[Guide] Dogie's Comprehensive ASICMiner Blade Setup

[fgkrew]

I know its not really about blade setup but my blads are hold in customs.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=201753.msg2176477#msg2176477

I would apreciatte if someone could read my last posts and give me some type of advice or help.

thanks

[1714953572]

1714953572

[1714953572]

1714953572

[Phil21]

I got mine in, and it it got here before some of the parts I'd wanted to use for power got here.  Doh!

So.. I hacked a bit.  Used a PVC pipe rail system, to keep them vertically straight and well separated.

I tried powering 2 off a single "accessory" cable bundle on a PSU, but the wires would get rather warm, uncomfortably so.

However, 1 blade per accessory bundle was no problem.  These, coupled with 2 PCIe (you can hack up a 6 or 8 pin PCIe extender similar to what is shown here) plugs each powering a blade and everything is up and stable - nothing running hot.

Cooling thus far has been a cinch - a box fan keeps them all running stable, and most just warm to the touch.  The two bookending the cluster though do get rather hot, and I have plans to pick up some high-cfm 120mm fans to act as blowers which should work well.

I will be interested to see how the rack they have works cooling wise, it appears to be bottom up cooling which would be difficult to make work inside a cabinet.  If there is an easy way to mount fans on the back though, pretty much everything is better with a few delta 200cfm fans chugging away


Pics

Initial testing - did 2 boards like this, this is the picture of the first successful mining run


Good photo of the power boards:


Initial try at the temporary rack


Completed and blades installed, starting to cable


Completed and mining away



phil21@topgun:~$ ./bestatus.pl
10.x.x.40 - Mhash: 13023 efficiency: 099.34% up: 0d,05h,42m,39s
10.x.x.41 - Mhash: 13115 efficiency: 099.99% up: 0d,05h,42m,41s
10.x.x.42 - Mhash: 13058 efficiency: 099.54% up: 0d,05h,42m,41s
10.x.x.43 - Mhash: 13042 efficiency: 099.46% up: 0d,05h,42m,41s
10.x.x.44 - Mhash: 13037 efficiency: 099.41% up: 0d,05h,42m,41s
10.x.x.45 - Mhash: 13138 efficiency: 100.17% up: 0d,05h,42m,25s
10.x.x.46 - Mhash: 13181 efficiency: 100.51% up: 0d,05h,42m,25s
10.x.x.47 - Mhash: 13074 efficiency: 099.75% up: 0d,05h,11m,54s
10.x.x.48 - Mhash: 13079 efficiency: 099.73% up: 0d,05h,11m,49s
10.x.x.49 - Mhash: 13035 efficiency: 099.42% up: 0d,05h,42m,25s
Total: 130782 (13078.2 avg) [Avg Effic: 99.73%]

[bitjoint]

Not being able to connect to the config utility suggests something with your network topology may be amiss.

Does the blade get the IP by DHCP or is it pre-configured with an static one (192.168.1.254)? It should be the former, right?

[Phil21]

Not being able to connect to the config utility suggests something with your network topology may be amiss.

Does the blade get the IP by DHCP or is it pre-configured with an static one (192.168.1.254)? It should be the former, right?

The blade has no (apparent) DHCP support, you must select a static IP.

If you get multiple boards, you must power up one at a time, change it's IP and restart, prior to moving onto the next.  Not a huge deal, the things boot in about 3 or 4 seconds.

edit: That is to say that yes, they all ship with the same (conflicting) IP of 192.168.1.254

[bitjoint]

The blade has no (apparent) DHCP support, you must select a static IP.

Thanks for the clarification  

So.. I hacked a bit.  Used a PVC pipe rail system, to keep them vertically straight and well separated.

Initial try at the temporary rack

Brilliant solution!!! I'm totally going to get some PVC tubes right now. I love your setup. How did you made the slots in the tubes? Is it a carving knife enough?

[muyuu]

I received mine right now in the office but I won't be home in many hours   

[dogie]

I am having some problems with my blade.  I got it today, and it started hashing at between 10700 and 12000 mh/s (advertised speeds).  After about an hour, I changed the ip and was entering in my backup pool settings, and I noticed two problems:

1) The hash rate is stuck at around 4500mh/sec on btcguild.  I am getting only 56% efficiency after 20 minutes or so.  I have reset the blade several times and separated and reseated all the components.  I don't know why it won't go back up to 90-100% efficiency like when I first powered it on.  I have two 120mm fans and a giant room fan aimed at it too so I don't think cooling is the issue?

2) Sometimes it won't connect to the configuration utility.  I have to keep hitting refresh or close out of chrome and go back in. Then it will connect, but sometimes give the same error when I hit "update/restart".

"Chip" reads 0 all the way through (no x's).  I'm disappointed. pming friedcat but hoping someone else can help too.

You changed pool settings and it got worse, its pretty obvious its your pool settings. Set up a stratum proxy on slush's and see how it goes. The blade itself is saying its fine and its not restarting.

Not being able to connect to the config utility suggests something with your network topology may be amiss.

Either that, or you've laid it flat on a table and the bottom is now overheating.

It's definitely not flat on a table.  I have it raised up an inch off the surface with an 18 inch fan blowing air above and below it, and 2 120mm case fans on top.  I swapped out the ethernet cable and tried a different power supply.  The hash rate went up to between 5,000 and 7,000 mh/s.  But I am still having problems accessing the configuration utility consistently, and I am nowhere near where I was when I opened this thing.  I will keep trying different pools and settings I guess?


EDIT:  Argh... now it's not even letting me change the settings.  I get "The parameters are updated or the system is simply restarted! 560" and then I try to load the utility again and the settings revert back to btcguild.


EDIT 2:  I reset our router and that appears to have gotten the hash rate back up to 13,000 again (overclocked).  I am happy with this, but the config menu is still very unreliable.  I was wondering if my antivirus or firewall could have been causing the problem.  I disabled them, but the config menu still refuses to save settings at some times, and displays a "page cannot be displayed" error about 50% of the time.  I am going to let it hash overnight and see what happens.  At least the speed is back up!

It sounds like some sort of network conflict, either a setting on the router or another device trying to nick your blade's ip. Not sure of the solution, but if the router restart helped then its the network topology.

[dogie]

I got mine in, and it it got here before some of the parts I'd wanted to use for power got here.  Doh!

So.. I hacked a bit.  Used a PVC pipe rail system, to keep them vertically straight and well separated.

I tried powering 2 off a single "accessory" cable bundle on a PSU, but the wires would get rather warm, uncomfortably so.

phil21@topgun:~$ ./bestatus.pl
10.x.x.40 - Mhash: 13023 efficiency: 099.34% up: 0d,05h,42m,39s
10.x.x.41 - Mhash: 13115 efficiency: 099.99% up: 0d,05h,42m,41s
10.x.x.42 - Mhash: 13058 efficiency: 099.54% up: 0d,05h,42m,41s
10.x.x.43 - Mhash: 13042 efficiency: 099.46% up: 0d,05h,42m,41s
10.x.x.44 - Mhash: 13037 efficiency: 099.41% up: 0d,05h,42m,41s
10.x.x.45 - Mhash: 13138 efficiency: 100.17% up: 0d,05h,42m,25s
10.x.x.46 - Mhash: 13181 efficiency: 100.51% up: 0d,05h,42m,25s
10.x.x.47 - Mhash: 13074 efficiency: 099.75% up: 0d,05h,11m,54s
10.x.x.48 - Mhash: 13079 efficiency: 099.73% up: 0d,05h,11m,49s
10.x.x.49 - Mhash: 13035 efficiency: 099.42% up: 0d,05h,42m,25s
Total: 130782 (13078.2 avg) [Avg Effic: 99.73%]

*rattles tip jar violently at the rich man* Haha I'm kidding. Yeah putting 2 blades on one molex set of wiring is pushing it over double the spec of the cabling. I ran it for about a week and it was warm but I dont think in danger of melting. Still, better safe than sorry.

[rammy2k2]

i bought 120mm recommended fans ... and they have a 4 pin connector ... how the heck am i going to connect them to the boards ?

[tom_o]

i bought 120mm recommended fans ... and they have a 4 pin connector ... how the heck am i going to connect them to the boards ?

Wire strippers?

[dogie]

i bought 120mm recommended fans ... and they have a 4 pin connector ... how the heck am i going to connect them to the boards ?

4pin to molex connector to psu

[rammy2k2]

ok, i got mine and set it up!
big thanks to dogie for assisting me, sending him a tip very soon, he helped a lot and well A++

thanks friedcat too !

[dogie]

Troubleshooting reply updated:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=205369.msg2167983#msg2167983

Received my 2 batch 3.5 units today. One of them someone had forgotten to place the sheet of padding in, so the box got crushes and everything was rattling around. A bit of cosmetic damage but everything appears okay and hashing now.

Do you want to add a link to this thread in the main selling thread?

[Phil21]

Brilliant solution!!! I'm totally going to get some PVC tubes right now. I love your setup. How did you made the slots in the tubes? Is it a carving knife enough?

Glad you like it.  I actually made the slots by using a cheap miter box and hand saw.  These can be found at hardware stores for $20 or less, and are very useful just for making cuts to the pipe (keeps your ends straight).  It wasn't ideal, but we weren't going for good lucks or tight tolerances here   It took two cuts placed directly next to eachother to make a slot big enough for the PCB.

For the bottom, you won't be able to slot things due to the heatsink being in the way.  Here I personally used zip-ties to make "guides" but I'm sure there are better options.  I did see someone who made washer-clamps that wedged into the heatsink which looked to work very well.

One major change I'd propose to anyone making something similar - orientate the boards so the heatsink fins run top/bottom, and place fans underneath pushing cool air towards the top.  These appear to be have made with such cooling in mind, and if you for some reason do lose your fans you'll at least have more convection cooling to help them not burn up.  I'm actually running the rack of 10 w/ a box fan underneath them blowing up and it seems to work better even with the perpendicular heatsink to airflow orientation.

*rattles tip jar violently at the rich man* Haha I'm kidding. Yeah putting 2 blades on one molex set of wiring is pushing it over double the spec of the cabling. I ran it for about a week and it was warm but I dont think in danger of melting. Still, better safe than sorry.

Ha.  I'm actually btc-poor now   Hopefully these make their coins back!  Since all my coins were made from GPU mining, it was hard to let the game pass me by, and I'll be quite pleased to break even on these.

And yep, the wires when running 2 blades per "molex run" were probably fine to run, but certainly not something I'd have felt very comfortable leaving unattended for days on end.

[lenny_]

The blade has no (apparent) DHCP support, you must select a static IP.

Thanks for the clarification  

So.. I hacked a bit.  Used a PVC pipe rail system, to keep them vertically straight and well separated.

Initial try at the temporary rack

Brilliant solution!!! I'm totally going to get some PVC tubes right now. I love your setup. How did you made the slots in the tubes? Is it a carving knife enough?

Can somebody please identify these PCV pieces and point me to proper shop, like eBay or something? I would like to build similar rack, please help (here or via PM), I'll tip

[mazza]

Can somebody please identify these PCV pieces and point me to proper shop, like eBay or something? I would like to build similar rack, please help (here or via PM), I'll tip

Local hardware store > Plumbing section, ask for PVC Pipes and joins

Home Depot etc.

Looks like a couple of straight thru sections and some 90 degree elbow joins. There is a tee join in the middle as well. You can see most of them on that homedepot page. Any hardware store on the planet will have these, that is the beauty of this build. Really nice work phil

[lenny_]

Code:

Total MHS:	12619
Received:	0000099727
Accepted:	0000099095
Per Minute:	172.47
Efficiency:	099.36%
Up Time:	0d,09h,34m,33s

Current Server: 192.168.1.3:5002
Clock selected: High
Chip: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOxOOO

One "X" in Chip line. Even on Low Clock mode.
I should check and tweak all power lines voltage, correct?

[bitjoint]

For the bottom, you won't be able to slot things due to the heatsink being in the way.  Here I personally used zip-ties to make "guides" but I'm sure there are better options.  I did see someone who made washer-clamps that wedged into the heatsink which looked to work very well.

Yeah I saw that in your pics, I think I'm going to use zip-ties as guides as well. Also, I'm just mounting one blade (hoping to add some more in the future) so no probs here.

One major change I'd propose to anyone making something similar - orientate the boards so the heatsink fins run top/bottom, and place fans underneath pushing cool air towards the top.  These appear to be have made with such cooling in mind, and if you for some reason do lose your fans you'll at least have more convection cooling to help them not burn up.  I'm actually running the rack of 10 w/ a box fan underneath them blowing up and it seems to work better even with the perpendicular heatsink to airflow orientation.

Probably I will try this.

Can somebody please identify these PCV pieces and point me to proper shop, like eBay or something? I would like to build similar rack, please help (here or via PM), I'll tip

Yesterday I bought mine from Leroy Merlin (tons of them and really cheap: 0.5€/join and 1€ for 2m pipe). Not sure if you will have one near you (if you live in the US most likely not but you can try in a http://www.homedepot.com/ or similar near you).  You can also ask in any plumbing commerce for pvc or polyethylene pipes and joins.

[cchan]

I have one question.

One of my computer can run mining_proxy.exe and mine smoothly. OS is Windows 7 32-bit.
But another computer can't run mining_proxy.exe correctly, always say "...........clean_jobs=false". OS is Windows 7 64-bit.

I don't why. I just want to use that computer with Windows 7 64-bit.

Some can help me? Thanks.

[rammy2k2]

I have one question.

One of my computer can run mining_proxy.exe and mine smoothly. OS is Windows 7 32-bit.
But another computer can't run mining_proxy.exe correctly, always say "...........clean_jobs=false". OS is Windows 7 64-bit.

I don't why. I just want to use that computer with Windows 7 64-bit.

Some can help me? Thanks.

i guess u wrote the answer there by yourself .. 32-bit = ok, 64-bit= not ok ...