The biggest problem I'm seeing with KNC - why only the Neptune? I won't lend my thoughts to the sales technique of giving previous customers a better price and more lead time than a normal Joe off the street, but w[here]tf are the more reasonable units in regards to power consumption? There are a lot of folks who simply can't handle the type of power requirements that a Neptune needs, so while I could run a Saturn in every room of the house I rent due to an ingenious power arrangement, Neptune, even if my group wanted one, is just not possible.
Alright, I lied, so about the pricing... So early adopters pay $10k, newbies $13k. So they profit at least $3k per machine, of course a lot more since they wouldn't sell the first batch at-cost. Meaning KNC is making a mint off of people, but it seems like they (along with others) have forgotten that there is a fucking gigantic market that is drying up for the hobbyist community of miners who want to be "in the game" but can't get a custom electric line placed into their location. This is why Bitmain is selling every unit they produce in their "auctions" - you can't find something in the 100-400GH range readily available and people are jumping at the bit to get these things. A reasonably priced batch of Saturn/Mercury type units would sell out no problem at this point since KNC is 'proven', but all their store shows is the Neptune.
I don't know, seems to be a losing proposition since anyone who looks at KNC now that didn't previously order is likely in the "f this" camp and looking for a different vendor.
While I agree that KNC should offer less powerful miners, power consumption for anyone should not be a concern. Just use a hosting provider if you're a renter or just unable to upgrade your panel.
I never liked the idea of using a hosting provider because I wanted to possess the actual equipment. But now after dealing with a room full of gear (and growing), I'm seriously considering it.
Hosting provider puts a lot of trust in someone else to maintain, optimize, etc., etc., when this is all stuff I can do myself with spare time. The hardware itself is part of the appeal, personally, which is why I handle all of the hardware for my group. Like I said, we could run a Saturn, etc., in every single room of this house because of how power is distro'd. But it somewhat saddens me that while I'm sitting on a pile of cash to invest in hardware and KNC has proven themselves to be a pretty reliable vendor, their option to go big or go home sucks because it is prohibitive to newcomers (who will likely get fleeced for first gen units in the usual "sell new folks hardware that will never ROI game" that so many are fond of) as well as folks who simply can't handle the power draw.