Miner Power Supply
The PSU is the miner's power supply unit: it turns 220 or 240 volts from the grid into low voltage for the hashboards. In our repair practice it is the most frequent guest in the workshop.
What a PSU is
Inside an ASIC sit three hashboards and a control board, and all of them need low-voltage direct current: across generations that is 8 to 20 volts, on recent series 12 to 15. The power supply performs that conversion and delivers kilowatts at an efficiency somewhere above ninety percent. The remainder becomes heat right inside the unit, which is why a PSU has its own fans and its own service life.
On modern asics the unit is built into the case and sized exactly for its model. Universal supplies in this power class don't exist for home use: you replace it with the same unit or with one from the manufacturer's compatibility list. High-power units have two AC inputs, and the asic must run with both connected.
Why this part in particular fails. The unit lives at the edge of its capability around the clock, swallows dust first, and absorbs every surprise from the grid: spikes, sags, storm interference. Capacitors dry out, fan bearings wear down. It is a consumable with a service life, not an eternal part.
Quick reference table
| What it does | turns 220..240 V into hashboard power |
| Output by generation | 8 to 20 V, on recent series 12 to 15 |
| Current per connector contact | 8 to 9 A |
| Compatibility | strictly per model, no universal units |
| Repair status | the most frequent failure in our workshop |
How to extend the unit's life
Clean air solves half the problems. Dust on the unit's heatsinks means overheating, and overheating means capacitors dried out in a year instead of three. A blowout every few months is cheaper than any repair.
A stable grid solves the other half. A dedicated line with its own breaker, proper outlets, no household extension cords on kilowatt loads. Where the grid wanders, a voltage stabilizer pays for itself: a unit that rides out sags every day ages faster.
And a spare unit on the shelf is not paranoia, it is arithmetic. A PSU that dies on a Friday evening with no spare means a weekend of downtime, and a asic's downtime is priced at its daily revenue.
Example from practice
A typical scenario in our workshop: the ASIC reboots under load or won't start in the morning, and the owner blames the firmware. We measure the output voltages, find a sagging rail, and inside there are bulged capacitors. Swap the unit and the asic runs. Firmware turns out to be the culprit in roughly one out of ten such complaints.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Hardware
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
- ASIC Chip and Hashboard knowledge base
Software
- Software firmware
Guides
Questions and answers
How to tell it is the power supply that is dying
Reboots under load, starting on the second try, whining or a burnt smell, zeros on individual rails in the log. The definitive diagnosis comes from measuring output voltages under load.
Can I install a unit from another model
Only from the manufacturer's compatibility list. Connectors can look identical while voltages and wattage differ, and the experiment ends in a hashboard repair that costs more than the unit.
Why can't the asic run on one of its two inputs
On high-power units the load is split between the inputs, so on one it either won't start or runs with half the circuit overloaded. Plug in both.
How long does a PSU last
With clean air and a steady grid, years. In a dusty shed with voltage sags, a year or a year and a half. Conditions set the lifespan, not the calendar.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .