So drawing on this idea further. Circuitry is something like: WALL -> Trickle chargers -> Battery pack WALL -> ATX PSUs -> Post Regulated Circuitry (Well call this power source circuitry or PSC) Battery Pack -> Regulators -> Inverter PSC -> picoPSU Per motherboard -> GPU PCI-E connectors -> 12V to Mobo loom after picoPSU -> 12V to PCI-E extender -> Other 12V devices -> Tiny inverter for supporting 230V devices (ie. if router doesn't accept 12V, 230V Fans.) Regulator circuitry is: Zener diode + Regulator per "lane", connecting in parallel to 2x1.5F caps. Now tell me how friggin' dangerous is that setup  No PicoUPS even needed as pack is constantly being charged and 12V being supplied after the regulators. If utilizing PicoUPS then replace the regulator circuitry with them  ATX PSUs then connect to the bank of PicoUPS devices. Hmmph... Time to build a proof of concept?  |
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Just my two cents. I have done this before for a BBS I used to run(bout 20 years ago).
You get a 1200 Pure sign(169USD) wave inverter put a good power strip to it and plug in the computer. Connect the Power inverter to 4 12 Sealed lead Acid batteries(bout 180USD). At least 20Ah batteries. Then hook a good "automatic on" computer controlled charger and plug that to the wall(must be rated for sealed or AGX batteries). Do not use regular car batteries as they will vent fumes. I know it works and its pretty easy. Just keep in mind you will be 10% down on efficency on the power inverter(you gain some by charger not running all the time but it is negligible). So it will cost you more that plugging into the wall. You can adjust the inverter size and battery array to higher loads also.
That efficiency loss is why need to have something to switch. HOWEVER, you could power your GPUs directly from the batteries, skipping the inverter step. and then maybe utilizing a bunch of picoUPS: http://www.mini-box.com/picoUPS-120-12V-DC-micro-UPS-battery-backupconnected in parallel ... hmmph... Run GPUs directly from batteries after regulators, where you have your 12V Gold/Platinum cert ATX PSUs supplying the main power, and a low voltage cutoff board, and picoPSUs supplying mobo power: http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-80and splice in the loom 12V directly from battery pack, or use pci-e extenders where you splice-in from battery back, to ensure sufficient power. Cost per system: 50$ hmmmph... |
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I'd like to see a UPS capable of sustaining a serious mining farm during a blackout. It would have like 50 car batteries lol :p. Imagine an electrical fire or some other mishap then! rofl
Single car battery is able to supply 720W for an hour, in theory. In practice more like 600W before voltage drops too low and due to the age of the battery. 5 for full 16A 230V circuit for an hour. In other words, that single battery is sufficient for a single 4x7970 rig @ ~2Ghash... Or 1 hour for 10Ghash. Most power outages are solved within that time. Plus the batteries are free Damn, I did not know there was that much juice in them car batteries. Since you seem to know a bit about this already would truck batteries be better? Ofc, they are waaay heftier. But really what you want to look for is the $/Ah supplied, and just make sure they are capable to output 50% more than your required amperage, which is a non-issue unless the batteries are old. It's quite easy maths really: 12V * 60Ah = 720Wh. rjk: depends on type of batteries. And what type of battery is 6V per cell? |
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I'd like a guide on actually building a UPS so I can make plans that suit the needs of my computers (2 at the moment).
My PC is used as the main mining/gaming rig.My MBP is used as a complementary miner/main filmmaking rig. Since my PC draws around ~285W from the wall (with HD6950 heavily OC'd/unlocked shaders) (PC Idles around 85W when doing nothing).
MBP uses about 90W (cpu full load for film editing,GPU for mining BTC) under full load.
Outlets use 240V in UK (so will need a converter as Apple's car/airplane lead doesn't charge my MBP,just powers it and if the machine is using more than 75W which it does,then the battery drains as well as just being powered by the car/airplane lead.)
I wonder what setup I'd need to sustain say nearly 400W (typical) or 550W (peak from my 2 computers) for around 2 hours (as that seems to be when most utilities manage to get thing sup and running again,in UK this can take longer in some parts)
take a traditional, used, otherwise functional but battery dead APC backups, replace the batteries with 2xcar batteries. Just make sure it's rated for atleast 700w load. Easy for small load like that |
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designed to increase pressure. Anytime air pressure increases heat happens. Tho not sure if it's enough to matter in this level of pressure, most likely not, and the temp increase is in in the 0.0x range if even that. |
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IMO cards with no warranty that have been previously mined are worth anywhere from 10%-20% less depending on brand. Those 5870's should be priced at $180, but expect $150-$175.
*I sold the majority of my 5870's a few months ago at $150 each, what they were worth and around what you should pay to be profitable.
+1 but add to that any used HW, from the moment of purchase is just 75% worth of original, for one reason due to lack of practical warranty, risk from buying from unknown 3rd parties on net, and oh well, for being used. I usually ask for 75% retail value and am willing to pay only a under max. ~65% retail, usually around 50% of retail. |
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Indeed did these sell? No pic of all of them.
Willing to make quick purchase, shipping to Cali
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Has these been used for mining and for how long?
Despite that, if they are still functional, i will take the rest of them from you for a total of 175$ incl. shipping to Finland (or US if that's cheaper for you).
They used to be less than 100$ a pop, without already 1-2yrs of 24/7 number crunching behind them ...
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I just bought few 7970s significantly cheaper than that from Finland! I'm willing to offer you 300€ for it tho |
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I'll give 67BTC for the 6990 or equivalent via PP.
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I own Icarus and ZTEX boards and both are worth their money. Keep in mind that Icarus uses only SG2 chips. You compare a tuned Lancer Evolution with a Porsche. Like others wrote, a question of preference. Chip's speed is not the only difference. Icarus also uses "Industrial" grade Spartans, rated up to +100 °C Another important pro for Icarus is that it is open source. True. For now tho, i decided to build on the GPU cluster for the next additional 3500W (25A circuits only as it's industrial location). Also on this 2nd location electricity is billed annually so i can utilize the best possible BTC sell rate to cover that by choosing my time of the year to sell (when i think it's highest). |
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Ok, that actually makes it rather simple, only question remains is side B pins 2,3. Should these be connected, they are bright yellow and not on legend, the other yellow is reserved, not to be connected. I guess i'll connect side A 2+3 and #4 on both sides |
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Lol ofc, that's the way i found it last time. Guess too tired this morning. http://pinouts.ru/Slots/pci_express_pinout.shtmlTrouble is the extenders i've seen have only used 1 pair on each side, if i use that pin out i have to connect A LOT of wires. Also from that it's not 100% clear which is side B and which is side A. screw-up here can become costly. Hence, i'm asking. |
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I got a bunch PCI-E x1 extenders but need to add power to them most likely. I recall some people having connectors "frying" without the added power. I can't remember the pin numbers to which put the +12V and ground leads. Anyone got a link where the specs were or a how-to? Don't want to get this incorrect and fry a few 7970s  |
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You can put caps on AC, but it is much more difficult to properly implement without them blowing up and stuff. They would be there to provide a way of transitioning between inverters, or from AC to inverter without causing massive brownouts and spikes.
I've got no experience of caps on AC, and would assume usage of them is freakishly complicated, seeing AC is a sinewave and a capacitor is meant to smooth out voltage fluctuation ... The question really is then -> how big are the caps on high quality seasonic (and derivative) PSUs ... Some server PSUs have so huge capacitors they can take 5+ seconds of power outage without the system crashing ... Tho last PSU like that i've had the pleasure to use was built for 386 era server ... (The case+PSU alone weighted over 30kg ...) most likely not big enough to sustain that kind of loads for the period it takes SPDTs to change and inverters to "gear up" for the output. |
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Yeah that was my first thought from my younger years and car stereo (what a waste of money, lolz). The issue is they are 24V DC. Not sure how they would fit into your wiring. My thinking (and it may be wrong) is you need to do four things a) buffer the 120V/240V feed from power grid <- cap goes here b) detect input power drop and disconnect protected loads from mains to battery bank (cap in A will continue to power load until switch occurs) c) have trickle charge system to have battery bank loaded at all times d) have sufficient inverter capacity to convert DC to AC to power protected gear. For part D I am thinking a small solar power inverter is likely ideal. Right? DC in -> 120V/240V AC out. Can wire it right into a sub panel and connect it to a bank of protected circuits. Oh yeah, the reason to add capacitors is just to smooth spikes out, batteries aren't exactly good at handling big current spikes. The real question is how to handle transition from network power to inverters in case of power failure. That's the only thing i need to really solve still, rest is up for building and testing, see how well it works, or how poorly it works for AC you can't exactly add capacitors so SPDT relays might not come into question... And they are here 12V not 24V. Using capacitor for just 12V is not a problem at all btw. You can always utilize one for lower voltage than it's rating is for, and it does not change the capacitance. |
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I'd like to see a UPS capable of sustaining a serious mining farm during a blackout. It would have like 50 car batteries lol :p. Imagine an electrical fire or some other mishap then! rofl
Single car battery is able to supply 720W for an hour, in theory. In practice more like 600W before voltage drops too low and due to the age of the battery. 5 for full 16A 230V circuit for an hour. In other words, that single battery is sufficient for a single 4x7970 rig @ ~2Ghash... Or 1 hour for 10Ghash. Most power outages are solved within that time. Plus the batteries are free |
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The easy part is getting batteries stacked, wired, charged.
Still easy is to power up 12V devices from that: I was thinking a zener diode, regulator, capacitor between battery back and 12V DC sources, so trickle charges can continue normal operation like no load was attached while beyond the regulator etc. is a 12V PSU with 12V devices. and when network electricity goes the trickle charger, 12V PSUs shutdown and 12V devices get powered from the battery pack with regulator +capacitor "cleaned" source.
Some kind surge protector + fuses might be still good idea tho.
The problem arises on how to switch between inverters and network electricity on 230V equipment?
How to "join" together multiple cheap inverters for single source of 230V instead of calculating how much to put behind each single inverter?
I've heard of switches sold for this usage for rack mounting, but i simply cannot find those "STS switches" for sale. Or would SPDT relays switch fast enough when outage occurs? Doesn't that cause spikes, and need something to smooth out the transition?
One problem tho remains at this location is how to clean the network electricity, as it's a bit flaky there, short sub second outages are known to happen there during storms and fuses to blow with no apparent reason occasionally. Network -> converter -> battery back -> inverter -> miners is just not a feasible option due to losses.
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Cool, sold me on Icarus Also decided i will re-arrange my GPU cluster to my 2nd location by fall, which needs heating 7-8months of a year, means getting some electrics installed tho. But that is "free power" in the sense that the location does need heating. We spent some 500€ heating the place late november to mid february even tho heat was rarely needed because it's so friggin' cold there. Thanks to taxes etc. heating on heating diesel and electricity cost pretty much the same, very marginal difference. |
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