Compass Mining Warns Bitcoin Miners About Changes in Bitmain’s ASIC Design – Mining Bitcoin news
compass mining, a Bitcoin miningcompany, published a blog post stating that Bitmain, the company behind the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rig, has made changes to its design. The Post advised miners to be aware of the changes as Compass Mining identified “three issues” with two different Antminer S19 series mining rigs.
Bitcoin Miner Compass Mining Identifies 3 issues with Antminer S19 series
Kompass Mining, a bitcoin mining company, published a blog post titled “Bitmain has changed its ASIC design. Miners must be ready,” highlighting changes in Bitmain’s ASIC design. Compass believes that Bitcoin mining facility operators should be aware of the changes that could cause problems. For example, the company identified three issues with the Antminer S19, which produces 90 terahashes per second (TH/s), and the S19 XP, which offers 140 TH/s.
Compass Mining’s William Foxley explains that the new machines lack a Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC) on the ASICs, making it more difficult to control individual hashboards compared to those with a PIC. The rigs use an aluminum coating on the side of the mining rig, which Foxley says can contribute to overheating issues. Additionally, there is a “consolidation of all components onto one side of the board, resulting in an increased likelihood of hashboard errors.”
Foxley explains that devices without a PIC cannot underhash on “a board or two,” and hashboards made from aluminum plates can fail more often than those made with printed circuit boards (PCBs) in hot climates like Texas. Additionally, Kompass Mining believes non-Bitmain repair shops may struggle to replace damaged chips. The operations team discovered these issues within the last six months and they are “significantly impacting a unit’s performance.”
Finally, Foxley notes in the blog post that third-party firmware could fix the PIC issue and allow a miner to run on one or two boards. Third-party firmware can also lower certain variables to keep the ASIC mining rig cooler. The paper suggests as another solution to choose the best environmental conditions. However, as for the aluminum coating, Compass Mining sees it as a net negative.
“We view the design decision to move to aluminum clad hashboards as a net negative — a decision that will increase ASIC failures and underhashing while increasing service and maintenance costs,” concludes the Compass blog post. “Coupled with the lack of a PIC and the increasing difficulty of swapping out bad chips, we encourage miners to double down on their repair game as they add next-gen units to their fleets.”
What do you think of Bitmain’s decision to change its ASIC design? Do share your thoughts in the comment section below.
photo credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Compass Mining
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Source: Crypto News Deutsch
