Mining hardware maker Bitmain found themselves in an embarrassing situation recently, as hashing power estimates for their much-anticipated Antminer S3 had to be lowered by nearly 8% following pre-shipping tests.
The company had claimed that the new generation of their popular ASIC line would deliver a very respectable 478 GH/s, but testing revealed that not all of the S3’s DC/DC modules were stable enough to deliver that speed.
Bitmain has reduced that estimate down to 441 GH/s, which is claims the chips are stable enough to deliver consistently. The company has also said that it will be possible to overclock the S3, allowing for the previously advertised hashrate, but has yet to release details for doing so.
The S3 is currently priced at 0.64 BTC, and those who pre-ordered the units are being offered a 7.7% refund or a 10% discount on their next order.
In response, many miners have noted that the S3’s power use, while an improvement over many current-generation ASICs, may not actually be as cost efficient as simply undervolting the S1.
With a new S3 priced at roughly $375, and two used S1s selling for the same price or less, Bitmain’s biggest competitor might end up being its own product’s secondary market.