You can connect it to anything, not just Pi. Or use one Pi for multiple miners (not sure what's the limit though, Pi has some issues with too many USB devices). I was able to compile cgminer 4.4 and use it on a regular Linux box that I use with other miners (Zeus etc) but eventually switched back to Pi when I was done experimenting. - Such Moon
Just seems like a such a waste, two machines per 1 Pi that costs $40 at best.
Then if it breaks, you lose two machines and besides, who wants to spend additional for spares?
IF one Pi could run 4-6 machines it would be nice; a dozen would be overkill because of the connection would suffer self-throttling.
I don't get why a miner that's using last week's technology (40Nm) is charging this week's technology's (20Nm) price, especially when most miners now are 28Nm chips.
This company could steal a lot of business from Bitmain if prices were competitive.
I might try a pair out at the end of the month if Bitmain doesn't re-open sales by then.
Waste as opposed to what, each AntMiner having its own built-in controller?
Each approach has its merits, I prefer it to be as modular as possible if the price is right, since I have a bunch of hardware (PSUs, raspberries, etc) laying around. Others may prefer self-contained plug-and-play boxes.
As for spares, at least it's a possibility with a modular approach, what happens if a built-in part breaks in a "black box"? Two weeks offline for RMA if you're lucky to have warranty. But to be fair controller is probably the least likely part to break, so I don't think it's an issue for either one of them.
I bet the prices will change when Bitmain starts selling.
Yeah, I do like the built in controller, less wires, less hassle and they aren't a regular breakage, no need to install any software either.
I also like modularity but I don't find the rPi, a memory card, USB wires, an adaptor to power the rPi and now that I know, PCE-I extenders to be very modulary.
The PSU adds to it also but that's with any miner... except USB lol
I've only had one ECB (Control Board) break, ever and was about US$50 to replace; now I keep a spare just in case because I did lose a week (~$50 then)
This part rarely breaks/fails and takes about 5 minutes to swap out with the right tools (2 pairs of needlenose pliers and a tongue depressor - to help pry the board off)
If you have a spare, your downtime is minimal and no need for an RMA whatsoever either.
I'd never send anything back to China, I'd write it off it as a loss and use it for parts
I'm a pretty handy DIY nerd kinda guy so maybe it could be a pain for someone without the right skill set to perform an ECB change.
You can also take the casing apart from the S3, just take off the screws and do what you need to do.
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If the R3 was a 28Nm chip, then the price would make more sense and would be more comfortable giving a
BTC0.9900 valuation per unit.
Right now, the best price for an R3 should be no more than
BTC0.80 per machine; I sure won't pay more than that.
At that price, you'd likely sell a lot more or at least you'd attract a lot more attention your way.
Many people are brand loyal... until a bigger better deal comes along.
Boards go zombie then they kick back in on cgminer.
Definitely never seen anywhere near 5% rejects