as one!"
Translation: "Let's put our money together and get scammed as one!"
I'll be holding off until there's actually a real plan in place, including chip specs/reference design, and the chips are ACTUALLY for sale.
If you ask me, you're putting the cart before the horse. They're not even officially selling the things yet.
If you ask me, you're putting the cart before the horse. They're not even officially selling the things yet.
DIY ASIC Design
I have begun preliminary planning on a miner design using the BFL ASIC chips. While details are still being worked out and the concept is not entirely finalized (pending the release of documentation and code from BFL), some basic points of the first unit will be below.
This will probably be spun off into its own thread once it gets more developed and linked to from here, along with any other community designs.
I have begun preliminary planning on a miner design using the BFL ASIC chips. While details are still being worked out and the concept is not entirely finalized (pending the release of documentation and code from BFL), some basic points of the first unit will be below.
- 4 chips - nominally 15-16GH/s depending on grade
- Dynamic clock and voltage control
- USB control, 12V 6pin PCIe for power
- Hole spacing designed to allow standard CPU coolers to cover the ASICs
- Designed for high density
- Each module will be designed to be run stand alone, or chained together
- Module form factor will standardized to allow easy mounting in a 19" rack case
- Preliminary size ~ 100mm x 150mm max
This will probably be spun off into its own thread once it gets more developed and linked to from here, along with any other community designs.
Reserved - FAQ and Other Information
What country are you based in?
We are based in the US and Canada.
As many of you are aware, BFL has announced that they are going to begin bulk sales of their ICs. The Product Page has the description of the chip as well as the updated pricing ($75/chip).
Unfortunately, the minimum quantity while lower than Avalon is still higher than many people would want to put down on their own.
The basic idea will be similar to the Avalon group buys. I (or an escrow if it is demanded) will collect the initial 50% required and purchase the ASICs through BFL.
*Please note, BFL's products are priced in USD, not BTC. Thus if you want 100 chips now, you would have to put down 50% of the USD equivalent in BTC.
Group Buy Terms
Cost, Coupon Codes and Escrow
BFL has now provided the source code for the microcontroller, and a design document for the chip. They have also said they will release reference schematics in the future. My own design can really begin in earnest, and so I will actually open up this group buy to people.
Timeline
I will begin accepting orders and securing the deposit (either direct or through JohnK) starting right away. I plan to place the order on Friday June 21st, so all transactions will need to be done before then.
Once this group buy is done, I may do another.
Shipping Options
At this time, you have 3 main options for shipping.
If you're interested, post in the thread. For those of you that have already expressed interest, I'll be contacting you through PM. Feel free to ask any questions, I'll try to answer them and stick them into the FAQ.
Quote
Specifications:
Technology: Global Foundries advanced 65nm technology (IBM core)
Die size: 7.5 x 7.5 mm
Substrate package: 10 x 10 mm
Package type: Standard BGA 144
Design type: 100% Hand routed for performance density
Power consumption: 3.2 Watt per GH/s
Performance: 4 GH/s
Performance design: 16 engines @ 250mhz nominal (294mhz max)
Advantages of Butterfly Labs chips:
1/2 the power usage per GH as the closest competitor
1/10th the silicon area per GH as the closest competitor (Very high performance density)
Proven design currently operating in the field and ready to go.
Unlike some QFN packages which require underside heat sinks, you can use off the shelf heat sinks due to the FCBGA package. No need to design and manufacture heat sinks!
Terms of purchase:
Delivery: 100 days
Payment: 50% deposit on order and 50% upon delivery
Cancellation: All sales are final and deposits will not be returned if final payment is not made prior to delivery.
Minimum purchase: 100 chips
Considerations:
Chip grades: Chips come in four grades of performance. Chips are sold in mixed grade lots. A grade has 16 engines, B grade has 15 engines, C grade has 14 engines and D grade has no less than 12 engines. All chips run at a minimum of 250 mhz. Higher grade chips will run up to 294mhz. The percentage distribution in each lot is 60% Grade A, 20% Grade B, 15% Grade C and 5% Grade D.
Reference documentation: Butterfly Labs is releasing it's PCB schematics & MCU code to open source. Links to this documentation will follow shortly.
Limited availability: Chip availability is limited to 100,000 units.
Technology: Global Foundries advanced 65nm technology (IBM core)
Die size: 7.5 x 7.5 mm
Substrate package: 10 x 10 mm
Package type: Standard BGA 144
Design type: 100% Hand routed for performance density
Power consumption: 3.2 Watt per GH/s
Performance: 4 GH/s
Performance design: 16 engines @ 250mhz nominal (294mhz max)
Advantages of Butterfly Labs chips:
1/2 the power usage per GH as the closest competitor
1/10th the silicon area per GH as the closest competitor (Very high performance density)
Proven design currently operating in the field and ready to go.
Unlike some QFN packages which require underside heat sinks, you can use off the shelf heat sinks due to the FCBGA package. No need to design and manufacture heat sinks!
Terms of purchase:
Delivery: 100 days
Payment: 50% deposit on order and 50% upon delivery
Cancellation: All sales are final and deposits will not be returned if final payment is not made prior to delivery.
Minimum purchase: 100 chips
Considerations:
Chip grades: Chips come in four grades of performance. Chips are sold in mixed grade lots. A grade has 16 engines, B grade has 15 engines, C grade has 14 engines and D grade has no less than 12 engines. All chips run at a minimum of 250 mhz. Higher grade chips will run up to 294mhz. The percentage distribution in each lot is 60% Grade A, 20% Grade B, 15% Grade C and 5% Grade D.
Reference documentation: Butterfly Labs is releasing it's PCB schematics & MCU code to open source. Links to this documentation will follow shortly.
Limited availability: Chip availability is limited to 100,000 units.
Unfortunately, the minimum quantity while lower than Avalon is still higher than many people would want to put down on their own.
The basic idea will be similar to the Avalon group buys. I (or an escrow if it is demanded) will collect the initial 50% required and purchase the ASICs through BFL.
*Please note, BFL's products are priced in USD, not BTC. Thus if you want 100 chips now, you would have to put down 50% of the USD equivalent in BTC.
Group Buy Terms
- Payment will be in Bitcoin
- The chips are expected to be of the mix stated by BFL. It appears that the chips will not be binned prior to shipping by BFL, so it will be a lottery. Some chips in the batch will be tested at verify the batch is function prior to shipping them out, but QA for each chip to determine its grade is up to you.
- Lead time is 100 days. This will be foundry and package dependent, while it shouldn't depend on BFL I don't guarantee it is accurate.
- 50% of the chip cost will be due prior to the placement of the order. When the chips are ready and the final 50% is due to BFL, the remaining 50% will be due.
- I am not responsible for taxes/duties on your end.
Cost, Coupon Codes and Escrow
- Price for each chip will be $81, inclusive of tracked shipping. This will be fairly basic; if you want something extremely fast the extra cost will be on you but we can work that out.
- If you have chip credit codes, those can be applied and will credited at full value as long as you purchase that number of chips. IE, if you transfer credit for 16 chips and purchase 16 chips you will pay $56*16=$896 for all of them. You can't purchase send a 16 chip code and expect to apply $400 in discounts to an order of 6 chips.
- I have a limited number of codes available for people that are interested in the group buy. If you don't have codes I am willing to accept a limited number of chips at $65 per chip. This number is quite limited though, so this line will eventually disappear.
- Escrow: At this point, I have more than enough people to do a large group buy I'm not willing to jump through too many hoops in order to set up an escrow. I have spoken with JohnK about doing an escrow and he's expressed willingness depending on the conditions. If you are uncomfortable with me, I am perfectly willing to allow you to escrow the funds through JohnK if you cover the cost of it.
BFL has now provided the source code for the microcontroller, and a design document for the chip. They have also said they will release reference schematics in the future. My own design can really begin in earnest, and so I will actually open up this group buy to people.
Timeline
I will begin accepting orders and securing the deposit (either direct or through JohnK) starting right away. I plan to place the order on Friday June 21st, so all transactions will need to be done before then.
Once this group buy is done, I may do another.
Shipping Options
At this time, you have 3 main options for shipping.
- Shipment direct to you
- Shipment to someone else to get assembled for you
- You decide to go with our design and have the chips mounted onto PCBs, which then get shipped to you.
If you're interested, post in the thread. For those of you that have already expressed interest, I'll be contacting you through PM. Feel free to ask any questions, I'll try to answer them and stick them into the FAQ.
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