Archive for the ‘Mining Hardware’ Category

Using the Samsung Galaxy A03s Smartphone for VerusCoin (VRSC) Mining

28, Oct 2023

One of the most popular and affordable smartphones to get if you are interested in crypto mining VerusCoin (VRSC) is the Samsung Galaxy A03s that is also easier to find and also widely available as a locked phone with some no-contract operators at great prices (you can use it for mining without activating a SIM card and getting a phone plan). With a regular price in the $50 USD range for locked phones available on Amazon from Tracfone, Total by Verizon and Simple Mobile and often going for as low as $30 USD when in promotion like it was for the Amazon Prime Day for example it is great way to get it for even less. It is definitely a great device to get you started with mobile crypto mining or if you want to give it a try before deciding should you get into it anyway, offering decent performance with a low power usage and with a killer promo price if you manage to snag a good deal. So, let us see what can you expect from the Samsung Galaxy A03s if you are interested in mining VRSC…

The Samsung Galaxy A03s has been launched in 2021 as a lower-end device with Android 11 operating system (updates to Android 13 are currently available) and decent hardware inside, though nothing too fancy. The device uses Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35 (12nm) chipset and has an 8-core ARM processor inside (4x 2.35 GHz Cortex-A53 and 4x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 cores), uses USB Type-C 2.0 interface that supports up to 15W charging and has a 5000 mAh non-removable battery inside. The model we have from Tracfone is with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, though there are apparently other variations with different memory amount, so make sure to check which one you are getting. The device has a 64-bit processor and an operating system running in 64-bit, unlike some other smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G that are simply no good for use as crypto mining devices at all. Considering the price point for locked A03S devices and the specs you are getting they actually do make a lot of sense to be used for VRSC mining, especially when you take a look at the performance numbers and power usage as well.

What about the most important thing here, namely the performance you can expect from the Galaxy A03s? Well, it is really great for a smartphone you can get for $50 USD or even $30 USD at times… of course if you are getting a Samsung Galaxy A03s that is not locked to a specific mobile operator it will cost you more, but you don’t need unlocked smartphone to mine with it if it is the only thing you are going to be doing with it. The average hashrate when mining VerusCoin (VRSC) with the Galaxy A03s is around 3.6 MH/s with a power usage of around 2.6 Watts measured at the wall (using Userland and ccminer, a bit slower when using VerusMiner), so damn good performance and very power efficient device. Not the fastest out there, however the price you can get it at is really the best thing here and for that price the performance is surprisingly good… almost makes you start thinking along the way of actually building a smartphone mining farm, though going for large scale mining with smartphones does present some unique challenges that still need to be addressed. You might also want to check out the Alcatel TCL A3 and TCL A3X Smartphones as they can offer similar performance for a lower or similar price point as the Samsung Galaxy A03s, although these devices do come with their own specifics as well, so make sure to check our review.

Using Alcatel TCL A3 and TCL A3X Smartphones for VerusCoin (VRSC) Mining

25, Oct 2023

Time for another look at budget smartphones that could be used for crypto currency mining such as VerusCoin (VRSC). We are going to check if the Alcatel TCL A3 and Alcatel TCL A3X smartphones are any good for mining VerusCoin. Both the TCL A3 and TCL A3X are available at a really good price point, especially when looking at operator locked phone prices, making them an ideal option for use as crypto miners. The big question however is if the current price point of about $40 USD (for operator locked devices) is worth it for these devices when you take a look at the mining performance they offer in return and this is precisely what we are going to be checking out now. And as you might’ve noticed already from some of our earlier posts, some cheaper and some even not so budget smartphones are not suitable for mining usage at all due to specific software configuration of the OS (running in 32-bit mode) even if the hardware inside is 64-bit capable, so, another thing to check with these devices as well…

The Alcatel TCL A3 was released in 2011 and comes with Android 11 (even after like 20 system software updates you are still on Android 11), it is powered by Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 (12 nm) chipset that uses an octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 (8-core A53 CPU, 64-bit), has 3GB RAM and a removable back cover and removable 3000 mAh battery (rarely seen nowadays). It uses the older micro-USB connector for power and data transfer, but the package from Total by Verizon we got (Tracfone inside) had not only a data cable, but power adapter included as well. A really good deal price wise that you can get with Total by Verizon TCL A3, 32GB, Black – Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) at $39.88 USD from Amazon currently (limited quantity and up to 2 devices per order).

The Alcatel TCL A3X is very similar, also released in 2011 with Android 11, powered by Snapdragon 460 (11 nm) chipset with an 8-core 1.8 GHz Kryo 240 CPU, 3GB RAM and non-removable back cover and a fixed 3500 mAh battery. The A3X seems to be just a slightly improved version of the A3 model that should also offer a bit of a performance improvement as well. It doesn’t feature a removable back cover or battery, not that it matters much as the phone won’t power on without a battery anyway (the A3 that is). The TCL A3X also comes with a micro-USB connector for power and data transfer and has not only data cable, but power adapter inside the package from Tracfone we got. The list price of that one is usually $79.99 USD, but it is currently available for half that or even less. A really good deal price wise that you can get with Tracfone Alcatel TCL A3X, 32GB, Prime Black – Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) at $39.88 USD from Amazon currently (up to 2 devices per order) and there is even a 20% discount coupon bringing down the price to just $31.90 USD at the moment!

So, the price for the Alcatel TCL A3 is really good, even better with the deal on the Alcatel TCL A3X that comes cheaper at the moment and should be slightly better in terms of performance. The only bit of a drawback, no USB-C cables, but older micro-USB, though that is not a deal breaker here considering that both devices do come with the cable and even a charger in the package. They both have 8-core 64-bit CPUs – two different chipsets that should have similar performance, and fortunately they both do come with Android OS running in 64-bit mode, so, yes, you can run the VerusCoin (VRSC) mining software on these as well as other mobile miners. Even though they do not have OS updates past Android 11 they still run perfectly fine with it for mining purposes, so you are good to go. Here you can find more about the situation with 32-bit Android OS and why it is important to have not only 64-bit CPU, but also an operating system like fortunately it is on the TCL A3 and A3X.

What about mining performance then, now, that we know they are good to go for mining VRSC using the ccminer miner. Well, a very pleasant surprise here – the hashrate you can expect is very similar to the one of the popular mining option that is the Samsung Galaxy A03s. The Alcatel TCL A3 (left) does manage to provide a stable VRSC mining hashrate of around 3650 KH/s (3.65 MH/s) with a power usage of about 3.2 Watts measured at the wall. The Alcatel TCL A3X (right), as expected, performs slightly better with a VRSC mining hashrate of about 3865 KH/s (3.86 MH/s) with a power usage of about 2.7 Watts measured at the wall, meaning better efficiency as well. The bit higher performance of the TCL A3X might not be worth with the regular list price, but with the current promotional price making it cheaper than the TCL A3 makes it the clear winner here. If you miss the current deal and if you only find a locked model at the regular list price, then the TCL A3 is definitely more attractive choice for half the regular price of the A3X with just a bit lower performance and slightly higher power usage.

Iceriver KAS KS0 PRO ASIC Miner to Replace the KS0 Entry Level Kaspa ASICs

24, Oct 2023

Iceriver, the first Kaspa (KASP) ASIC manufacturer, has announced the upcoming release of the KS0 PRO ASIC miner that is apparently set to replace their current entry level KS0 device. The original Iceriver KS0 miner is no longer listed on the official website, it was capable of 100 GH/s KAS mining hashrate with 65 Watts of power usage by default, though we’ve seen unofficial firmware that allowed users to overclock it up to 160 GH/s with 100+ Watts of power usage. The overclockability of the KS0 probably led to the official release of a KS0 PRO version that is capable of 200 GH/s at 100 Watts of power usage, or slightly more hashrate with less power usage than the OC option. Still, the Iceriver KAS KS0 PRO ASIC miners are doubling the official hashrate of the KS0 and with just about 50 percent power usage increase, so better than the OC results.

Of course, these replacing the original KS0 should come at the same price or even lower in order to be considered a worthwhile investment at the moment and the KS0 Pro to be considered a worthy update, especially now that there is unofficial overclock for the original miners and with the constantly increasing network difficulty. However, Iceriver has not yet revealed what the price will be for the successor of the KS0, namely the KS0 PRO. We are expecting something in the $500-$600 USD range as the most likely price per unit, though we might still be either pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised by the actual price. We’ll have to wait a bit more and see what Iceriver will reveal and when the actual orders for the new KS0 Pro devices will be opened.

Interestingly enough the new Iceriver KAS KS0 PRO miners are still passive (no active fan cooling), though for 100 Watts of power usage you should definitely consider adding a cooling fan or placing the miner in a well-ventilated room that has good constant airflow. It would’ve been nice if the new device had PCI-E power connector, so that we could utilize existing computer PSUs and not buy powerful laptop-type external power bricks. So, could Iceriver done better with the new KS0 Pro – probably, still it is nice to see that they are at least doing some improvements.

– For more information about the ICERIVER KAS KS0 PRO Kaspa ASIC Miners…


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