ASIC vs GPU: Comparison

[Operatr]

Since we now have a real world ASIC capable of Scrypt mining entering the market, we can see what their performance is like compared to a GPU.

DualMiner USB

The DualMiner is rated as follows:

Price: $85 (order of 20+)

LTC/BTC Dual Mode    BTC 500 Mh/s      LTC 40 Kh/s       2.5 Watts

BTC Single Mode        BTC 1600 Mh/s (1.6 Gh/s)            2.5 Watts

LTC Single Mode         LTC  70 Kh/s                              1.5 Watts



A typical R290 card (approximate)

1 R290 Graphics card      ~ $620                    900 Kh/s                      375 Watts (full hash)


Using DualMiners, we would need about 13 to equate a single R290 graphics card:

13 Dual Miners             ~ $1105                      900 Kh/s                     19.5 Watts


In this comparison, we can conclude that for nearly twice the price, you get 19x the power efficiency over a GPU. That means you could run 19 900 Kh/s DualMiner rigs (around 20 Mh/s) on the same power it would take to hash on a single graphics card.

This is ultimately the tradeoff: higher up front cost for drastically reduced long term power usage and much better ability to scale over GPUs


Total Configuration

Let's do a comparison to a typical 6 card GPU rig, including the other parts necessary to operate them

Typical 6 Card Rig           Board, CPU, RAM, PSU, HDD, Cables, etc ( $500)   6 R290 Graphics Cards  ($3720)

5400 Kh/s (5.4 Mh/s)         2250 Watts               Total Cost    ~$4220

Equivalent DualMiners (78)    AsicMiner 49 Port hubs x2 (~$400, cheaper with other solutions)   Raspberry Pi ($45) (Optional)  78 Dualminers (~$6630)

5400 Kh/s (5.4 Mh/s)        117 Watts                     Total Cost    ~$7075


(I may add the 5 Chip miner comparison coming out later)

___________________________

From this we know it takes about 13 Gridchips to equate a single R290 graphics card

We also know that ASICs offer significant power savings over GPUs in terms of nearly 19x

It should be obvious that USB singles like these typically offer the worst $/Hash ratio as they are not hashing dense. It can be assumed something more like a 16x board would fair much better in price/performance. Bitcoin mining performance is paltry for the price here if running in BTC only mode. Compared to GPUs for Scrypt mining however, these chips are a better deal long term.

Gridseeds do offer the unique ability to multi-hash as well, giving your mining operation some flexibility.

Kilohash per $  (Litecoin Only)

6x GPU Rig          1.45 Kh/s/$                    

DualMiners          .76   Kh/s/$


Kilohash per Watt  (Litecoin Only)

6x GPU Rig          2.54 Kh/s/w                    

DualMiners          46.15   Kh/s/w


Please let me know if my math is wrong anywhere  

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[ymer]

You are wrong in choosing a R9 290 for comparison...

You can get R9 280x for $325 that gives you 720KH/s easily, to get 700KH/s using the DualMiner it would cost you $980 and right now it's out of stock , which is 3x the cost.

[Pala_00]

You are wrong in choosing a R9 290 for comparison...

You can get R9 280x for $325 that gives you 720KH/s easily, to get 700KH/s using the DualMiner it would cost you $980 and right now it's out of stock , which is 3x the cost.

+1

[Operatr]

You are wrong in choosing a R9 290 for comparison...

You can get R9 280x for $325 that gives you 720KH/s easily, to get 700KH/s using the DualMiner it would cost you $980 and right now it's out of stock , which is 3x the cost.

Right, your mileage will vary depending on how much GPU hashpower you can get and at what price. I was just using a typical R290 on Newegg, assuming maximum hashing density was desired over $/Kh/s in a 6 card rig. The Dualminer rigs would already be at max density.

Obviously denser Gridseed boards would help the price point quite a bit, bringing them closer to GPU prices.

[jamesc760]

Thank you for this most informative thread.

[Cranky4u]

Any reputable resellers got them in hand? If so, msg me

[Anotheranonlol]

http://www.amazon.com/Radeon-DirectCU-Graphics-GDDR5-Express/dp/B008RW0R10
Speed- 350-400khs
power: 160-180W

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=439589.0
Speed: 300Kh/s
Power: 5W

[Operatr]

Any reputable resellers got them in hand? If so, msg me

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=438177.0

and

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=436031.0

[psikogeek]

All of these calculations should be subject to what we predict to change in the future.

What rate of difficulty increase should we anticipate?

Will these new USB devices drop to $15 in 6 months?