5 New Powerful X11 ASICS Breakdown
Since there are 5 new powerful X11 ASICS coming to market, I started a central thread breaking down the pros and cons of each product on Bitcointalk (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2042529.new#new) and below is my breakdown.
I'll consider the price, hashrate, delivery estimates, multi-algorithm capabilities (quark etc.) and company track records and (most importantly) where/when/how to buy these X11 Beasts.
QUICK RUN DOWN to get the ball rolling.
BITMAIN 15 GH D3 ANTMINER - Bitmain recently sold their first batch of their new D3s on their website, selling out in a few hours. Price was $2,700, with estimated delivery set for September 15th or later (since this is their first time making an x11 miner, they cautioned against possible delays). Their site claims a new batch will be "available soon"... but "soon" is a VERY subjective term. My guess is their new batch won't be available for pre-order until August, and it is possible / likely the ship date will be later as well. Even with the lack of availability, this is still probably the best buy out there (if you can actually manage to buy it).
Innosilicon A5 - Innosilicon came out of NOWHERE with their X11 30GH A5 to be shipped some time in October. If their price was a few thousand less, this would have easily been the top dog, BUT with a $10,000 price point ($9,285 - barely less through a group buy), it's a hard sell. They are claiming you can get to 38 gH by overclocking, but even so. Not to mention that Innosilicon has a track record of falling short of their promised specs and/or missing delivery dates. Even so, with the reduced electricity draw (compared to 2 D3s), it's still an interesting contender. If you're interested, check out the group buy thread below. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2034549.msg20324863#msg20324863)
iBeLink 10.8 GH DM11G - this machine WAS all the rage... until it wasn't. Originally offered as a group buy through Bittawm (or a slightly more risky Russian retail buy through Bitbaza and 51asic.ru), Ibelink recently sold a few of these through their website just before the above hardware came to market. They were selling for 6k in Bitcoin and Dash, but are now sold out. One advantage of the Ibelink is that it ships in August, a month before most of the competition... but THAT advantage may be short lived. They WERE going to presell a second batch, but I imagine that'll need a serious upgrade if they want to stay competitive.
PinIdea Drx 1200 mh/s - they dropped the ball, pure and simple. PinIdea's new Asic does 1.2 Gh, basically the same as 4 last gen baikal cubes... which would've been great a few months ago... but not now. Their price (6-7 k) does not reflect their tall midget designation. One upside (i suppose) is that they could ship... but again, that's short lived. (For more on this: https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170704091749&SearchText=pinidea+drx)
Baikal 2 GH Giant Plus - just an incremental upgrade of their a900... BUT Before you dismiss these (not so) Giants off hand for their (now puny) hash rate, consider this: Baikals produce the only ASICs capable of mining in different algorithms (x11, x13, x14, x15, quark, qubit). I know that Dash is the name of the game, but with so much new hardware hitting the market, it may make sense to diversify where you can. To be honest, I know NOTHING about these other algos, and the coins that could be mined with them... so PLEASE feel free to enlighten me and the thread. I think you may be able to buy directly from them for something like $6k... or you can try Bittawm's group buy (below), which could be more in the 4k range if you act fast. I believe these are ready to ship: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2041159.0
If I've missed something or gotten something wrong, please feel free to set me straight...