CoinTerra Announces Tape Out of GoldStrike ASIC

CoinTerra has announced that its new GoldStrike I ASIC chip has taped out, with the chip's first production run scheduled for 17th December.

The bumpout date is set for 21st December, and the company has already started manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCBs), cases and other components of the new ASIC rig.

The GoldStrike I ASIC is clocked at 1.4GHz, and capable of churning out 500GH/S.

Each TerraMiner unit features four GoldStrike I chips and is capable of yielding 2TH/s per miner. Each chip runs at 0.765 volts and it is manufactured using Globalfoundries’ 28nm high performance plus (HPP) node.

The TerraMiner IV fits into a standard 4U Enclosure (19″x 7″ x 17.8″) and it features CoolIT Systems liquid cooling and Power One platinum-certified power supply units.

CoinTerra

says it is stockpiling the necessary components and as soon as the first batch of GoldStrike I dies are packaged (FCBGA), they should be ready for production.

Each TerraMiner IV system will feature two PCBs, with two GoldStrike I chips each. Each board features its own water cooling system and heat exchanger. The two heat exchangers are cooled by three fans, with an additional two fans at the front to ensure plenty of airflow over the exchangers and the PCBs themselves.

You can check out all the gritty details on a company blog post by CoinTerra's VP of Hardware Engineering, Jim O’Connor.

Although the GoldStrike I ASICs are just a few weeks away, the new TerraMiner IV systems will not be ready for a while. The first batches have already sold out. The next batch is due in April 2014, with the price set at $5,999.

This doesn't sound too cheap, but then again KnCMiner's new Neptune 20nm rigs are scheduled to ship in late Q1 or Q2 of 2014 priced at $12,995 each.

The Neptune will be available in a limited 1,200 unit batch and each unit is capable of delivering 3TH/s. It will be the first 20-nanometre bitcoin mining ASIC.

Other interesting mining hardware scheduled to appear in early 2014 includes Butterfly Labs' Monarch mining cards. Theses will be available in two flavours: a 300GH model for $2,800, or a 600GH unit priced at $4,680.

However, CoinTerra remains confident that its GoldStrike-based solutions will have the best price/performance ratio.