Mining Machine - ButterFlyLabs

[davidvu396]

Does anyone have some experience with Bitcoin miners from ButterFlyLabs?

 

Because i wanted to get one in a month and I wanted to know what it is like since there are no information of it at all. 

[pGuerrerox]

Those miners are ASIC's (Application-specific integrated circuit) machines, are made only for SHA-256 algorithm and going to be really fast miners with really low power consumption but as far as I know they open "pre-orders" but they haven't shipped anything yet. 

 

This miners are going to work on any pc only connecting them via USB. 

 

there is not much info out there as of when they will ship, or an specific wattage or anything.

[ProGearUk]

There is a huge back order on these miners as far back as orders placed in June 2012

[gauvinic]

I'm curious. Since Bitcoin is based of the SHA-256 algorithm, as are Namecoin, PPCoin, and Terracoin, would the BFL miners work there as well? With their software? I should be receiving mine sometime this month. Would be awesome if it came tmr with my MDPC sleeving.  :D Also, has anyone heard of an ASIC being designed for F@H? Whoever designs it would probably make money and be completely awesome (so long as they didn't exploit it).

[Whaler_99]

No ASIC cannot be used for Folding - completely different...

[gauvinic]

Why can't you design a chip to optimally run Folding applications? We use GPUs to do folding because they are much more geared towards it than CPUs, correct? And then there are different GPUs designed to work better for certain applications requiring their use, eg. 7990 vs Tesla? Curious as to why we can't design a GPU, which is sort of an ASIC, but not quite to the level of the SHA-256 ASICS, to work much more efficient than those cards.

[xXxYOLOxSWAGxXx_420BlazeIt]

Why can't you design a chip to optimally run Folding applications? We use GPUs to do folding because they are much more geared towards it than CPUs, correct? And then there are different GPUs designed to work better for certain applications requiring their use, eg. 7990 vs Tesla? Curious as to why we can't design a GPU, which is sort of an ASIC, but not quite to the level of the SHA-256 ASICS, to work much more efficient than those cards.

I assume it is because the SHA 256 algorithm gives you the same result each time. It never changes. The maths is exactly the same each time.

 

Folding has many kinds of work units which I assume are all different and use a different method.

[RuecanOnRails]

And to answer your question regarding mining other coins:

 

Yes, an ASIC that is designed for Bitcoin, can mine any and all SHA-256 based coins. (modified algorithms will not work) You will not be able to mine Litecoin or any Scrypt based coins with your ASIC.

With that said, if you intend on Chain hopping, you better have enough hash to solo, or find PPS pools. You will likely find that all other SHA 256 coins, will earn you LESS than mining bitcoin alone. And due to ASICS it's highly unlikely any new coins will be using SHA-256.

 

The ASICS designed for bitcoin mining are useless for any other application. They are designed for SHA-256 mining and nothing else, nor will they be able to do anything else. ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuits are programmed for one task, if that task is no longer relevant you get a nice new paper weight.

I don't think ASICS could work for folding due to their ever changing equations and algorithms. Same reason an asic for sha-256 can't work for scrypt mining.

[gauvinic]

Ok, in light of the recent responses (thanks for taking the time, btw!) I realize I may have worded my last comment poorly. I understand that BFL ASICs are designed to work with the SHA-256 algorithm and nothing else. If the SHA algorithm becomes irrevelant, so do the machines. I also understand some of the differences between SHA and scrypt, and the biggest limiting factor (which has thus far prevented companies from designing ASICs for it because they think customers aren't as likely to buy such machines) is the requirements on memory. Scrypt requires more of the data to be processed to be loaded into RAM (or some equivalent memory form thereof).

 

I understand that folding is a floating-point calculation, and the way F@H is designed, there would need to be a ton of different ASICs (relatively similar to the SHA ASICs) that would need to be designed, as well as a new networking procedure to give each ASIC its corresponding WU. Not to mention the necessity to evenly distribute each type of ASIC. Going that route isn't plausible. 

 

However, Application Specific Integrated Chips can be interpreted different ways, to the point that GPUs (and some would even argue CPUs) are ASICs. My thought was this: Could we not design a GPU (ASIC) optimized for the type of algorithms that protein folding throws at us? Easier for F@H than Boinc, to say the least. (If I understand Boinc correctly...) If not, why? Are the WUs sent out based on algorithms so dissimilar that only generic GPUs, not optimized for any parallel processing oriented task, can actually handle all of them? I can't imagine why, seeing as they are all part of one scientific (biological?) process.

 

Oh, and last I checked, Terracoin was actually a viable alternative to Bitcoin, not because of its own worth, but rather its ease to mine. Probably won't get my ASIC before that ship sails, though...  :unsure:

 

Once again, thnx for the responses!  ^_^​ 

[gauvinic]

Oh, shouldn't forget OP. They are shipping! Jalepeno orders up through Sept. 19th have been shipped. I'm April 7th... but they are getting a greater flow of chips in now!

[RuecanOnRails]

Terracoin can sometimes be better to mine. But not always and requires a lot of attention to trading price, difficulty, and general profitability over other coins.

http://www.coinchoose.com/index.php

 

At the time of this post, Terracoin IS the closest to bitcoin in profitability (in terms of mining and selling it for btc right away). Right now it's worth 94% of bitcoin when it comes to mining and selling. Earlier I believe it was around 106% so yes it can be worth more at times and it is easier to mine.

 

Personally I'd stick with bitcoin, unless you see one of those coins get at least 110% more profit. Even then it may not be worth the hassle of jumping chains. You could diversify and spend bitcoins mined on buying other coins, then selling back to bitcoin when/if their price increases.

[Whaler_99]

Not being a programmer and not some math wiz I think you could design a FAH specific hardware based solution that would be much more optimized then anything today. That being said, here is why there isn't.... Money. Why are those companies creating ASIC units for mining? Because they themselves are using them and can sell them for a very large profit.

 

Folding though is a voluntary thing, where we "donate" our resources. I myself have over $2,000 worth of specific folding hardware dedicated to this. Why? Because I can and it's my "pet" project. Most peopel though are just using there one or two systems they already have at home to help out. To develope something more optimized then say a 7970 or a 780 (which have already been done and are pretty effective) you would need a lot of R&D, not to mention manufacturing, markerting, sales, distribution, etc. And in the end... who will buy it? Me? Maybe.... but on mass like a mining ASIC? Not likely... Hence, huge loss... in the end, it comes down to money and profit. They can make it with mining but not with Folding...

 

That's just the way I see it. :)