Bitmain's Released Antminer S9, World's First 16nm Miner Ready to Order

[ComputerGenie]

Genie do you think they might be deliberately delaying shipping to keep units out of the hands of BIP 148 miners? Seems unlikely to me, almost certainly a supply issue due to demand, but interesting to wonder about.

I think anyone that thinks up ideas like that needs to readjust their tinfoil hat.  

[fanatic26]

Do we know when they will be releasing more APW3 PSU? I've got S9's coming my way in need of POWER!!!

You dont have to run their PSUs, you can always source other options as many people on this site do.

[nexus99]

If I can ever get the block chain to sync on my machine Ill be in for 1 or 2.

[ComputerGenie]

If I can ever get the block chain to sync on my machine Ill be in for 1 or 2.

If you're thinking about solo-mining, you'll need more than "1 or 2". 

[nexus99]

If I can ever get the block chain to sync on my machine Ill be in for 1 or 2.

If you're thinking about solo-mining, you'll need more than "1 or 2". 

I'm not looking to play the lottery :-)

[fusion0389]

Do we know when they will be releasing more APW3 PSU? I've got S9's coming my way in need of POWER!!!

You dont have to run their PSUs, you can always source other options as many people on this site do.

Oh i know, i've got my share of 2kw psu with breakout boards. However, these units coming in will be hosted and i prefer to send them equipment that will is easily organized for their operation.

[AriesIV10]

COME ON BITMAIN - We know you are a business, We know you need cashflow, We know you are the only source, BUT please do not take our money an hold the product!  We need the product.  OVER 2 Months before delivery??

You don't need it, you want it. Setting that aside, pre-orders aren't a new thing in this world.  

Pre-orders are a shitty, cancer thing in this world. Period.

ComputerGenie link: "I don't deny that, but there is a precedent for Bitmain doing it (and an extensive list at that); it's not like this one batch of 13.5's is where they 1st started doing this and it justifies this kid throwing his toys all around the room."

--------------------

So you think that because there was a precedent, that it is correct/justified?  haha  What else do you apply this type of thinking to?

[ComputerGenie]

So you think that because there was a precedent, that it is correct/justified?  haha  What else do you apply this type of thinking to?

Yes. Just trivial things like the entire legal system of most "civilized" nations since before Latin was a "dead language". 

[GMPoison]

If I can ever get the block chain to sync on my machine Ill be in for 1 or 2.

If you're thinking about solo-mining, you'll need more than "1 or 2". 

I'm not looking to play the lottery :-)

At what point does solo mining become worth it, when you can generate at least 1 block per day? For Bitcoin you would have to have a ridiculous mine, but for something like Litecoin that's achievable by spending less than $40k on gear.

[ComputerGenie]

...At what point does solo mining become worth it, when you can generate at least 1 block per day?...

At the point where your revenue covers your expenses without you being out of pocket (i.e., if you have a $2,900 monthly electric bill and BTC/USD is $2,900, then you need no less than 1 block per month just to cover your electric) and then the profit margin you want to have on top of that.

[GMPoison]

...At what point does solo mining become worth it, when you can generate at least 1 block per day?...

At the point where your revenue covers your expenses without you being out of pocket (i.e., if you have a $2,900 monthly electric bill and BTC/USD is $2,900, then you need no less than 1 block per month just to cover your electric) and then the profit margin you want to have on top of that.

Well I don't know if you've looked up the profits that the Antminer L3+ will bring when it ships out August, but right now they give you a 45 day ROI which of course you know is INSANE.

So you're saying that as soon as you have your mining equipment payed off (you hit ROI), you should start solo mining? It sounds like you're saying you should solo mine as long as you're mining at a profit ($2000 on electricity, $3000 in LTC for $1000 a month profits), but that wouldn't make much sense, no? That would mean everyone would always solo mine.

[matscol]

The temperatures reported by Bitmain's MinerTool on a full network scan are *very* different from the temperatures reported by each miner individually by checking its internal ip addy with a browser. Does anyone know whether one set of numbers is closer to accurate than the other?

[-ck]

At what point does solo mining become worth it, when you can generate at least 1 block per day? For Bitcoin you would have to have a ridiculous mine, but for something like Litecoin that's achievable by spending less than $40k on gear.

I would suggest that unless you are doing it for gambling reasons (like all those mining on my pool) being able to mine 5 blocks on average per diff change - this would circumvent the potential losses of diff rising and you not finding a block in the previous diff. At current diff of 678G that would be over 10PH now...

[matscol]

Kinda wish somebody had some insight into my temperature question instead of all this semantic nitpicking, but oh well.

Two checks run, looking at the same unit at the same time, in peak late afternoon/early evening heat:
Report from MinerTool: 78|68|73
Report from IP: 88|70|75 (93|79|87)

[ComputerGenie]

...Two checks run, looking at the same unit at the same time, in peak late afternoon/early evening heat:
Report from MinerTool: 78|68|73
Report from IP: 88|70|75 (93|79|87)

It's likely that they are coded to get results through different methods; Bitmain isn't exactly known for quality, consistent coding.

[-ck]

ROI discussion moved here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1964054.0

Please stay on topic.

[edonkey]

So a couple of weeks after ROI'ing, one of my S9's has lost a hash board. It was showing all x's this morning.

Restarting and rebooting hasn't resolved it. Now it just shows a partial view of the dead ASICs:

xxxxxxxx xxx

I guess I should consider myself lucky that I've only lost a single board, and that it got to ROI first.

Probably no point in repairing this unit. Maybe I'll sell it and get something else (like an eBit).

For now, I've returned the unit to standard clocking (it's not an autotune unit). I had underclocked it because the board that is now dead was showing an inordinate number of hardware errors. No point in babying the that board now.

[captinkid]

Lost another s9 board, this one had a lot of HW errors before it went, so at least I knew it was the next in line. Oddly enough it's hashing in my failed board miner at .4TH/s with 27 ASICS visible. Weird failure. I'll keep it powered for a week or so to see if it's condition changes, but it's not worth running as it is.

So far since last September (9 months ago)

Lost 3 R4 boards (out of 12 total) (One was resuscitated by reprogramming the PIC with a copy from a good board, one was repaired by BitmainWarranty, one is left as failed and won't be repaired)

Lost 3 S9 boards (out of 12 total) (One was repaired by BW, two are left as failed and won't be repaired.)

The low quality of their products does extend the ROI payback time quite a bit, so if your numbers are close to the line I'd suggest rethinking their products. A 25% failure rate in 9 months is far too high.

In hindsight, they seem to put a "bad" board into each miner to balance out the good boards. Once you weed out the bad boards and consolidate your good boards the remainder should do just fine.

Seems like Bitmain is happy to sell boards that normal companies wouldn't clear past any reasonable QC. by my estimate 25% of your boards are broken from the date they ship, and should have been rejected in the QC testing phase, if you're willing to accept that, then go for it.

[ComputerGenie]

...So far since last September (9 months ago)

Lost 3 R4 boards (out of 12 total) (One was resuscitated by reprogramming the PIC with a copy from a good board, one was repaired by BitmainWarranty, one is left as failed and won't be repaired)

Lost 3 S9 boards (out of 12 total) (One was repaired by BW, two are left as failed and won't be repaired.)....

Out of curiosity, what were the settings you used (automatic or manual) and what were the physical conditions under which these miners were operating (ambient temps, airflow, type of room, etc.)?  

[captinkid]

They are all pre autotune units running original firmware at the original clock rate. My fail miners (one r4 and one s9) hosting the failed boards were updated to the autotune software for giggles and testing purposes but that was after the boards failed running on their original hardware and software.

They are in a cool room with air temps under 80F year round, and a clean, dry environment with stable power. Let's just say I have a bunch of other equipment (About half a dozen servers and GPU setups) that have had a 0% failure rate in the same room on the same power.

Different equipment same conditions, one with an obviously higher failure rate.

Of course comparing the QC of a company like IBM or HP to Bitmain is kind of apples to oranges. One obviously doesn't put the same care into their product to test long term quality. I'd prefer they raise prices a little and raise the QC bar, but it's their business and their choice.

I'm sure if I get enough quality servers and GPUs I'll run into a failure at some point, it can't stay 0% forever. But those companies also offer much better warranties and servicing if that happens.