MiniBit 1366 and MiniBit 1397 Single-Chip Bitcoin ASIC Home Miners Powered by Bitaxe

25 Oct
2023

If you are into Bitcoin, mining and DIY projects you’ve probably seen the Bitaxe open source hardware Bitcoin ASIC miner project that is based around a single Bitmain BM1397 ASIC chip capable of a hashrate of up to 400 GH/s with just 15 Watts of power usage and the more recent Bitaxe Ultra variant that uses a single Bitmain BM1366 ASIC chip for better efficiency at 550 GH/s with the same 15 Watts of power usage (or the BittaxeHex design for a 6x BM1366 chips). If you are not the DIY person that want to solder and build the open-source design of the Bitaxe yourself there are prebuilt versions ready to be plugged in and used already available as well. The guys at D-Central have gone even further and their MiniBit designs that make things not only easier for the regular crypto user or miner, but also add style with their custom 3D printer S9-like mini cases…

The MiniBit 1397 Powered by Bitaxe is the single BM1397 Bitcoin ASIC version that is capable of the same performance of up to 400 GH/s that the regular Bitaxe provides but with more style priced at $148 USD. It includes the fully assembled Bitaxe v2.2, a 15 Watt 5V 4A power supply unit, and the Mini-S9 3D-printed shell… ready to be configured and start mining BTC. The slightly more powerful and more expensive MiniBit 1366 Powered by Bitaxe Ultra comes with a single BM1366 Bitcoin ASIC chip that offers up to 550 GH/s mining hashrate at the same power usage level and with the same PSU and Mini-S9 shell like the MiniBit 1397. The price of the MiniBit 1366 is currently $170.20 USD. You can also get the regular Bitaxe pre-assembled for $99.90 or the DIY version for $70.30 USD from the D-Central online store. Do note that they are based in Canada and shipping is going to be done from there!

Now, have in mind that these Bitcoin miners are not meant to be used in mining farms, they are meant to be used by home miners that want to have an affordable and not that powerful, but very efficient ASIC miner to play around with and experiment. That is why there is no talk about profitability or return of investment with these as that is not their original goal. The Bitaxe is ideal for solo mining as a low power/low hashrate design, though you can use it on a pool if you wish to as well. It is pretty much standalone device as it uses WiFi for internet connectivity, so it needs just a cable for the power supply unit. It is low-power and is not noisy, though you might want to experiment with the cooling fans to make it even more silent (hint: Noctua). So, the Bitaxe is more of a fun Bitcoin mining “toy” to play around with and experiment (remember it is also an opensource design)… just go ahead and get one.

– Visit the D-Central online shop for your Bitaxe-based miner needs…

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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