Hacking The KNC Firmware: Overclocking

[tolip_wen]

While I was asleep bfgminer quit and cgminer took over at default speed.

Below is how I do different clock on different die and module.

ASIC plugs on mainboard are numbered 0,1,2,3,4,5
$p =2 stands for my first ASIC plugged into the third plug and counting up from zero it is 2.
$c = 1 is second die, program counts them from zero (ex 0,1,2,3)

$p =5 is my second ASIC plugged into 6th plug on mainboard.
Adjust according to your miner setup.
It is admittedly sloppy coding but it works, just a test.

I have Saturn, for a Jupiter you need 4 $p sections _IF_ you want different clocks per ASIC.

Code:

#                                                                                          
                                if [ $p -eq 2 ]                                            
                                then                                                       
                                        cmd=$(printf "0x86,0x%02X,0x01,0xF1" $c)           
                                        if [ $c -eq 1 ]                                    
                                        then                                               
                                                cmd=$(printf "0x86,0x%02X,0x03,0xE2" $c)   
                                        fi                                                 
                                fi                                                         
                                if [ $p -eq 5 ]                                            
                                then                                                       
                                        cmd=$(printf "0x86,0x%02X,0x01,0xF1" $c)            
                                fi                                                          
#                                                                                           
                                spi-test -s 50000 -OHC -D /dev/spidev1.0 $cmd >/dev/null    

My next focus will be running only 1/2 the cores on one die and trying higher clocks.
I hope to determine if the limit is power or noise related on 4 VRM modules.

[1714106115]

1714106115

[1714106115]

1714106115

[1714106115]

1714106115

[1714106115]

1714106115

[tolip_wen]

This is my 'slow' one.
first ASIC die 0,2,3 are running 1F1
die 1 is running 3E2

Second ASIC is all 1F1 every die (he is a happy camper)

I have neglected to follow my own recommendation.
I have some die that like a little more power.
I am still under 40W per die
ASIC module temp is steady.
HW errors are low.


This miner started life at my house with 20-30% HW errors on 0.95
0.96 got the HW errors down to 2-4%
Fiddle with the clocks and it is better still
I bumped the SPI clock up a bit and got lower HW error.
256000Hz is what I have it set to now.
Too high >300K and I get lots of HW error again.

If you change anything on the 'Advanced' page and 'Apply' you need to restart with modified .sh again.

YMMV

[fmarcosh]

Hello,
All this tweaks that you're testing, which firmware require or are they ready for all firmware versions?.
+1 for your work.
Thanks in adavance.

[gateway]

got my unit stable at ~620Gh/s (still rising after 4h). Had 660/700 almost stable but the temps are pretty high at the current location, so I had to abort. Might be solved by tweaking voltage settings though and repositioning the fans to cool the vrms.

You should use bfgminer you can then easily see which chips are doing what hash rate instead of just a total amount..

What values or script did you end up using?

[ultrix]

got my unit stable at ~620Gh/s (still rising after 4h). Had 660/700 almost stable but the temps are pretty high at the current location, so I had to abort. Might be solved by tweaking voltage settings though and repositioning the fans to cool the vrms.

What is the difference in power draw you're seeing at 620 vs stock 550?

[joeventura]

How about a step by step with a KNC unit running 0.99 tuning?

[CeeCee]

got my unit stable at ~620Gh/s (still rising after 4h). Had 660/700 almost stable but the temps are pretty high at the current location, so I had to abort. Might be solved by tweaking voltage settings though and repositioning the fans to cool the vrms.

on an october unit  ?

[sickpig]

Yes it's an october unit. At the moment I don't know the power consumption as the miner is at a remote location. Rate now at 625Gh/s errors down to 0.9%.
I have used BFGminer to check frequency, temp, voltage, errors while hunting. But I prefer cgminer.

Will post config when I got time. But its pretty simple an not chip/die/core specific (though I had 1/2 die working at 1.2 GHz resulting in ~180 Gh/s for one ASIC....stable...but din't follow that road)

great work here guys, kudos to all.

@gravito: Do you have an 8 VRMs october jup 8 or one with 4 VRMs?

[ElGabo]

Thanks for the help.

I got this and I'm happy (with 6 modules):

[sickpig]

Thanks for the help.

I got this and I'm happy (with 6 modules):

https://i.imgur.com/Nk2t1a1.jpg

Very good.

What's your asic board type? 8 or 4 VRMs?

[ElGabo]

4 vrms

But I've played with the he tune suite and voltage settings. They can run up to 58-59 amp with good cooling. I've used them for days just to try. They overheated at 63 amps... BUT PLEASE DON'T DO THAT! You can cook your boards...

So if we could figure out some higher clock settings, give some power and proper cooling I think a better result can happen. But now I do't want to stop it for a day to play with it (and I have no time...).

[joeventura]

Please could someone just give us a consolidated set of instructions?

[sickpig]

4 vrms

But I've played with the he tune suite and voltage settings. They can run up to 58-59 amp with good cooling. I've used them for days just to try. They overheated at 63 amps... BUT PLEASE DON'T DO THAT! You can cook your boards...

So if we could figure out some higher clock settings, give some power and proper cooling I think a better result can happen. But now I do't want to stop it for a day to play with it (and I have no time...).

Thanks for the info.

Let me ask one more thing: did you achieve aformentined hash rate only using the test suite or did you play also with PLL/clock settings?

[ElGabo]

4 vrms

But I've played with the he tune suite and voltage settings. They can run up to 58-59 amp with good cooling. I've used them for days just to try. They overheated at 63 amps... BUT PLEASE DON'T DO THAT! You can cook your boards...

So if we could figure out some higher clock settings, give some power and proper cooling I think a better result can happen. But now I do't want to stop it for a day to play with it (and I have no time...).

Thanks for the info.

Let me ask one more thing: did you achieve aformentined hash rate only using the test suite or did you play also with PLL/clock settings?

The test suite is useless if you want to hunt some more ghs. I've tried a lot of combinations with spi freq, spi speed (do not touch the highest one!) and voltages. I have gone up to 58 amp and 55-60w each die and 1350w total for 6 boards. I'va only could raise about 4 ghs. Nothing.

I've only wrote this: sed sBD1BF1B </etc/init.d/cgminer.sh >/config/zzz.sh ; /config/zzz.sh restart

But this is Weng's tip not my, he figured it out. I don't have much time to play with the machine these days so I've tried it and it works. You could tune it from core to core but it's a lot of work..... Now I'm happy with it and I'll figure something out if I have some free time.

But an other important thing is the cooling. Always watch you temps!

More clock+more volt=more temp (cooked modules)

Some of my boards run a bit overcooled cause I've added high cfm fans to cool down when I played with higher voltages. My good temps was between 50-58C. It gave the best HW and hash.

Back in october when I got the machine I've cooled it down to 25-28C. I got only disabled cores, so overcooling is not option. But mine aren't liked 70C. (There were a lot of post in the Knc thread).

[joeventura]

So all you do is issue this command?

sed sBD1BF1B </etc/init.d/cgminer.sh >/config/zzz.sh ; /config/zzz.sh restart


what does zzz.sh look like?

[ElGabo]

So all you do is issue this command?

sed sBD1BF1B </etc/init.d/cgminer.sh >/config/zzz.sh ; /config/zzz.sh restart


what does zzz.sh look like?

Yep.

Don't know. I don't have a lot of time in these days, so I've tried it, it works and thats all.

I'll check it at the weekend.

[sickpig]

4 vrms

But I've played with the he tune suite and voltage settings. They can run up to 58-59 amp with good cooling. I've used them for days just to try. They overheated at 63 amps... BUT PLEASE DON'T DO THAT! You can cook your boards...

So if we could figure out some higher clock settings, give some power and proper cooling I think a better result can happen. But now I do't want to stop it for a day to play with it (and I have no time...).

Thanks for the info.

Let me ask one more thing: did you achieve aformentined hash rate only using the test suite or did you play also with PLL/clock settings?

The test suite is useless if you want to hunt some more ghs. I've tried a lot of combinations with spi freq, spi speed (do not touch the highest one!) and voltages. I have gone up to 58 amp and 55-60w each die and 1350w total for 6 boards. I'va only could raise about 4 ghs. Nothing.

I've only wrote this: sed sBD1BF1B </etc/init.d/cgminer.sh >/config/zzz.sh ; /config/zzz.sh restart

But this is Weng's tip not my, he figured it out. I don't have much time to play with the machine these days so I've tried it and it works. You could tune it from core to core but it's a lot of work..... Now I'm happy with it and I'll figure something out if I have some free time.

But an other important thing is the cooling. Always watch you temps!

More clock+more volt=more temp (cooked modules)

Some of my boards run a bit overcooled cause I've added high cfm fans to cool down when I played with higher voltages. My good temps was between 50-58C. It gave the best HW and hash.

Back in october when I got the machine I've cooled it down to 25-28C. I got only disabled cores, so overcooling is not option. But mine aren't liked 70C. (There were a lot of post in the Knc thread).

Thanks. Very helpful.
I'll give it a try as soon as I've enough time to monitor properly the machine after the changes.

[sudya_dred]

And what speed on a pool so at least 1-3 hours?

My best 855-865 (1-3 hors) 98.1 October Saturn + 4 Upgrade (Water Cooled), 4 VRMs.
When i try tuning different combination, i can  see on cgiminer 1000-770, but pool in long time shows 845-855.
Tested on btcguild.

[sickpig]

And what speed on a pool so at least 1-3 hours?
My best 855-865 (1-3 hors) 98.1
When i try tuning different combination, i can  see on cgiminer 1000-770, but pool in long time shows 845-855.

you're talking about an October Jupiter? if yes how many VRMs has your asic slot, 4 or 8?
 

[CeeCee]

Yes it's an october unit. At the moment I don't know the power consumption as the miner is at a remote location. Rate now at 625Gh/s errors down to 0.9%.
I have used BFGminer to check frequency, temp, voltage, errors while hunting. But I prefer cgminer.

Will post config when I got time. But its pretty simple an not chip/die/core specific (though I had 1/2 die working at 1.2 GHz resulting in ~180 Gh/s for one ASIC....stable...but din't follow that road)

waiting for your config i will give it a try . 8 or 4 vrms?