Bitcoin Forum

Is it possible to "build" your own GPU/FPGA or even ASIC?
Will there be anything more powerful at mining than an ASIC in the next couple of years?

Expensive equipment and years of study are required.

It's unlikely anything will be more powerful than an ASIC in the foreseeable future, as ASIC is a general term that covers a wide variety of electronics, and I don't see any non-electronic mining designs coming in my lifetime.

An ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) is a device custom built specifically do perform a specific application: in this case mining bitcoins. The only thing that's gonna be faster than an ASIC is a better ASIC (even if you get a quantum miner specifically optimized for mining bitcoins, it'll still technically be an "ASIC"). Currently existing ASICs are based on pretty old fab technology and likely are not optimized to the same degree that a larger company would optimize their chips. My rough estimate would be that a fully optimized ASIC on the latest process size would have about 100x the hash/power performance of currently existing bitcoin mining ASIC chips. In another few years process size will have shrunk further still, there is considerable research being done right now on 9 nm technology. So yes, over the next couple of years, if bitcoin continues to be profitable, expect new products to come onto market that have about 100x or more the hash rate of current products for the same power draw.

As to if you can build your own... yes. After all, someone built their own GPU, FPGA, ASIC, etc, before they were ever available for sale. However, you need substantial knowledge, skill, time, software, and equipment to do it.

Only "chips" can be used?
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/144248-neuristors-the-future-of-brain-like-computer-chips
Would "Neuristors" count as chips? They replicate brain function...  :o

Can you make your own chips? sure, you slice potatos very thin and drop them in boiling oil.... um.... never mind, wrong forum.  :P

Since when are brains any good at doing SHA256 or scrypt mining calculations? They are not, it would be pathetically slow.  If brains could mine crypto we wouldn't need computers. Neurons are analog devices with summing junctions etc. not suitable for precise digital calculations.

Haha!  I get it!  ;)

Add sauce. Mayonaise, Ranch, ketchup or whatever.

I would argue that quantum computers will be the ultimate mining devices beyond ASIC's..

Yeah, but first there must be *available* quantum computers. But after that, the current cryptographic algorithms turns to dust as the are quite easily broken by these machines.

Encryption beyond SHA-256?

The moment quantum computing becomes a reality, your private keys are useless, and bitcoin becomes worthless.  :-\

Unless miners start hashing with quantum computers.

One moment before the moment quantum computing becomes a reality, the last person using existing private key algo would have upgraded to something much stronger.

AFAIK quantum computing is already a reality. A very limited reality.. Its not asif one day out of the blue ull suddenly get a quantum supercomputer. It would be a slow gradual process in performance increase.