Post
Topic
Board Hardware
Merits 2 from 1 user
Re: Official FutureBit Apollo BTC Software/Image and Support thread
by
jstefanop
on 27/10/2021, 15:36:09 UTC
⭐ Merited by NotFuzzyWarm (2)
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Problem of running turbo while syncing is not CPU bottleneck, its thermals. The CPU could overheat and shutdown if its running at 100% while syncing, and the hashboard is in turbo mode.

That's a serious problem with the device then. You are saying we can't run desktop computer in the device at 100% while Turbo mode is on in the miner part. What if YouTube is on for a few minutes and CPU spikes to 100%, or any other more CPU intensive task is running, not just bitcoin node but anything else, it means sudden shutdown?
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Um, these are miners and a dedicated BTC node -- not a desktop computer! The computer part is designed to be just an embedded controller and as a BTC node which normally are rather light CPU usage operations but more to the point they are also to a good extent time-sensitive. It is not intended for streaming video, gaming, or anything else which can/will as you noted steal critical CPU cycles from the main operations... The miner & node work as intended and are not flawed in respect to what they are designed to do..

Sorry that's where you are wrong - they are advertised as such.

"FutureBit Apollo BTC is the world’s first vertically integrated platform brining the full power of Bitcoin and it’s mining infrastructure in a small, quiet, easy to use desktop device designed for everyday people."

"PRE-ORDER: Apollo BTC - A Bitcoin ASIC Miner and Desktop Class Computer running a Full Node and Much More!"

Desktop Class Computer. Looks pretty clear to me.

Also:

"We did this with our optimized PCB design that has carefully placed all 44 hash cores underneath our custom cold-forged aluminum induction heatsink, which draws up to 200 Watts of heat away from the device with our new nearly silent 25mm fan. This results in the Apollo BTC in Turbo Mode being just as quiet as the Apollo LTC in Eco Mode!"

"Can be used as a full Desktop computer with a monitor keyboard and mouse (not included), or through our Web UI"

Nowhere it says you can't run Apollo BTC in Turbo Mode and actually use that Desktop Class Computer at the same time because it will shutdown. Therefore, shutting entire device because you actually use it as advertised (Turbo Mode + Desktop use, or Turbo Mode + Bitcoin Node syncing) is a factory defect. I resolved defect in my unit myself (rewired small fan back to 5V supply), but I can imagine surprise of many less experienced enthusiasts who wake up to see their brand new miner, set to Turbo Mode, dead cold in the morning, because it has shutdown during normal as-advertised operation. Or even more disappointment when a customer would actually try to use that Desktop Class Computer for a minute and it would shutdown suddenly. And before you ask - Turbo Mode is one of advertised operation modes, nowhere it says it's overclocking, no warranty, or causes shutdown/overheating/do not use etc.. It's just listed there as one of the modes for people to use.
No offence to jstefanop and team - I love this device because I can workaround problems, but these are just facts.

Yes it is a full desktop, but that does not mean its designed to run crazy intensive desktop applications. Goal of the device is to run Bitcoin apps/wallets in an easy to use manner on top of the full node/miner. Even when we start offering things like Lightning Apps these won't take up all the CPU resources.

Your free to game on it if you want, but expecting it to work flawlessly while doing so and running the hashboard in turbo is definitely not what we advertise and way beyond the scope of the device. Ive also explained many times that you should not run in in turbo while doing the initial sync. While we have tested it and works fine in our test setups, there are environments (over 35C ambient) where the CPU could overheat. It only takes the device 24-48 hours to complete a full sync with a good internet connection so the downtime is not much if you really want to run turbo 25/7.

As with everything there are tradeoffs we have to make and for what the device is used for.