[Hands On] Bitmain AntMiner S5+ - Notlist3d

[notlist3d]

Hands On with the AntMiner S5+

0) General information
1) Manufacture Stats
2) The Miner
3) Install
4) Running the miner
5) Conclusion
6) How to purchase

0) General Information
The Bitmain AntMiner S5+ is the small miner that packs a punch.   I will do more of a hands on then a guide with this miner.   The reason behind my thinking is  with it taking 3436 watts to run setup will vary greatly depending on each persons setup.  This miner consists of 3 main modules with 3 blades in each.   The interesting thing about the modules is each appears to be built the same.  They make the main one with a controller screwed on top of the module.  But it appears if they wanted they could put controllers on any of them as they are built the same.

1) Manufacture Stats
Specifications:

1. Hash Rate: 7722 GH/s ±5%
2. Power Consumption: 3436W (at the wall, with AC/DC 93% efficiency, 25C ambient temp)
3. Power Efficiency: 0.445W/GH (at the wall, with AC/DC 93% efficiency, 25C ambient temp)
4. Rated Voltage: 12V
5. Chip Process: 28nm
6. Chip quantity per unit: 432x BM1384
7. Dimensions: 275 mm x 372 mm x 155 mm
8. Cooling: 6x 12038 fan
9. Operating Conditions: 0 °C to 40 °C
10. Network Connection: Ethernet

2) The Miner
Below are images to showcase the miner.

For Slideshow and higher resolution: http://s100.photobucket.com/user/notlist3d/slideshow/S5%20Plus?sort=3

3) Install
The install is where it can very greatly for each person.  I personally went with a 240 volt 30 amp connection to a PDU.  From this PDU I used three of the suggested PSU's ( https://bitmaintech.com/productDetail.htm?pid=000201505040743496917U7kGsCm0694 ).  These PSU's made it very easy to install using one per module, they have more then enough PCIe connectors to give 3 per hashing blade.

The install time of the proper electrical cable, breaker, and pdu took some time but was done in a few hours even though a few snags running the wire.  I did this a day before receiving the unit so I had time to troubleshoot if needed.  Luckily no issues and all parts worked great.   

This brings to install time of S5+ and PSU's.  This was done in only a few minutes.  After install I did set a static IP and input my pool's but went very smooth.

Below is some pictures of it installed:

4) Running the miner
Was very easy to set up and get running if you are familiar with the AntMiner GUI.  At this point I do have network settings set up with static, and my pool imputed.  I currently will not be trying to find best setup on under clocking, or overclocking as I did not want to break my warranty.  After it runs out I likely will see if I can under clock with and what results are.
 
Below shows the miner actually mining:

5) Conclusion
This is likely the last machine to use this generation of chips.   It does it well so far.  It had no problem running at specs provided, and install of unit was very easy with suggested items.   This is not a miner for everyone with amount used, but if you have an area for mining it is a lot of power that takes up little room for it's speed.   I will continue to run it and see what I think, but so far it is very positive.


5) How to purchase
You can go directly to the Bitmain's website: https://bitmaintech.com/productDetail.htm?pid=0002015081407532655504JMKzsM067B  The batch one is currently sold out.  With news of next gen chips it is hard to say if there is going to be another batch.

Please don't bash others, or try to turn into a ROI/other debate.  Yes things such as ROI and other topics have a valid point, but this thread is to show the hardware

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[notlist3d]

Questions and Answers

Q: Do you need to use all 3 PCIe connectors?
A: I would stick with 3 per hashing board.  They make sure in email, and in a paper in box to tell you to use 3 PCIe per hashing board. You might get buy with it but it would void warranty.  I would say depends on gauge wire and quality of psu.  But to make life easy and in warranty stick with 3. Bitmain has made sure to tell us only use 3 not 2 with this miner in posts at this point.

Q: What version of cgminer is being used?
A: On my miner which is running the stock firmware that it was shipped out with it shows cgminer 4.8.0 being used.

Q: How many amps do I need to run this machine?
A: Bitmain is very specific on the paper sent with miner you will need 16 amps or bigger to run.   This is where you get into variations of installs as there is a few ways to achieve this.

Q: What about the heat?
A: With the metal case and a push/pull fan setup Bitmain did a very good job on making this miner better then the regular S5 on heat.  It still does have heat with the amount of electricity.  But the metal full case with push/pull compared to plastic S5 sides and no top with just push fan is a noticeable difference.

[notlist3d]

*Reserved for future use*

[Meech]

Nice.  Always love your showcase Red velvet layout.  How are these on heat and do they have the S5 (screaming like a banshee) fans?

[notlist3d]

Nice.  Always love your showcase Red velvet layout.  How are these on heat and do they have the S5 (screaming like a banshee) fans?

The biggest thing I noticed about the heat it seems to do a LOT better job then my regular S5 on heat.   With the metal case and fan's on both sides they seemed a lot better.

I will check it tomorrow and see after a day running if still cool.  But my regular S5 puts out a ton of heat, the plus was much less so far close to install.

[Tupsu]

Questions and Answers

Q: Do you need to use all 3 PCIe connectors?
A: I would stick with 3 per hashing board.  They make sure in email, and in a paper in box to tell you to use 3 PCIe per hashing board. You might get buy with it but it would void warranty.  I would say depends on gauge wire and quality of psu.  But to make life easy and in warranty stick with 3.

ALL the 3 PCIE connectors are needed to be connected to power supply on each hash board since it is based on serial power solution and there is no DC/DC inside the miner. Including the one PCIE connector on control board, there are 28 connectors in total.
Several PSU will be needed to support the miner, anyone spare PCIE connector from PSU will be connected to control board.
But be sure to power all the other PSU first and power on the last PSU which control board is connected in the end. this is very important!!

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1152746.220

[goxed]

How is  the noise level? Is it comparable to the SP20 or lot more than it?

[dogie]

How is  the noise level? Is it comparable to the SP20 or lot more than it?

Comparable to a few S5s, which are comparable to a few SP20s although a much less annoying quality of noise.

[p3yot33at3r]

Great guide. It's always nice to see an informative, unbiased guide that gives it to you straight - well done 

[Finksy]

How is  the noise level? Is it comparable to the SP20 or lot more than it?

Comparable to a few S5s, which are comparable to a few SP20s although a much less annoying quality of noise.

From your earlier post:

ALL the 3 PCIE connectors are needed to be connected to power supply on each hash board .... since it is based on serial power solution and there is no DC/DC inside the miner.

Those two statements are unconnected and don't make sense as a justification. If each board can still only be powered by one PSU due to cross-loading, then each board's 3 PCI-E connectors are still connected. While we don't have any high res images to see if we can see tracks, each of the PCI-Es is still in-line and *appears* to be powering the same plain. That agrees with the cross-loading argument which would mean that each PCI-E is the same as the next, meaning the only limitation is maximum load and not because it doesn't have DC/DC.

It sounds like you do not have one on hand.  Are you giving advice based on hear-say or do you have one in your possession?  Sometimes it seems that you just like the sound of your own...fingers typing...



Nice review Notlist3d, I agree the red velvet is a nice touch, very sensual

[generalt]

Wow what a cable hog! Anyone implementing a ton of these needs to worry about cables being tangled up, but I guess mining isn't supposed to be pretty and neat.

Yeah I kinda wished it was closed on top so that you could at least put the power supplies on top of them.  I'm not sure what that would do for the heat but I have very limited space.

[notlist3d]

Great guide. It's always nice to see an informative, unbiased guide that gives it to you straight - well done 

Thank you and others for the nice words.   I will tell tell it like it is . 

So far the unit has preformed on hashing very well.   No problems on it working no X's or other issues.   I will be going later into my mining area to check heat to see if it kept as cool as it was yesterday and try to judge noise level a little better.

[notlist3d]

Wow what a cable hog! Anyone implementing a ton of these needs to worry about cables being tangled up, but I guess mining isn't supposed to be pretty and neat.

It takes a LOT of cables.   I started to mix PSU's and decided to just go with the Bitmain PSU's for a simple install - https://bitmaintech.com/productDetail.htm?pid=000201505040743496917U7kGsCm0694

With now confirmed needs 3 (at least to power as intended) you have to have a PSU with many PCIe connectors.   And unless you want to run a lot of psu's a server psu with many PCIe is just a lot easier.

Also as far as the footprint the miner is so compact even with the 3 PSU's it takes up less room then a S4.  It's amazing how compact this miner really is for the amount of power.  Not that it's working and I am confident in install I could use some ties to hold extra unused PCIe cables to tidy up just a bit.

[notlist3d]

Wow what a cable hog! Anyone implementing a ton of these needs to worry about cables being tangled up, but I guess mining isn't supposed to be pretty and neat.

Yeah I kinda wished it was closed on top so that you could at least put the power supplies on top of them.  I'm not sure what that would do for the heat but I have very limited space.

It would have been a nice touch if the PSU's had a spot to sit but that was not design they went for.  These units are VERY compact and the connect three of them together with a small footprint.   

I am just happy they used metal and 2 fans on each.   With the way they have blades placed and very easy to get to each one you do need to put them somewhere else.  I personally went with the side of miner as it was so small.  But I'm sure a larger scale mine could perfect it more hanging it above the miner with some rigging.

[yslyung]

its compact but with the amt of pcie needed +psu's it could be a mess.

[blarneystone]

Is it possible for you to SSH into the miner & tell me what version of cgminer they are using? I did ask on the Bitmain thread, but am not expecting an official answer anytime soon.....

I'd like to see a mainline cgminer in there, but I'm guessing it's their own forked version still?

Thanks 

[notlist3d]

its compact but with the amt of pcie needed +psu's it could be a mess.

My extra PCIe cables could be straitened up and it would have a tad more looking clean to it.    One thing you have to remember is it is using a LOT of power in a small space.  3436 watts is a lot of power to be used in the footprint of about 3 S5's as far as area.

Also if you rigged it with PSU hanging above it would be much cleaner look.  I did not do this as I have miners on shelf above it I did not want to put it right under the other miners.   So I really went with functional vs trying to make look pretty.

[dogie]

How is  the noise level? Is it comparable to the SP20 or lot more than it?

Comparable to a few S5s, which are comparable to a few SP20s although a much less annoying quality of noise.

It sounds like you do not have one on hand.  Are you giving advice based on hear-say or do you have one in your possession?  Sometimes it seems that you just like the sound of your own...fingers typing...

Its the same fans as on the S5 which is the same as the S4+ which is the same as the S4, of which I've had up to 15 running in the same room at once. So no I don't have an S5+ on hand, yes I can still comment on its noise levels.

[-droid-]

I wonder if you could zip tie two of the 2880w PSU's on each side of the miner to make it more tidy and neat.. seems like they can sit on their side right up against the s5+ side and if theres a way to affix them like that would be a good solution to loose psu's all over the place

[notlist3d]

Is it possible for you to SSH into the miner & tell me what version of cgminer they are using? I did ask on the Bitmain thread, but am not expecting an official answer anytime soon.....

I'd like to see a mainline cgminer in there, but I'm guessing it's their own forked version still?

Thanks 

No problem at all.  It is cgminer 4.8.0 from what mine showed.    I would guess it is their own version did not verify that part.