Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin => Mining speculation => Topic started by: kilo17 on December 31, 2015, 05:47:45 AM



Title: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: kilo17 on December 31, 2015, 05:47:45 AM
I am curious about what people are actually seeing with the Batch 8 (and I assume Batch 9) S7's.  To get the discussion going I want to make a few points about each.  I have not imported any S7's to the USA so I cannot make any assumptions about shipping and import fees if any.

I am currently running 22 Avalon6 and a couple of Batch 1 S7's, so I am partial to the Avalon:

-Avalon 6 lists at $1400 but can be bought cheaper in bulk. 
-I have run 22 of them without any hiccups except 1 that was essentially DOA.  They are rock solid.
-3.5 Th
-Efficiency is about .29-.3
-Local USA shipping and Warranty

-S7 batch 8 is about $1210 plus shipping and import fees (if any)
-Seem to have a large percentage of "dead blades" - No personal experience so please provide your thoughts.
- 4.73 Th
-Efficiency has decreased to .3+
- Seems to be a PITA to warranty them.

Obviously the $0.25/gh on the S7 is less than the $0.40/gh of the Avalon.  If the Avalon can be obtained at $1200 the price would be $0.34/gh and I would think the shipping and import fees of the S7 would raise the $0.25/gh a bit.  Ideally the Avalon would need to be at about $1100 or $0.31/gh for it to be on par with the S7 as I am willing to pay a premium for local shipping and no headaches with Warranty issues.

Thanks in advance for any feedback and thoughts.



Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: philipma1957 on December 31, 2015, 06:05:50 AM
They are closer in price then people realize .

Four pcie cables vs ten.

So if you use a 2x 2000 watt breakout board with 3 volt settings you can run 4 Avalon sixes using

16 cables

Same psu setup uses 3 s-7s  with 30 cables

14 cables cost  forty two usd

Since the new s-7 uses more power per watt then the old ones.

The two setups are close in hash rate .  But the 3 s-7 would be less money then 4 Avalon 6

Say 4k vs 5.4k.

If you get a bad s-7  and all good avalons the avalons would be better.

I was thinking do I want more avalons.
I am not thinking do I want more s-7s.
If I could get two more at a better price I would.
You got two for me at nice prices a while back.
If Avalon was to drop prices to 1100 I would very likely get one or two.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: kilo17 on December 31, 2015, 07:39:15 AM
I agree, I would love for them to be at the $1100 price point.  I am really liking the Avalon 6 but hash power is king-  :-\


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: MarkAz on December 31, 2015, 07:52:08 AM
The Avalon is a far superior machine and much easier to deploy...

The S7 dollar for dollar costs much less in terms of $/GH...

I've found them to be about equal in terms of quality/failure rate - but when they do fail, you'll spend a ton of money sending the S7 back to China whereas it's fast and inexpensive getting the Avalon serviced here.

In terms of wiring, the Avalons are a treat, as someone else said 4x PCI vs 10x PCI, 1 ethernet for 8 Avalons vs 8 ethernet for 8 S7's.

Avalon seems to be more responsive to updating the software, although I still prefer the web interface on the S7 (Avalon, just get rid of that damn prompting for a password every 60 minutes, this isn't a router).

Avalon seems to handle temps better, slows down hashing and generally tries to keep things running, vs the S7 which just bails out at some point.

I absolutely HATE how Bitmain has handled batches with the S7, total sh*t show in my opinion, each one is completely different from the last, some reliable, some crap, some tons of HW errors, some none... You don't know what you're getting until it arrives and starts running.

If Avalon reprices their boxes, it's a no brainer - right now it's a tough decision... For me, it's both - but my preference is Avalons.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: mavericklm on December 31, 2015, 10:20:40 AM
s7 works fine with 2 * 6pin/blade

1400÷3blades÷2conectors=234watt and that is fine for 16awg that most of us use

and i guess avalon is a bit quieter than s7


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: carlosmnk on December 31, 2015, 11:36:04 AM
I have 3 S7 (B1, B3 and B8), they are running very well, but the B3 needed a RMA, so 2 blades 2 weeks offline... They are very easy to run and do it without any issue. Simply and well running.
I have 1 A6, i need a BB and an adapter. They can be controlled with only one screen, so point for it, but i'm very disapointed it only hashes at 3.15 Th/s!! (Temp 28-68-67 and fan 2520 and 50%)

I'm planning to buy some new miners, and i have no doubt: antminer S7 B9, the price is far the best...
... but i'm afraid with bitfury, innosilicon and spondoolies (and other 14/16nm projects)


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: dogie on December 31, 2015, 12:22:05 PM
I've found them to be about equal in terms of quality/failure rate - but when they do fail, you'll spend a ton of money sending the S7 back to China whereas it's fast and inexpensive getting the Avalon serviced here.

Aren't they accepting returns to their US shop?


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: philipma1957 on December 31, 2015, 02:10:25 PM
I have 3 S7 (B1, B3 and B8), they are running very well, but the B3 needed a RMA, so 2 blades 2 weeks offline... They are very easy to run and do it without any issue. Simply and well running.
I have 1 A6, i need a BB and an adapter. They can be controlled with only one screen, so point for it, but i'm very disapointed it only hashes at 3.15 Th/s!! (Temp 28-68-67 and fan 2520 and 50%)

I'm planning to buy some new miners, and i have no doubt: antminer S7 B9, the price is far the best...
... but i'm afraid with bitfury, innosilicon and spondoolies (and other 14/16nm projects)

the avalon is very volt dependent it hashes to 3.7 or 3.8 with proper psu


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: notlist3d on December 31, 2015, 03:48:16 PM
I see it as two different area's of miners.  S7 Batch 8/9 really I see as 240 put somewhere where sound is not an issue.  You can do 120... but 220/240 you save a lot on PSU going to server one (but it is not quiet).

Home miner the S6 is much easier with 120 and 4 PCIE cables, so lot of PSU choices out there.  And it is much more quiet.  So if you were mining at home this is one I would go for personally.  Other if sound/240 is not an issue.

So kinda depends on your situation on what I think is best.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: philipma1957 on December 31, 2015, 04:18:02 PM
I see it as two different area's of miners.  S7 Batch 8/9 really I see as 240 put somewhere where sound is not an issue.  You can do 120... but 220/240 you save a lot on PSU going to server one (but it is not quiet).

Home miner the S6 is much easier with 120 and 4 PCIE cables, so lot of PSU choices out there.  And it is much more quiet.  So if you were mining at home this is one I would go for personally.  Other if sound/240 is not an issue.

So kinda depends on your situation on what I think is best.

actually if every s-7 was like the batch 2 freq rated 575 that  I got it would be easy to say the s-7 is better.

that freq 575 rated s-7 does freq 637  and 5150gh at .27watts  and it was sold at a cheap price since it was rated at freq 575.  It even did under .25 watts with the titanium evga 1600 t2  if you ran it at freq 600.

The problem with s-7's  is every freaking batch is different.  batch 1 and batch 2  the oem firmware allows for 6 boards and 4 fans.

the newer batches have less chips  so I would think you just do not know what the machine will do.

Batch 8 has had a lot of complaints Batch 9 is not out yet. So I am a bit scared of bitmaintech gear as of today.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: marvykkio on December 31, 2015, 06:15:58 PM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: philipma1957 on December 31, 2015, 08:46:40 PM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: notlist3d on December 31, 2015, 10:28:28 PM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


I don't think we will see extension of mining warranty at this point.  From a buisness standpoint when they can sell it at 3 months and people buy..... chances are they won't move to 6 months.   

S3's were like tanks but you could still brick them on firmware.  I only had 1 do it  on me, but it is possible even for a tank of a machine to go down.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: VirosaGITS on December 31, 2015, 10:31:08 PM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


I don't think we will see extension of mining warranty at this point.  From a buisness standpoint when they can sell it at 3 months and people buy..... chances are they won't move to 6 months.   

S3's were like tanks but you could still brick them on firmware.  I only had 1 do it  on me, but it is possible even for a tank of a machine to go down.

And the S7's are no tanks. I bought a S7 B8, because i got a coupon, but we'll see, there has been a lot of report and negative comments about the B8. We'll see how that goes.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: hawkfish007 on December 31, 2015, 10:54:46 PM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


I don't think we will see extension of mining warranty at this point.  From a buisness standpoint when they can sell it at 3 months and people buy..... chances are they won't move to 6 months.  

S3's were like tanks but you could still brick them on firmware.  I only had 1 do it  on me, but it is possible even for a tank of a machine to go down.

And the S7's are no tanks. I bought a S7 B8, because i got a coupon, but we'll see, there has been a lot of report and negative comments about the B8. We'll see how that goes.

If it works, people don't usually post. I have 2 B8s hashing away at sidehack's without issue. They survived brief power and Internet outages and came back online automatically. I regret buying a A6 which is for sale by the way, at this moment you want efficiency and higher hash rate, unless you want something quiet for home, then A6 it is.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: VirosaGITS on December 31, 2015, 10:58:26 PM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


I don't think we will see extension of mining warranty at this point.  From a buisness standpoint when they can sell it at 3 months and people buy..... chances are they won't move to 6 months.   

S3's were like tanks but you could still brick them on firmware.  I only had 1 do it  on me, but it is possible even for a tank of a machine to go down.

And the S7's are no tanks. I bought a S7 B8, because i got a coupon, but we'll see, there has been a lot of report and negative comments about the B8. We'll see how that goes.

If it works, people don't usually post. I have 2 B8s hashing away at sidehack 'a without issue. They survived brief power and Internet outages and came back online automatically. I regret buying a A6 which is for sale by the way, at this moment you want efficiency and higher hash rate, unless you want something quiet for home, then A6 it is.

For sound, i'm going to put the S7 in a sound insulated "box". For thermal, i'll be able to let it run mostly loud, but probably won't have to, as the box has very good air flow and the ambiant is 13C~

So then i compared that to getting A6 instead and the fact that them being on this continent is not much of an advantage for me because it turns out, its just as cheap or even cheaper to import from China than my neighbor country. Something is wrong here, but whatever, it is what it is. So S7 it is.

So if the S7 breaking down i'm going to wish i had gotten A6. If they don't i'm going to be happy i got S7's.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: notlist3d on January 01, 2016, 01:00:12 AM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


I don't think we will see extension of mining warranty at this point.  From a buisness standpoint when they can sell it at 3 months and people buy..... chances are they won't move to 6 months.   

S3's were like tanks but you could still brick them on firmware.  I only had 1 do it  on me, but it is possible even for a tank of a machine to go down.

And the S7's are no tanks. I bought a S7 B8, because i got a coupon, but we'll see, there has been a lot of report and negative comments about the B8. We'll see how that goes.

So far from what I have seen they work great as far as hashing.  Pretty much everyone is getting 4.7, so quality is there as far as hashing speed.

The downside... less chips.  They cranked the freq really high.  So efficiency on some other batches was better.   But we got a price quite a bit less then other batches aswell... so pro's and con's on both.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: philipma1957 on January 01, 2016, 01:19:38 AM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


I don't think we will see extension of mining warranty at this point.  From a buisness standpoint when they can sell it at 3 months and people buy..... chances are they won't move to 6 months.   

S3's were like tanks but you could still brick them on firmware.  I only had 1 do it  on me, but it is possible even for a tank of a machine to go down.

And the S7's are no tanks. I bought a S7 B8, because i got a coupon, but we'll see, there has been a lot of report and negative comments about the B8. We'll see how that goes.

So far from what I have seen they work great as far as hashing.  Pretty much everyone is getting 4.7, so quality is there as far as hashing speed.

The downside... less chips.  They cranked the freq really high.  So efficiency on some other batches was better.   But we got a price quite a bit less then other batches aswell... so pro's and con's on both.



How far does it downclock.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: VirosaGITS on January 01, 2016, 01:45:02 AM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


I don't think we will see extension of mining warranty at this point.  From a buisness standpoint when they can sell it at 3 months and people buy..... chances are they won't move to 6 months.   

S3's were like tanks but you could still brick them on firmware.  I only had 1 do it  on me, but it is possible even for a tank of a machine to go down.

And the S7's are no tanks. I bought a S7 B8, because i got a coupon, but we'll see, there has been a lot of report and negative comments about the B8. We'll see how that goes.

So far from what I have seen they work great as far as hashing.  Pretty much everyone is getting 4.7, so quality is there as far as hashing speed.

The downside... less chips.  They cranked the freq really high.  So efficiency on some other batches was better.   But we got a price quite a bit less then other batches aswell... so pro's and con's on both.

I was a bit disappointed with getting less chips, but I'm really only worried about whether its a good working unit that will last or not.

I would of preferred a high chip miner because this means if i ever get server PSU or a way to overvolt the miners, i could get more hashrate out of them. However as i have been favoring ATX PSU for noise, shock hazard and 120volt. I am thinking i'll probably run the thing at stock or maybe OC+1-2 step later on (if even possible) at stock voltage.

We will see. I look forward being able to add input about it. I will probably think on getting a B9 later on too.


Title: Re: S7 Batch 8/9 or Avalon 6
Post by: notlist3d on January 01, 2016, 04:01:02 AM
I also fear the S7 batch 8,
if avalon lowers prices leave bitmain, the rpodotti are sketchy, blades than you burn, defective controller etc ...
  in my opinion, the only miner rock was S3 +
this is that it was a rock
S5 disappointed me a lot, the blades were burned continuously,

We hope in the competition with 16 nm chips.
and a guarantee at least 6 months, 90 days is too short

I would take a one hundred twenty day warranty in a heartbeat.


I don't think we will see extension of mining warranty at this point.  From a buisness standpoint when they can sell it at 3 months and people buy..... chances are they won't move to 6 months.   

S3's were like tanks but you could still brick them on firmware.  I only had 1 do it  on me, but it is possible even for a tank of a machine to go down.

And the S7's are no tanks. I bought a S7 B8, because i got a coupon, but we'll see, there has been a lot of report and negative comments about the B8. We'll see how that goes.

So far from what I have seen they work great as far as hashing.  Pretty much everyone is getting 4.7, so quality is there as far as hashing speed.

The downside... less chips.  They cranked the freq really high.  So efficiency on some other batches was better.   But we got a price quite a bit less then other batches aswell... so pro's and con's on both.

I was a bit disappointed with getting less chips, but I'm really only worried about whether its a good working unit that will last or not.

I would of preferred a high chip miner because this means if i ever get server PSU or a way to overvolt the miners, i could get more hashrate out of them. However as i have been favoring ATX PSU for noise, shock hazard and 120volt. I am thinking i'll probably run the thing at stock or maybe OC+1-2 step later on (if even possible) at stock voltage.

We will see. I look forward being able to add input about it. I will probably think on getting a B9 later on too.

It seems they have pretty good quality control on this batch.  So I think that is a good indication.  Hopefully it last's long term but the batch they lowered cost to make and this allows lower sells points.  And I think they are going to stick with this one for a bit (and I could be wrong).

The biggest thing is the freq already being so dang high, and efficiency they really did mean the +10 percent when they put it.  So I think we will have good working units for a long time. 

The big thing is mod's if someone finds a good one or not.  That is the question that I think is still up in the air.  But it wont be a issue till down the road when it's older technology.