PSU for SP20

[Nam3]

Hi guys,

Newbie here. So, I have got myself a SP20 to test the waters in the mining game. Now, I need a PSU to make this work. I have read that it requires ~1200W PSU to function at its full potential (1.7TH/s). My question is... Can I get myself any 1200W PSU or maybe two PSU's of 750W each and it would still work? Also, on a related note: Does this PSU has to have some specific AC and or DC, so the miner won't get fried due to inaccurate voltage?

[Exoskeleton]

I like the SP20 units a lot but they are getting dated. I would recommend tuning it down to 900Mhs or so and you will only draw about 350-400w at the wall.

You then can use almost any standard ATX PSU that has four 6 pin pci-e cords available, but I would use something 750w or less to keep it in the sweet spot and not waste power or money on a larger psu.

[Burks]

Hi guys,

Newbie here. So, I have got myself a SP20 to test the waters in the mining game. Now, I need a PSU to make this work. I have read that it requires ~1200W PSU to function at its full potential (1.7TH/s). My question is... Can I get myself any 1200W PSU or maybe two PSU's of 750W each and it would still work? Also, on a related note: Does this PSU has to have some specific AC and or DC, so the miner won't get fried due to inaccurate voltage?

DC has to be 12v, with heavy duty PCI-e connectors & cables
(at 300w peconnector, you don't want 18awg cables)

I would advise a server PSU

(NOTE: I sell server PSU's, so i might be biased. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=872014.815;wap2)

regards

[philipma1957]

Hi guys,

Newbie here. So, I have got myself a SP20 to test the waters in the mining game. Now, I need a PSU to make this work. I have read that it requires ~1200W PSU to function at its full potential (1.7TH/s). My question is... Can I get myself any 1200W PSU or maybe two PSU's of 750W each and it would still work? Also, on a related note: Does this PSU has to have some specific AC and or DC, so the miner won't get fried due to inaccurate voltage?

it can not do 1700gh

it likes 1200gh

it burns power like a mofo when run above 1400 and runs loud

i have a very long thread on the gear


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=872014.0


running it under 1200 has worked better for most then running at 1600-1650 which is the real max

[flameruk]

Hi guys,

Newbie here. So, I have got myself a SP20 to test the waters in the mining game. Now, I need a PSU to make this work. I have read that it requires ~1200W PSU to function at its full potential (1.7TH/s). My question is... Can I get myself any 1200W PSU or maybe two PSU's of 750W each and it would still work? Also, on a related note: Does this PSU has to have some specific AC and or DC, so the miner won't get fried due to inaccurate voltage?

Do yourself a favour and open her up and drop out the hash cards.
Check for loose heat sinks (they wobble).

If you have loose heat sinks, go careful with her and as philip said above, unless you live in the antarctic and next to a nuclear power station, dont try and go for 1.7 th/s or it will end horribly.

If you need any help let me know, I know the SP20's inside out!

[jstew]

since removing mine from my datacenter i run them in pairs on enermax revolution 87 psus downclocked to about 800gh each at roughly 450w each
when i had them in my datacenter i ran them off a 2880w psus, 3 per psu at roughly 1.5th each.
i like the sp20's alot but as said they are getting very dated , good reliable machine to learn with though

[Nam3]

I like the SP20 units a lot but they are getting dated. I would recommend tuning it down to 900Mhs or so and you will only draw about 350-400w at the wall.

You then can use almost any standard ATX PSU that has four 6 pin pci-e cords available, but I would use something 750w or less to keep it in the sweet spot and not waste power or money on a larger psu.

So, any ATX PSU between 450-750W would work, right?
It just needs 12v DC and four 6 pin PCIE cords?

I have read that 550W wouldn't be sufficient to power one side of SP20? I was thinking of buying 2x Corsair 550w, but it looks like that's a bad plan. I'm sure 750w would work, but that's a bit costly for me. I'm wondering what other options I'm left with?

PS: This is the one I was planning to buy 2x units of (off course, it has to work)
eBay link

[SFR10]

PS: This is the one I was planning to buy 2x units of (off course, it has to work)
eBay link

Don't buy that one since it uses "VS Channel Well Technology" which is considered a tier 4 in the PSU tier lists (made and tested by professionals). Anything beyond tier 2 in the list below isn't good for heavy loads.
Read also the description of the tier 3 (2nd sentence), it specifically says those listed on tier 3 aren't ideal for BTCitcoin mining and what your planning to buy is a tier 4 PSU.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Since you were going to buy a 2x 550W then there's plenty of choices in the list (tier 1 and 2 are the most stable and high quality ones, which would prolong the life of the miner, as well as being efficient among the other tiers).

[QuintLeo]

You can run it from 2 PS - make sure you connect each one to the SAME hash board, don't mix-and-match on a single hashboard.
 I don't recommend it as it's an added layer of management complexity that doesn't help anything.

 It needs 4 x PCI-E 6-pin connections AND a beefy +12 volt output from the power supply - most lower-end PS do NOT supply their entire rated output on +12VDC, CHECK THE SPECS FIRST!
 2 of the Corsair 550w units you posted would work - to a point.
 They're only rated 504 Watts on the +12VDC rail, so you're not going to be able to push your SP20 very hard at all.
 It'll do more than a S5 though - those only used about 600 watts at full rated speed.
 Set the "power limit" on each connector to 250 watts OR LESS in the SP20E web interface and it should work OK without overloading the power supplies, though I'd recommend 200 watts limit on each connector to give yourself some leeway, especially on lower-end PS like those.


 *DO NOT TRY TO RUN A SP20 FROM A SINGLE 450 WATT POWER SUPPPLY*

 Even at the LOWEST throttled down setting you CAN set one to, it will eat quite a bit more power than that.


 You don't control the mining frequency directly - you set the voltage to the hash chips in the web-based interface and then the software auto-optimises the frequency vs. max temp and current draw.
 Give it 5-10 minutes to "settle in" before you look at the hashrate.

 They got quite a bit more efficient as you dropped the voltage (down to the point they just stopped running), at the cost of hashrate.
 I forget what the specific set points were (I used to have a chart I'd made up for mine, but it's long gone with the SP20E I had when I sold it), but I rememeber one setpoint giving almost identical hashrate and power draw to the Antminer S5 - lower setpoints slower but MORE efficient, higher setpoins faster but LESS efficient.

 1.7 might have been achieveable - on a VERY COLD ROOM installation at the max voltage setpoint.
 Most I ever saw out of mine was 1.55 or so but that was in a room that was commonly 75-90 F.

 I ran mine off of either Seasonic X1250 or EVGA 1300 G2 for a power supply - if you're going to go lower clocks for efficiency, I'd consider the smaller options in those series rather than 2x small PS for better reliability and ease of management.

 Given the hot environment and my inherent very conservative attitude towards 24/7 PS reliability and efficiency, my actual setup had one side of the SP20E and an antire Antminer S5 running from one PS, the other side of the SP20 and another entire Antminer S5 from a second PS - which kept both PS at well under 80% of max capasity and close to their optimal point on the efficiency curve.
 (Yep, do as I say not as I did - I KNOW what a pain the multi-PS setup became to manage from personal experience).

[Nam3]

eBay link This one has 4 6 pin PCIE cables and rated 744W on the +12V rail. I think this would work?

My question is; do I need one or two of these. Assuming that I want to run this miner @1.2 TH/s

Unfortunately, either Seasonic or EVGA aren't available in my country. If I import, I would end up paying a fortune.

[QuintLeo]

 One should handle a SP20 if you set the volts in the web interface fairly low - can probably get it into the 1.2-1.3 TH ballpark for mining speed.
 Again, definitely set the "power limit per connector" option - I'd go no higher than 180 per connector just to have a bit of leeway.
 

 Pair of them should handle a SP20 comfortably even if you push it as hard as possible, with some fair leeway for better efficiency on the PS side.

[Nam3]

One should handle a SP20 if you set the volts in the web interface fairly low - can probably get it into the 1.2-1.3 TH ballpark for mining speed.
 Again, definitely set the "power limit per connector" option - I'd go no higher than 180 per connector just to have a bit of leeway.
 

 Pair of them should handle a SP20 comfortably even if you push it as hard as possible, with some fair leeway for better efficiency on the PS side.

O.k, that sounds good. Just to confirm... I can get 1.2-1.3 TH/s with one of these PSU and more if I plugin two of these? If that's the case, I think I'm gonna stick with one for now. Please confirm, I will make this purchase. Thank you

[QuintLeo]

600 watts or so gets you to 1.15 more or less (almost identical figure as the Antminer S5), so 720 should let you push a little past that.