| layout | sidebar | subnav | section | title | description | image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
page |
FPGAs, GPUs, & ASICs |
true |
1b |
Why are FPGAs back now? |
FPGAs have an existing history in crypto mining. But there's a good reason why they're making a big comeback. |
/public/images/fpga-guide-splash.jpg |
FPGA's aren't new, back in the early day so of Bitcoin FPGAs were also dominant.
It was only after ASICs were created for the major tokens, that FPGA mining disappeared. It just didn't make sense anymore for the time invested in developing the RTL.
Fast forward to today, the ecosystem has changed tremendously.
- Instead of just 3-5 POW algorithms dominated by ASICs, there are dozens of ASIC-Resistant POW algorithms.
- Instead of just a few tokens, each worth a few dollars, there are hundreds of coins whose difficulty x price makes sense.
This has created the perfect environment for FPGAs to thrive.
There are many opinions about what this means for the crypto community, but honestly it's hard to tell. Some interesting musings we've come across:
Once the community has switched over to high end FPGA's, crypto as a whole will be far more ASIC resistant, because developing an ASIC will then have a poor ROI. Consider that this 8 x VCU1525 can mine Skein and Myriad-Groestl and make about $7 per card per day ($56/day for the rig); not a great profit, but that is amazing considering you are competing directly against Baikal X10's which are ASIC machines. The fact that you can still make a profit (with FPGA's) when mining directly against an ASIC shows how this technology can change the crypto landscape. source: bitcointalk.org