The Gekkoscience Compac F USB Miner
Specs:
- Algorithm: SHA256 (Coins mined: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, etc.)
- Hashrate: 200+ GH/s (Though it can be overclocked to up to 350 GH/s
- Chip: Bitmain BM1397
- Power use: 5-15 Watts
The Review:
Released in mid-late 2021, the Gekkoscience Compac F USB Miner is one of very few USB miners available on the market today. Like previous Gekkoscience products, the Compac F USB miner runs entirely silent as it does not have a built-in fan, and draws just 5-15 watts of power (depending on if you overclock it), making it very efficient and hence, cheap to run. In my experience, the Compac F is much more stable than its predecessors, the Gekkoscience 2pac and original stick miner, as it can automatically detect and recover from "zombie" conditions. At the same size as the previous Gekkoscience 2pac miner, the Compac F is a very small miner and doesn't take much space.
The Compac F uses the Bitmain BM1397 chip, which is the same chip used in the Bitmain S17 miner. The miner is rated at mining at over 200 GH/s, though they can be overclocked to well over 400 GH/s (Personally, I have not overclocked my miner as some people reportedly damaged their miners this way). These miners get extremely hot extremely quickly, and would need a fan to keep cool. While not absolutely necessary, powered USB hubs would also be quite handy.
The setup for the miner is not particularly hard, and can be made to run on Windows, most instances of Mac, and Linux. If you're a tinkerer like myself, you can also get the miner to run off a powered USB off a Raspberry Pi!
Prices and Profits:
Compared to previous Gekkoscience USB miners and other USB miners from other companies like FutureBit and TTBit, the Compac F USB Miner is quite pricey, at $249.99 US. When I reviewed the Gekkoscience 2Pac almost exactly 2 years ago, that miner sold for roughly $43.50 US, though it only mined at 15 GH/s.
Assuming that you mine in a pool with 0% fees, based on today's difficulty (January 27th, 2022), 200 GH/s can mine about 0.0003429 BTC per year, valued at about $12.78. Assuming that the miner uses 10 watts of power at 10 cents per kilowatt hour, you would expect to pay $8.76 a year in electricity costs. This means that you'll profit just over $4 US a year. In other words, even if mining difficulty never rises, it'll take decades to break even!
The Verdict:
If you want to make money, the Gekkoscience Compac F is definitely not the right device for you. After all, who wants to spend well over 200 dollars to buy something that makes pennies a week? If you're looking into learning about mining or love the novelty of a USB miner, this might be something to consider. However, at a price much much higher than FutureBit's SCRYPT Apollo miner or Gekkoscience's previous miners, the Compac F is not the most economical choice for people looking to dip their toes in the world of mining or looking to buy a cool gift for a crypto-loving friend.
Disclaimer:
I am not in any way affiliated with Bitmain, Gekkoscience, FutureBit, or any other crypto/crypto-related company. I personally have one of these miners purchased in late-2021. I am currently using this miner to mine Bitcoin off of a Raspberry Pi 3.
Remember, investments in cryptocurrencies are like any other investment: Invest only what you can afford to lose. No investment is a guarantee.
