Archive for the ‘Mining Hardware’ Category

New Braiins OS Cobalt Available Now for S9 and T1 ASIC Miners

6, Dec 2018

Braiins OS has just released a new update to their alternative opensource OS for Bitcoin ASIC miners available for Antminer S9 and DragonMint T1 with support for AsicBoost support enabled. The new Braiins OS Cobalt is here to replace the previous released called Wolfram bringing some improvements such as new status page, per chip frequency calibration for S9, improved bulk upgrades and full compatibility with the Awesome Miner management app.

The Cobalt update brings multiple ways of upgrading your ASIC miners from their stock firmware including a version that can now directly be flashed via the stock firmware’s update feature for a really easy deployment. Installing from a PC with Windows is now easier as with the previous release you had to use a Linux PC to deploy the Braiins OS software to your miners and that was not always an easy to do thing for many people. Here you can find more details on how to install Braiins OS Cobalt on the compatible Bitcoin ASIC miners using al supported methods.

Braiins OS uses over (version-rolling) AsicBoost in accordance with BIP310, so in order to take advantage of that feature that essentially reduces power usage while maintaining the same hashrate you should go for a mining pool that supports it. With Braiins OS you have easy per chain control of the operating frequency and voltage of the miner, though you should be extra careful when playing with these in order to be on the safe side. The ASIC Boost is enabled by default, so if you are having trouble connecting to a mining pool then it most likely does not support AsicBoost and you may have to disable it from the settings.

One thing however that is still missing in the updated Braiins OS is a user control feature for the cooling fans, the operating system uses automatic fan control maintaining low RPMs and higher operating temperatures. When increasing the voltage and frequency of the miner by overclocking it will compensate with higher RPMs for the fans, but the temperature will still be maintained pretty high for our taste. Unfortunately there is no option to force it to 100% fan for example via the web interface and in our opinion this is a must have feature that is still missing. Other than that we like what we are seeing from Braiins OS and how it is improving with new releases, so if you still have not tried it you might give it a go as an alternative for the stock firmware from Bitmain’s S9 or Halong Mining’s T1.

– For more details about the new Braiins OS Cobalt release for S9 and T1 ASIC miners…

New 43 THS Innosilicon Terminator3-43T Bitcoin ASIC Miner

19, Nov 2018

The newly announced Innosilicon Terminator3 ASIC miner capable of delivering up to 43 THS SHA256 mining hashrate with just 2100 Watts of power usage (48.83 W/TH) is definitely interesting technologically wise, though in the current market situation pre-ordering mining hardware for next year delivery is significantly more riskier. The Innosilicon Terminator3-43T is up for pre-orders at a price of $2279 USD or about half of Bitcoin at the current low prices, so buying with BTC may not be a wise idea at the moment. Delivery the 1st batch is expected to start between January 25th and February 25th, 2nd batch is for March 5th to March 15th, 2019. One thing is for sure however, the competition for more powerful and more efficient ASIC miners is heating up even though the market is declining at the moment, apparently everyone is already gearing up for when things pick back up.

Innosilicon Terminator3-43T Specifications:
– Hashrate: 43 TH/s (+/-5%)
– Power Consumption: 2100 W (+/- 10%, normal mode, at the wall, with 93% efficiency PSU, 25°C temperature)
– Dimensions: Single Tube, 430mm（L）*141mm(W)*220mm（H）
– Net Weight: 10.02 kg
– Ambient Temperature: 0-40° C
– Network Connection: Ethernet
– Note: ASIC Boost Enabled with a proper license

– For more information about the new Innosilicon Terminator3-43T Bitcoin ASIC Miner…

Bitmain with Two New 7nm ASic Miners – Antminer S15 and T15

9, Nov 2018

Bitmain has announced its next-generation 7nm miners – Antminer S15 and Antminer T15 and is already taking orders for the new devices with estimated shipping time for the second half of December. Both new Bitcoin ASIC miners have two different operating modes – a high-performance one for maximum hashrate and an energy saving mode that offers better energy efficiency with lower power usage and reduced hashrate. Antminer S15 is available for $1475 USD with a limit of 2 miner per user and Antminer T15 for $913 USD with a limit of 50 miners per user. The new miners do come with a built-in power supply included in the price, but be aware that apparently this PSU is only for 220V input power and also the output voltage is not the standard 12 used previously, so finding an alternative power supply may turn out to be a bit of a challenge.

The Antminer S15 high-performance mode can achieve a hash rate of 28 TH/s with a power efficiency as low as 57 J/TH (1596W); its energy-saving mode can improve power efficiency to 50 J/TH while maintaining a hash rate of 17 TH/s (850W). The Antminer T15 high-performance mode sees a hash rate of 23 TH/s and a power efficiency as low as 67 J/TH (1541W). Its energy-saving mode can improve power efficiency to 60 J/TH while maintaining a hash rate of 20 TH/s (1200W). The new Anminer ASIC miners come with a new high conversion power supply APW8 that has a non-standard 16-18V high-voltage output, so they can effectively reduce the power loss during the power conversion process, helping mining farms save on electricity costs, or so Bitmain claims as a reason to include the new power supply module as a part of the miner. The only problem is that the new power supplies are not designed to operate on 110V power grids and that can present a challenge for some regions that do operate on these.

– For more information about the new Antminer S15 Bitcoin ASIC miners…
– For more information about the new Antminer T15 Bitcoin ASIC miners…


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