Mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum is one of the income streams in the cryptocurrency market. Little wonder why some cryptocurrency enthusiasts have sought to become miners to help validate and confirm transactions on the blockchain network, while they earn crypto as rewards.
Cryptocurrency mining takes up a lot of computational powers and that is why some miners have turned to cost-effective methods. Using Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) appeared to be a better mining method and that is one of the reasons behind the launch of SQRL FK33.
In this article, we give a brief explanation of what the SQRL FK33 is and why it didn’t pan out as expected.
What is SQRL FK33?
It is a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) designed for use with cryptocurrency mining facilities. The Squirrels Research Labs or “SQRL” for short, launched the SQRL FK33 to bolster how we mined cryptocurrencies.
The company (SQRL) focused on producing high-performing cryptocurrency mining hardware, such as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).
The Failure of the SQRL FK33
With the full name as SQRL FK33 Forest Kitten FPGA, it was designed to be a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) upon which cryptocurrency mining facilities can be configured into one box.
However, that wasn’t to be, as the SQRL FK33 didn’t make all that impression. From different cryptocurrency online forums, we gathered information as to why the SQRL FK33 project possibly failed.
The following are some of the contributing factors:
1. High Cost of Acquiring the FPGA
Launched at a time the cryptocurrency market was in the “bear season,” it was expected that the price of the SQRL FK33 could have been relatively affordable.
That didn’t appear to be the case, because the FPGA retailed as high as $700. Atop of this, retailers expected the buyers to meet a certain Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ), which ranges from 25 units and 100 units.
2. Fan & Heatsink Considerations
One important factor that makes a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) highly-effective is the ability to dissipate heat or take excess heat out of the circuit board.
SQRL FK33’s heat dissipation capability is excellent; despite the higher load conditions it is exposed to.
We also like to mention that the fan blades of the air-cooled version of the SQRL FK33 is fragile and might not fully meet the cooling demands of the device.
3. Power Rails
SQRL FK33 uses three (3) distinct power rails or power distribution channels. These are the:
- VCCINT_IO: this has a 20A of 0.85V
- VCCINT: this is the core power of the SQRL FK33 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). It comes with a 120A (20×6) of 0.85V
- HMB_VCC (ditto): this is the third power rail for the SQRL FK33. It comes with a 20A of 1.2V.
Power Rail Modifications
It is also important to mention that the SQRL FK33’s power rail is modifiable. We think this is a nice innovation for the balanced performances of the power rails, as per the target applications.
Below is a detailed explanation of how modified the power rails can be:
4. The Function of the I2C
The power rails are configurable with the I2C programmable rheostats. These rheostats are modifiable resistors, which can be modified so that the resistance is over the I2C.
5. Non-Power Modifications
However, there are some aspects of the SQRL FK33 that may be unmodified. These are the 1.8V and the 3.3V AUX Supplies. They are both rated as 6A. The other unmodified variants are the MGT supplies, which are rated as 1.2V and 0.9V. They are also rated as 6A.
Benefits of the SQRL FK33 FPGA
Below are some of the impressive features of the SQRL FK33 FPGA, which helped trigger the interest of FPGA enthusiasts:
6. Dual Flash Devices
The SQRL FK33 FPGA supported two (2) flash devices. The two can be used individually, as well as in the dual-quad mode.
7. Disassembling Process
It is one thing to assemble or couple the SQRL FK33 FPGA and another to disassemble it. Whether you are looking to make modifications to the device or fix some defects, you can be confident that the process would be seamless.
SQRL FK33 FPGA has a simplified disassembly process, and this is partly because of the few screws used to hold it together.
After SQRL FK33, What Next?
Following the unsuccessful attempt to use the SQRL FK33 to facilitate cryptocurrency mining, the manufacturer, SQRL sought to create different solutions for the same purpose.
The most popular solution was the BittWare CVP-13. It is optimized to work with the Xilinx VU13P, one of the largest chips from Xilinx (now a part of AMD).
Below are some of the key points to note about the SQRL’s BittWare CVP-13:
8. Optimization as a Mining Card
Unlike the SQRL FK33 that was optimized to be a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), the BittWare CVP-13 is designed to be an FPGA cryptocurrency mining card. That allows for the flexible integration into different Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).
The attributes of the BittWare CVP-13 FPGA cryptocurrency mining card include:
- It supports up to 66% larger power supply than the other circuit boards that rely on the Xilinx VU9P FPGA microchip.
- This FPGA cryptocurrency mining card has up to 31% more on-chip memory
- It also has an increased logic, up to 46% than the other popular circuit boards do.
9. Faster Cryptocurrency Mining Capabilities
In addition to being powered by the Xilinx VU13P FPGA, the BittWare CVP-13 also has some other capabilities, in terms of how cryptocurrency mining operations are carried out.
The most significant is the capability of offering high hash rates in a single board – more than the Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) tend to offer.
10. Support for Multiple Platforms and Operating Systems (OS)
The BittWare CVP-13 FPGA cryptocurrency mining card “runs under Windows 10 for Zetheron algos, such as the 0xToken, X16R and the Nexus).
In addition to the aforementioned, it also supports the following Operating Systems (OS):
- Allmine Shell/Linux
- Windows and;
- Windows 10
Conclusion
SQRL FK33 could have been an innovative way to use Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for cryptocurrency mining.
The unsuccessful outing of the product didn’t stop the manufacturer, Squirrels Research Labs (SQRL) from coming up with better innovations, such as the Bittware CVP-13 FPGA cryptocurrency mining card that offers higher power gains used for the deployment of higher densities with less overhead costs.
