The Future of GPU Mining

The crypto currency industry is innovating at an astounding rate. We are now seeing more and more ASICs being created for altcoin mining. This bodes well for the future of cryptocurrencies, sending a strong signal this is a vibrant and innovative space worthy of investment.

Each wave of ASIC innovation is concurrent with innovations in new alt coins.  Given the "newness" of these coins and their algorithms, they are initially targeted at CPUs and GPUs. The reason is CPUs and GPUs are general purpose platforms, and until a unique coin type takes off, ASICs are far to costly to invest in.

Thus, we firmly believe that GPU mining isn't going to die off. It will just be the launching point for new, innovative coins and algorithms. It will continue to be the proving ground for the next wave of innovation.

We also believe that the creation of PCIe based ASIC cards (e.g. Bliss Devices) will increase the need for standard rack mount chassis such as the GS Cube.  These developments will bring further innovation in the area of rack mount crypto mining with COTS components. 

Additionally, the GS Cube is designed for the future and provides true investment protection. It has a standard rack-mount form factor and is highly modular, enabling the creation of of a wide range of fan trays, card layouts, motherboard placement, and power supplies. 

Check back often to see how we are innovating for the future.

Design Philosophy

Our customers success will ultimately be our success. So in addition to following standards for rack mount systems, we worked particularly hard at three areas of the GS Cube design. 

First, we wanted to make the chassis completely modular for longevity and flexibility. We expect feedback from our customers who what to tweak the chassis to their needs. This probably will involve changing a subset of parts. Modularity by function enables the substitution of new parts for each function. For instance, the power supply panel is separate from the Motherboard panel which is separate from the GPU panel. Lets say you decide you want to build 300 systems with 5 cards rather than 7. We can produce a new part for the GPU panel without changing the remainder of the design. Or say you want to use a server power supply instead of a pair of ATX power supplies. Again only one part needs to be changed. 

Second, we focused on ease of use. We use thumbscrews where ever possible to make it easier to access parts open panels etc... The motherboard tray is removable to enable easy assembly outside the chassis. Wire management is built into chassis parts. The motherboard panel can completely come off so that you can easily access the PCIe risers without being a professional contortionist.  Experts checked and re-checked the fit and finish prior to the first production run. Parts fit precisely and slide smoothly.  

Third, the chassis needed a refined look, high strength, and a high quality feel. We chose a classic black powder coat that is resistant to finger prints and the chassis is constructed from 0.06" thick aluminum for a sturdy but lightweight unit. 

But most importantly, it has to work. It must be as functional as it is good looking. 

We feel we have achieved our goals and welcome your feedback.

Genesis

In the beginning, we had a fanatical desire to make a chassis that is high capacity, modular, and can be used in home, office, and rack mount settings. As we discovered, this was a very tall order.

The GS Cube is our 5th major design iteration. It was created using agile design methodologies where quick iterations and testing are essential to creating a great product.

We started with an open air aluminum frame that could fit in a 19" rack. This frame allowed us to test chassis sizing, GPU and fan placement, and the resulting thermals. As we enclosed the bench prototype we tried several variations of fan placement while maintaing the standard features you find in workstations and rack mount servers. Over many iterations this structure was un-enclosed, re-enclosed, and re-tested as we refined our design.

This allowed us to quickly prove or disprove our design theories. For example, our testing showed we should keep approximately 1" clear space between cards to allow for proper air draw and flow. Once we converged on the optimal fan sizing, placement, and card spacing our card temperatures dropped over 10C each v.s. open air designs. 

This process took several months. It included intensive burn-in testing and monitoring to ensure long term thermal stability.

The resulting structure was placed in a solid model as the design was being refined. This enabled us to go to manufactures as soon as our testing was complete.  

Once we had a winning design prototype we turned to local telecommunications equipment manufacturers to determine how to best implement the design. We decided that we would rather make a quality product than try to find the absolute cheapest way to manufacture it. We favored design features like modularity and ease of use even if they added minor costs. The fact that the chassis is made in the USA by a state of the art, precision manufacturer who has extensive experience building telecommunications chassis guarantees our quality.

All this hard work paid off. Our first prototypes arrived in Late May, 2014 and were assembled and tested within days. Fit and finish is superb and the thermals are exactly as expected.

Here are some early prototype pictures.

Our first prototype unit as seen from the front with rack ears is below. The power button is missing and the fans are not finalized.

The same unit seen from the back, without rack ears. In production thumb screws will be used on the top panel, 

See our Prototype Build gallery for the complete build.