ASRock has used partially defective hybrid processors (APUs) from the PlayStation 5 console to assemble a mining rig. This was reported by an insider from Japan using the handle KOMACHI_ENSAKA.
According to him, the system is based on AMD-made PlayStation 5 SoC chips (Ariel/Oberon) with a defective central processor.
Because the device’s specifications do not specify a particular processor, experts speculate that the basic CPU functionality is preserved, at least on some of the APUs.
Earlier, AMD had already adapted PS5 APUs with the graphics processor disabled for ordinary PCs, calling it the AMD 4700S.
The ASRock Mining Rig Barebone device includes twelve AMD BC-250 chips.
The total system performance is 610 MH/s — the hash rate of a single APU is nearly 51 MH/s. According to available estimates, each chip can yield around $2 per day when mining Ethereum and TON.
The device is available for purchase in several European stores at a price of €13,499.
In November 2020 media reports circulated about AMD’s planned mining GPUs.
In August 2021, a Vietnamese insider published photographs of the first AMD mining GPU. The unnamed device is based on the 7nm Navi 21 graphics core — the same architecture underpins AMD’s latest chips. The company itself did not comment on the photographs at the time.
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