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Author Topic: Technobit HEX8A1 130GH/s Coincraft A1 based miner reviewed  (Read 7460 times)
2GOOD (OP)
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February 28, 2014, 02:28:27 AM
Last edit: June 07, 2014, 06:18:45 PM by 2GOOD
 #1

The first Coincraft miner from Technobit was HEX8A1 260GH populated with 8 A1 chips. Even though it's a good board, the cooling is very loud and in my opinion this device is not suitable for home usage or at least not with the stock fans. Apparently Marto & the team acknowledged the need for a quieter solution and since the A1s are very powerful the only way around seems to be cutting their number in half, so here is it the 4 chip version of the board.



The board itself is identical with the 260GH model, the only difference is the main heatsink and the fans.


HEX8A1 260GH and 130GH versions side by side

Performance:
At the Technobit's site, HEX8A1 is advertised as 130GH miner in turbo mode, so let's see how it handles various settings.



Indeed with moderate overclock aka Turbo mode the board is hashing with 130GH/s. Let's focus on performance and power consumption. According to Bitmine's pre-production specifications, the chip can deliver 40GH in Turbo mode with power usage of 1W/GH as you can see from chart bellow that is not the case.



The power supply used for the test is FSP600 50ARN 88+, it is rated to "reach up to 88% efficiency" that's what the second power column is representing Wall power consumption minus 12%, the efficiency of the board is calculated with these numbers. I tried an CoolerMaster B600 (85%) for comparison but it draws more power and was unable to start the board at low 220/850mV. I had similar problems with the 260GH version so it depends on the chips and PSU.

It is also important to mention that the real chip freq is multiplied by 4 so when you say 250 it's really 1000Mhz core chip frequency.

 

The board comes with 2 x 6 pin PCI-e power connectors, but according to Technobit's site there maybe versions with only one which seems reasonable.

Each chip has 32 Engines, you can have 1 or 2 faulty per chip but thats not a problem. If you try to "undervolt" more keep an eye on the Engines if there is not enough juice you will get lower engines which is a good indicator together with the HW errors. In the end it's all about finding the right ratio for your device - freq/voltage. I recommend 960/1000 it's very stable and you will get results from 128 to 132 GH/s depending on your chips, @ 258/1000 you'll get similar results.

Cooling:
Compared to the 260GH board I can only say: Blissful silence !!!



The fans:
Evercool EC9225M12SA
Dimensions: 92x92x25 mm
Power: 1.8 W
Speed: 2200 rpm
Air Flow: 40.9 CFM
Noise: 25 dB

If you are planing on replacing these with Arctic Cooling F9s I recommend lower settings ie 230-240Mhz. This board is slightly hotter than the 260Gh model, at 260/1000 the temperature of the main heatsink is 55C (close to the chips) at 26C room temperature.

Mine board comes with rather short treated rods and it is not suitable for stacking, you'll have to replace them with longer so there is enough space between the two back to back fans.

Note: According to Coincraft A1 specification about 70% of the power is being dissipated through the ground pad and about 30% through the top of the package.

Pricing:
With the latest GOX problems the bitcoin price is down. As always investment in bitcoin equipment is risky but let's see what can you order/buy from various mining manufactures. Technobit are selling HEX8A1 for 499 Euros full price which seems normal to me.



As you can see from the chart the main competitor to HEX8A1 is Bitmain's AntMiner, especially if you live in a country where Customs are not a problem for the rest of us importing an Chinese miner can be a hassle. On the other hand Bitmine are selling fully equipped miner with PSU and everything you need. Even more interesting is the newcomer - The UK based company BitcoinUltra, they have good price and ETA, but no working prototype. The race is on and much more to come from BitFury 2 and ASICMINER with their crazy low price per GH, even BFL can ship something soon - doubt it Smiley

Software:
Technobit's HEX line still lags proper mining software for Windows where you can only mine with their special HEXMiner, the driver is in the inf folder. The setup is similar to HEX16A so you can check nemercry's video tutorial for Windows.

As with the previous HEX board I highly recommend that you get one cheap TP-Link TL-MR3020 and flash it with the firmware from Technobit's website. You can also order it directly from them at slightly higher price, but pre-flashed and ready to rock. In the end you are paying a thousand euros for the miner, so 30 more for the router is nothing. Of course if you have a linux host it will best to just compile cgminer with the latest patch from Technobit or download my build for Ubuntu x64 cgminer4_0.2.2

Here is how to compile
Code:
git clone https://github.com/ckolivas/cgminer.git
cd cgminer
wget https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8082585/cg/2786526d9f1acb7bd903ece3c822c2c9203aa0b7.patch
git checkout 2786526d9f1acb7bd903ece3c822c2c9203aa0b7
patch -p1 < 2786526d9f1acb7bd903ece3c822c2c9203aa0b7.patch
./autogen.sh --enable-hexminer8
make

I start cgminer with the following line:
Code:
sudo ./cgminer -c ./cgminer.conf --hexminer8-set-diff-to-one 0 --hexminer8-chip-mask 255 --hexminer8-voltage 1000 --hexminer8-options 8:260
where cgminer.conf is in the same folder and with your regular settings.



Pros:
  • EU Based
  • Efficiency - 28nm
  • Availability
  • Software voltage control
  • Half the price, half the performance compared to the 260GH model

Cons:
  • No thermal sensor
  • Difficult stacking
  • as usual no cgminer/bfgminer for Windows

Conclusion:
The efficiency of the board is good, not as good as promised by the manufacturer but still better than most of the miners on the market. I'm pleased to see that Technobit decided to make this version of the board it's a lot more environment friendly. In the end the Bulgaria based company once again did a great job with this challenge and what surprises me the most is that Technobit are shipping before Bitmine.ch

Full gallery can be found here: http://imgbox.com/g/I9gXuWFlZi

best
2GOOD

Zich
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February 28, 2014, 02:43:28 AM
Last edit: February 28, 2014, 03:32:18 AM by Zich
 #2

Nice review as always  Grin

So it's can run with 8 chips command(8:260) right?

 Shocked Woo, patch for cgminer 4.0.0
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February 28, 2014, 03:00:43 AM
 #3

130GH/s with 8 chip?

It's 16.25 Gh/s per chip and it's half of Bitmine's ANN.  Angry

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February 28, 2014, 03:07:18 AM
 #4

130GH/s with 8 chip?

It's 16.25 Gh/s per chip and it's half of Bitmine's ANN.  Angry



No, this is 4 chips version  Smiley
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February 28, 2014, 03:12:35 AM
 #5

Sorry, my miss.
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February 28, 2014, 05:04:37 AM
 #6

Nice review as always  Grin

So it's can run with 8 chips command(8:260) right?

 Shocked Woo, patch for cgminer 4.0.0
Yup it can Wink
However if you run both 8 chip and 4 chip to a same host leave the chip count to 8, otherwise use 4 as chipcount

Please help the Led Boy aka Bicknellski to make us a nice Christmas led tree and pay WASP membership fee here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=643999.msg7191563#msg7191563
And remember Bicknellski is not collecting money from community;D
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February 28, 2014, 05:50:38 AM
 #7

Nice review as always  Grin

So it's can run with 8 chips command(8:260) right?

 Shocked Woo, patch for cgminer 4.0.0
Yup it can Wink
However if you run both 8 chip and 4 chip to a same host leave the chip count to 8, otherwise use 4 as chipcount

Nice  Grin
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February 28, 2014, 05:23:31 PM
Last edit: February 28, 2014, 07:38:47 PM by Gator-hex
 #8

Does Marto have these in stock I wonder? I'd order some but "March" is pretty vague. 1st March is good, 31st March is meh!

Nice review and pics as always.

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February 28, 2014, 05:41:11 PM
Last edit: February 28, 2014, 09:14:29 PM by 2GOOD
 #9

Some update, after 20+ hours running at 240/900 I get 120+ GH stable.



The temperature is almost 10 degrees down to 46C at 26C room

Chart in OP updated.



@Gator-hex Thanks, fixed Smiley

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April 04, 2014, 01:09:41 PM
 #10

Does anybody know how to get i working with bfgminer?
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April 04, 2014, 05:47:40 PM
 #11

Does anybody know how to get i working with bfgminer?

It won't run, you can use cgminer, there is a windows version too.

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April 05, 2014, 06:59:36 AM
 #12

Mine is hashing for 48 Horus now on 260/1000 but I'm only getting 100GH/s. Anybody an idea why? At these settings it should put out 130GH/s or not?
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April 05, 2014, 07:18:55 AM
Last edit: April 05, 2014, 07:30:21 AM by Zich
 #13

Mine is hashing for 48 Horus now on 260/1000 but I'm only getting 100GH/s. Anybody an idea why? At these settings it should put out 130GH/s or not?

What PSU did you use(brand & type)?
HEX8A1 130GH/s can eat up to 17 Amp on 12V rail.

Then check if there is any dead core / dead chip.
run command cgminer-api stats
Code:
[STATS0] =>
(
   [STATS] => 0
   [ID] => HEX80
   [Enabled] => Y
   [Status] => Alive
   [Elapsed] => 10506
   [MHS 5s] => 356.2G
   [MHS av] => 266.3G
   [Hardware Errors] => 91
   [Hardware Errors%] => 2.8191
   [USB Read Errors] => 0
   [USB Write Errors] => 0
   [USB Reset Count] => 0
   [Last Share Time] => 1396682287
   [Chip Count] => 8
   [Frequency] => 260
   [Core Voltage] => 1008
   [PIC Voltage Readings] => 1010
   [Chip1 Nonces] => 430
   [Chip1 Engines] => 32
   [Chip1 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip2 Nonces] => 343
   [Chip2 Engines] => 29
   [Chip2 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip3 Nonces] => 418
   [Chip3 Engines] => 32
   [Chip3 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip4 Nonces] => 392
   [Chip4 Engines] => 32
   [Chip4 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip5 Nonces] => 413
   [Chip5 Engines] => 31
   [Chip5 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip6 Nonces] => 392
   [Chip6 Engines] => 32
   [Chip6 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip7 Nonces] => 411
   [Chip7 Engines] => 31
   [Chip7 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip8 Nonces] => 338
   [Chip8 Engines] => 32
   [Chip8 Dupes] => 0
)
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April 05, 2014, 08:34:03 AM
 #14



Here is how to compile
Code:
git clone https://github.com/ckolivas/cgminer.git
cd cgminer
wget https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8082585/cg/2786526d9f1acb7bd903ece3c822c2c9203aa0b7.patch
git checkout 2786526d9f1acb7bd903ece3c822c2c9203aa0b7
patch -p1 < 2786526d9f1acb7bd903ece3c822c2c9203aa0b7.patch
./autogen.sh --enable-hexminer8
make

I start cgminer with the following line:
Code:
sudo ./cgminer -c ./cgminer.conf --hexminer8-set-diff-to-one 0 --hexminer8-chip-mask 255 --hexminer8-voltage 1000 --hexminer8-options 8:260
where cgminer.conf is in the same folder and with your regular settings.




It could'nt find cgminer.conf
I get an error: SEM: hexminer8 USB failed to get (65537) '/tmp/cgminer-us bash: syntax error near unexpected token....

I had already made cgminer 4.2.3 and entered that direction and continued with "wget...."

I followed zich's post

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=28402.msg6079926#msg6079926
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April 05, 2014, 08:45:01 AM
 #15

Sorry, i didn't know that you talk about HEX8A1. What i post there is for original cgminer. For HEX8A1 you need patch.

cgminer.conf generated by cgminer after you run cgminer for the first time. After cgminer run, type S then W then enter.
After that you can edit it.

Latest patch from technobit still for cgminer-4.2.2
Code:
1. git clone https://github.com/ckolivas/cgminer.git
2. mv cgminer cgminer-4.2.2
3. cd cgminer-4.2.2
4. git checkout 5ed45a0d7a3bd71ed1b8726e5f1cdac55bf68196
5. wget https://www.dropbox.com/s/1kspms3gw0336du/5ed45a0d7a3bd71ed1b8726e5f1cdac55bf68196.patch
6. patch -p1 < 5ed45a0d7a3bd71ed1b8726e5f1cdac55bf68196.patch
7. ./autogen.sh --enable-hexminera --enable-hexminerc --enable-hexminerb --enable-hexmineru --enable-hexminer8
8. make

Add setting to cgminer.conf
Code:
sudo nano /home/"user"/.cgminer/cgminer.conf

Code:
{
"pools" : [
        {
                "url" : "stratum+tcp://stratum-lb-usa48.btcguild.com:3333",
                "user" : "user",
                "pass" : "123"
        }
]
,
"api-listen" : true,
"api-allow" : "R:127.0.0.1",
"api-mcast-port" : "4028",
"api-port" : "4028",
"expiry" : "120",
"hotplug" : "5",
"log" : "5",
"no-pool-disable" : true,
"queue" : "1",
"scan-time" : "60",
"shares" : "0",
"hexminera-voltage" : "1460",
"hexminera-options" : "16:480",
"hexminerc-voltage" : "1100",
"hexminerc-options" : "16:1500",
"hexminerb-voltage" : "900",
"hexminerb-options" : "16:540",
"hexminer8-set-diff-to-one" : "0",
"hexminer8-chip-mask" : "255",
"hexminer8-voltage" : "1000",
"hexminer8-options" : "8:260",
"hexmineru-frequency" : "54",
"set_default_to_8" : true,
"kernel-path" : "/usr/local/bin"
}
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April 05, 2014, 08:54:12 AM
 #16

Mine is hashing for 48 Horus now on 260/1000 but I'm only getting 100GH/s. Anybody an idea why? At these settings it should put out 130GH/s or not?

What PSU did you use(brand & type)?
HEX8A1 130GH/s can eat up to 17 Amp on 12V rail.

Then check if there is any dead core / dead chip.
run command cgminer-api stats
Code:
[STATS0] =>
(
   [STATS] => 0
   [ID] => HEX80
   [Enabled] => Y
   [Status] => Alive
   [Elapsed] => 10506
   [MHS 5s] => 356.2G
   [MHS av] => 266.3G
   [Hardware Errors] => 91
   [Hardware Errors%] => 2.8191
   [USB Read Errors] => 0
   [USB Write Errors] => 0
   [USB Reset Count] => 0
   [Last Share Time] => 1396682287
   [Chip Count] => 8
   [Frequency] => 260
   [Core Voltage] => 1008
   [PIC Voltage Readings] => 1010
   [Chip1 Nonces] => 430
   [Chip1 Engines] => 32
   [Chip1 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip2 Nonces] => 343
   [Chip2 Engines] => 29
   [Chip2 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip3 Nonces] => 418
   [Chip3 Engines] => 32
   [Chip3 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip4 Nonces] => 392
   [Chip4 Engines] => 32
   [Chip4 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip5 Nonces] => 413
   [Chip5 Engines] => 31
   [Chip5 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip6 Nonces] => 392
   [Chip6 Engines] => 32
   [Chip6 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip7 Nonces] => 411
   [Chip7 Engines] => 31
   [Chip7 Dupes] => 0
   [Chip8 Nonces] => 338
   [Chip8 Engines] => 32
   [Chip8 Dupes] => 0
)

Thanks for the quick reply Zich. upgrading to newest TpLink software version did the trick, now hashing 136gh/s on the Same settings...
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April 05, 2014, 08:58:56 AM
 #17



Thanks for the quick reply Zich. upgrading to newest TpLink software version did the trick, now hashing 136gh/s on the Same settings...

Nice, happy hashing  Grin
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April 05, 2014, 09:22:25 AM
 #18

Sorry, i didn't know that you talk about HEX8A1. What i post there is for original cgminer. For HEX8A1 you need patch.

cgminer.conf generated by cgminer after you run cgminer for the first time. After cgminer run, type S then W then enter.
After that you can edit it.

Latest patch from technobit still for cgminer-4.2.2
Code:
1. git clone https://github.com/ckolivas/cgminer.git
2. mv cgminer cgminer-4.2.2
3. cd cgminer-4.2.2
4. git checkout 5ed45a0d7a3bd71ed1b8726e5f1cdac55bf68196
5. wget https://www.dropbox.com/s/1kspms3gw0336du/5ed45a0d7a3bd71ed1b8726e5f1cdac55bf68196.patch
6. patch -p1 < 5ed45a0d7a3bd71ed1b8726e5f1cdac55bf68196.patch
7. ./autogen.sh --enable-hexminera --enable-hexminerc --enable-hexminerb --enable-hexmineru --enable-hexminer8
8. make

Add setting to cgminer.conf
Code:
sudo nano /home/"user"/.cgminer/cgminer.conf

Code:
{
"pools" : [
        {
                "url" : "stratum+tcp://stratum-lb-usa48.btcguild.com:3333",
                "user" : "user",
                "pass" : "123"
        }
]
,
"api-listen" : true,
"api-allow" : "R:127.0.0.1",
"api-mcast-port" : "4028",
"api-port" : "4028",
"expiry" : "120",
"hotplug" : "5",
"log" : "5",
"no-pool-disable" : true,
"queue" : "1",
"scan-time" : "60",
"shares" : "0",
"hexminera-voltage" : "1460",
"hexminera-options" : "16:480",
"hexminerc-voltage" : "1100",
"hexminerc-options" : "16:1500",
"hexminerb-voltage" : "900",
"hexminerb-options" : "16:540",
"hexminer8-set-diff-to-one" : "0",
"hexminer8-chip-mask" : "255",
"hexminer8-voltage" : "1000",
"hexminer8-options" : "8:260",
"hexmineru-frequency" : "54",
"set_default_to_8" : true,
"kernel-path" : "/usr/local/bin"
}

Okay i will try that zich...

Do you know where i can get help with copying wallet + datafiles to USB, maybe from terminal cus i cant find the bitcoin wallet folder. My wallet is installed on one ubuntu and cgminer on the other as long as i use my wallet i cant use cgminer. My wallet is syncing right now and i have to use it asap, but it wont finish the next couple of days if it continues at the speed it's at now. It is more important than getting the hex running right now.
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April 05, 2014, 09:41:27 AM
 #19


Do you know where i can get help with copying wallet + datafiles to USB, maybe from terminal cus i cant find the bitcoin wallet folder. My wallet is installed on one ubuntu and cgminer on the other as long as i use my wallet i cant use cgminer. My wallet is syncing right now and i have to use it asap, but it wont finish the next couple of days if it continues at the speed it's at now. It is more important than getting the hex running right now.

Try here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=522014.200
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April 07, 2014, 04:53:32 PM
Last edit: May 01, 2014, 09:17:06 AM by MMO72
 #20

Hello together

First of all, I would like to thank Technobit and Martin for shipping my Hex8A1 130 promptly as promised on their website (JBAWWKAVT).
I had no difficulties to install and run the Hex8A1 on a Windows 7 system with cgminer 4.0 (already running a few Bitburner Fury on separate instances of cgminer - yes, I'm a little noob thats why I use a Windows system Roll Eyes ).

Still testing with a Corsair CX600 as dedicated PSU and some settings in cgminer. Actually using 4:263 at 1000mV and the hashrate is about 126 GH/s with +/- 6% HW errors after >100'000 shares.

edit: meanwhile testing with 8:250 at 960mV and getting around 130GH/s with no - zero - HW errors at 50'000 hashed shares Shocked Smiley

Many thanks to the helpful users here for their postings.

Michael

(sorry, my english skills are not the best)

Edit2: deleted my recommendation for Technobit because my second order was paid early in April for shipping on 22th. Until today 1st of may: no shipping, no communication, no reply on requests for a status of my order - and finally the item got cheaper two or three times in the meantime. Now trying to get my money back...
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