(Review/Guide) WhatsMiner M3 11.5 Th/s, 2000W Bitcoin (SHA-256) ASIC miner

[HagssFIN]

If you enjoy this document and decide to buy some WhatsMiner M3 machines,
you can use my referral link if you would like to support my work.

HagssFIN referral link (Pangolinminer.com shop): https://pangolinminer.com/?ref=HagssFIN

[Vene]

I was doing some testing with one of my M3 last night and I connected Bitmain APW3++ to M3 and power on 2 hashing boards with it.
And it was just what I expected, the miner runs really quiet, only thing that makes loud noise is original M3 PSU.
With Bitmains PSU miner loudness is something like L3+, which is way quieter than S9.
At aprox 12 degrees celsius fans run at approx 3000rpm but the sound is so smooth, no swirling sound like on S9.
With 2 hashing boards connected current consumption is 1400w (230v) and hash rate is approx 7,5-8Ths
So later I will connect one more server PSU 1kw that I have spare and connect the last hashing board.
I will leave this one at home (since it is really quiet now) and see how it behaves and take original PSU to collocation to power some other miners.
I expect a bit more RPM but since the miner likes to run its chips at around 80 degrees celsius it shouldnt change much. But like I said, it has really smooth air flow, so i dont think sound will change a lot even if I get bit more RPM.

I was wondering if it will work since APW doesnt have that strange 3pin connector (like fan) that connects to controller board but it runs just fine without it.
So for all of you guys that dont have collocation you can silence the miner this way.

[crypto_curious]

Yeah, I figured that out too:)
2 hashboards connected = less heat and noise, and it can accept any power supply.
3 hashboards connected to APW3 power supply without 3-pin cable = hashrate is low, 8.5 GH/s from all three boards, average per board goes down drastically with same power draw as 3 fully powered hashboards with original power supply.

I don't know if this is the design, so you must purchase original power supply from WhatsMiner. I do know that my miner was faulty and I had to replace it. I had to pay 80 USD for warranty replacement (if you pay for it, it's not really warranty, is it?), and then pay them again for shipping. At least, they fixed it and send me back unit, which was hashing fine with 3 boards + original power supply. I don't have it any more so I can't test it to see, if fully working unit can have other PSU and still work fine with 3 hashboards.

[Vene]

I don't have it any more so I can't test it to see, if fully working unit can have other PSU and still work fine with 3 hashboards.

Yes it can, I just tested it, 2 boards connected to APW++ and one board connected to DPS-800GB (HP 1000w PSU), and it works like a charm on full speed.

[crypto_curious]

I don't have it any more so I can't test it to see, if fully working unit can have other PSU and still work fine with 3 hashboards.

Yes it can, I just tested it, 2 boards connected to APW++ and one board connected to DPS-800GB (HP 1000w PSU), and it works like a charm on full speed.

Oh. That's great to hear. So it was mine unit, which could not work efficiently with 3 hashboards on, no matter what.

[stelee68]

I have been running my M3 for a few days now.

But I'm slightly concern with the boards temp.

1st board always at 85 degrees Celsius

2nd board always at 80 degrees Celsius, or slightly lesser like 78~79.

3rd board always at 80 degrees Celsius, or slightly lesser like 78~79.

My country is quite warm and daily temp is about 30~32C. Night temp is about 26C.

Any M3 user here to advise?

[Vene]

I have been running my M3 for a few days now.

But I'm slightly concern with the boards temp.

1st board always at 85 degrees Celsius

2nd board always at 80 degrees Celsius, or slightly lesser like 78~79.

3rd board always at 80 degrees Celsius, or slightly lesser like 78~79.

My country is quite warm and daily temp is about 30~32C. Night temp is about 26C.

Any M3 user here to advise?

Everything is normal. It likes to keep temps of chips around 80C.
I was runing it even with ambient temp around 5C but chips stays around 83C. The same is with ambient temp 25C. Just fan runs a bit faster. So nothing to worry about.

[HagssFIN]

Yeah ambient temperature is a bit high, but those hash board temperatures are still ok at that level.

[stelee68]

Yeah ambient temperature is a bit high, but those hash board temperatures are still ok at that level.

I have been running my M3 for a few days now.

But I'm slightly concern with the boards temp.

1st board always at 85 degrees Celsius

2nd board always at 80 degrees Celsius, or slightly lesser like 78~79.

3rd board always at 80 degrees Celsius, or slightly lesser like 78~79.

My country is quite warm and daily temp is about 30~32C. Night temp is about 26C.

Any M3 user here to advise?

Everything is normal. It likes to keep temps of chips around 80C.
I was runing it even with ambient temp around 5C but chips stays around 83C. The same is with ambient temp 25C. Just fan runs a bit faster. So nothing to worry about.

Alright then, i should not concern myself with the boards temp then.

Just that my previous miner (Ebit E9+) 1st board died after running for 2 weeks at 85C..

Gotta get the E9+ fix soon!

[HagssFIN]

WhatsMiner is very hot and consumes a lot of electricity.

Yes, we know that already  

If you have a very very low price for the electricity, then it might make sense for you to buy a WhatsMiner M3.

[Shazam!!!]

WhatsMiner is very hot and consumes a lot of electricity.

Yes, we know that already  

If you have a very very low price for the electricity, then it might make sense for you to buy a WhatsMiner M3.

And if you live in a colder region, as I do, you can use the heat to supplement other resources. Performance wise, I see regular 12.5TH/s out of my M3's. The above statement about the power supply being the source of the main noise is true. Bottom line, these are good miners for the price. Can't wait to see what Pangolinminer can do with 16nm, after they squeezed every last bit out of 28nm.

[HagssFIN]

This document is now also available in the Steemit blog website
https://steemit.com/review/@hagssfin/review-guide-whatsminer-m3-11-5-th-s-2000w-bitcoin-sha-256-asic-miner

[toptek]

That is still kind of expensive with a 2000w power consumption.. sheesh.

yup i was about to say the same thing....     2000 wats to run it an all you get is 11.5 th ,,


why not go for  the avalon 841 13.5 th @ 1290 watts, i can't believe they pass this off as a good thing .

I wouldn't use it if some one gave it to me and i have solar .

[miguelik]

Can this miner be over/under clocked to different frequencies with changes in efficiency? Thanks

Might buy one and under clock.

[HagssFIN]

Can this miner be over/under clocked to different frequencies with changes in efficiency? Thanks

Might buy one and under clock.

Unfortunately it is not possible to set the hash board frequency manually.

When you start up the M3, it goes through the startup process in which it automatically finds the best settings possible.

The hash board frequency setting is usually somewhere between 630 to 670 MHz.

[alikait]

anyone know how to upgrade firmware? I have 3 of these and it seems the latest firmware one hashes better than the older firmware ones, hoping to see some improvement between them, otherwise they have been rock solid hashing away and free electricity means that they will be paid for alot quicker

[HagssFIN]

@alikait

Please look at here and more specifically: please look at the chapter 4.

--> https://pangolinminer.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001263394-Whatsminer-M3-User-Guides-Solutions

[OverwhelmedByCables]

I ran into some electricity issues in our apartment and now I need to remove the PSU from the miner again, but the "Power control wire" http://puu.sh/A5Ju6/8173b79b26.png is stuck.

How in the world do you get this off again? It's so tight down there, I can't get a proper grip with my fingers on it. I don't know what to do with this upstanding stick that is part of the miner - or how else you are supposed to use this cable. I tried pulling it gently with tongs and bending the plastic forward and backward a bit, with a tiny screwdriver whilst pulling, but the cable just remains as stuck as always.

[HagssFIN]

That's weird. I had zero issues with plugging and unpluggin the 3-pin cable from the PSU to the miner.

Is it damaged or burned in some way?

[OverwhelmedByCables]

That's weird. I had zero issues with plugging and unpluggin the 3-pin cable from the PSU to the miner.

Is it damaged or burned in some way?

Thank you for your quick response!

The cable and plug are in normal condition. I managed to turn it on just fine as well. Fans running and lights on. I had a hard time getting the other cables out as well, everything fits really tight. But nothing like this one. Wiggling left and right and a lot more force than I was comfortable with did the trick, so they came out fine.
Can you please describe the manner you normally pull this cable out? The only option I see left, is trying the "right" way with the cable and using more force than previously. 

I don't know if the miner is fully functional, since I can not make it connect to the web. This is related to electricity issues in our apartment though. Running the miner through the only available power socket will blow our apartments fuse (I know from experience with other electronics that it's the apartments fault though, lots issues with several sockets). From other places I can't reach the Ethernet port of our router, due to short cable. But it turned on just fine.