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It has been suggested that the voltage setting under the Miner Configuration -> Advanced Settings tab that is in the new S3+ firmware is a left over from the S4 firmware and is of no effect to the S3+, however this is not the case. While trying to figure out the effect the setting had, I changed one of my slightly OC'ed S3's voltage setting to 0850 and left it there for as it seemed to slightly improve the speed it was hashing at. This unit (like the rest of my S3's) was powered by a 550W server PSU, and having left the unit to run for weeks, the PSU started restarting every so often, which none of the others ever did. I finally realised that the PSU was dead and the only difference in settings was the voltage, which confirmed to me that the setting surely has an effect on the S3+, thus this post.

I looked up the datasheet for the BM1382 chip that is used in the S3+ and found 2 sections that helped me work out what caused the fauilre of my PSU (and also led me to properly use the voltage setting to properly overclock an S3+).

1. The typical hash rate and power table

http://s12.postimg.org/nk7gea0a5/BM1382_Hash_Rate_Voltage.png

2. The input timing for the chip

http://s18.postimg.org/m1osdagl5/BM1382_Input_Timing.png

The initial table has voltage settings and hash rates at each voltage, while the second table has the hash rates and frequencies to achieve them. Putting these together, I came up with the following.

http://s29.postimg.org/ee9nix24n/est_S3_Voltage.png

I have added an extra row for each voltage setting of 0.75v and 0.80v as I found that with the two units I overclocked they had a higher HW error % at the frequencies in the datasheet. When I upped the frequency a notch, the HW error % reduced to acceptable levels. It goes without saying that you may need to add the added frequencies as they are not in the shipped firmware, here's alink to how you can add them: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=699064.msg8370071#msg8370071

Also worthy of note is that setting a chip voltage to 0.85 results in a (datasheet / theoretical) wattage draw for the S3 (32 chips) of 544 watts. Remember the server PSU that I was using on the over-volted S3 that I mentioned earlier was rated at 550 watts ..... no wonder it gave up its ghost! So ensure you have an adequate PSU powering your S3 before you begin. Addidtionally, it may be worth noting that a fully populated 6 pin PCI-e connector will carry a maximum of 24 Amps @ 12V = 288 Watts (though I normally assume they can only carry 22.5 Amps @ 12V = 270 Watts), so you may need to power your S3 with all 4 pins rather than just 2.

Finally, here's an image of one of the OC'ed units. The HW error % is a bit high on this, but the unit has hashed at lower rates for longer runs, and also higher hash rates! EDIT: The lower part of the image is the poolside registered rate(s) after OC'ing.

http://s10.postimg.org/o6bq0cnhl/BM1382_Web_Pool.png

EDIT: It pains me to have to admit that the same voltage OC'ing will apply to the bitmain variants that have the BM1382 chips, e.g the S2 and S4; the reason it pains me is I do not have one!

EDIT 2: I thought I'd also post this to compare with my earlier OC'ing of my batch 6 S3 in this post: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=750220.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=750220.0) (also in my signature).

When I ran the test in August 2014 at freq 262.5 with the old firmware, I achieved an average hash-speed over a day of 529 Gh/s with 200 errors (0.00187113284%). Having set the voltage to 0750 in the newer firmware, I have a hash-speed 528.53 and a HW error rate of only 46 HW errors (0.0004%).

So again, not only does the voltage setting aid in OC'ing, it certainly does help with running efficiently!

http://s15.postimg.org/ljmp7cx0b/BM1382_262day.png

EDIT: 6th Dec 2014

I had to post this. An update for the 262.5 freq @ 0.75 volts (0750 setting) after running for 2 days. There are only 96 92 HW errors and the % is still the same! The consistency you get from setting the voltage correctly is astoundingly repeatable / maintainable given what we've come to expect of ASIC rigs.

http://s21.postimg.org/fsf8zkuiv/BM1382_262_2days.png

You, sir, are amazing. 

How are you able get your freq beyond 250?  Are you puttying into the unit and manually updating the asic-freq file?

I like that you think so ....


Re-read the post. I put a link to a forum post that explains how to add the extra frequencies.

Though I would caution against it, as I think they do as well in that post.  Your call though.

Fantastic work.
Is this a go for S3 or just S3+

Not sure what yo mean there ....


It is a go for either, so long as you have the latest firmware installed.
I have to add that if you are trying it on a unit that you have not retouched with heat paste / heat pads, try the lower frequencies (thus lower voltages)  first as bitmain's heat paste application is good for the stock frequencies (they've significantly improved on later batches though). The unit that I show here is one I re-did with heat pads on the chips / front heatsink + re-applied heat paste on the rear heatsink.

I was talking about overclocking beyond the stock asic-freq config.  I thought I read somewhere it was unstable.  *shrug* maybe not, it would have been you saying it if so.  I don't follow anyone else in regard to antminers.

Follow me at your own peril!
Seriously, there is nothing un-stable about it so long as you have enough power to meet your overclocked wattage draw AND adequate heat dissipation. If the HW error % gets to single digits, then I'd be worried, otherwise these things are built like tanks! And by the way, I'll add my poolside hash-rate for comparison in time too, just to underline my assertions.

nice info ! very low HW for such high OC n my guess would be the freezing temps you have. tbh, not advised to go that high if one cannot get enough cold temps as the chip temp will soar high hence more hw, prolly some x's or dashses - , fan spinning at higher rpm = not efficient, higher rate of failures, higher power consumption but wth it's at 1 own risk.

op, i'm not trying to spoil the thread but just my honest opinions nevertheless it's a good research n experience op is sharing with the community.

be warned oc at your own risk ;)

peace.

I agree, lower temps help (and I keep my rigs on the balcony .... and we are in winter now thus the 26 degrees in temp!). But more importantly, re-applying the heat paste (or adding heat pads to the front heatsink / chips) does improve the heat dissipation no end, and I'd rather stress that than scare people off with scare stories.

I have also been running this setting for the last few days, and have not for now, (touch wood!), had any x's or dashes. And if you think the HW error % is good, I've had a lot better than that as it tends to settle the longer it runs! But as usual, though I am confident of the valididity of my post, OC at your own risk.

I'll take the peril of your guidance over the peril of going it alone!  And I suppose you are right.  I have all of my S3+'s (batch 8 and above) now running at 250 on the 4.6.1-1 cgminer and only .0001% HW and ~40-45 degrees.  They all have their own 750w corsair as well.  I tried updating the cgminer to 4.7.1 haven't found a working package yet.

Yep, the voltage setting does help with reducing the HW error % if set to its respective freq (as per my last edit to the OP @ 262.5). Having said that, if you are running at a freq of 250, there's no harm at all in notching it up to 262.5 since it is the same voltage setting (and thus same wattage draw only run faster!), and with 750w PSU's, you're covered mate!

Basically, the overclocking should have been tied to a voltage setting, but somehow I fear bitmain missed this bit, seeing they only introduced the voltage setting with the newer firmware. On that note, I have also learnt that there is an even newer firmware, relased in Nov 2014 but have not tried it yet.

Really?  I just checked and didn't see it.  I wonder if this includes cgminer 4.7.1 ???

Aside:  Congrats to NASA and the successful launch of the Orion Rocket!

Did you look? I had'nt before but just did and found this: https://bitmaintech.com/files/download/antMiner_S320141126.bin

I guess it was before then.  Do their updates include other than items listed in the description on their site?

I have just updated the 262.5 overclock over a full day web UI to compare equally with the August 2014 overclock (last image in OP). The HW error rate remains at 0.0004 over the day, a total of ONLY 46 HW errors! Now, there is something to shout home about.

Your guess is as good as mine .... best to drop them a line but I'd defer on the description (encompassing the prior updates). Also, you can try posting on the cgminer thread, I know ckolivas and kano do release binaries compiled for antminer rigs independent of bitmain.

higher frequency, same voltage = higher wattage draw.

w/gh will not change significantly, but the power raw at the wall will increase (almost) linearly with the frequency at any specific voltage

I am going to go buy some thermal paste tonight or tomorrow and then I will max out the OC on my units.  Has anyone successfully actually gone to 400 MHz sustainably?

If you insist on splitting hairs, then it'd be best to be exact on how much more (specific) wattage draw there is between freqs 250 and 262.5 at the suggested 0.75V

I'd have liked to try that but the datasheet does not provide a voltage setting for that frequency, it literally only provides the four in the first table of the opening post! Also, the largest PSU I have available to run the S3 rigs is a measly 670W.

Cant say for sure, but it would be approximately 262.5/250 = 5% higher. difference between ~400W and ~420w

Dude whatever as long as my units aren't maxing out my 750W corsairs at the wall I could care less.

From my calculations (excluding power consumption of other bits, e.g fans and dc/dc converters), I have:

For freq 250 32 chips @ 0.75v 12.24A = 293.76 Watts
So, by your linear model: 262.5 / 250 = 1.05 (factored to the amperage) =>12.852
For freq 262.5 32chips @ 0.75v 12.852A = 308.448 Watts

Making a grand difference of 14.68 Watts. Tell me if I am splitting hairs here ... I mean to say, even 20 watts is not exactly pushing the envelope!


My thoughts exactly .... though I blew up my 550W rated PSU running my rig @ 0.85v !

Updated OP with 2 days screenshot running freq 262.5 @ 0.75v

Hmm....I have mine set to 0850 right now...maybe I will me the adjustment per your recommendation tonight.  Is there a notable hash increase?

Running at a freq of 262.5 with a voltage setting of 0850 will not be as efficient as running with a voltage setting of 0750, as you'll get more HW errors. At the very worst though (assuming you have an an adequate PSU), you'll be wasting power as the combined wattage is 544W whereas at 0750 it is ~294W. (note the wattage I mention here is theoretical and will actually be more!)

Classically, that is what we have been doing wrong all along, i.e running / overclocking the rigs with different frequencies at the same voltage setting! It should have been setting a voltage for a range of frequencies, but now we are wiser.

Hindsight, my friend...history makes for good lessons...

Sorry for the silly question but I just put the voltage setting in the voltage box under the drop down for the Frequency, correct? 

No such thing as a silly question, simply a question.
Yes, type the voltage setting inside that box and click Save & Apply (cgminer will restart after that and no need to reboot), else if you click Save, the setting will be applied next time you reboot the rig.

Pete, one day I will find you and give you the biggest high five ever. Thanks for the guide man!!!

Pete ...!? You talking to me? High fives all over then, and the pleasure is all mine.
I also noticed that the default voltage setting that bitmain ship with is 0725 but there is no mention of any 5 thousandth in the datasheet, so naturally, I tried it on one of my rigs that I had running at 0750 (aka tried 0755) ...... not bad!

Shit, sorry. I always read it wrong...

Does the voltage reset to default after reboot?

It does not reset to default so long as you save it once you have set it. I simply do a Save & Apply after setting and do not need to reboot as that action restarts cgminer.

Are S3's really have voltage change capability?
Anyone checked actual wattage from the wall?

Yes, i did, and did NOT see the actually wattage change.

This thread is F******** EPIC.

Now i have two units that had trouble running at stock ... running at least at 250 with lower voltage.

One of them is at 262.5 running at 524gh at the moment. I couldn't even make it run at 441 at 218.75 back then.

Thanks you so much for this !

EDIT: i got two running a gold corsair 1000 watts PSU and one a bronze corsair 750 watts pulling 1377-1378 Watts

hahah :D

You are welcome, mind though that the pleasure, like custom dictates, is all mine!
PS. Would be nice if you explained how and why you had to update the firmware of your S3 for other users .....

With pleasure !

First, i have 3 S3, Two Batch 1 which one was OC to 250 and one had trouble even running at 441 at stock clock (218.75). Then I bought a used one like a week ago or so. This one had also trouble to be stable at default clock (218.75).

After finding this thread. I was edit my CGMiner.lua file in the /usr/lib/lua/luci/model/cbi/cgminer (writing this path by memory) and tweaking the voltage to 750 (0.75v) for the 250 Freq and 725 (0.725v) for the 225 Freq. By doing that, I had horrible result. Follwing Pekatete advice, I upgraded one of my problematic miner to the Firmware antMiner_S320141024.bin and give it a try (DO NOT USE THE NOVEMBER ONE).

So I set my Batch 1 problematic unit to 250 Freq / 750 (0.75v) Boom was stable and had no HW / problem with any chip. I could have never done that before. Setting to 225 would have gave horrible result and bad chip status (the famous X on the miner status).

Seeing those unbelievable result. I upgraded all my miner to the October 24 firmware. Set my both Batch one to 262.5 Freq (0.75v) and my third S3 to 250 freq (0.75v). The last one looks like less performing at the moment but they all been running since  short time. So let's see and wait for now.

Still, at the moment.
                UPTIME            5s AVG     AVG      HW       FREQ  Nbr. fail chip
S3 B?       0d 0h 40m 30s   516.39   495.85   0%           250    0X
S3 B1       0d 0h 26m 40s   548.47   527.99   0.0005%   262.5    0X <====  OC to 250 with the previous default setting by bitmaintech
S3 B1       0d 0h 24m 46s   546.16   518.37   0.0033%   262.5    0X

Second B1 Unit (one that wasn't working good) has been going down after one hour. Will try 250 freq now.

EDIT: Both now are going down.  Will lower the freq further to 237.5
EDIT: Trying 225 with 0.72V. 237.5 wasn't working

I have concluded that with the stock heatsinks and paste, that increasing the voltage on my six S3+ units does not work for me.  I tried everything, and got some clear short term performance improvements.  However, nothing lasted more than an hour at ambient temperatures of 17 degrees C.  Finally reflashed to the 10/24 firmware and went with frequencies of: 225, 225, 237, 237, 237, 243.  Increasing frequencies above those six points results in dropping hashrates, with or without corresponding voltage changes.  I assume the successful overclocking by others is either different chips or better cooling.  It was frustrating to see clear jumps above 500 GH/s, but then rates that dropped below stock of 453 GH/s.

I came to the same conclusion as well. I got the one unit that was running steady at 504 GH/s before and now running 529 gh/s with a voltage of 0.75v. Which is impressive since it's taking less power and i have been able to push it a bit more.

For the unit that I had trouble with. Playing with the voltage doesn't help much in the long term. One of the two is running 231.25 with a voltage of 0.725 and it's getting 450 gh/s. It's not bad since the voltage is lower. it's more efficient but not performing as like it should at this frequency.

The other one (From Batch 1) is a pain in the ***. Whatever I tried is just go down and down on the long term. getting 444 gh/s at 231.25 with 0.725v. Still saving power but under performing as well.

B?     0d 5h 11m 32s   451.51   450.39   0   0.0159%   231.25
B1   0d 10h 33m 42s   530.09   529.58   0   0.0004%   45 44   262.5
B1   0d 6h 39m 32s   458.03   444.47   0   0.0002%   231.25

The bottom line is Quite happy that i'm saving power. If you have a unit that you can OC to 250 with the default setting, you can make a huge power saving and even pushing it harder and getting awesome result.

If anyone has found a trick with the units that is somehow under performing with the stock setting, share it with us so we can make them more profitable.

1 hour is nowhere near enought to come to such a conclusion, unless ofcourse the rate is way off, in which case, evn 10 mins would do.


They are all BM1382's, though the earlier S3's (apparently) have different voltage regulators (and who knows what else!). Cooling wise, you may have a point, though debatable, with the earlier S3's, but not relating to S3+'s. Again, I have to say you did not run them for long enough .... at the very least I'd run it for 4hrs. And the clear jumps you refer to, is that with the 5s or the avg hash-rate? For the 5s I've seen as high as 700Gh/s and as low as 12Gh/s, so it does not really matter, rather the avg rate.

EDIT: Finally, it is not a case of increasing / decreasing the voltage at which the chips run, it is about setting the appropriate voltage for the frequency you are running at. At the very least, you'll notice a decrease in the HW errors as the S3's (and S3+'s) seem to ship with an non-datasheet freq - voltage setting. For other units, you'll also see an improvement in hash-rate but more pertinently, if you are overclocking, then you'll be able to do it at its appropriate voltage and will be in a better position to decide when you've stretched your unit far enough. In my case, I have one unit (an S1 to S3 upgrade) that I am limited by the PSU and datasheet voltage settings as I feel it can be pushed further!

It is false to say that you are making a power saving, rather, that you can achieve the same rate with a PSU that can efficiently supply the  wattage at the datasheet voltage (plus a bit more for the fans and lost power). Thus if you are running with a voltage setting of 0750 and freq of 250, you can run the rig using a PSU with a rated wattage of ~400 watts and achieve at least 504 Gh/s, or a voltage setting of 0720 with a freq of 225, a PSU rated at ~350watts to achieve 453Gh/s. Of course, for running them that tight, they'll also have to be at least bronze rated too. If, however, you are running a PSU rated at 650watts, you'll not see the drop at the wall as you expect.

I have been running B11 units at 262.5 / 0750 voltage for the past three days, and they have hashing at ~530 GH/s with very low (.0001-.0002%) hardware errors. B11 units appear to be very stable at this speed and voltage, and use ~415 Watts at the wall (.78W/GH).

Has anyone tried pushing the S3+ a bit further? I'm tempted to up the speed to 268 or 275 and see what happens...  :)

Up it, no worries so long as you have it adequately powered. You may need to play a bit with the voltage setting for freq 268, i.e 0750, 0755 or 0800 since it is in-between the datasheet settings guided by the HW errors you may get.

If you look at the OP, I had a rig at freq 281 though the HW is a lot higher than I got running it at freq 268.75 so I reverted to that. Saying that, like most of my S3's (and +'s) , I run it off a 550W PSU ..... so thre may be something in that.

I see, i run two on a Corsair 1000 Gold and one Corsair 750 Bronze. I was sure the lower voltage would drain less power. My bad i guess.

I let them run for over 10 hours, One of mine went down to 400 GH/s and the other to 420GH. So on the long run, mines are not performing well.

My good machine was still doing fine but loosing speed to0 ... about 515gh in almost 24 hours.

10 hrs is a good enough indicator I'd think. On the positive side, if these are the same units that could not go over 450 in the first place, but can now hash for a while over 500, then you probably have to revert to restarting them often like you were previously, at least now they'll be running faster. On that note, you may find that simply restarting cgminer will "clear things up".

Yeah, I wish i had some kind of auto-reboot triggered on a timer.

How do you retstart cgminer quickly without rebooting and changing the freq ?

You can do it via a script that you run via scheduled tasks. I had one before I stumbled accross the voltage settings but removed it when my affected rigs stabilised after the changes. You can put a shout out in the S3 support thread or the cgminer thread and someone will respond with a solution.

262.5/0750 appears to be the sweet spot (530 GH/s at 415W).

Errors go up and efficiency goes way down above that setting.

The degradation in hashrate was undeniable within 1 hour, but I ran them another 12 hours to be sure about what I was seeing.  Essentially, I was not able to get any useful increase in hashrate by adjusting the voltage.  I saw some great first hour numbers, but dropping back to just adjusting frequency on the stock 10/24 firmware was the better alternative.  If others are seeing better results, I guess it is because they have different chips or better cooling.

I'll have to put it down to all units in the S3 clan being built different ... yet the same!

1. On all units the that I have changed voltage settings, those that showed a good / increase in hash-rate in the 1st hour have always been able to out-perform their previous default setting hash-rate sustainably, albeit, some have an increased HW rate (which I tend to turn down a notch).
2. The voltage setting should, without any qualms, improve efficiency in lower HW rates but more so if you overclock the unit. If you are running at stock freqs, the story may be different .... In effect prior to the voltage setting, we've been overclocking / running rigs at voltages that are not optimal for the higher frequencies. That is why you have to get a better HW rate if you set the correct voltage when you overclock, the speed comes with how far you overclock!

I dug this up after being asked on the S3 Discussion thread .... again, I have not tried this but it simply reboots rather than restarts cgminer (I now recall I had an issue with restarting cgminer via api, but you can still restart it via init.d script).

Would be nice to see a chart/graph with various frequency settings from 200M up to 262.5M on the S3+ with settings from 0725 to 0770 voltage settings in 005 increments to find the most efficient settings for each frequency in between.  Anyone want to spent the time and equipment to do 11 x 10 = 110 tests???  Would probably become the basic go to OC guide for the Antminer S3.

...you mean like the one on pagE 1 of this thread?

Not quite.

To be honest, I've (and many more out there!) have run a good number of that range - ofcourse tending to the OC side - but not for long enough (IMO) to be authoritative enough to form the definitive guide, also undocumented!
Saying that, the full range may be overkill and lack any useful result over and above what we already know, thus I'd suggest voltage increments of .25v over a 6hr period minimum. If anyone has 10 or more S3+'s, that would be trivial, then again, they'd have to "sacrifice" their earnings. If you only have a coupl of S3+'s, it won't require a herculian effort, but trivial it won't be.
Thus IITravel01, start a fund to get this off the ground and I am sure you won't be shy of takers!

Shameless bounty hunters, we miners are ;)

This could probably be done easily by multiple people participating if one person put the info. all together.  Get people to post their results into one specific thread with directions on how to do each step and how to screen capture to post to that thread with the necessary stats.  Wouldn't need just one person and could eventually be completely filled in as more people add info.  The reason I selected 200M to 262.5M is that 200M seems to be the most power efficient if you're paying your own electric bill and 262.5M seems to be the highest OC without causing HW errors, etc.  The reason I stated .05v increments is to get the most detailed from the default voltage of 0770 to the suggested 0725 for the newest firmware, but could probably be done in .10v increments from 0720 to 0770 (6 volt. settings x 11 frequency settings = 66) to reduce the number of tests needed to fill in the graph/chart and also, if you find a sweet spot then the .05v could be added in between afterwards to get it more detailed later.  Would need to include which batch and which firmware used for each, also power rating with a Kill-o-Watt would make it more complete, as well as ratings for 120v vs. 220v.  Of course one person doing the original chart with the same equipment would probably make it much easier to start.

There you go, I have put up a poll on the thread, hopefully we'll get a good response. i've also left it open so anyone can view the results.

With regard to getting different people to carry out the tests and collating the results, I'll leave that to yourself to start the thread for that. You can start off with an empty table listing the freqs and voltages that you want, then people can opt to do the test by posting a message before they start, stating the freq & voltage they are testing, then posting results when they are done and you filling in the table in the OP.

Ain't no shame in that ma friend .....

Great work. Thank you I have tested some of this on my C1 unit and can confirm the higher voltage settings with the higher clock speed add stability to my C1 16 days strong no X's as well as higher hash rate with the overclock. I will try some of these settings on my S3's I have most of mine running very low HW error rate at 250Mhz now so I will modify the Freq file and test out the higher voltage with the beyond stock Freq values.

On C1, with 218.75M(default) what voltage should i set, currently is 0760. Is it ok, because im not getting over 950ghs

First, you need to ensure that your C1 is NOT running the November firmware before you can change the default setting. This thread is beyond that scope, but a lot has been said in the S3 discussion and support thread.

The datasheet setting for the freq range of 225 (which I'd say 218.75 falls) is 0.72v, so I'd test with a voltage setting of 0720 which should be more than adequate for that freq.

Again, do at your own risk!

November firmare as i can see "File System Version Wed Nov 26 10:27:37 CST 2014"

I would steer clear of setting voltages on that. There are quite a few un-knowns about the Nov firmware update (mainly for the PIC), but I have seen a tech from bitmain advising NOT to alter voltage.
A word to a wise man is enough.

I tried many voltage (0.7 - 0.725 - 0.75 - 0.8 - 0.825) with different frequency and I'm getting good result for like 6 hours one machine and like 8-12 hours and two others, after that it's falling off.

I can't make them stable on the long run. They need restart.

alias: -l not found
root@AntMinerS3:~# /usr/lib/lua/luci/model/cbi/cgminer/cgminer.lua
-ash: /usr/lib/lua/luci/model/cbi/cgminer/cgminer.lua: Permission denied
root@AntMinerS3:~#

So how can i add more of those frequencies?
The other thread didn't give any guidelines

Which firmware version do you have ? You should update it to the October one.

that's my guess

I tried both October f/w. But gonna try once more when i get home.

Never had a permission denied on that file.

forgot to write vi  ::)

Running at 262.5 and 0750 what should the reg value and delay be set to as shown in chart on page 1 of this thread?  In etc config cgminer it says something like 10:262.5:09bb. I made up the numbers as im not available to check it now but thats what i am referring to.  Can someone post their cgminer config file running stable at 262.5 and 0750

Also at this setting you would only need 2 pcie cables correct?  Would hooking all 4 up cause more watts at the wall or help any?

I am not sure why you refer to the /etc/cgminer file as the new firmware (where you can set voltage) uses another file to set timeout, freq and regvalue. There is a link in the OP in this regard (about adding frequencies), and extracting the 262.5 freq line I get: 15:262.5:0a02

Running at that freq with a voltage setting of 0750 has a theoretical power draw of approx 300 watts for the chips and a fully populated 6 pin PCI-e connector can carry (12v * 7.5A) * 3 = 270 watts each (540watts for both), so with at least a 550 watt PSU (edit: with all the wattage on the 12v rails) powering your S3 variant, you only need 2 PCI-e connectors. The power draw at the wall will only increase if / depending on the PSU you have powering your rig, and if over-specified, there won't be a change. Given that the default setting was 0725, 0750 is only a mild increase!

Theres two lines for 262.5 are people using the 15 or 16 delay?
And how do voltage settings compare from an s3+ to my antminer s3 b1. Would it be the same voltage a real 0750. Or more or less.
In voltage field i type 0750 correct?

For the timeout, take your pick! On a serious note, the timeout is simply the time to wait for a result (in milliseconds!) from the chain before new work is sent to the chain, bearing in mind that sending new work cancels any work already running on the chain. Since the "mining" is looking for the occurance of a share (is it a prime number?) in a range, then too short a timeout will result in the latter ranges not being searched (so if a share exists you'll not find it), and the flip side is a long timeout will result in the chain sitting idle for the extra time. Its a fine line but .... lets just say, its beyond this thread's realm.

Whatever batch of S3 you have, they have the same hashing chip, i.e the BM1382, and the voltage settings "should" have the same power draw. I say should advisedly as it has been documented in this hallowed forum (not thread) that the earlier batches of the S3 have different (and less capable) power regulators .... but again, that is beyond this thread's realms.

Well what the heck is a regular value then, that other number?
along with the two timeouts for 262.5 there are also two regular values listed in link for same clock speed.

And to clarify i just type in 0750 in voltage field?

Mine gave .03-.04% hw errors when i first started before i left home.  Will proper timeout and regular value help?

I changed this 18:218.75:1106 to this 18:262.5:1106 in etc config cgminer. And voltage to 0750.  Was hashing over 500 and .03 to .04 error before i left. westhash shows 300-530 ghs. It goes up and down. I also added a nonce version of cgminer to my s3 i downloaded from bitmains site. This has nothing to do with version of cgminer and everything to do with firmware when talking voltages and clock correct? Firmware is 10.24

I thought default voltage shipped was 0785 is it actually 0725 so i am overvolting going to 0750?

I guess a better question is am i using more power with a setting of 0750 and 262.5 than a factory s3 batch 1 with factory settings?

There is NO regular timeout for freq 262.5 as that freq does not ship but is simply added. Even the shipped freqs (look at the datasheet from the bitmain website) can have multiple timeouts (as is clear in the datasheet and one of the OP tables) , but bitmain do provide recomended (chain) timeouts for some freqs. That is why I said, take you pick from 15 or 16!

EDIT: Again, just notice that by regular value you mean reg value, I am perplexed why you keep asking that when I mentioned the thread for adding freqs that do not ship. That gives the reg value in the setting.


Yes


No Just noticed by regular vlue you mean reg value. Reg value WILL help, but not timeout.

Beyond this thread's scope. For the freq timeouts and regvalue, try the thread I linked in the OP and for the rest you probably want to ask this in the westhash thread (if there is one), the cgminer thread or the S3 support thread.

No by regular value i am referring to the third value xxx:xxx:YYYY Where the ys are
15:218.75:yyyy

there are two different reg values in that link thats why i am asking which reg value should i try?  Im never home to edit settings

funny we are both editing our posts too

I just read another part you wrote I thought default voltage shipped was 0785 is it actually 0725 so i am overvolting going to 0750? I thought 0750 was undervolted

I guess a better question is am i using more power with a setting of 0750 and 262.5 than a factory s3 batch 1 with factory settings?  Im thinking not but im getting confused here.

There's your reg value for 262.5 - I mentioned this to you earlier!


I would not say you are over-volting, simply setting the ideal voltage for the frequency you are running - look at the datasheet! Prior to the new firmware, all freqs (overclock and underclock) were being done on the same voltage that bitmain had hard-coded, thus they had to choose a middle voltage that would work for a range of freqs. With the voltage setting (and the datasheet), we can set the voltage to the freq we run the rigs at, thus less errors and better efficiency.

You need to acquaint yourself better with the basics here; A setting of 0750 represents a voltage of 0.75v and that of 0725 is for 0.725v. The default frequency is 218.75 (I think) whereas you'd be overclocking to 262.5 (over is the operative word here). So yes, your rig will be utilising more power since the clock frequency is faster i.e shrinking a second in time as you'd know it, and also using a touch more volts per cycle, i.e 0.025v. Having said that, if say you are running a 650watt PSU, you shall not see a difference in power draw either way.

I was under the impression the default voltage is 0785 which is apparently wrong it is 0725 according to you.  The datasheet just shows me using less power than a factory s3. Its all really confusing. What do i add to get actual watts like the control board uses added to the asics.  Im using a 750w gold rating thermaltake toughpower 2 pcie.  Guy i got it from said use 4 pcie but he gave me two pcie cables with 2 pcie ends on one side so i figured i shouldnt plug in the additional 2 since they probably are on the same wire

You could very possibly be under the right impression, or I could indeed be correct on that, but in this thread's context, that's neither here nor there, more so the power consumption of the board, fans etc.

We will figure it out but you've been very helpful. Thank you.  I will try the regvalue and see if it has a positive effect on hw errors.

For future reference I believe we still can use vi /etc/config/cgminer but theres no reason to as its in web interface.  Because that worked for me using vi when I changed my clock value and didnt touch timeout or regvalue which i will when i get home.  But I do have an extranonce copy of cgminer installed.  Though I dont think that matters.

I believe that the default voltage may be different for the current firmware.  I don't know if it's different for the S3 and the S3+, here's what I believe.  For the S3+ the default voltage for the Nov. firmware was 0770.  I suspect that the new Dec. firmware may have a default voltage for the S3+ is 0725 (I was told that was the temporary fix or work around for the hashing dropping to less than 50Gh/s on the Nov. firmware).  If anyone wants to use putty, you can see for yourself to verify.  Does the default voltage show up on the new December firmware when you go to the advanced screen or is it blank like before?  I can't tell on mine because I had 0725 set on my two S3+ and when I updated this morning to the new Dec. firmware I selected to keep settings, so after it rebooted I went to the advance tab and it still showed 0725.

It might be in cgminer file
Try ssh in
Then
cat /etc/config/cgminer
Thats where clock settings are

I will find file when I get home to see where voltage is stored.

What is default in october firmware and batch 1?

is the december firmware stable for us to run 0750 and 262.5 overclock or should I stick to october?  November was disregarded

firmware is same for s3 and s3+ to my knowledge

I also emailed bitmain and will post answer soon

Firmware might be the same for the S3 and the S3+, but the settings aren't.  The S3 had a lower default frequency setting than the 225M that the S3+ does (which might mean the have different voltage values for each frequency setting).

Hi! My Antminer S3+ will shutdown itselft after 2minutes of running.
Any ideas?
Please help me


Thanks advance
and
God Bless!!!!!

Data gathered from bitmain emails

default value for S4 is 0725.

they also said s3 is 0760 or 0770 and s3+ is 0750

idk... hard to know without investigating firmware without custom settings

S3 is 441gh/s and S3+ is 453gh/s


Edit. (OCFREQ/REGFREQ)xAMPSxVOLTS×#chips=WATTS

I found another sweet spot for my / the S3+ at a frequency of 275 and a voltage setting of 0815. I had to change the timeout from the suggested 15 to 14 to reduce the HW errors and having run it overnight, it looked good. I've had to power cycle the rig (as I did not do that yesterday) and currently re-running the setting, but looks good thus far! (also updated the OP on the OC thread here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=750220)

http://s7.postimg.org/4ko9o5wvv/S3_275.png

Does page 7 (labeled 6) of the new Version 2 help or is this for the upcoming S5 only (notice 275 is listed at 14 delay)?  https://www.bitmaintech.com/files/download/BM1384_Datasheet_v2.0.pdf

Clearly labelled BM1384, so not for the S3 which has a BM1382 (as far as I know)!

Oops, didn't catch that, but did see that 275 was at optimal 14 delay so it's coincidence then (oddly on page 3 under Overview it states BM1382 probably in error).  Do the other delay settings match up to the suggested speed also?

Clock Freq. (M)         Ideal delay (ms)             Rec. delay (ms)
200                          21.3                              19
225                          18.9                              17
250                          17.0                              15
275                          15.5                              14

You are right about freq 275 having an optimal 14ms delay and for the life of me, I do not know why I had mine set at 15! And by the way, that BM1384 datasheet still has most data relating to the BM1382 (including that work input timing table). I think the only thing they've changed thus far is the Power performance table!

If I recall correctly, the S3 does not ship with these freqs and I got them off a thread on this forum .... so that must have been wrong, or even more likely, I was tinkering around (as I do) and forgot to set it back!

Amazing thread with amazing results!! I can't wait to get home to try out voltage OCi g my S3+ miners.

Could you please post how many watts at the wall this is pulling...  when I did my tests of voltages I could not get the wattage at the wall to change by changing the volts..

I do not have a tool to measure the pull at the wall, but if your tests showed no change, I have no reason to doubt it.

OBITER DICTA: It seems the new firmware that bitmain are testing (I got a copy from bitmain earlier today and you can ask to be sent a copy), handles voltage settings well using the default value of 0000 (I suppose that signifies auto select the voltage). I flashed one of my S3's with the firmware and in the first hour that I was able to observe, it seemed to be handling well. I will not be able to check on the rig as I am away for a couple of days, but will be able to on the 26th or 27th.

Thanks for the reply.. will said firmware be publicly avail soon? or now? would love to retest the wattage at the wall issue.

Go to the S3 Discussion and Support thread, find one of the BITMAIN_***** people and send them a PM asking to test the new firmware. Don't forget to add your email address to the PM and they'll send it to you by email, no idea when it is due for release though.

some reason on my S3s if i type a number in the volts field the hash goes way down.. i dont know what im doing wrong.

ive try 0750, all the way to 0795.

Not all S3's support voltage settings (hardware wise), and please don't ask me which ones do as even bitmain can't tell.

On the other hand, set a voltage to its corresponding frequency (0750 is for freq 250 and you can also try freq 262.5); You also have to let it run for a while to tell whether that is the "sweet spot" for your S3. If you get too many HW errors, say in the first hour, then that is not a good voltage setting.

NOTE: I'd be patient for another few days /weeks until bitmain have released the new firmware which (seems) to auto set the voltage depending on what frequency you select.

i been running my s3s at 237.
they are pretty steady at 479.

except one has twice as much hwe at that speed then the other.. .002 vs .001

i was thinking maybe a slight volt tweak would help it..

plus i want to try to get it to 243. but when i set them to 243 they dont get much faster and the hwe goes way up.

If you are trying to run at 243, then start setting your voltage setting from 0720 towards 0750. (look at the 3rd table in the OP of tis thread for example settings at certain freqs)

I'd also be tempted to run at freq 250 voltage 0750 (and incrementing depending on result) in your case.

do i have to power off and on, or does hitting save and apply enough?

im trying 243 @ 0740

I usually power cycle after I've decided to run a frequency / voltage setting for a long(er) stint.

these miners sure are picky on the volts?

i been running at 237, gives me 479ghs with around .002% hwe.. one more then the other but not higher then .002%

i switched them up to 245 and leave the volts blank, they will run at 483ghs.. but the hwe goes up to .01%+ and it just takes a few minutes to get 100s of errors..

i set the volts to 0740, they run at 499 or so.. but the hwe goes up, .01%+
i set the volts to 0745, then they run at 460 or so and the hwe stays 0%.. think this is over volting them?
i set the volts to 0735, i think one of these likes this, so far im at 489ghs but 0% hwe. its only been a few mins tho so i dunno.. the other one 490ghs and 100s of hwe at .03% in 5 min..


i tried the bad one at 0730 and 0725 and no good, .03%+ hwe. :(

so maybe that one wont go higher then 237..

edit, after a few min the ghs dropped down to under 479, which is what i was getting at 237.. so yeah..

maybe i need that beta bios that is being passed around.


edit..
so to just check things out, i set both of my miners to 225, which they run 100% at 453 with less then .0001% hwe..
i set one with the volts 0720 and one with it blank..

ill see if there is a difference..

edit, after 5 hours no difference.. i dunno.

for now i put it on 237 and 0735. those should be the correct numbers per the chart on the first page. ill see what happens.

Pm me link to beta firmware im having trouble finding it their email techs dont have access to it

Like I said above, go to the S3 discussion thread and ask one of the support people, via PM and including your email, for the firmware and they'll send it to you via email. Dogie also posted a link to it here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=671189.msg9895096#msg9895096 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=671189.msg9895096#msg9895096), though I'd get one from support direct.

Does anybody see the actual voltage changing on voltmeter for S3/S3+/C1 ?

Thank you.

i think my batch 5 miners dont have the dc/dc that changes voltage..

ive tried every combination of volts and no matter what i put in, it doesnt get any better then if i leave it blank, sometimes it gets worse..


i guess 237.5 @ 479 is the best i can do.

Make voltage changes
Power cycle psu
System-reboot from web interface
It keeps x's and hwe from popping up

This is the elephant in the room.....  it DOES NOT change the wattage at the wall..  this alone convinced me to make an sp20 purchase.  I have one S5 coming...I will test the S5. if it acts similar to the S3.  I will be replacing everything with the sp20 (about 70th)

I have neither empirical evidence nor electrical engineering know-how about what I am about to state below, but believe it to be true.

If you clock your S3+ to freq 250 with a voltage setting of 0750 then the total draw the chips would require would be approximately 294 watts. Now here comes the part I am not certain on, i.e I think you can achieve the stated hashrate of  504 Gh/s running it off a 400+ watt PSU, and that is where you would get the reduction in power draw at the wall (and not too dissimilar to the S5 9v PSU undervolt!).

I am also intrigued as to how the latest beta firmware reflects on the power draw when a voltage setting is applied as it seems to handle better than the previous releases, but again, not having a killawat meter bars me from gathering any data on that.

IMHO the voltage settings make no difference with the S3+ ( change on GUI without modifying config files )

I have tried alot from 0500 (which is too low für the asic to run) up to 0800. On my tests it make no difference on GH/s or power-consumption or HW-Err.

Only setting of Frequency makes a differnce.

Freq   Volt   Watt   Temp A B   Fan   GH/s   HW   W/GH
225   0,77   380   38   36   1600   449   0   0,846325167
250   0,77   440   39   36   1800   505   0   0,871287129
250   0,72   440   39   36   1800   505   0   0,871287129
200   0,72   330   37   25   1500   408   0   0,808823529
100   0,72   161   36   35   1000   210   0   0,766666667
100   0,50   161   34   33   1000   208   0   0,774038462


Always with power off/on and running for 1 hr.

 

So if I follow your chart right I can do ~450 GH/s at 240 watts with this? What firmware version do I need to be running?

Take a second look. I took 380 Watt for 450 GH/s. I am using latest software from bitmain ( from 19.12.2014 ) It seems to be more stable about constant hashrate.

Did you change the voltage? Seems like most people are getting it to work, so I'm assuming you're doing something wrong.

Any update on the frequencies and voltage settings?

Let me do a wild guess: You never read a message before posting a reply ?!
 

I am confused about the poll... if the voltage doesn't really change the volts to the chips, what good would a chart be?

Let me guess, your a fucking asshole, douche bag? I seriously hate the people on this forum. There's some dumb fucks floating around; for sure.

bitmain said that "most" of the s3/s3+ has the dc/dc needed to change volts.. but they also said that "a lot" dont.

they also said that you couldnt tell.. and it sounds like they were making them both at the same time in different factories. one had the correct chip one didnt.

my batch 5 s3s do not seem to change volts.

Thanks for the information! Didn't know that. My S3+s must be from from the "wrong" batch  :(

 Is anyone running the newest firmware from Bitman ? I keep playing around with Voltage and Frequency settings but my hash rate spikes to over 500  for a couple of hours but then drops below 400 ?? why ?? my temps are 38 to 40 ?? I also cant edit my /usr/lib/lua/luci/model/cbi/cgminer/cgminer.lua (Permission denied ) file for frequencies higher than 250 ? Any Ideas ?

The latest firmware (since Oct 2014) is crap on many levels, but that is a sidenote. For a start, I'd desist from changing voltages on that as the default setting of 0000 seems to find its sweet spot, and to add to that (and as you realised) it seems when you set a voltage with the newer firmware, you consistently loose hashrate and have to restart cgminer to recover it. In my opinion, not worth it! If you have the Oct firmware, reflash your rig (a user also posted one here (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=671189.msg10094000#msg10094000))

Never come accross the permission denied error on an S3 ... are you logging in via SSH as root?

I had the same permission denied. Did you write vi? As in: vi /usr/lib/lua/luci/model/cbi/cgminer/cgminer.lua

Oh man, and i just updated the f/w from the october one to the newest =/
Should i go back? Thought i'd run some OC tests with it.

Thanks pekatete!! I am getting better results now with the older firmware !! however I still get the a  permission denied error ssh as root ?? idk....  :-\ 

Its show as this in the prompt below
 
alias: -1 not found
root@antMiner:~#
-ash: /usr/lib/lua/luci/model/cbi/cgminer/cgminer.lua: Permission denied
root@antMiner:~#

you should be invoking vi editor by typing:

The saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
So it depends where you are at;
1. Does the new firmware work for you? Then what are you trying to fix?
2. I doubt the new firmware is working better for you, but you should know better since you have your rig, in which case I'd be tempted to revert to the older one .... a simple reset should do it, or you can reflash if that does not work.

I am back to using the 10/24/2014 firmware. That has been the best performing one for me, as far as hash rate and HW errors. All of mine are pointed at ck's solo pool.

https://i.imgur.com/uTa47JA.jpg

10/24 firmware seems better for most S3's ... but some people are still flashing the latter firmwares (though I'd advise against that).
Interesting that you are all in with solo mining .... for how long have you been at it any luck? I am contemplating on pointing a couple of mine there .... but the thought of going forever without any rewards scares me, for now.

Thanks again pekatete !!! How hard are you pushing your S3? I have a server room that I can use with A/C! With two power supplies for each miner AX860 ATX Power Supply — 860 Watt.

I got lucky and hit a block on 1/5/15. So it is going pretty well!!  ;D

Best I'm doing (not in a server room, but in my garden ... in winter) is freq 282.25 voltage 0825 getting approx 560GH/s and a low HW% running off a single 550W server PSU on a 220v-240v input. Not all my rigs will run that freq, but most will run @ 262.5 (and they all run off 550W server PSU's).

Do you use all 4 PCI-e connections?

Nope, just 2 on each rig.

Well after a day of messing around with the miners.  I didn't want to be in the real world, so I decided to do some tinkering. 

I have:

2 S3 and 2 S3+

S3.1

Went back and forth, could not find the sweet spot to save my life.  I tried 262 and 275, couldn’t get above 500G.  I have a copy of the 12/16 firmware so i went back to it.  At 250, I consisiently just under 500G(490ish).  I’m just going to leave it there for now

S3.2

Same as the 3.1, but holding a consistent 505G at 250.  Can’t seem to get anything better, at higher settings.

S3.3+

Now this puppy here is a Beast.  At 275 it is knocking 553G and climbing.  The 5s is constantly at 570ish.  A true BEAST.

S3.4

I couldn’t get it to be happy at 275, so I was able to get it happy at 262.  I’m average high 520s on this one. 

When I get some more time I might do some tinkering with the others. 

Nice info, going to try this out and report back

Have you tried your mods on the new firmware peka?

Pekatete,
Thanks for this thread.  It tried it on 2 S1's upgraded to S3 with Bitmain's kits and 1 S3.  They all seem to start mining significantly faster after any clock change with the voltage setting of 0750 than with the original (blank) setting.  It also seems to make them more tolerant to higher clock rates.  My S3 did not 'like' clock rates higher than 225 MHz.  It is now stable at 231.25 MHz.  I did not get a chance to make a comparison of power consumption.
I went back to the Oct 2014 f/w on all of these antminers.

Cheers

You are welcome.
The voltage setting seems to work brilliantly with the S1 to S3 rigs and S3+ rigs but not very well with S3 rigs ... must be something to do with the regulators they used. As for firmware, I agree too that the best to use for setting voltage, in my experience, is the Oct 2014 firmware.
Happy mining!

Hi all,

I'm new to this board and enjoyed being readonly here for some time.

Owning a S3+ that suffered degradation to 50KH/s I did an upgrade to latest Firmware.

Currently the rig is doing well: at 0,75V and 250MHz:

• Running for 21h now
• Average Performance of 500.80 GHz/s
• 806 HW Errors (0.0097% of Diff1#)
• Temperature 41°/42°C
• no performance degradation yet

Kind Regards
Chris

what is the filename of the 10/24/2014 firmware I see alot of references to it but no one names the filename and it is not sorted by date on the antminer site.

the new firmware sucks :( antMiner_S320150109.bin is causing crazy HW errors now I am getting 50+ HW in 1 hr and the past i was getting like 8 for 24hrs+ This stuff is garbage.

okay so i tried going back to a earlier firmware antMiner_S320141013.bin and i get this when i try to enter the miner configuration or status page Ugh... looks like i am stuck with this new crappy HW error firmware
it tells me to modify voltage but then wont let me into the configuration page

XML Parsing Error: not well-formed Location: http://192.168.1.99/cgi-bin/luci/;stok=2ea100503df2fb12cd124476c867299a/admin/status/miner/ Line Number 348, Column 34:   Modify voltage and Save&Apply, then need to Power off and Restart -------------------------------------------------------------^

Read the opening post on how to fix that error.

I dont see anythinig in regards to that, do i need to putty in ? and if so what do i change the voltages to?
Can i change them via the new firmware configuration panel (instead of putty) then PSU reboot it then apply the older firmware?
What is the best firmware? everyone says october but no one gives a filename :)

When it failed with that error i put the new firmware back on , but my issue is degredation is hashrate and high HW with this new firmware.. ugh

The best (in my opinion, use at your own risk!) October firmware was removed from the bitmain site, but it is the one with the error on the configuration page. The OP has instructions on how to fix the error, however, if you've already reverted then that may be moot.
There's also a link in this thread that I posted where a user shared a link to the above mentioned firmware, but like the fix to its error (in the OP), all you need to do is read the thread, it is not that long!

ahh much better :)

So while still using the new firmware heres what i did
entered default frequency setting
set voltage to 0720
save & Apply
Reboot via PSU switch
Logged back in restored that 10/24 firmware from that link
Unchecked keep settings.

Logged back in setup DHCP reset frequency to 250mhz left voltage alone
And what do you know right back to 505GHs with 0 HW errors :)

damn their new firmware I dont think i will be upgrading that again.

So what version of cgminer is this 10/24 firmware using?

Good you've got back up and running to your heart's content!
I am not sure what version of cgminer ships with that firmaware, however, you can get it by logging into the rig via SSH and entering the command: That will show you the version you are running.

Here's the 10/24 firmware if anyone needs it:

http://1drv.ms/1x7E6ZA

Here I was thinking this doesn't work when I thought I'd try it on my other S3+. Setting to 262.5 (because I don't dare go higher without extra pcie cables) I am getting 540Gh/s out of it @ 40 Celsius and 0.0062% error rate. My other S3 can only muster 460Gh/s at 231.25Mhz any higher and the has rate drops and I get an x on one of the asics

not sure if this implicates anything but just wanted to throw it out there The c1 uses a stock setting of 250mhz @ 0760 voltage setting

Does that tell us anything in relation to the S3 and S3+'s?

This is the default bitmain setting for the C1

just some food for thought  ???

hello
my question what the correct syntax the voltage settings

 0.75 v = 0750 ?  on s3+ web interface ?

and what the default voltage 0.72 ?

sorry my lame question ?

thanx

Yep, that is the syntax, 0.75v would be 0750
The default setting for the latter firmware, I believe, was 0000 i.e auto voltage but the base voltage prior to cgminer 4.6.1 was (again I believe) 0725

hi
thanx the answer i will try .

and i look my s3+ cgminer, ver 4.7.0 the voltage same 0725 default ?
bye

With my 20140804 S3+ Build, changing the Voltage in the Advanced Settings does absolutely nothing.

First I verified the wattage from my Kill-A-Watt and any setting 0.75 0.80 0.85 resulted in the same reading.


Then I decided to measure the core voltage for each BM1382 mining chip. So I took apart the Antminer. I didn't have access to the bottom layer of chips without removing the heatsink so I just measured the voltages of the top chips. They were as follows

VDD1=0.781
VDD2=0.766
VDD3=0.770
VDD4=0.825
VDD5=0.775
VDD6=0.778
VDD7=0.824
VDD8=0.780

Decided to measure on my other blade on the other side and got

VDD1=0.822
VDD2=0.778
VDD3=0.781
VDD4=0.774
VDD5=0.777
VDD6=0.773
VDD7=0.773
VDD8=0.824


So I changed the voltage parameters in the settings, up and down and each and everytime I got the EXACT same voltage readings on the chips. Changin the frequency doesn't change the voltage. Bitmain cheaped out and used very cheap parts thats why some cores run at 0.822V and some run at 0.766V due to the tolerance of the resistors/capacitors.



I tried 2 different firmwares. Dec 19th and Oct 24th and same results.

Also noticed how badly assembled some units are. I am lucky these capacitors are connected in parallel and the bad seating doesn't affect their operation.

Still running some tests. Decided to overclock from 250M to 275M and see what happens. Changing the voltage parameter also but resulted in no changes.


Remember how some voltage readings were over >0.8Volts in my previous post. Well at 275M those voltages go back to the average values.

VDD4=0.824V went to 0.777V
VDD7=0.824V went to 0.777V


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
No idea what is going on.

Mine 250M at 0720.
Average 501gh/s

Is it normal?

Great thread, just what I was looking for.  Marking it to save to read for later, have my first S3+ showing up soon.  Thanks.

Are these stable when overclocking. Have any of you noticed any failures at all?

Fantastic post and great information, thank you so much!  Looking forward to squeezing a little more out of my S3+.

HiYa Peeps,

Been reading this thread from start to here. GREAT INFO. I just got this antMiner S3+ the other day and had it running as of yesterday. Did ALL the .bin updates including the latest from Jan. 2015. HW error levels well within acceptable. (.0046%) Cooking along at 508GH, voltage at 0750 level, 250 freq.

Heres my problem.....I don't know squat about 'putty'. I read the thread on how to enter the other freqs into cgMiner (I have 4.6.1 after the updates). I am clueless. Didn't get how to get into the program...nothing.   ???  I don't know code, Linux, etc. Strictly a Windows guy, or old DOS4.x (yup...I'm old). Heck...actually had a machine with DOS2.something. I was pretty good at DOS 5, Linux baffles me!!

Am I wrong in thinking that if SOMEONE did an archive backup of their firmware, with the cgMiner rewrite, and sent it to me, that I could install it in my S3+ and have it work?
Just saying...hypothetically.

Anyone out there, trustworthy, who wants to be nice?   ;D  Doesn't hurt to ask.

And, I noted this description with the latest firmware update:
1. fix bug of negative temperature
2. fix power mistake adjustment.
3. disable VDD adjustment function.
MD5: 3E77FC58E6CF9F6C53510C8154C8B0F9

Is the #3 reference saying that I can't control the voltage with this firmware update. (In which case I'll return mine to the the previous)?

Also, I've been using BTCGuild pool. Is it a good one, or should I be looking elswhere?

Thank you kindly!!! Keep up the good work.

edit: added the description of firmware update

I am in your same boat and learned how to use Cygwin to ssh in my S1 and S3+, it's really quite simple, just do a little googling about cygwin and ssh.  If I was at home I could share my links...

Well...I D/Led cgywin and started reading up on how to use it....sheesh! Guess I'll look for putty and see if that's any easier. Can someone give me a clue how I even get into the software on this? Other than the menu that comes up with all the info (config, status, etc.) I can't see anything.


HELP!!!!

Thank You   :o


edit: OK....so, I'm giving this a try. I installed 'puTTy', and actually got into this S3+. I didn't do any thing dramatic...no worries race fans. I entered the line; /usr/lib/lua/luci/model/cbi/cgminer/cgminer.lua but then it says I don't have permission. Ummm...please don't make me go back and read that long ass thread again. How do I get permission to open and mod the cgminer.lua file?

HELP!!!

Thank You

I'll track down the info I have put together, it's really very simple once you know what to do (yea, isn't everything? lol).

Learning to use the vi editor is way more confusing, just wait...  ;D

what are you trying to do??

the newest firmware disabled the VDD adjustments because very few S3s had the chip that let that happen..

the newest firmware kind of sucks anyway, i use the 12/19/2014 one.


no need to ssh into the miner, all of the over clocking can be done in the menu.

Guess I'll have to do a reflash. Gotta find the Dec. version. I know Nov. sucked. Want to get in and set up for a higher OC. Menu only goes to 250M. @ 0750v. Should be able to write in the 256M.

Edit: dang file comes up 'Permission Denied'. How do I get it to open?

Ok...sounds good. I have gotten in /w puTTy but I still get the 'Permission Denied' error. Won't let me mod.

'Till later-

edit: Never mind....I figured it out. I must say...there is some really bad info out there, ie. wrong puTTy cmds, incomplete cmds, just ..well, it can really mess a guy up.

Now...somewhere in this thread, I think, is the info on where cgminer is told how big to make the 'queue'. I would like to set it smaller than the 4096 it's at right now. It's supposed to help with the number of 'discards'. Not sure about the ideal size.

I'm still running the Jan 2015 revision. Last guy said that I couldn't control the voltage with it but when I check on the cgminer process, I see the command line with my input. Seems to be running pretty good for me.  Ummm...am I misunderstanding? Any thoughts?

Thanks for any replies!

What "sucks" about it more specifically?  What are the advantages to the 12/19 version?


Ok, here's how I did it with Cygwin (might work wtih putty, too? I've never used putty):

1) Follow Part 1, Steps 1-3 here: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-SSH

2) Login with SSH using the IP and username/password you’ve set it to use

3) How to use the vi editor: http://www.cs.colostate.edu/helpdocs/vi.html
insert data from https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=699064.msg8370071#msg8370071
Save the changes, exit vi, type “reboot” (without the quotes) to restart the miner

Right on.  I tried mine at 262.5 and it freaked out, had ASICs showing ooo-o-- and hash rates were way down.  I settled at 250 also, nice balance of overclocking without running the machine into the ground.

I don't know anything about queue, sorry.

Just a big FYI: You actually DO HAVE TO REBOOT after changing freq/volt. Just check your System Log. Scroll to about the 4th line from the bottom. You'll see the line with all your cgminer start/pool info. It also has the freq/volt settings for cgminer. I found out that just doing the Config save/apply button doesn't change the miner settings. They will be whatever you had previously. It's a good check to see what's going on.

Happy mining!!

i think you are right.
after i click save&apply, it feels no change.
but when i turn it off and turn it back on suddenly it has a big change (like lower/faster fan speed).

You don't have to turn it off. A reboot will do fine.

Ok....so I've done about all I can to OC by doing a volt/freq mod. My S3+ happens to love a freq of 250 and volt of 0752. Can't say this holds for everyone but I'm getting ~502Gh. Not too shabby. Still....I want more, so I took a look at cgminers 'queue' size. The default is 4096. After an ssh change to 6144 & 2048 for 6 hrs at each, I was able to squeeze ~4 more Gh out, with the size change to 2048. The 6144 actually gave me poorer preformance.

If someone else would like to try this, please let me know what your results are. I don't make any claims/guarantee. I'm just letting this thread know what worked for me. Anytime I can gain a little speed, it's all good. I push 'till it bleeds...then back off by a hair!  :)

Happy mining!

edit: Oppsss, meant volt of 0755.
Error on my part.....late night & very fat fingers.   ;D

I did not think voltage was adjustable in 0.001 increments.

I've got it set that way....but haven't tested it to find out if it really is. Seems to work out. At this point....hell, who knows.   :D   I've got tooo much time on my hands...lol.

Yup...I saw that sheet too. Just tryin' something out. Might have to break out the meter.

edit: I did notice this little ditty from one of the posts to pekatete;

[/quote]
_{Pete ...!? You talking to me? High fives all over then, and the pleasure is all mine.
I also noticed that the default voltage setting that bitmain ship with is 0725 but there is no mention of any 5 thousandth in the datasheet, so naturally, I tried it on one of my rigs that I had running at 0750 (aka tried 0755) ...... not bad!}
[/quote]

That SEEMS to imply that some of the thousands settings MAY be possible. I'm going back to do further research in this thread. Plus, I need to find out just where to touch my leads for testing 'cuz I don't have the faintest.

edit: upon further reading and strained eyes, I find that there is enough in this post to confuse an average man!! Plenty of info that suggests voltage settings in the thousands MAY be possible but not any specific mention pertaining to positive possibilities. Ok, if you understood that, it means, I don't know. Completely rattled. I think I'll stick to saying that .005s (such as 0755) is doable and refrain from any more jibber-jabber.

Well the U3 voltage is adjustable in 0.005 increments through it's range, but I do not know if the chips on the S3+ support the same.

Mike, I just caught what you meant in a previous post. I had to go back and edit the post saying 'volt 0752'. I meant 0755. I was tired last night when I wrote that, but am going to completely guess that the .005s are possible. Have a good one!

Happy Mining!!

Ah ha, well yes, 0755 makes much more sense.  Hopefully someone who knows the details of these chips will chime in.

Ummm...Ok, I did say I was gonna shut up...but, can't help this one. I've done nothing but clean updates when flashing, and have the latest, Jan. 2015. I would like to know what version of cgminer are we supposed to be running and if I 'putty' into this (adding dir,etc), can I run the newest version? I know it sounds dumb...but...

Thank You very much.

Happy Mining!!


edit: I ask due to a recent event, with me starting cgminer in shell, and it came up with cgminer 4.7.0.

i run the cgminer that nicehash has on their site.. along with the 12/19 firmware.

hello

how i know the voltage is modified?
For 0,78v its just write 0780 in the voltage place?
 

That's alot to put into it, and you also need to set your freq (clock). I believe you'll get too many rejects, but you are welcome to try. So, you are correct..that would be a setting of 0780.

Good luck & Happy Mining!!

edit; if you go back and read a bit of this thread, all the info is in here.

I questioned bitmain concerning voltage settings and by what increments it could be set at. Here is the reply;

quote;
Support Representative：yanhua.qin   2015-05-21 07:12:46

Reply:
Hi,
The voltage can only be increased or decreased by 0.005V.
end quote;



There it is race fans. (in case anyone was wondering)

Happy Mining!

Hi,

I can not set the voltage chips. In the menu box for tension, but typing in any value after boot S3 + B11 unresponsive and I measured voltage of the chip voltmeter and there is still 0.760 V. Bitmain then somehow forbid editing tension in newer firmwares, right? You have what firmware and editing tension will really work?
Thank you for advice.

hey I added the 262.50 setting inside cgminer.lua, set voltage under advanced to 0750 - I am getting - shares and really low hash rates... any ideas? tried several different firmwares, all same issue - am I missing something? and chips are going x

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s201/sh/355d57f7-0cec-4852-b4b3-4856208c9ff3/c3666369560c67af/res/aaa0a790-459d-4216-9f8c-9c530be1d3d2/skitch.png

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s201/sh/d8362ae2-a957-4e9e-aaec-c016beb10738/a93db7bbd554ca77/res/e018ab5b-7c8b-4d37-93b1-3985805d92cc/skitch.png

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s201/sh/f28cca25-30a6-46c7-90da-71f80bc3a5c6/44ac8605a530808d/res/3880756c-64cd-48de-b4fa-aa03f9d493f3/skitch.png

thanks for your help

First, from what I could gather in your post, your voltage setting is too low for that freq. You can try 0755 or 0760. Don't forget to 'reboot' after making the changes. Second, you say your chips are 'x'ing out. It may very well be your S3+ doesn't like that freq. Nature of the beast. Your options would be to go to the next highest/lowest 'freq', step the 'voltage' accordingly, 'reboot', and see how it runs. FYI: my S3+ doesn't like to function beyond the 250 freq. /w a voltage of 0755, and runs >500Gh. However, the fans run higher too. (noise) Most of the time I just run it at factory spec. I did my share of experimenting tho.

You just have to experiment until you find what runs best for your machine. NOTE: Making adjustments above recommended settings may damage your miner. Do this at your own risk!! I will not be held responsible for any and all damage caused by my comment.

Good Luck

There are some freq settings that my S3+ just won't hash at all with.  Play around with the settings and you'll find out which your machine prefers.

Very interesting thread. I am very new to mining and have been scratching my head as to why some units respond to voltage & others do not. Sorry if this is all known... Looks like they changed the Buck Converter in the S3+ some of? and also in the upgrade kits? Here is a picture of an S3+from this thread compared with an S3.

http://www.slotforum.com/forums/uploads/1437336682/gallery_2150_316_61043.jpg (http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?autocom=gallery&req=si&img=67729)

The S3+ is on the left & the S3 on the right. You can see that the S3 picture uses the same TPS533355 DC-DC converter as the S1, whereas the S3+ on the left has a completely different IC and supporting circuitry. I assume that it is a programmable DC-DC converter, and does not rely on a potential divider to set the voltage?

For interest can anyone read the IC type from the top of the chip above the R15 inductor?


Rich

Does anyone know if all S3+ miners have the ability to control the voltage or are there some where it is not possible like the S3? I like the idea of "tuning" one for lowest J/GH and will have a look on ebay if the probability of an S3+ being adjustable is 100% or very high.

Would be interested if anyone with an S3+ can identify the DC-DC converter chip in the picture above?


Rich

Would be great to get to the bottom of what variants there are to the S3 & S3+ hashing boards & which ones support Variable Voltage & which ones do not. The pictures I have added two posts back show a section in the middle top of the board, where the power connectors are & 2 of the DC-DC converter stages, they are very different as you can see.
 
The one on the right uses the TPS533355 DC-DC converter as the S1 and definitely does not support variable voltage. The one on the left is from this thread by adaseb and also appears to not support Variable Voltage?


The "key" component will be the DC-DC converter IC in these pictures numbered U32 & U35, the spec for this should reveal if it could support variable voltage.

Can I suggest that if you have a different board that does or does not support Variable Voltage that you add a picture here along with the IC type so that others can tell if their unit will support VV?

I am still very new to mining, but we are at a stage IMHO where efficiency and hence a need to adjust for best J/GH is of paramount importance. My S3 on my electricity tariff in the UK on the standard settings is now only just better than break even.

I have risked buying an S3+ from ebay in the hope that it allows VV, but am also about to start work on a mod to add VV to any S3.


Rich

Hey Rich,

Sorry nobody has gotten back to you. I just don't come here often anymore.

I'm not sure about the converters you are referencing or the difference in boards. Needless to say, not much help today. My s3+'s (2 of 'em) are due for a cleaning in the middle of the month so when I take those off-line, I will be more than happy to get back to you with more info. I am answering now so you didn't think you were being ignored.

IMHO, you are really spinning your wheels tho. I mean, does it really matter? We already know what the s3+ can/cannot do. I can only speak to the 'plus' (as in the thread title). These miners are a beast, rough, & tough and can take a lickin' & keep tickin' (as long as you don't 'brick' it). We DO know that voltage is adjustable in .0005 increments. That is a fact straight from a Bitmain guru.  However, it is sort of an unwritten piece of info that the s3+ is a 'sail in the wind'. Meaning, they have some common settings but each one 'acts' just a little different. Like a fickle woman. You need to test the waters and find out what each one likes. Furthermore, make sure you are running the latest flash/software.

The pool I and some others mine on is www.kano.is. Not advocating for the pool, just backround info for ya (I won't mine anywhere else). They (kano & ck) are the coders/creators of cgminer...blah..blah (no dis meant, total respect). Anyway, very good ppl and have written an upgrade to the cgminer that comes in the 'flash' for the s3/s3+ you get from Bitmain. I can't find the link, right now. (shoutout to mikestang...have you got it handy) I'll get back with that if you need it. I will check back in here to see if I can assist further and update what my converters are for you. Or, you can PM me if you need any help sooner as I'm usually somewhere in BCT, just not this thread as much.

Best of Luck, Happy Mining

CapnBDL

      8)

Thanks for the reply. Yes agreed this is all old stuff... It was just when on my recent / rapid Mining learning curve over the last couple of Months as I progressed from an S1 to a couple of S3 & now a couple of S5 that I am now working on undervolting, that all sorts of questions came up so I was just posting away as part of the getting to know mining and the community etc...

I am modifying the S3 with a 3 position switch to give it standard & 2 levels of undervolting and then the will be on ebay, so no need for any more info.  :) The undervolted S5 will see me through to the halving, will have to then decide what to do next? Just wish I could afford an S7...

I like Kano but just cannot cope with the variability, so use PPS Pools. Have to say I have a concern for the smaller pools as the overall network hash increases, that time between blocks will get longer and runs of bad luck will take their toll on the smaller Pools and they will start loosing Miners?

Rich