Hashboard
Also called: hash board, hashing board
A hashboard is the circuit board in an ASIC that carries the computing chips. It is what produces the hashrate.
The hashboard is the computing heart of an ASIC miner. It is a printed circuit board with several dozen ASIC chips soldered onto it, covered by heatsinks or a cooling plate. Most Bitcoin Antminers contain three, placed side by side in the case. Each one receives current from the power supply and communicates with the control board through a data ribbon cable.
A machine's total hashrate is the sum of its hashboards' hashrates. On a single board, the chips are connected in series in groups, a bit like a string of fairy lights: if a chip or a power component fails, part of the board, or even the whole board, can disappear from the dashboard. Common causes are overheating, dust, humidity, worn-out thermal paste or a knock during shipping.
In the web interface, each hashboard is shown with its hashrate, its temperatures and the number of chips detected. A clear gap between boards, or a board showing zero chips, signals a problem. When buying second-hand or getting a machine back from repair, check that the full chip count is detected on every board and that temperatures are even.
We repair hashboards in France and offer spare parts for ASICs. With the HappyMining firmware, a faulty board can be disabled while the machine keeps mining with the others.