So options: 1) VMC can't follow the blueprints for the evo board, 2) There is a high % of boards that is limited in his speed in the VMC process or 3) the evo board itself sucks.
I must admit that I'm undecided.
Personally I think it's impractical for anyone but the most hardcore tech-head to be able to remove the amount of heat coming from these chips. I defo believe the peppermining board is a better design and their software will allow folks to get a lot more out of the chips, but IMHO the price is a little steep relatively speaking considering the plausible additional hashrate average joe could achieve.
That said, from the specs I've seen posted by MrTeal and Gateway I get the feeling the w/gh will be better from the habanero, although $250 worth of improvement? I'm not sure....
I've never actually seen any efficiency numbers posted for the Evo, actually. I'd be interested if you have any, especially board level ones and ideally with the cooling not plugged into the board since it can be so variable in power usage.