Miners will have to put a lot of effort for the implementation of successful activities in the mining world this year. Perhaps only those miners who are most committed to blockchain technologies do not stop working on creating chains of calculations. The special device is its main tool — ASICS. What do novice miners need to know about it?
What is ASIC?
ASIC is an abbreviation that can be deciphered as follows: a specific integrated circuit. This literally means an integrated circuit designed to solve certain problems. Each ASIC performs only one task — the mining of cryptocurrency built on a specific algorithm, for example, bitcoin, litecoin, dash.
ASICs appeared with the development of blockchains, when the networks complexity grew, and a greater amount of video cards were required for its maintenance. Miners incurred high costs for electricity, and the mining of electronic coins could hardly be called profitable. The spring of 2013 was the time when ASICs appeared on the market. ASICminer was their manufacturer. Miners who mined cryptocurrency at the time used Blade Block Erupter boards. It is interesting, that the outdated consumer electronics process 130 nm was used for creation.
What were the new devices interesting for miners? Their productivity was several times higher than the productivity of video cards. ASICs appeared in the mining world immediately became very popular among network users. They were guaranteed to get rewarded, ahead of the pools of video cards. In addition, the case humming like a helicopter consumed not so much electricity. However, it should be kept in mind that ASICs worked around the clock. One and a half years of payback period, space savings, and simple setup were also important components.
High noise levels, impossibility to use devices for other calculations, complex repairs, and high cost is considered the drawbacks of the device.
ASIC composite components and elements
The combination of several elements packed in a parallelepiped aluminum case are the main part of ASIC. Their names and detailed descriptions are given below:
- Board consisting of chips set.
- Power unit.
- Memory block.
- Ventilators.
- Connector for connecting to a personal computer.
The modern market offers devices of various sizes and with different «fillings», which differ from each other depending on the work performed.
Mining algorithms are known today
It is the algorithm for mining different electronic currency that deserves miner attention after he makes a choice in favor of a specific altcoin. ASIC will be purchased depending on this. There are three algorithms that are known today:
- X11 was launched during the growing Dash popularity. Eleven hashing functions are used by this algorithm for proof of work.
- Scrypt is a reliable key generation function basing on a passcode. Its hacking is almost impossible since a huge RAM volume is needed for this.
- SHA-256 is a widespread and common algorithm. Production of ASICs was started just for it.
The choice of algorithm plays a major role in Proof-of-Work protocols that are the basis for building the majority of modern blockchains. They assume the engagement of users in performing computing and receiving an award in proportion to the contribution made.
Nuances that everyone has to study before purchasing ASIC
ASIC’s power (or hashrate) is the main aspect that the miner has to take into consideration first of all. The speed of performing calculations, the probability of completing a block, and receiving a reward are directly dependent on this indicator. ASICs can be overclocked by rising the hashrate. However, electricity consumption increases at the same time. Thus, unstable equipment operation is possible with a standard cooler.
By the way, one more significant aspect is the energy consumption. Don’t forget to take this aspect into account. It is especially necessary to examine the ASIC capacity when installing numerous equipment units.
Energy effectiveness is a more complex feature. Suppliers specify it as the ratio of the amount of energy consumed to hashrate. Thus, a device is considered energy efficient and has a higher efficiency if its energy consumption coefficient is low. The absolute majority of modern manufacturers produce energy-efficient ASICs.
The device cost is another element that constantly attracts attention. It is embedded in the investment model for the payback calculation. Thus, every miner has to keep in mind that the cost of the device should be paid off first, and only then the earnings will start, minus the current costs of repair, operation support, and electricity consumed.
ASIC kinds
ASICs are divided into three kinds depending on the purpose:
- Compact (or flas)miners. These devices are used exclusively for mining coins without leaving home. The simplicity of the process of connecting to a computer through USB, along with the small overall dimensions, are the advantages of this ASIC type. However, they have the appropriate simple characteristics. This device is perfect as a gift. It is used for familiarization with the mining. The price of this device is about 90 dollars.
- Home mining ASIC. Average characteristics and parameters are features of this kind. They usually consume 700 watts on average. Materials that manufacturers apply for the production of this ASIC kind are characterized by lower quality than those used for the production of professional equipment. This type’s hashrate also demonstrates average productivity level.
- Professional ASICs are the most traditional. Effective high-quality cooling systems, as well as built-in PSU with a capacity of more than a kilowatt, are elements of professional ASICs. The productivity and energy effectiveness of such devices is maximum. However, it is necessary to keep in the mind the payback time. Indicators such as the cost of the equipment and its energy consumption are the basis for the payback period determination.
Which ASIC to buy in 2020?
Today, each manufacturer has a solid ASICs’ kit for any calculations. Information about the most popular ones is provided below:
- Bitmain Antminer S9 is widely distributed and the most traditional miner. Mining various digital coins, including bitcoins, using the SHA-256 algorithm is its main task. It became available in retail in the summer of 2016. It continues to bring real money to miners today.
- GMO B3. The release of one of the most powerful ASICs on the crypto mining market was announced by a Japanese vendor. It is created for the SHA-256 algorithm
- Innosilicon Terminator 2-Turbo. According to the statements that the manufacturers made, digital coins miners have access to receiving the instrument that issues 24TH/s. Chips with low energy consumption are used as an element of this ASIC. This device helped many miners to mine a huge amount of electronic coins and made them rich.
- PinIdea DR-100. This equipment was manufactured in China as a substitute for the BitMain Antminer D3. It was issued in the Dash increasing stage. The device payback took place within half of the year.
How to set up and maintain an ASIC miner?
The process of configuring a specific ASIC requires a personal approach. The chosen altcoin and the manufacturer’s instructions are its basis. There is a universal actions combination that must be done to start mining:
- Plug the power supply unit. PSU connectors are attached to the couplers. The click of the fixator specifies that the action has been completed successfully. One socket is attached to the installation control panel.
- Plug the network cable to the router.
- Conduct a test launch. The sensors will light up, and the ventilators will begin rotating at low speeds.
- Define the ASIC IP address. Miner can do this in the browser or using the utility.
- Go to the web interface of the IP-address and conduct specific actions: prescribe the mining pool address, configure the frequency and capability, change the firmware.
- ASIC restarts after storage of all settings and starts operating with the new settings.
It is worth noting that the use of ASICs allows guaranteeing passive income in the long term despite the constantly changing situation in the world of cryptocurrency mining. In addition, the payback period is not long on average.
