Biostar BTC-24GH Bitcoin Miner Review

[ChuckBuck]

~~~ Quote to this ~~~

What you want as miners from a miner. For example Size, power hookup, Easy to use, lots of fuctionality? You tell us.

Size = smaller if you aren't competing with the mid to large sized miners.  Something like the Yiazo if you're doing it for the entry level miner:

http://yiazo.com/2014/06/01/ybf-m-board-final/

Power hookup = Maybe consider a backplane design for a future revision, instead of spaghetti wires all over the place

Ease of use = If you could make a CGMiner build and use a web based GUI for config like the Antminer or Dragon web GUI it would be better than your proprietary software

Functionality = No need for other functions other than mine.  Use more efficient chips.  There's absolutely no reason a 24 GH/s miner is using up 130 watts.


My 2 satoshis.

Chuck

[RoadStress]

Our Chip was a 110nm self designed and self Produced chip.

Do you plan to self design a lower nm chip with better performance?

[Biostar]

~~~ Quote to this ~~~

What you want as miners from a miner. For example Size, power hookup, Easy to use, lots of fuctionality? You tell us.

Size = smaller if you aren't competing with the mid to large sized miners.  Something like the Yiazo if you're doing it for the entry level miner:

http://yiazo.com/2014/06/01/ybf-m-board-final/

Power hookup = Maybe consider a backplane design for a future revision, instead of spaghetti wires all over the place

Ease of use = If you could make a CGMiner build and use a web based GUI for config like the Antminer or Dragon web GUI it would be better than your proprietary software

Functionality = No need for other functions other than mine.  Use more efficient chips.  There's absolutely no reason a 24 GH/s miner is using up 130 watts.


My 2 satoshis.

Chuck

Thanks for your input, I have taken note of them.

Our Chip was a 110nm self designed and self Produced chip.

Do you plan to self design a lower nm chip with better performance?

Yes... Thats all i can say at this moment and time but we will be posting info soon.

[Swimmer63]

Great Review.  Super detailed.
But the miner is a lost cause with today's difficulty and advances in ASIC chips.  You can overclock two Nano Fury 6 USB miners and get 24 Gh/s for a fraction of the watts.  I can't imagine a scenario where this miner would useful to anyone now.  A year ago you would have been rich selling these.  Today you could not pay me to run them.

[wh00per]

If you'll sell them in North America through newegg & tigerdirect, or any other hardware house that accepts BTC, they'll be a hit nonetheless Happy days!

[Biostar]

If you'll sell them in North America through newegg & tigerdirect, or any other hardware house that accepts BTC, they'll be a hit nonetheless Happy days!

We have done a very limited and final Production run on the BTC-24GH and havent been contacted by any Major retailers.

[Unacceptable]

I saw these miners awhile ago,say 2-4 months I think.

Very cool,but even then the power consumption was too much  

Maybe look into the Scrypt miner market too,remember power consumption is the key selling point,keep it low & easy to use & you could have something!!  

Browse this forum,there is ALOT of info here on who offers what at specific power & hashrates.

Here's another section of interest:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=67.0

Oh...DO NOT DO PREORDERS!!!!! Sell from stock only please  

Good luck Biostar!!  

[klondike_bar]

~~~ Quote to this ~~~

What you want as miners from a miner. For example Size, power hookup, Easy to use, lots of fuctionality? You tell us.

POWER
- PCIE connections, and possibly screw terminals. No 24-pin cable though since its extremely bulky/rigid, takes up space, and can be replaced with a paperclip for on/off. (perhaps include a seperate 24-pin peice that can plug to a mobo cable for on/off function (like this: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzExWDk0OA==/z/o6YAAOxymnFSF8M1/$(KGrHqNHJEwFIH03lp5JBSF8M06jm!~~60_35.JPG))

SIZE
- stackable with little or no extra effort and hardware (slots together or include zipties)
- preferably two types: 1) small-scale which is less than 1 cubic foot and ~3kg  &       2) large-scale that is 2U-4U rackmount
- packaged in a way it wont bend or snap if thrown down a staircase by UPS/DHL
- able to be placed and run on a metal surface (ie: components electrically protected on the bottomside by a chassis or mounting feet)

EASE of USE
- MUST MUST MUST have its own ethernet connection. no new hardware should require a host computer - it should be self-sufficient with internet connection
- plug and play is ideal - see ethernet connection
- a Raspberri Pi is not a built-in solution, it is a host computer dangling off the side and should be avoided. build in a proper controller and network chip.
- include 3 not-too-bright LEDs for power status, network status, and hashing status. should be visible from 3-4ft away if looking at the device, without keeping the room lit up even at night time

FUNCTIONALITY
- access to settings, ability to reduce frequency, change network settings, and both DHCP and static IP options
- ability to adjust voltage (how difficult would it be to control the voltage of all the regulators with a single pot resistor?) This ensures your hardware can be undervolted slightly late in its lifecycle to make running it profitable for longer
- display stats (perhaps a basic and advanced view modes) for everything from individual chip status to reject/error rates and %

HASHING
- make the chips capable of individual adjustments and optimizations. For a good example, look at spondoolies-tech where each one is independantly driven to achieve ideal performance for each chip. For the BEST example look at bitfury, where the system had a file that saved and allowed users to modify the ideal settings for each chip. (like the SP-Tech method, but saves the best configuration to use after a reboot or miner restart, then adjusts automatically from there if needed)

please build units that are designed at the 2TH/1.5kW level with seperation of the 12V between sections of the system so that it could be easily powered by a pair of 850W+ power supplies. Preferably seperated into eight 250GH/180W sections with an individual PCIe connector for each with no 12V crossovers. Ideally a unit like this would be 4U rackmount

[Biostar]

I saw these miners awhile ago,say 2-4 months I think.

Very cool,but even then the power consumption was too much  

Maybe look into the Scrypt miner market too,remember power consumption is the key selling point,keep it low & easy to use & you could have something!!  

Browse this forum,there is ALOT of info here on who offers what at specific power & hashrates.

Here's another section of interest:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=67.0

Oh...DO NOT DO PREORDERS!!!!! Sell from stock only please  

Good luck Biostar!!  

Thanks for getting back to us.

We have been intrested in the idea of Bitcoin for some time now but we havent seen what us as a company could do. We released out Bitcoin Pro Series of Motherboards and got a positive response from the public. We now know that the Mining world has mainly moved away from PC hardware and towards Custom designed miners with ASIC chips. We have never developed any ASIC chip before so our "bitcoin" Division got funds to preduce a Mining Asic and board. We developed our 110nm Chip to keep costs down and wanted to see how the public reacted. We got alot of Negitive feedback due to the 24pin connector and Power usage and so on but we also got lots of good feedback for us as a company so our "bitcoin" Devision is producing REV 2. Your feedback is helping us lots as a company preduce something the average user wants and the Pro user needs.

Thanks

[klondike_bar]

Thanks for getting back to us.

We have been intrested in the idea of Bitcoin for some time now but we havent seen what us as a company could do. We released out Bitcoin Pro Series of Motherboards and got a positive response from the public. We now know that the Mining world has mainly moved away from PC hardware and towards Custom designed miners with ASIC chips. We have never developed any ASIC chip before so our "bitcoin" Division got funds to preduce a Mining Asic and board. We developed our 110nm Chip to keep costs down and wanted to see how the public reacted. We got alot of Negitive feedback due to the 24pin connector and Power usage and so on but we also got lots of good feedback for us as a company so our "bitcoin" Devision is producing REV 2. Your feedback is helping us lots as a company preduce something the average user wants and the Pro user needs.
Thanks

if 110nm is shrunk down to 28nm (1/4 the size) it could theoretically be as much as 16x the efficiency, but other factors may mean something not as ideal. however, 1/10 the power usage could make a very competitive product, so I look forwards to what comes out in rev. 2

definitely hoping to snag a review/testing spot for this

[R4v37]

I saw these miners awhile ago,say 2-4 months I think.

Very cool,but even then the power consumption was too much  

Maybe look into the Scrypt miner market too,remember power consumption is the key selling point,keep it low & easy to use & you could have something!!  

Browse this forum,there is ALOT of info here on who offers what at specific power & hashrates.

Here's another section of interest:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=67.0

Oh...DO NOT DO PREORDERS!!!!! Sell from stock only please  

Good luck Biostar!!  

Thanks for getting back to us.

We have been intrested in the idea of Bitcoin for some time now but we havent seen what us as a company could do. We released out Bitcoin Pro Series of Motherboards and got a positive response from the public. We now know that the Mining world has mainly moved away from PC hardware and towards Custom designed miners with ASIC chips. We have never developed any ASIC chip before so our "bitcoin" Division got funds to preduce a Mining Asic and board. We developed our 110nm Chip to keep costs down and wanted to see how the public reacted. We got alot of Negitive feedback due to the 24pin connector and Power usage and so on but we also got lots of good feedback for us as a company so our "bitcoin" Devision is producing REV 2. Your feedback is helping us lots as a company preduce something the average user wants and the Pro user needs.

Thanks

you guys should take a look at BTCgarden's...
they're using AsicMiner's Chip
maybe u guys can do something...like copycat or make it better, well... thats how it should be when competing with other manufacturer...
take the best feature, add something, and TARAAAA u got ur own style

and FYI, BTCgarden's is 55nm, still it can competing with other 25nm
dont know how, but it works

[klondike_bar]

I saw these miners awhile ago,say 2-4 months I think.

Very cool,but even then the power consumption was too much  

Maybe look into the Scrypt miner market too,remember power consumption is the key selling point,keep it low & easy to use & you could have something!!  

Browse this forum,there is ALOT of info here on who offers what at specific power & hashrates.

Here's another section of interest:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=67.0

Oh...DO NOT DO PREORDERS!!!!! Sell from stock only please  

Good luck Biostar!!  

Thanks for getting back to us.

We have been intrested in the idea of Bitcoin for some time now but we havent seen what us as a company could do. We released out Bitcoin Pro Series of Motherboards and got a positive response from the public. We now know that the Mining world has mainly moved away from PC hardware and towards Custom designed miners with ASIC chips. We have never developed any ASIC chip before so our "bitcoin" Division got funds to preduce a Mining Asic and board. We developed our 110nm Chip to keep costs down and wanted to see how the public reacted. We got alot of Negitive feedback due to the 24pin connector and Power usage and so on but we also got lots of good feedback for us as a company so our "bitcoin" Devision is producing REV 2. Your feedback is helping us lots as a company preduce something the average user wants and the Pro user needs.

Thanks

you guys should take a look at BTCgarden's...
they're using AsicMiner's Chip
maybe u guys can do something...like copycat or make it better, well... thats how it should be when competing with other manufacturer...
take the best feature, add something, and TARAAAA u got ur own style

and FYI, BTCgarden's is 55nm, still it can competing with other 25nm
dont know how, but it works

The BE200 (asicminer) is 40nm. That it is borderline-competitive with 28nm designs demonstrates the effect of a good design

[DrG]

At 5W/GH/s they're running more expensively than Avalons and BFl 65nm gear - which can had for more or less free nowadays.  Thanks for the review but this item is dead before it even hit the shelves.

if this is 110/130nm technology efficiency doesnt matter much - consider it as a small-batch test of thier design. If they go and replicate into 28nm they could catch up to the market quicly, and the review indicates a stable unit once mining. For a company like biostar playing catchup will be easier than it was for bitcoin manufacturers to oranise and fund thier first die-shrink


who knows - maybe a BTC-240GH is on the horizon at the same power draw (would require 28nm assuming this was 110nm)

I was under the impression from other EEs on the forums that shrinkage required quite an extensive redesign rather just switching the manufacturing process.  If it's not too involved that maybe a quick jump to 28nm with a good design would put Biostar into significant competition with the current ASIC leaders.

[Sophokles]

Very nice and detailed write-up. But honestly, I thought this was some kind of joke. The product is over a year late to market to be profitable in any way.
But now that Biostar as a renowned Mobo manufacturer got into the game, I am curious about the next generation. So, surprise us and keep up the good work!

[ducmami]

Very nice and detailed write-up. But honestly, I thought this was some kind of joke. The product is over a year late to market to be profitable in any way.
But now that Biostar as a renowned Mobo manufacturer got into the game, I am curious about the next generation. So, surprise us and keep up the good work!

and do not do preorder

[vapourminer]

~~~ Quote to this ~~~

What you want as miners from a miner. For example Size, power hookup, Easy to use, lots of fuctionality? You tell us.

nice to see you guys in the mining scene

for me, a small time home hobbiest miner I would like something like this:

USB connections, multi platform software (or can use cgminer).

stackable, maybe with an ATX mounting layout (stack multiple boards in a standard ATX case to be cat/kid friendly).

individual units around 150-300 watts to easily use on non dedicated circuits, just add/stack boards to meet power capacity.

pcie power.

[jekecoin]

I saw these miners awhile ago,say 2-4 months I think.

Very cool,but even then the power consumption was too much  

Maybe look into the Scrypt miner market too,remember power consumption is the key selling point,keep it low & easy to use & you could have something!!  

Browse this forum,there is ALOT of info here on who offers what at specific power & hashrates.

Here's another section of interest:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=67.0

Oh...DO NOT DO PREORDERS!!!!! Sell from stock only please  

Good luck Biostar!!  

Thanks for getting back to us.

We have been intrested in the idea of Bitcoin for some time now but we havent seen what us as a company could do. We released out Bitcoin Pro Series of Motherboards and got a positive response from the public. We now know that the Mining world has mainly moved away from PC hardware and towards Custom designed miners with ASIC chips. We have never developed any ASIC chip before so our "bitcoin" Division got funds to preduce a Mining Asic and board. We developed our 110nm Chip to keep costs down and wanted to see how the public reacted. We got alot of Negitive feedback due to the 24pin connector and Power usage and so on but we also got lots of good feedback for us as a company so our "bitcoin" Devision is producing REV 2. Your feedback is helping us lots as a company preduce something the average user wants and the Pro user needs.

Thanks

Then you can play with a lot of formats, like a PCI Express 1x, I think you make a gread effort with this board, late to play the ASIC game, but a good starting point, I'm interest I your evolution of hardware, What do you think about a PCI Express raiser in a mini ITX MOBO for put your miners?, play whit the ideas, you have the technologi for it.

Sorry with my bad English

[Swimmer63]

Sorry - I did not know you guys were well known in the industry.  I am not a tech guy.  I thought you were just some dudes working in some remote lab that had been working so hard on this without knowing it was going to be a hopelessly unproductive product.

Someone might have already said this, but I would you encourage you to buy a Bitmain S3 and maybe a one of the bigger Rockminers.  These are the latest miners to hit the market and they might give you some perspective.  As I said, I am not a tech guy, but I always want to know what my competition is doing.  And right now you guys could use some bench-marking.  IMHO.

[faetos]

Very nice and detailed write-up. But honestly, I thought this was some kind of joke. The product is over a year late to market to be profitable in any way.
But now that Biostar as a renowned Mobo manufacturer got into the game, I am curious about the next generation. So, surprise us and keep up the good work!

and do not do preorder

Amen to that. Do NOT follow these other ASIC manufacturers and go that business model. We hate it with a passion. For you all look into a smaller form factor and look into either it fitting into a PC case or designing a complete system case pcu etc. Most manufacturers in this industry are doing this.

We're a mostly good community willing to help. I'm glad to see you all branching out into this space. I love your motherboards and have several systems running on them

[coolmusic]

How much is it? if is cheap maybe someone with free electricity....