Same experience, this is actually the whole point of these bidbits I think. I'm not sure if penny auctions are in 'fad' right now though so it remains to be seen how popular this can be.

Surely Bitcoin is already an international currency.. You can use it anywhere in the world.. that's the point of it.

sss

thanks, knc also recommended this is the one used on the neptune:

http://www.tme.eu/en/details/mx-39-30-1060/mini-fit-connectors/molex/39-30-1060/#teb32442a0ef1a08ca93b8c016ea8a128

Hello,

A couple cubes got burnt up/melted and don't work. I'm guessing I can just replace that pci-e connector on the cube. Anybody run into this? Does anyone know how to go about this? What parts do I need to purchase? I know someone who can solder this stuff on, but part do I need to purchase. Would be much appreciated.

90 degrees pci-e 6-pin male connector?

My beaglebone broke on the neptune and KNCMiner has been unresponsive. Looking to buy a new one. PM me, whatever the market price is. Thanks.

I read on here that some people weren't getting their RMA Cubes returned and my friend was worried when he sent in his. He said they fixed his cube within a day of arrival and just shipped it back via UPS all within a week. Bravo. He says he still has a little hope for those Bonus Neptunes.

Wow, you guys are still going at it. And icebreaker is back even. Gave that ship up long ago, cut my losses short, but sorry for those who may have over invested.

I decided not to go with this deal as they weren't very flexible about a termination clause in case things go sour. And, they were charging $10 a sq ft, and about $10/kw of capacity. I'm going to wait on another new construction in a different location that supposedly will go live this summer that they quoted me would be almost 10 times cheaper - $1.6/sq ft and $1.7/kW of capacity, could do 0.5 MW at 5k sq ft or 1.0 MW at 10k sq ft. Thanks for chiming in all.

No way, I don't think I would be investing in back up generators, at least not for a long time. They are more important in critical hosting environments, such as high frequency trading for example. For bitcoin mining, if it goes down, then it would be rare, <24 hours at a time, maybe every other month or something. Plus, I think the location brags high uptime and low power outages, but maybe that's what they all say. My friend has hosted with Toom.IM for example and I think they had a power outage one time in a 3-4 month period and they were only down for a couple hours. Not worth the investment in my opinion. I don't think any of the bitcoin hosting competitors who offer <$100 per kW pricing are investing in back up generators, but maybe ASICSPACE or toom.im or HashPlex can chime in.

Back-up internet connection may be more dooable, sure. It's true we didn't even cover internet connection, but these days I take Internet for granted so I'm going to guess that's not going to be a significant expense in relation to rent + electricity. Correct me if I'm wrong, I should probably look into this, too.

I think Jamphone is probably referring to Cooling. Nobody really talked about cooling much, but this warehouse is in an environment high north in latitude, so it's winters most of the time with a modest summer. Also, these aren't high-end servers/computers, but bitcoin miners. I think they can operate in less-than-typical "data-center" friendly environments. This isn't Texas or California, even though some have been able to host there as well.  Some have suggested that I may be able to do away with HVAC completely, or at a very bare minimum as long as I set up the racks properly and have smart ventilation. Are they bsing me? I don't think so, but maybe.

I haven't yet started looking for investors, and am only in the gathering information stage (hence speculation). Also, for a size this small, I may be able to fund all of this myself, incrementally. For example, I may not need to worry about installing HVAC until summer approaches and can shoulder off those costs until later. Keep in mind, this is just barely a .3 MW operation. ASICSPACE has ~5MW (I think), Toom.Im has ~1M, so I don't consider this a mega large operation. If and when I get to the point to commit and start up a legitimate business and/or seek investors/customers, I'll have a company profile, my information, my identity, my linkedIn profile, etc, and don't have any hang up in revealing this. It's too soon for that as currently I'm just seeking information to determine if this will be profitable and how long would it take to recoup my initial investment if I pursued this. I estimated that after rent, electricity, insurance costs, I should take in just about ~$4-5,000 barely, (tbh, much less than I would take in at my previous software engineering jobs, but I seek the thrill of entrepreneurship and learning experience). I'm only wondering how much I should estimate for initial capital to invest into racks, fans, electrical wiring, etc, to determine how long it would take to break even on my original investment. I'm estimating in the best case scenario I'd need $10-25k. Hopefully it doesn't go over $50k, as that would make things very difficult for me. Is this reasonable? Thanks!

Jamphone- you'd be surprised, not everyone wants to close off knowledge away. I'm following an "open" business model here where I reveal almost everything up front, the rent, the electricity cost, etc. If people want to participate with me on this, that's their choice, and in the end if this succeeds, they may have the benefit to access early-promotion hosting discounts. There are a lot of examples on this forum of people helping people, being open. Indeed, it seems some of the most respected members on here are those that are open to sharing knowledge. And, in general, Bitcoin itself is premised on an open-source model. Anyways, I digress. Of course there's always a threshold that people are not willing to cross in terms of revealing information, and I respect everyone's boundaries and appreciate whatever help I can get. Again, seeing that this is a <0.5 MW operation, I don't think this is rocket science, and expect to learn a lot along the way. Again, if I was shooting for a 1-5MW operation, I'd be a fool, but I think for 277 kW, it may be a neat experiment. I've already received a good amount of help via private messages, so not everyone is as closed off as you portray. Also, I tip for those that help, showing my appreciation and that I don't take it for granted.

That wasn't very helpful, but thanks.

It doesn't look like they want to negotiate the price lower at this time. They just recently put it on the market and they'd rather wait and see who bites on it at the old rent price. The other tenant paid $3k, so they think they'll be able to find someone. I either gamble and hope they'll accept my $2700 offer 2-3 weeks from now, or lose it to someone else who'll take it for $3,000. I don't want to risk losing this spot since it's been pretty dry with those power rates and electricity already built in without needing improvements. Thinking about going with the $3k asking price, but before I commit, I'd like to first try gauging how much capital I'd need for infrastructure equipment. Any thoughts? I'm trying for as economic as possible, and smracer has been kind to give some pointers regarding whips, for example. I'd appreciate any more advice & tips!

How much should I estimate for initial capital for equipment? Best case scenario, average, and worst case? Respectively, I'm thinking $10k, $25k, $50k.

Capacity: 800 amps, 208v, 3-phase, ~277 kW. 100-300 machines

Security deposit: $6k
Cheap/Ghetto Racks: ? (Home Depot? Where's a good spot and how much)
Whips: ~30 30Amp whips at $50 each, $1,500
Additional Cords/Wiring: ~$750
Misc. Wiring Electrical Costs: ~$2,000?
Used Industrial-size fans (2x): ~$600??
Vents: $600

What about HVAC>> How much would that run me.

So, I want to say $10,000 if everything goes smooth, $25,000, more likely scenario, but hopefully no more than $50,000, at worst case scenario? Anyone have any approximations? Thanks again!

Yeah, I'm kinda leaning against option B. I think Option A is already wired, ready to go. Already has like 5 panels. It has that large freezer taking up space, so leaving only 1500-2000 sq ft, but that should be plenty. I contacted them to see if it's still available, hopefully it is. If it is, I'm going to offer them 6 months up front for $15,000 (i.e., $2,500 per month), with option to renew for 3 years at $3k a mo. If they accept, I'd be starting next week. But, let's not jump the gun here. I'll be able to answer more questions if I can sign the deal at least. My company is registered in the state of New York. Again, don't want to jump the gun, if I can sign the deal, I'll be opening up to more questions.

It's 3-phase, so you have to multiply by the sqrt(3) or ~ 1.73, and at 208v, so we're looking at about 800A * 208 * 1.73 * .8 = 230kvA. So you run for 24 hours, ~5,520 kwh. It's ~2.5 cents approximately per hour. No joke - $0.025 per kwh. Per day, that's about $140 per day in electricity costs, or $4,200.  So roughly, $3000 for rent, let's assume I negotiated it down to $2700, so $2700 + $4200 = $6,900 monthly cost for 165k kwh. $6,900/165k = $0.0418 per kwh, not 6 cents a kwh.

That's awesome. Thanks very much. I've looked into Washington State but it looks like all the good spots have been taken up already . I'm keeping an eye out though

I'm having trouble deciding which route to take.

Option A) 800 amps, 3-phase 208v/120, service already installed at $2-3k a month, ~3000-5000 sq ft
Option B) 200 amps, 3-phase 240v/120 (older "delta" "CT" installation) at $2k a month, ~5000-7000 sq ft. Spend anywhere between $30-$80k upgrading to 0.5MW-1MW, possibly more.
Option C) Neither, find a place you can buy, not lease. I should mention there large 7000-8000 sq ft warehouse building available made of concrete foundation, but that's around $250k for the property to buy (not sure about the electric but probably have to upgrade either way as in option B). That's the major leagues though.
*Presumably I can do 2-5 year lease terms.

Option B would require more capital because I'd have to upgrade with the utilities company but it could turn out to be a better long-term solution. But, I also think upgrading to 0.5MW-1MW, would be a bit over my head.

I think, given my experience, I should probably just go with Option A for now, and if I can build up some experience there, consider moving or starting another operation in something like Option B (where I'd have to make bigger expenditures, i.e., upgrading with electrical company). Thoughts? I also pmed "smracer." It seems like, he was doing something similar with the 1200 amp warehouse, but lucky for him, he bought the place, so he has a lot more leeway there.

Hey ASICSPACE, thanks for chiming in. I'm not currently disclosing the location of the warehouse that I'm considering to lease. But yes, I'm sure unfortunately, that it's currently at 208v. One can upgrade to 480v and get more power as well, but again, those costs are heavy $30-80k all inclusive I'd guess conservatively; still, could be worthwhile if I could raise the money. Got around $30k of my own to invest, but probably would need more to be safe.

Thanks for the input guys. Pretty much scratching that idea.

This place is going for $3,000 a month and has 800 amps at 208/120v, could possibly negotiate down. Electricity on average would be about $.025-$.029 a killowat. Anyone think there's a small business/mining opportunity here? Anyone think the community would be interested in pitching in for some kind of a "group host"/"group buy" option? Been thinking. Or 800 amps too little since that gives ~290kW. Another option would be to spend $30-80k alone upgrading to 3000 amps (1 MW), but that would be a much bigger project of course, and more capital.

Also, a lot of people have mentioned that we need companies to pay their employees in BTC, and again we don't see much of this happening either. Again, where do most companies get their money to pay employees from? From investors. So, if they raised money originally in BTC, they'd be more inclined to pay employees in BTC.