Update:
Klondike progress:
As many of you are aware, the Klondike has now been tested with 16 chips hashing at 4gh/s on the older test board. Many thanks to Terrahash for providing valuable assistance with testing. Final PCB design will be completed within the next 24 hours and sent to the fab houses for production.
Component sourcing:
We are working with both US and oversees PCB fab houses in order to reduce manufacturing lead time so all components are ready prior to chip arrival.
The BOM has been purchased, and parts have begun arriving at the assembly house. All parts should be in and ready for assembly by next week.
We have received the remainder of the sample chips from Avalon. Some of these chips have been sent to board developers, the remainder will be used for testing our own in house assembly.
Final assembly sourcing:
After two long months, the heatsinks have finally arrived and look amazing. These are the same heatsinks which are currently being used for testing by BkkCoins.
The standoffs, spring loaded screws and standard screws are en route, and should arrive by the end of next week.
The thermal paste has arrived, and looks wonderful. This is the same thermal paste used by BkkCoins in testing.
The USB cables and PCIe extension cables are both scheduled to arrive next week. We have chosen right-angle USB micro cables to avoid component conflicts when arranging the units in a “K64” configuration.
The IC2 is pending final design. It is possible to short-circuit the boards by incorrectly chaining them, and we are looking for a solution to ensure this is not possible.
Shipping sourcing:
Some of the shipping materials have arrived. We have ordered the materials in batches to reduce storage space, as this is a low lead time item. The remaining shipping supplies for the first batch of units will be arriving next week.
Logistical sourcing:
The final assembly, testing, and shipping areas are nearing completion. Packages are arriving daily and we will be ready to receive the units for final finishing and shipping once they arrive.
Hosting:
The switched PDUs and PSUs are arriving early next week. We have chosen 550watt 80+gold PSUs to give both high efficiency and fine grain control for power cycling boards should the need arise. Each PSU will power between 13 and 15 boards, depending on the final power usage. The PSU will then be connected to our switched PDUs, which gives us the ability to power cycle the PSU remotely. The network infrastructure and configuration is nearing completion, and we will be ready to receive the units once they are assembled.
Hosting has been developed with automation in mind. In the event a unit stops hashing, the unit itself will be reset. If it remains unresponsive, the cgminer instance will be reset. If the problem still persists, the units will be power cycled. All of this will be automatic. In the event this does not fix the issue, on site staff will determine the cause and attempt recovery of the unit.
Once the infrastructure is in place and the units are installed, we will be able to give definitive answers regarding the SLA. We take uptime very seriously, and are working diligently to ensure the highest uptime possible. We receive no compensation for units that are not hashing, and it is in our best interest to ensure our customers remain profitable.
In the event we experience extended downtime, forum member Steamboat has offered to help offset the revenue loss of our customers with revenue generated from his personal farm.
Website:
www.liquidsyndesigns.com is now available to those who have purchased chips from other sources. Will have been in contact with some of the group buy coordinators, and will be contacting the rest shortly. Updates to supported group buy vendors may be found in the first post of this thread. If you would like to purchase assembly from us, and do not see your group buy coordinator on the list, please have them contact us for further instructions.
In order to purchase assembly, please create an account on the website and select the desired finish level. Once your order has been made, please contact your group buy coordinator to let them know you are requesting assembly through us.
For group buys shipping greater than 1,000 chips to us for assembly, we will cover all shipping fees associated with shipping the chips to us at no additional cost to the consumer.
And now for some pictures:
Shipping: A few of the shipping materials that have begun arriving
Some of the assembly area items:
Thermal paste: There are 1KG tubs under ~600 syringes.
And finally, the heatsinks:
And last but not least, we have designed a 3U case which is slightly modified from our original design. The prototype case should be arriving Monday. We are currently gauging interest for a production run which will help us determine the final costs. The more interest there is, the lower the overall cost. Below are a few pictures.
We will be unavailable for the remainder of the day as we continue to work on the staging areas. All questions will be answered tonight and tomorrow.