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It says it needs 340W at the wall, so what PSU we should use at least to be safe?

Also seems like a lot of manufacturers are setting their W rates really freely. I see chinese 500W PSUs for $15 and other more brand ones for like $70?!

Most would recommend using at least an 80+ rated, single rail PSU with at least 500W deliverable to that rail.  Obviously at least 2 PCI-e connectors are necessary.  As for the PSUs I use for mine?  I have an EVGA 1300 G2 that drives 3, and a Corsair HX1050 that drives 2.

sorry I don't know what single rail means here?

Any chance I could fit 2 on a quality 630W one that I have laying around?

A rail in this context is really the distribution of power and over current protection in a PSU.  Literally, a single rail means there is effectively 1 copper trace that handles all of the power requirements to all connectors (PCI-e, ATX, Molex, etc).  Therefore, in a single rail system, the entirety of the power and amperage is drawn through that one rail.  Now, while this may not be beneficial when powering a CPU - you might want to have separate rails to ensure your PSU shuts down should one particular component be causing problems - it is really effective for mining applications.  You want all of the amperage/power down that 12V path to your PCI-e connectors.

Truth be told, most modern power supplies (i.e. those made after like 2009 or so) can effectively manage the power distribution across multiple rails; however, what's the point in this application?  You're only dealing with the 12V PCI-e connectors, so there's no need to have multiple rails controlling the 12V, 5V, 3V, etc.

You have a 630W PSU and you're asking if it's OK to pull 680W through it.  Let me ask you a question.  I'm going to give you a gallon jug and I want you to put 1.5 gallons of water into it.  What happens when the gallon jug gets filled and you still have half a gallon to go?  Here's another fun analogy for you.  A balloon will hold 10 in³ of air.  Put in 20.  What happens?

The short answer is don't do it.  While the PSU *might* be able to actually handle the load, you're just asking for trouble.  The components are rated for a given load.  When you go over that rating, you get lots of extra heat that the components were never designed to handle.  This leads to nasty things like fires.

That's was great explanation, thank you for that! :)

I wasn't aware that I have to consider how much power actually goes to the pci-e as well.
Is there a way to check if it has that dynamic management or if not how much goes to the pci-e?
I mean what's the point of having 1000W PSU if only 200W go to the pci-e i'm gonna use right?

That's kind of why most here would state it's better to use a single rail PSU.  Let me give you a couple examples:

The Cooler Master Elite V2 550W PSU is a multi-rail unit (2 12V rails) that has 2 6+2 PCI-e connectors.
The EVGA 500B 500W PSU is a single-rail unit (1 12V rail) that also has 2 6+2 PCI-e connectors.

Just from what I wrote, you would think the Cooler Master is the better PSU... higher wattage, multi-rails.  You'd be incorrect.  That Cooler Master can only draw a max of 384W and 23A from rail 1, OR 384W and 20A from rail 2.  That's right.  You've got 384W of useable power.

The EVGA 500B on the other hand gives you a full 480W and 40A off that single rail.  All of that is useable.

So... which would you choose now?  The one that will give you 480W of useable power at 40A... or the other one?

By the way, did I mention that the EVGA is also $15 cheaper on newegg.com (after rebate), and it's bronze-rated (higher efficiency)?

If it needs 340W I would recommend a PSU capable of putting out 400W on a single rail or if you're running 2, you would need 800-850 depending on manufacturer.  If it's a Seasonic Platinum you could get away with a 750 and probably be OK for a year or 2.

Dogie's PSU guide is your friend:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=486121.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=486121.0)

Get a 1500 watt psu and hook like 4 to it... Save a lot of space and trouble..

There are a lot of people who would never even be able to order a 1500W PSU due to it being out of stock or not even available in their area of the world.  It might be reasonable to get an 800W or 1200W and hook up 2 or 3 respectively, but 1500/1600W PSUs are sometimes hard to come by.

Besides the availability of such PSUs, the prices they command are unreasonable.  An EVGA 1300 G2 can be had for about $175 on Amazon.  The EVGA 1600W PSU is about $350.  I'm pretty sure I'd rather have 2 of the 1300W units for the same cost as one of the 1600W units.

Another thing to consider is the power from the wall.  If you're in the US and plugging it into your typical wall outlet, and there's nothing else at all on that circuit, you can pull a max constant load of 1440W before tripping your breaker (80% of 120V/15A), which renders the 1600W PSU a worthless investment.

Corsair CX750M's that I was using with S1's. They have been great.

Use these cheap and SUPER dependable.

Put DIP SWITCH 1 to " ON " and they are almost silent.

http://www.gekkoscience.com/products/D750_supply_breakout_board.html

You won't trip the breaker at 80% of max load.  The general rule is for continuous applications, like mining, is that the load is not to exceed 80% of the maximum.  Short term items like microwaves can still use the max for a couple of minutes without tripping.

1/3 to 1/2 the households have 20A wiring now, so the 1600W isolated is usable - of course you could always use 240V.

I don't have my Ant's just yet, but I'll be getting them hopefully in batch 5. Just ordered a Corsair RM1000 that should be good to power them both. I chose this one because it's fully modular, has 8 PCI-Express connectors and at the time I was able to get $20 off, plus a $20 rebate card. So it was essentially $140.00 for a $180.00 psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139057

The RM1000 is a good, solid choice.  I have had luck with the Corsair products, having owned a CX600M (sold it to a friend to use with his S1), and an HX1050 which powered 2 S1s for 4 months and is now powering 2 S3s.

We're on the same page regarding the circuit load.  Pulling the full - or close to full - load from a circuit is certainly supported for "bursts".  The microwave is a good example of this kind of load - pulling a lot of power for short periods.  What is not supported is continued and constant draw over 80%.  Your mining gear is a good example of this kind of load.

240V is always a better option simply because higher volts means less amps for the same power requirements.  Your PSUs will be happier.

Meh, I mean the 1600w psu might be theoretically useless in that it would never be used to it's maximum output, but, by having that overhead efficiency would be higher? that's the only benefit.

Once you start spending over $150 for some decent PSUs the majority of the GOLD and PLATINUM PSUs will be within 1 or 2% of the maximal efficiency even at maximum load.  The only issue is more heat generation and stressing of components.  The more important question would be how well the PSU handles higher ambient temps since some PSUs don't do as well with high ambients - see JohnnyGuru's Hotbox test.

Buy the one that have at least 5 years warranty, and is gold rated and above..

I have an evga 1300 watt psu it runs 3 antminers set at freq 231.25 + 231.25 + 237.5  watt total is 1110 of 1300 watts.  two pcie wires per miner.

I purchased an evga 1600 watt psu it should allow 4 s-3's at 231.25 and total out to 1481 watts

but here is the deal  the evga 1300 at amazon

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-1300G2-ATX12V-120-G2-1300-XR/dp/B00COIZTZM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408798821&sr=8-1&keywords=evga+1300

price is  189 and a 15 usd rebate makes it 174



the evga 1600 at amazon


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MMLUIE8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

price is 349


so 174 for 3 s-3's

vs 349 for 4 s-3's

choice is easy get the 1300 watter.

I have yet to test the 1600 watter.  I purchased it for  curiosity and to do some testing for this site.

it has only 1 advantage if you have 12 s-3's   you need 3 of these  you would need 4 1300's

so it would save a little space.  at a big price premium.

rm series from corsair should be good enough, one rm 1000 is enough for 3 antminer s2-s3 if i'm not mistaken, i don't remember the exact wattage now

I recently ordered a pair of AntMiner S3+ and looking forward to receiving them in September.  I've come across a possible good deal on a power supply and wanted to share it.  If you're looking for a higher quality power supply Platinum rated, and don't just want a low quality simple one or a used one, check out the Rosewill Tachyon 650w at newegg.com.  They currently have it at $140, but there is a 20% off code available (-$28.00, ends 08/27) on their website AND a $30 Mail-In-Rebate.  This seems like a good power supply for a single S3 (overclocked or not), and it's partial modular also with 4 PCI-e connectors (the single +12v rail is rated at 54A = 648W). 
Free shipping too.  The 750w version (single +12v rail is rated at 62A = 744W) would probably be a better choice for a pair of S3's non-OCed, but that's out of stock.  They don't have a 850w version, but the 1000W version might be considered for OCing a pair of S3's because the single +12v rail is rated at 83A = 996W, but at $200 there are probably many other better choices, even Platinum rated power supplies.

With the S3 a CX750M fits nice.

big waste of $ to use those "normal" PSUs (evga, corsair, rosewill, etc) when you can use a tested option of 750w (http://minersource.net/products/dell-750w-psu-slash-adapter (http://minersource.net/products/dell-750w-psu-slash-adapter)) or 2000w (http://minersource.net/products/delta-dps2000w-with-adapter-board (http://minersource.net/products/delta-dps2000w-with-adapter-board)) server PS with breakout boards and cables.  the 2000w option is now my personal favorite.  will easily handle 5x overclocked antminer S3's or 1x KNC neptune.

Personally I go for what I have sitting around.  I got lucky and had a few nice PSU's from the old GPU day's. 

My  only advice is not to use a total crap PSU.   I had one no name i got on a steal after rebate and it burnt the company's PCIe splitter.  I don't like small guage PCIe splitters after that scare.

I would say go for a deal as long as it has enough PCIe cables. 

wow nice. Do they come ready to plug or it's a DIY? What about heat problems?

Normally you order the breakout board and cords and plug into server PSU.

You can make your own cables, but if you do look into what gauge wire to use.  If to small can heat up and bad things happen.

I use a corsair cx750m to power 2 s3.

I guess most people mind the extra hassle. Isn't there a plug and play solution similar to this?

For how long you've been running those?

they are 340W each, so you are pulling 680W from 750W max PSU.
I just want to make sure this head room is sufficient.

Pulling 680w from 750w psu is good, it should last really long if your room isn't too hot.

They've bee running for months happily now.  They're set up to blow the warm air across my desk.  No heat problems.  I'm in UK so a hot day is a rare occurance.  Even on a hot day the only additional cooling is a ceiling fan.

Here's a question for everyone....I currently have been "blessed by the boss" to use another room of my house to create another mining farm and want to start all over with an old batch of S1s and a new batch of S3s. I will be running (2) S1s and (4) batch 8 S3s. I want to keep my cost as low as possible on my PSUs but I want to make sure that I have ample power. I have, on hand, (2) EVGA 600W PSUs to get me going. What should I add to this power team to round everything out? Thanks in advance for any advice. I just don't want to have to think about it and do the math - mainly because you guys and gals are running massive farms that work well every day. Any thoughts?

How many of you are running multiple S3's on a single power supply?  Just wondering how it's working out, as the specs on many power supplies shows they should be able to handle 2 or 3 S3's on one.  Looking at a 850w Thermaltake supply with a 70A +12v rail, it should power 2 S3's non-overclocked (having only 6 x 6pin PCIE connectors, if it had 8 then it should handle both S3's OC'ed).  There's some 1000w supplies like the EVGA that has 83A +12v rail that should hand a pair of S3's overclocked (not sure of the exact wattage for a OC S3 at say 250M, anyone know for sure?  I read one person had 374watts for 250M while another states 402watts for the same 250M which means a 850w PS should do for 2 if it has 8 6pin PCIE connectors), or 3 S3's non-OC.  A couple 1200w power supplies like the SeaSonic has a 100A +12v rail that should theoretically handle 3 OC'ed S3's (but it only has 10 6pin PCIE connectors meaning only 2 OC and one non-OC).  EVGA even has a 1600w Power Supply that should be able to handle 4 non-OC S3's at once (Lepa also has a 1600w with 10 6pin PCIE connectors at a rather inexpensive $270, but the 4 x 30A +12v rails might have to be tested first), anyone doing this?

Jump to about the 29minute mark on this video to see why grabbing the cheapest that will work isn't a good idea for most (if you're paying for the power bill) and why a Platinum Plus 80 power supply might be worth the bigger initial investment over the long run.  Example, paying $85 (like the Rosewill 650w Tachyon that was on sale last week with $30MIR and -20% off) for a quality PS now, rather than a cheap $40 one, may cost you more than what you initially saved after one year of use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuBvGUT6VM8&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs

Are any of you running a PC and a S3 or pair of S3's and a PC on the same power supply?  How's that working out if so?

What about enclosures for the S3's and power supplies?  Looks like the Corsair Carbine 540 could fit a pair of S3's and a power supply easily (if placed on its side and feet added on the side to not block the vent intake for the power supply that would be on the bottom).  The Enermax Fulmo GT looks like it might even fit 3 S3's (maybe 4 if you can remove the hard drive rack) and 2 power supplies.


Here's a little list I put together for myself that some newbies might find handy if you're looking to start with a quality power supply (these are rated at 80 Plus Gold or Platinum. Note, these are not tested, this is going by their factory listed specs.  Also, keep in mind that if efficiency is of priority to you, then you'll want something rated at about twice the power you'll put through it, so if you have 2 S3's non-OC that's 340watts each so 680 watts both, you'll be looking for a 1,200+watt power supply to keep the efficiency at around 90% for a Gold or Platinum rated supply):

Rosewill Tachyon 650w should handle 1 non-OC (if efficiency is a primary factor) or OC'ed S3.  (was $82 last week, currently $110 after $30 MIR)
Thermaltake 750w should handle 2 non-OC S3's. (if efficiency is a primary factor, then 1 OC'ed S3)
Thermaltake 850w should handle 2 non-OC or 1 OC'ed and 1 non-OC S3's (and theoretically handle 2 OC'ed S3's if it didn't have only 6 x 6pin PCIE connectors, a EPS 12V 8-Pin TO 2x PCI-E 6+2-Pin Splitter Cable will probably benefit for 2 OC'ed S3's).
EVGA 1000w should handle 2 OC'ed S3's.  (3 non-OC S3's would be a little over recommended specs, but if tested and works with 3 non-OC S3's for duration, this might be worth considering at the price of $200 - $30 MIR = $170 at newegg.  But not recommended as it's about 4A/48w under specs on the +12v line and that's also at limit with no headroom.)  (If efficiency is your primary factor, then this one is probably best for 2 non-OC S3's)
EVGA 1200w should handle 3 non-OC S3's or 1 OC'ed S3 and 2 non-OC S3's (theoretically could handle 2 OC'ed S3's and an additional non-OC'ed S3 if it didn't have only 8 x 6pin PCIE connectors, a EPS 12V 8-Pin TO 2x PCI-E 6+2-Pin Splitter Cable will probably benefit for the 2nd OC'ed S3 and maybe even the 3rd OC'ed with a 2nd EPS 12V 8-Pin TO 2x PCI-E 6+2-Pin Splitter Cable).  ($222.50 after $10 MIR is probably the best price for a single Platinum power supply that will power 3 S3's at once within specs and room for OCing.  If efficiency is your primary factor, this one is probably best for 2 OC'ed S3's.  Also note 92% (115VAC) / 94% (220VAC~240VAC) efficiency and a 10 year warranty for this fully modular power supply.  At about $250 with the 2 splitter cables, that's about the same price as the Tachyon 650 x 3 when it was on sale.)
Seasonic 1200w should be able to handle 2 OC'ed S3's and an additional non-OC S3 (with its 10 x 6pin PCIE connectors, the 3rd S3 could be OC'ed with a EPS 12V 8-Pin TO 2x PCI-E 6+2-Pin Splitter Cable).
EVGA 1300w should handle 3 OC'ed S3's if you have enough PCIE connectors, this one is hard to beat for the price of $201 after $30 MIR.
Lepa 1600w should also be able to handle 4 non-OC S3's, but it having 4 x 30A +12v rails means it's at max. specs. (at $270, might be worth testing though)
EVGA 1600w should be able to handle 4 non-OC S3's or 3 OC'ed S3's and one non-OC S3 with its 14 x 6pin PCIE connectors (a EPS 12V 8-Pin TO 2x PCI-E 6+2-Pin Splitter Cable could make the 4th S3 OC'ed).  If efficiency is a primary factor, then this for 3 non-OC S3's (with a max. of 3 OC'ed S3's).

With one of these EPS 12V 8-Pin TO 2x PCI-E 6+2-Pin Splitter Cable adapter, things might be better if they're still in the Power Supplies specs.  http://www.frozencpu.com/products/22990/cab-1932/Premium_Bitcoin_Mining_18AWG_EPS_12V_8-Pin_TO_2x_PCI-E_62-Pin_Splitter_Cable.html?gclid=CO270-LNvsACFdGCfgods74ASg

Adding this easy to read chart for premium Gold/Platinum rated power supplies (but other supplies probably have similar graphs):
Power Supply rating (average on +12v single line) : max. safe spec. (w/ about 10% headroom) : peak power efficiency max. (about 50-60% of max. spec.)

450w-650w                                           :  1 OC'ed S3                                          :  1 non-OC S3  (600-650w only)
750w                                                    :  2 non-OC S3's                                     :  1 OC'ed S3
850-1050w    ($--170)                           :  2 OC'ed S3's                                       :  2 non-OC S3's (1000w+ only)
1200w        ($200-250)                         :  3 non-OC S3's                                     :  2 non-OC to 2 OC'ed S3's
1300/1350/1375w    ($220-300)            :  3 OC'ed S3's (1 to 2x splitter req.)        :  2 OC'ed
1500w  (--450+)                                   :  4 non-OC                                            :  2 OC'ed to 3 non-OC S3's
1600w        ($350)                                :  4 non-OC to 4 OC'ed S3's (splitter req.) :  3 OC'ed S3's

The best power supply you can get currently (money not a factor) is the Corsair AX1500i Titanium ($450+) and would be at peak efficiency with 2 S3's (non-OC or OC'ed).

Thanks, IITravel!! That answers my question right off the bat. The one thing I left out is that my two S1s are OC'd. Therefore, the two EVGA 600Bs will run the two OC'd S1s and two Thermaltake 750w's will run the four other new batch 8 S3s. Done and done!!

I wish I could answer your question about the S3s on a single power supply, but my current farm is composed of all S1s. Whoever answers your question from here should be able to help me find a better solution if the 750w solution isn't the best route. THANKS!!

No problem, but the manufacturers are just the brands I was looking at myself, other brands will probably be equivalent.  You just need to make sure the +12v specs. are over what you require.  750w power supply should have at least a 60A +12v line, or 2 30A +12v lines (but single is usually better).
It's good to give at least 10-20% headroom from what I've read, that's why a 850w power supply might be better for 2 (even if they're non-OC), but closer to 50% is better.

Oh yeah I'm all over the specs. I was just referring to Thermaltake in general ;)

Anyone familiar with using step up voltage converters to save on the power bill?  Wondering if going with a 3000w 120v to 240v for $110 would be worth it?  Say using two EVGA 1200w power supplies to run 3 AntMiner S3's each = 6 S3's (so about 2,250watts) at 94% efficiency (2% better over 120v at 92%) over 1 year, would you make up or be near the $110 cost?  Where I live it's about .22 per Kilowatt hour.

http://www.amazon.com/Goldsource-Heavy-duty-Transformer-Converter-Universal/dp/B00H9Z3GP0/ref=sr_1_71?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1409533062&sr=1-71&keywords=120v+to+240v+converter

no.  waste of money.  

Above was the short answer.  The long answer is they waste power to convert from 120v to 240v .  So your savings is lost.
I have a smaller one that allows me to test> IF I plug in a setup and bypass the transformer I would pull  x watts running the gear at 120volts.  If I do the test with the trasformer set to 220-240 volts I use 1.03 x      not  .98 x like you would think.  the wasted 5% is the transformer  doing the volts change.

How much "waste of money"?  What's the calculations?

If my calculations are correct, it would cost where I live about .22 per Kilowatt hour = $5.30 per day for 1,000 watts x 2.20 for 6 OC'ed S3's (at about 375watts each = 2,250 watts) roughly $12 per day x 30 days = $350-360 per month x 12 = $4,200 per year.  If it's a direct conversion of .02 or 2%, that = $84 savings (+/- $3).  Am I doing the math correctly, then at 1.5 years you'd be in the black barring nothing wears out, which might be worth it to some from that point on.  Especially if there's other factors I'm not calculating in savings.

Got a couple cheap used IBM 835W server supplies, one per miner but I hope to power 2 more at the next batch. They have the guts to power up without the shutdown surge current. Did I mention they are cheap?
Edit: dumped the server supplies cuz the small fans are way too noisy. Also my fabricated connectors were getting hot. Now using 850W PC supplies and am less paranoid about probs

$84 savings ($14 per OC'ed machine) per annum in the context of bitcoin mining can be construed as splitting hairs when you factor in difficulty increase (over the projected year) and daily earnings' variations (pool luck) given a constant hashing rate.
But hey, even a $1 saving is exactly that, and pool luck can be to your favour!

Here's a couple power supplies that might interest some of you (that are willing to put in some extra money for these features).

http://www.thortechpower.com/product-24.aspx
This Thortech (Geil) Thunderbolt Plus 1200w (GOLD) has a display that shows you info. from the power supply like wattage going through it etc.  (It's single rail, even though some early literature stated multi-rail).  Good for S3's on one power supply if they aren't overclocked.
http://www.amazon.com/Thunderbolt-Supply-iPower-Certified-TTBPK20G/dp/B008BCFZLI/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1410392221&sr=1-2
There's also a 850w version (although it's mismarked as 1000w on Amazon.com).  It looks like they showed a Platinum version a couple years ago, but it never came out.


http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Power_Supply/Toughpower_Series_/Toughpower_DPS/C_00002390/Toughpower_DPS_G_1050W/design.htm
Thermaltake has the new DPS G (cheaper that the DPS series that came out last year) series, that when hooked up to a computer via USB cable, will show you the wattage and used power, calculate electrical costs etc. and has a app. also. the top of the line is the 1050w (GOLD).  This will only work if you have it hooked up to a computer though.  Good for 2 overclocked S3's on one power supply, but you'll need a splitter since there's only 6 PCI-E connectors.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153214&cm_re=1050w_DPAS-_-17-153-214-_-Product

Note, both of these are not cheap power supplies, but if you find that you want something that monitors the power going through it, you may want to consider them.

If money is not a factor with your initial investment, the Corsair AX1500i 1500 Watts Power Supply with Titanium Efficiency (CP-9020057) costs $450+, but if you wanted to keep your power usage down to the absolute minimum, this power supply with 2 S3's (that would be at about 50% load, so peak efficiency) would be it (especially on a 230v line).

You can use a HP DPS-800GBA 850 Watt server PSU to power two S3's on either stock or over clocked with Gigampz breakout board as described in this thread...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=622783.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=622783.0)

They are industrial strength so they don't crap out like some of the cheaper PSUs and the total cost per S3 comes out to less than $40.  Also the 850 Watt rating is 100% available on a single 12 volt rail so you don't have the problem with cheaper PSUs where it is rated for 600 Watts but only a fraction of that can be used on the PCIe connectors.

Im confused on how to tell how much power is going out to the 12V rail.

I have this PSU already, Would it work with my single antminer s3?

Aantec EA500D
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=322679

http://www.antec.com/pdf/flyers/EA500D_flyer_EN.pdf

It says it has 2 12v rails each can supply 22 Amps.  It doesn't say if the 2 PCIe connectors share a single rail though.  If that is the case then it wouldn't work because is is really only a ~250 Watt PSU.

I use Corsair RM1000 with 2 S3s.

The EA500D Antec power supply have 2 +12V rails each one can handle upto 22A.
The two rails are connected to each PCI-E and PCI-E(6+2) seperately.
That means one +12V is connected to the PCI-E connector and the other +12V is connected to PCI-E(6+2) connector.