BlackMiner F1mini FPGA Miner: Review + Video

[Truthchanter]

I'm loving these BlackMiners these days  

Original Post:

I've had big problem with the F1mini. BlackMiner said something like most 115x socket heatsinks should fit. But this has not been my experience.

The first heatsink I tried was the factory default Intel 1150 cpu heatsink+fan that comes with intel CPUs.. It did not fit (it left space between the heatsink and the chip as in the video).

The 2nd heatsink I ordered, which was recommended to me in the F1mini discord channel, does make contact with the chip, but the mounting board for the heatsink screws doesn't fit with the F1mini because the F1mini is not flat and has a controller board on the other side of the chip.

So now that I'm at 2 heatsinks that have not worked, I'm pretty frustrated. I'm just about ready to send this F1mini back or throw it away.

I wish the F1mini would have come already attached with a heatsink+fan OR AT LEAST come packaged with their own official default heatsink+fan that is ready to attach. Even if the price would be higher to include a heatsink, I think it's worth it. It would make it more user-friendly and newb-friendly, which might make more people interested in trying one. And after more people trying the F1mini, maybe more people would be interested in the F1 and F1+ = more business for BlackMiner.

Please BlackMiner, at least recommend me a heatsink+fan that is garunteed compatible with this F1mini, so I don't waste any more money and time.

(P.S. on a positive note, I love the BlackMiner hosting service for the F1+ ... Highly recommended!)


EDIT:

So I finally got it working. I had to tinker with it using some old motherboard parts that did not come with the BlackMiner F1 Mini or any of the fans. Apparently BlackMiner officially recommends the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo fan for it. I have not tried it but my guess is that it should work without anything extra.

So since I got it working, It is pretty cool. Has a dashboard you connect to like any other asic. It only came with 1 algo by default (I think it was Nexus, not sure). You have to go on the Blackminer/ Hashaltcoin website to download which algo(s) you want to mine with it. You download the file and then load it in the dashboard.

I have mine mining Tribus algo on Zergpool.com. It's about at least 230Mh/s average and based on zergpools last 24 hour earnings, it made about $0.40 the last day. That is before electric, but I connected it to my watt-meter and it only uses 60w. So it is the least power hungry miner I have ever used.

Overall I like it now, no reboots needed so far. The fan issue was annoying at first, but I think going with the official fan recommendation of the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo should resolve at, although it is more expensive than many of the other options that may or not work. It is definitely a nice entry way into FPGA mining and the more expensive BlackMiner F1+ (which can be hosted, and is what I really recommend!)

I made this 7 minute youtube video reviewing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KMjMU7rM0k&feature=youtu.be

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[Q_R_V]

Could you post video, i want to see how much of gap is there.

[Skarner21]

Did you bought them from fpga.guide? It should include the heat sink with fan.

[Truthchanter]

Could you post video, i want to see how much of gap is there.

This video shows the same gap I experienced: https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=CeVKgz7wFac&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQg_JOE3xwGg%26feature%3Dshare&fbclid=IwAR0ok7DFmBQ_xnvXPE5zTtguFK8iZrZD6j5TEmlR5XVU7I0Wr-cVgQq1-CQ

[Truthchanter]

Did you bought them from fpga.guide? It should include the heat sink with fan.

I did not buy it from there. That is interesting though!

[MapleCircuit]

The first cooler I ordered didn't fit either and I had to buy a different one. I can confirm that the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo fits perfect with no mods or extra pieces needed. This cooler seems to be a popular choice with many people in their Discord. I also bought some screws and nuts to raise the board up off the ground since it didn't come with any standoffs.

Cooler drama aside, the Mini is silent and its hashrates and power consumption are as advertised. I'm quite happy with it now that it's running.

[Q_R_V]

212 Evo fits, but its price is totally different than intel stock cooler. I will have to change my calculation or add copper plate into the gap.

[Truthchanter]

So I finally got it working. I had to tinker with it using some old motherboard parts that did not come with the BlackMiner F1 Mini or any of the fans. Apparently BlackMiner officially recommends the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo fan for it. I have not tried it but my guess is that it should work without anything extra.

So since I got it working, It is pretty cool. Has a dashboard you connect to like any other asic. It only came with 1 algo by default (I think it was Nexus, not sure). You have to go on the Blackminer/ Hashaltcoin website to download which algo(s) you want to mine with it. You download the file and then load it in the dashboard.

I have mine mining Tribus algo on Zergpool.com. It's about at least 230Mh/s average and based on zergpools last 24 hour earnings, it made about $0.40 the last day. That is before electric, but I connected it to my watt-meter and it only uses 60w. So it is the least power hungry miner I have ever used.

Overall I like it now, no reboots needed so far. The fan issue was annoying at first, but I think going with the official fan recommendation of the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo should resolve at, although it is more expensive than many of the other options that may or not work. It is definitely a nice entry way into FPGA mining and the more expensive BlackMiner F1+ (which can be hosted, and is what I really recommend!)

I made this 7 minute youtube video reviewing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KMjMU7rM0k&feature=youtu.be

[Truthchanter]

Got my F1Mini updated. It's now mining DGB on the odocrypt algorithm   

[vuli1]

i wish shipping would not be that expensive.

[huntingthesnark]

212 Evo fits, but its price is totally different than intel stock cooler. I will have to change my calculation or add copper plate into the gap.

Yeah, used the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo and 4x m3 bolts (with insulating washers on the board), these double up as standoffs to stand the board on, with all the cooler weight on the bolts.

Very pleased with performance for the money, frankly - active stream development team, low power, great stuff.

[GoogleBit]

I got that Blackminer F1 mini a week ago. Mining Odo and other algos is working. But...!

CKB is not working on my F1 mini at any pool. Mining is restarting every 2 minutes and the worker never shows up on any pool. (mining with my nVidias is no problem at all.)

I tried both versions of the CKB bitstream, same problem...

Any idea? Or does it work with your F1 mini?

[Truthchanter]

I got that Blackminer F1 mini a week ago. Mining Odo and other algos is working. But...!

CKB is not working on my F1 mini at any pool. Mining is restarting every 2 minutes and the worker never shows up on any pool. (mining with my nVidias is no problem at all.)

I tried both versions of the CKB bitstream, same problem...

Any idea? Or does it work with your F1 mini?

I haven't tried CKB on mine. Are you in the Blackminer discord? There's a f1mini channel and a channel for CKB where I think you may find the best help and potentially others with the same problem