BITMAIN Antminer S1 support and OverClocking thread

[Zetler]

Some questions on PSU:

1* Does the HW error rate depend on the PSU? I get about 3.6% HW errors at freq=400. May it fall if I switch to a better PSU?

2* Is a 450W PSU sufficient? Even at overclock the Antminer S1 does consume a lot less than that (370W or so?)

3* I've read that many of you use Corsair PSUs, and that the Gold rated CS550M is particularly popular. Why not CS450M instead? Sure it consumes a little bit more Watts since it is closer to the limit, but the difference is so small that it does not justify the higher price of the 550 version vs the 450 one. Is there another reason you use CS550M, like stability, durability?

4* How about cheaper brands (as long as it is Silver/Gold rated)?

 

[Raptor2213]

Some questions on PSU:

1* Does the HW error rate depend on the PSU? I get about 3.6% HW errors at freq=400. May it fall if I switch to a better PSU?

2* Is a 450W PSU sufficient? Even at overclock the Antminer S1 does consume a lot less than that (370W or so?)

3* I've read that many of you use Corsair PSUs, and that the Gold rated CS550M is particularly popular. Why not CS450M instead? Sure it consumes a little bit more Watts since it is closer to the limit, but the difference is so small that it does not justify the higher price of the 550 version vs the 450 one. Is there another reason you use CS550M, like stability, durability?

4* How about cheaper brands (as long as it is Silver/Gold rated)?

1-No
2-Maybe.  I had a cheap 500w Inland PSU lying around that I used while waiting for my actual PSUto arrive in the mail - could barely power half the S1 - wouldn't power with two blades or a single OCed blade.
3-You want a little overhead.  Running a PSU at 100% capacity is bad for both power consumption and shelf life.  I'm using the EVGA 1000w P2 because it's got a full 10-year warranty, and is 80 Plus Platinum Certified.  One of these can easily power two Antminers, and it's ~$220, so its about the same price as a decent 500w.
4-I would go with only: Antec, Corsair, Thermaltake, OCZ, PC Power and Cooling, or EVGA.  You get what you pay for.  There might be one or two others, but that's all that comes to mind right now.  When looking at a PSU, look at their warranty.  That's how much the manufacturer stands behind their product.  I had an Antec I bought 4-5 years ago that I replaced just recently UNDER WARRANTY when the fan started dying.

[freebit13]

Some questions on PSU:

1* Does the HW error rate depend on the PSU? I get about 3.6% HW errors at freq=400. May it fall if I switch to a better PSU?

2* Is a 450W PSU sufficient? Even at overclock the Antminer S1 does consume a lot less than that (370W or so?)

3* I've read that many of you use Corsair PSUs, and that the Gold rated CS550M is particularly popular. Why not CS450M instead? Sure it consumes a little bit more Watts since it is closer to the limit, but the difference is so small that it does not justify the higher price of the 550 version vs the 450 one. Is there another reason you use CS550M, like stability, durability?

4* How about cheaper brands (as long as it is Silver/Gold rated)?

If it's not your PSU it's very likely that it's heat. If you don't add extra cooling or live somewhere with a low ambient temperature then the chips are probably overheating. It's been shown that the back end of the boards get a lot hotter than the front or middle where the temp sensor is. I managed to drop my error rate with fans blowing on the chips and run at 400mhz with 0.6% errors.

[Zetler]

Makes sense.
Maybe it also would reduce HW errors by turning up the built-in fan's speed.
I heard it can be done by physically disconnecting the blue cable. But I'd prefer to do it within the software. Is there a way? 

[freebit13]

Makes sense.
Maybe it also would reduce HW errors by turning up the built-in fan's speed.
I heard it can be done by physically disconnecting the blue cable. But I'd prefer to do it within the software. Is there a way? 

There's no way to control the fan speed unless you pull the blue wire, but it gets really loud. Apparently the bitmain version of the cgminer code doesn't implement any fan speed regulation, so it's not possible at the moment. Kano has released a new version of CGMiner for the ants, but be warned that installing it will void the warranty, perhaps wait for Bitmain to release a new firmware if you're unsure.

[drewage]

I couldn't find a clear explanation in the thread, maybe I missed it, what exactly does it mean when an asic shows an 'x' instead of an 'o' in the gui.  When I overclock my S1 one or two of the asic indicators will change to 'x'.  If I leave it on the stock settings they all stay on 'o'.  I'm just curious if I'm actually damaging the equipment overclocking it or what. And whether it's worth it to overclock anyway if my overall hash rate increases.

[greek_hephaestus]

I couldn't find a clear explanation in the thread, maybe I missed it, what exactly does it mean when an asic shows an 'x' instead of an 'o' in the gui.  When I overclock my S1 one or two of the asic indicators will change to 'x'.  If I leave it on the stock settings they all stay on 'o'.  I'm just curious if I'm actually damaging the equipment overclocking it or what. And whether it's worth it to overclock anyway if my overall hash rate increases.

x stand for disabled core. Mean core does not hashing.

[mdopro1]

I feel silly but how do I tell my ants to switch to second pool?

[drewage]

I couldn't find a clear explanation in the thread, maybe I missed it, what exactly does it mean when an asic shows an 'x' instead of an 'o' in the gui.  When I overclock my S1 one or two of the asic indicators will change to 'x'.  If I leave it on the stock settings they all stay on 'o'.  I'm just curious if I'm actually damaging the equipment overclocking it or what. And whether it's worth it to overclock anyway if my overall hash rate increases.

x stand for disabled core. Mean core does not hashing.

So, as long as I'm getting a higher reported hash rate, as reported by my pool, I'm fine overclocking.  It's not actually doing any damage, it just results in some cores being disabled due to an inability to hash at the higher clock.

[samsonn25]

The cores are not really disabled, its just some reporting errors because you have over clocked beyond factory setting which is beyond warranty.

j/k


This happens sometimes even with factory clock settings,  I suspect it may be how the chips are pinned to the board. imho  But pushing the frequency doesnt help because of the exponential increase in power draw, im sure the extra heat doesnt help.

[jeppe]

I have my antminers running at 205 gh/s stable at 35 C. Im using 2 fans push pull. My miners are located outside in a shed with no other cooling.

[hanti]

hello
pls maybe someone can tell me settings for chip_freq 360 or 365 ?

[Biontic]

Just out of interest, thought I'd share a happy moment I had yesterday

So, for the last weeks I couldnt figure out why 4 or 5 of my ants seemed so much louder then the rest. Today I was poking around and noticed that there was a thick layer of dust, between the fan and the heatsinks on some of them. I used the edge piece, off a pizza box, slid it in down into the gap and waggled it around. This prompted hi-speed mass evacuation of the resident dust bunnies, and almost instantly the extra fan noise disappeared.

The ants are all now running at a calmer  60dB approx, measured from about 1.5 meters away (noise previously was about 71dB), with temp ranges showing between 39C and 47C, and avg. h/w rates of 0.1407%
Happy Days
 
Tip of the day:  if ant much noisy, clean heatsink in front of fan!



@Bitmain, c'mon guys, you have left me waiting 5 weeks for that replacement controller board. So many ignored PM's and emails. What gives...

[solarion]

It's getting a little warm outside and my ants are going up in temps. Most of them are between 41C and 46C "BUT" fans don't seem to spin any faster. Maximum fan speed I've seen is 2040 in the GUI. What gives? Should they be running faster to keep things cool? Is there something I can do other than pulling the blue wire?

It's starting to feel like my posts are invisible. Did I get banned or something?

I know how that feels, especially since I just posted an easy vmod and Ive seen not many attempt this...
But, ur temps are fine, the fan really starts spinning up when u hit the 50's area....

I used your mod on my worst two ants, only two I've done thus far. It was silly easy and they're now my best 2 performing ants(steady 204-205), so thank you for the simple and easy to follow directions!

[Lucko]

Is there a way you can increase frequency by less then 25? How do you get ASIC hex value?

[drewage]

I feel silly but how do I tell my ants to switch to second pool?

This.  Is there any way to switch pools other than rebooting?

[hanti]

its just backup pool if first doesnt work then its going to second pool
if u want to switch block first pool in your router firewall or just change configuration and switch pool 1 with pool 2 in "miner configuration"

[Lucko]

Also is there a way to get to miner screen... Like screen -r on minepeon...

[MrTeal]

Just out of interest, thought I'd share a happy moment I had yesterday

So, for the last weeks I couldnt figure out why 4 or 5 of my ants seemed so much louder then the rest. Today I was poking around and noticed that there was a thick layer of dust, between the fan and the heatsinks on some of them. I used the edge piece, off a pizza box, slid it in down into the gap and waggled it around. This prompted hi-speed mass evacuation of the resident dust bunnies, and almost instantly the extra fan noise disappeared.

The ants are all now running at a calmer  60dB approx, measured from about 1.5 meters away (noise previously was about 71dB), with temp ranges showing between 39C and 47C, and avg. h/w rates of 0.1407%
Happy Days
 
Tip of the day:  if ant much noisy, clean heatsink in front of fan!

If you own an air compressor, I just give the heatsink a shot every couple weeks to blow out any dust. It usually takes care of it nicely and no mechanical fiddling is needed.

[ionux]

Just out of interest, thought I'd share a happy moment I had yesterday

So, for the last weeks I couldnt figure out why 4 or 5 of my ants seemed so much louder then the rest. Today I was poking around and noticed that there was a thick layer of dust, between the fan and the heatsinks on some of them. I used the edge piece, off a pizza box, slid it in down into the gap and waggled it around. This prompted hi-speed mass evacuation of the resident dust bunnies, and almost instantly the extra fan noise disappeared.

The ants are all now running at a calmer  60dB approx, measured from about 1.5 meters away (noise previously was about 71dB), with temp ranges showing between 39C and 47C, and avg. h/w rates of 0.1407%
Happy Days
 
Tip of the day:  if ant much noisy, clean heatsink in front of fan!

If you own an air compressor, I just give the heatsink a shot every couple weeks to blow out any dust. It usually takes care of it nicely and no mechanical fiddling is needed.

I've also noted that it has been easier to keep my Ants clean by reversing the cards so the heatsinks are pointed outwards.  They are running 4 to 5 degrees cooler in this configuration, as well.