ASIC stands for an application-specific integrated circuit is a chip that has been modified for a specific use rather than being designed for general usage.In our case or specific use is mining.
If you ever consider buying one, you will be surprised by it's high prices. And probably asked yourself if you can buy it elsewhere cheaper or even if you can build yourself.
Unfortunately the answer is no. ASIC is a PCB ( printed circuit board ) that's made my machines. It's not made by humans hands.
However some people confuses ASIC with mining rig. If you are asking about mining rig than yes. You can build a Mining Rig.
What's the difference between ASIC and Mining Rig ?
ASIC is a part of the Mining Rig. Mining Rig is the final device that mines, it may use ASIC or GPU and in some cases CPU. It also may contains other parts.
Some times, this ASIC can be a complete Mining Rig without adding anything.
What Is an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) Miner?
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is a chip that has been created specifically for a particular use. An ASIC miner is a computerised device or piece of hardware that only employs ASICs to "mine" digital currency. Each ASIC miner is designed to work with a certain digital currency. As a result, a Bitcoin ASIC miner can only mine bitcoin. Bitcoin ASICs can be thought of as customised bitcoin mining computers, or "bitcoin generators," that have been designed to solve the mining algorithm.
ASICs are expensive and difficult to develop and manufacture as mining machines. ASICs are faster than less powerful computers since they are designed specifically for mining cryptocurrencies. ASIC processors for cryptocurrency mining have been more efficient in recent years, with the most recent iteration consuming only 29.5 joules per terahash.
Understanding Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) Miners
ASICs used in cryptocurrency mining are specialised integrated circuits built only to mine cryptocurrencies, rather than general-purpose integrated circuits like RAM chips or PC or mobile device microprocessors.
Originally, Bitcoin's developer intended for bitcoin to be mined using standard laptop or desktop computers' central processing units (CPUs). Bitcoin ASICs, on the other hand, outperformed both CPUs and graphics processing units (GPUs) in terms of power consumption and computational capability. Bitcoin ASIC miners have maintained their lead after gaining traction in mid-2013 when other hardware mining machines began experiencing constraints in their mining.
Bitcoin miners use hashes to accomplish sophisticated calculations. Every hash has a chance to produce bitcoin. The more hashes a miner does in a given amount of time, the more probable he or she is to earn bitcoin. ASIC miners are designed to efficiently compute hash functions.
Despite the fact that mining cryptocurrencies can be an expensive and low-profit venture, many people are drawn to it. Despite the uncertain return on investment, would-be cryptocurrency miners are willing to spend a lot of money up front for expensive ASICs and pay a lot of money for energy in order to earn cryptocurrency.
Development of the ASIC Miner
To carry out its activities, a proof of work (PoW) blockchain like Bitcoin requires cryptocurrency mining. The mining method entails employing intrinsic hash functions related to the block that holds the transaction data to solve complex mathematical problems. The transaction is authorised, or the bitcoin is added to the block, by the first miner who solves the problem. A prize is given to each winner of the bitcoin mining "lottery" (a certain amount of bitcoin). Miners are motivated to collect as many transactions as possible into a block in order to increase their reward, which includes all transaction fees for the transactions in that block.
Any machine with sufficient processing power could mine bitcoin in the early days of Bitcoin. But those days are long gone, as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity and acceptability, attracting swarms of crypto miners. Cryptocurrency mining, on the other hand, has grown exponentially more difficult. These advances have led in a competition to collect the most "hash power," which is a term used to denote a cryptocurrency network's aggregate computational power (or alternately, the power of an individual mining rig). This drive for increased hash power led to the development of ASIC miners.
Bitmain, a Chinese company, pioneered ASIC devices and now leads ASIC Bitcoin mining with its Antminer ASIC product line.
How does ASIC mining work?
ASIC miners are optimised for a single hashing method, limiting the types of cryptocurrencies that can be mined. Bitcoin, for example, is mined using the SHA-256 algorithm, while Ethereum is mined using the ETHASH method. If you wanted to mine both, you'd need an ASIC miner for SHA-256 and a separate rig for ETHASH.
The price of ASIC miners fluctuates in tandem with the price of cryptocurrencies. "That's a unique component that I haven't seen in any other business," he says, "but because [ASIC manufacturers] are a small group with a lot of influence, the manufacturers have the ability to do so for the time being." Chang also claims that they're frequently priced so that the money you earn from your miner will take you a year to break even.
Given the amount of energy an ASIC miner needs every hour, the amount of money you make can be significantly influenced by your power expenditures. However, there are websites that can compute your average profit after accounting for electricity bills. When purchasing an ASIC mining rig, consider the terahash per dollar as well as the overall cost of the computer. ASIC miners can cost $100-$120 per terahash, according to Chang.
The exorbitant cost of these ASIC miners is intentional. The financial and time costs are deliberately high in order to screen out possible bad actors and maintain the blockchain's integrity.
Even if you had numerous ASIC miners running, the chances of solving a proof-of-work puzzle on your own are extremely slim. The hash rate of the Bitcoin network is 190 exahash (one million terahash). So even if you had an ASIC miner capable of 18 terahashes per second, you'd only have a one in 10.56 million chance of solving the riddle first.
Most cryptocurrency miners join a mining pool, which is a group of miners who pool their hash rates in order to have a better chance of solving the problem first. They divide their earnings based on how much they contribute to the pool and how much they provide to the group.
ASIC Miner Advantages
ASIC miners are intended for the primary goal of mining cryptocurrencies, unlike GPU and CPU mining rigs, which use components that have many functions. ASIC miners are substantially more powerful and energy-efficient than GPU miners because to their exclusive focus.
An ASIC miner is designed to mine using a specific cryptographic hash algorithm because each cryptocurrency has its own. Bitcoin ASIC miners, for example, are built to calculate the SHA-256 hash algorithm, whereas Litecoin (LTC) employs the scrypt method. Though an ASIC miner may theoretically mine any cryptocurrency based on the same algorithm, most miners who invest in ASIC hardware built to mine bitcoin or Litecoin do so exclusively.
ASIC Miner Considerations
Here are some things to think about before investing thousands of dollars in an ASIC mining rig:
What coins are available for mining?
The number of coins that can be mined with ASICs is significantly fewer than the number of cryptocurrencies that can be mined with a GPU mining setup. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and a few other cryptocurrencies can be mined with ASICs.
Rig location
ASIC miners are louder and produce significantly more heat than GPU mining rigs, which can be placed in one's home. This means that a home is not the best place for an ASIC miner, and other options such as a basement or garage should be investigated.
Power consumption
The latest ASIC computers are more energy efficient than GPU rigs, but they still require a lot of power. If an ASIC miner is installed in one's home, the electrical wiring system may need to be upgraded to meet the additional power load.
Choosing a Bitcoin mining pool
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Mining pools allow miners to pool their ASIC miner rigs to mine bitcoin and share the profits for successful blocks. When choosing a pool, take into account its reputation, size, and payment policies.
Return on Investment
Is the return on investment high enough to justify the ASIC miner's upfront cost and continuing operational costs?
To boost their chances of earning bitcoin, many miners join a mining pool. Mining pools pay for shares, which are high-value hashes.
What Is Bitcoin Mining?
The process of mining involves both administering the blockchain and producing new bitcoins. Bitcoin miners' task is to evaluate and verify past bitcoin transactions before creating a new block and adding the information to the blockchain. The mining method entails employing intrinsic hash functions related to the block that holds the transaction data to solve complex mathematical problems. Various bitcoin miners battle ferociously to solve a difficult mathematical puzzle.
The transaction is authorised or the bitcoin is added to the block by the first miner who solves the riddle. A prize is given to each winner of the bitcoin mining "lottery" (a certain amount of bitcoin). Miners are motivated to collect as many transactions as possible into a block in order to increase their reward, which includes all transaction fees for the transactions in that block.
What Is the Difference Between ASIC Mining and GPU Mining?
ASIC mining devices are designed specifically to mine a particular cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Litecoin. GPU mining is the process of mining cryptocurrencies with a graphics processing unit (GPU) such as those sold by NVIDIA or AMD. The obvious benefits of GPU mining are that the hardware is substantially less expensive than that necessary for ASIC mining, as well as that the power consumption is lower. GPUs, on the other hand, are far less efficient at mining cryptocurrencies than ASIC miners because they have other applications in gaming and computer display.
What Are ASIC-Resistant Coins?
Cryptocurrencies with ASIC-resistant algorithms are known as ASIC-resistant coins. Mining such cryptocurrencies with ASIC mining equipment is nearly impossible, and even if it could be done, the profits would be pitiful. The fundamental motivation for ASIC-resistant coins is to keep their blockchains decentralised, which was one of the guiding concepts for the establishment of Bitcoin. A small number of private mining farms and mining contract providers currently account for the majority of Bitcoin's overall network hash rate, which goes against Bitcoin's primary premise of decentralisation.
Summary
What is ASIC?
An "application-specific integrated circuit" is what it's called. It's simply a little computer designed to perform a specific set of tasks. It's referred to as a "system on a chip." So, when we talk about crypto, we're referring to a little computer designed exclusively for mining a single coin or group of currencies.
What is ASIC mining?
The short version is that an ASIC is a sort of chip that is highly specialised in a single set of processes (in this case, mining cryptocurrency). ASIC miners are made up of an ASIC chip, a power supply, a fan, and mining software.
What ASIC mining rig should I use?
Bitmain's Antminer rigs, as well as Innosilicon's rigs, are often regarded as good choices. That being said, it varies wildly from coin to coin and over time! In the winter of 2018, you might use a Spondoolies miner for Dash, Innosilicon for ETH, Bitmain for LTC, and so on... but you'll have to switch it up next season. Some coins, in the meantime, even have their own miners! To be clear, Antminer is a brand, Bitmain and Innosilicon are corporations, and ASIC is a general term used to refer to a processor or graphics card (it describes the processors used).
IMPORTANT:
The best miner for mining a given currency varies all the time, so do your homework and find out what the greatest miner and brand is right now before you buy!
What does the term “mining rig” mean?
It means at the very least an Antminer, but it might also entail an entire rack (or racks) of fans, processors, ASIC miners, and other components.
Can I build a custom ASIC miner?
It is possible to build an ASIC miner, but you will need to deal with not only programming software (or cobbling together preprogrammed software), but also putting together hardware.
Can I mine any cryptocurrency with any ASIC?
Specific rigs will be tailored to specific coins. To put it another way, any miner designed to mine Bitcoin can mine anything that employs the same encryption as Bitcoin. In other words, Antminer or any other SHA256-based miner may mine SHA-based currencies like Litecoin and Bitcoin.
What is a mining pool?
Unless you have a lot of power, solo mining is not a good idea in today's world (or are mining an altcoin). A mining pool is a group that you may join and pay to participate in. Everyone splits the profit after fees are deducted. Mining businesses frequently have their own pools; MinerGate, for example, has one.
Can I make money mining with an ASIC miner?
Yes, but the price of the coin you mine over time, the cost of the hardware, the cost of electricity, and other things all have a role.
How do I know how much money I can make from ASIC mining?
You'll need to calculate the miner's "hash power" (hash rate) for a given cryptocurrency, then compare it to electricity expenses. See Bitcoin Mining Calculator for more information.