[INFO - DISCUSSION] new Proto Rig Miner from Block

[cygan]

today, the new Proto Rig miner was unveiled at Core Scientific's facility, amid great interest and anticipation.
the concept is convincing: the software, called Proto Fleet, will be open source, and the miner is modular and backward compatible (no unnecessary psu's, fans, or cases when upgrading).
the exact specs are:

• 9.4 kw/ft density (industry-leading)
• as low as 14.1 j/th efficiency
• 20% savings each upgrade cycle

you can find more information about today's presentation and the hardware in general at the following links:
https://proto.xyz/products/rig
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/block-launches-modular-bitcoin-miner-and-free-open-source-mining-software

[ABCbits]

The design is neat, it reminds me of server rack. I don't mine Bitcoin, but the efficiency alone isn't very competitive when Antminer S21 XP have 13.5 J/TH and upcoming Antminer S23 claimed to have 11 J/TH.

[cygan]

The design is neat, it reminds me of server rack.
✂️

indeed, it has similarities to a server rack (as you can also see on one of the pictures)
here are more pictures of the presentation and other specs.

[mikeywith]

The design is neat, it reminds me of server rack. I don't mine Bitcoin, but the efficiency alone isn't very competitive when Antminer S21 XP have 13.5 J/TH and upcoming Antminer S23 claimed to have 11 J/TH.

Bitmain gears have always been more efficient than Whatsminers but the latter sells very well due to the quality built, 1 or 2 watts isn't going to be a deal breaker, however, this thing looks very expensive, I do not see how would it compare with the Chinese made gears, probably 50% more expensive.

It's possible that with the U.S tax these will complete in U.S market but nothing much elsewhere.

oh ya, with 9 hashboard that's 50kg heavy, most people can't carry much weight 

[fillippone]

The issue with this miner, which is impressive on paper, is the real-world availability.
Bitmain is a near monopoly for a reason. It has a very deep relationship with many mining companies and an incredible supply chain.
It will be difficult for Block to enter the race for Mining Hardware.

[FP91G]

Design? I see 3 ASICs in one box:)
This is industrial equipment, who needs design? What matters here is ease of maintenance and quality of products.
As an engineer, I am concerned with only one question. If one board breaks and I take it out and give it for repair, will the ASIC work without this board?

[fillippone]

Design? I see 3 ASICs in one box:)
This is industrial equipment, who needs design? What matters here is ease of maintenance and quality of products.
As an engineer, I am concerned with only one question. If one board breaks and I take it out and give it for repair, will the ASIC work without this board?

I guess the modular approach allowing on-the-fly substitution of hashboards was one of the exact points of this...design.

https://proto.xyz/blog/posts/the-end-of-downtime-in-bitcoin-mining

Modular design maximizes uptime

At the center of modular design and flexible infrastructure is a relatively straightforward question: what if, instead of having to physically remove malfunctioning machines and send them to a repair facility, it was possible to easily swap out faulty components right there on the rack?

For instance, a machine designed for hashboards to be easily replaced or upgraded–without the need to remove it from the rack or ship it off to a specialist for repairs–would shrink downtime to minutes and lower or eliminate the associated costs.

And this is more than hypothetical. It’s an insight born from close collaboration with industry leaders.

Our partnership with Core Scientific has led to valuable feedback on our existing innovative chip and machine design. Armed with this knowledge, we are now designing next-gen machines that maximize uptime, profitability, and infrastructure operability while minimizing common points of failure–designs that mean no miner goes offline for an extended period over a faulty hashboard or a $0.90 fan.

I guess this answer your question.