Seven months after releasing the BM1380 ASIC, the Bitmain has finished testing the latest iteration of their chipset, the BM1382. The updated design is a 28nm chip measuring 8mm square, and packing an impressive 63 cores. Bitmain claims the chips can deliver 15.75 GH/s at 0.59 J/GH.
The new chips will power the latest update to the company’s popular Antminer line. The Antminer S3 contains 32 BM1382 chips in a blade-style design, providing roughly 504 GH/s at 390W from the wall. The new design includes an improved heat sink and a two-fan cooling system, a clear improvement over the old open-air system seen in previous models.
Bitmain noted that the MB1382 chips are fully compatible with older S1 and S2 Antminers, allowing existing customers to upgrade at a reduced cost.
Pre-orders of the S3 are expected to ship in July. No shipping timeline has been released for the second batch, and at the moment Bitmain doesn’t even have public pricing data for the S3. The S3 appears to have similar specs to Rockminer’s RK-Box (460 GH/s), it may be aimed at a comparable price point of around $650.