(Review/Guide) WhatsMiner M20S 68.0 Th/s, 3260 W Bitcoin (SHA-256) ASIC miner
Picture copyright (c) Pangolinminer.com website.
1) General information, other items needed
2) Unpacking
3) Overview
4) Installation
5) Configuration
6) Testing
7) Power consumption measurement
8] Conclusion
9) How to order
10) Video review by philipma1957 Last updated in: June 21, 2019.
Click here to download this document in .pdf format.
1) General information, other items needed (top)WhatsMiner M20S is a Bitcoin (SHA-256) ASIC miner using 12nm ASIC chip technology,
manufactured by
Shenzhen Bit Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd (headquarters in Shenzhen, China).
They are also known short as
MicroBT.
This is a standalone miner with a built-in controller board and a built-in power supply unit.
The advertised nominal hashrate for this particular model is 68.0 Th/s with a nominal power consumption of 3260 Watts.
It weights 12.5 kg and the outer dimensions are 385 mm (L) x 160 mm (W) x 240mm (H).
MicroBT:
www.microbt.comPangolinminer (distributor):
www.pangolinminer.comThis is a ref. link.
Technical specifications:WhatsMiner M20S (68.0 Th/s)
Hash rate: 68.0 Th/s (+-5%)
Power consumption: 3260 W (+-10%)
Power efficiency: 0.048 J / Gh/s
AC voltage input for the power supply: 200 - 240 VAC
DC voltage input for the miner: 12 VDC
ASIC chip type: 12nm Bitcoin (SHA-256) ASIC chip
ASIC chip quantity per hash board: 105 chips
Number of hash boards per unit (miner): 3 hash boards
ASIC chip quantity per unit: 315 chips
Cooling: 2pc. 140 mm x 38 mm 12 VDC 9.0 A, 7400 rpm cooling fan, model:
Delta PFC1412HE-00 (front and back, in a push-pull configuration).
Weight: 12.5 kg
Dimensions: 385 mm (L) x 160 mm (W) x 240mm (H)
Working temperature: -5℃ - 35℃
Warranty time: 180 days after shipment
Other items needed:- Power cord with a IEC320 C19 connector and thick wire gauge(
I used a cable with 1.5mm2 wires).
- Ethernet cable to go to your router/switch
- Computer to set initial pool and configuration settings.
2) Unpacking (top)This M20S is an sample unit provided by the Pangolinminer (
www.pangolinminer.com, this is a ref. link)
and DHL was the courier used in this delivery.
The delivery this time was unbelievably short.
It was shipped in Sunday and I had it in my hands in Tuesday.
I really got to give 5 stars to both DHL and Pangolinminer for the logistics part.
The packing was done carefully with proper packing material protecting the miner.
A power cable is included with the miner, which is nice.
It took me only little effort to change the original connector to a Type F ('schuko') one,
which is used here in Finland and in lots of other European countries too.
I only recommend this plug change for professional guys.
Opening the package and the power plug change. Click for a high resolution image. Pictures taken by HagssFIN.3) Overview (top)Here is a set of images showing the WhatsMiner M20S miner and the built-in WhatsPower P20 power supply unit.
Click to show a high resolution image.
I did a quick visual inspection for the miner as I usually do and it looked to be in a good condition.
I didn't notice any quality issues or any shipping damages etc. .
And I carefully rotated the miner around to make sure that there are no loose parts inside the miner.
4) Installation (top)The installation with this miner is a very quick process, because of the built-in power supply unit.
For the network communication you need to connect an Ethernet cable to your miner
and the other end of the cable to your network's router/switch device.
And then you need a good quality C19 power cord which fits into your electrical power socket.
Please make sure that it is rated for at least 16A continuous amp rating.
The miner network settings are set to the DHCP mode as a default option.
This means that the miner will acquire an IP address automatically from the router's DHCP IP address pool.
You can find out the IP address fairly easy e.g. by accessing your router web configuration page.
There is also an official IP found program called "WhatsMinerTool".
This program makes it possible for you to use the miner IP found function
and figure out the miner IP address.
WhatsMinerTool User Guide & Software:https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XthbZPFc0S-FvMi9MqpLOJlUaFAc4auW
When the initial setup is ready, power on the miner and start by finding the miner IP address,
After the miner IP address is known, it is possible to move on to the next step, which is
Configuration.
5) Configuration (top)First you need open a web browser and go the miner IP address.
The miner will then ask you for the user credentials.
Username:
rootPassword (default):
root
Login screen. Click to show a high resolution image.After that it is time to setup the mining pool settings.
You need to go through menus and find the Cgminer configuration page.
Click the drop down list and click 'custom'.
Now you are able to setup any pool address of your own choice.
You can set this miner to mine any SHA-256d algorithm based cryptocurrency in any mining pool of your choice.
This miner is not using the AsicBoost.
You can put the pool stratum address, username and password for three different pools in a priority order: Pool 1 > Pool 2 > Pool 3.
So if the first pool dies for some reason, the miner will automatically continue mining with the second pool.
And if the first and second pools are dead, the miner will then automatically continue mining with the third pool.
Cgminer configuration page. Click to show a high resolution image.Miner hash board frequency and cooling fan settings are automatic, there is no possibility to have your custom settings.
When you have all the settings ready, you can press '
Save & Apply'.
Then you can go through menus and click '
Reboot' to reboot the miner.
The startup process for the miner takes some time as it goes through the hash board frequency settings.
So you need patience when you start up this machine and
there is no need to be worried even though the numbers may look weird at first.
The miner also goes through few cgminer software restarts during the cold startup,
which is totally normal behauviour for this miner.
After the final cgminer restars, the cold startup process is ready.
And after that the miner really starts to do the mining.
You should now be able to see the miner working at about 68 Th/s hash rate.
Miner status page. Click to show a high resolution image.You can also check the official instructions for both installation and configuration.
The official user guide (for the M10S) can be found here:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rmwKdSHjMay3c6TL2TQxNTERz5EW7OFp/view?usp=sharingPlease Note! This documentation is for the M10S model.
MicroBT support web page:https://www.microbt.com/server/support.htmlPangolinminer support web page:https://pangolinminer.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016940133-Whatsminer-M10S-User-Guides-SolutionsPlease Note! This documentation is for the M10S model.
In the miner web configuration page, there are also pages for the system log and Cgminer API log.
By reading the log texts you are able to see specific details about the miner operation
and this kind of information is really helpful in case you need to do some troubleshooting.
These following screenshot images will demonstrate rest of the pages available in the miner web configuration
and this image set should provide you a good overview on the miner web configuration page.
System log and Cgminer API log. Click to show a high resolution image.
System status overview and System properties. Click to show a high resolution image.
Administration page and Interfaces page. Click to show a high resolution image.
Miner log page. Click to show a high resolution image.
Processes page and Reboot page. Click to show a high resolution image.6) Testing (top)When the miner settings were set and ready to go, it was time to test the miner and see how it starts running.
Just like with the S9, the M20S hash board frequency settings are also set automatically during the startup process.
The M20S is also able to control the power supply unit (P20) and thus adjust the dc output voltage fed to the hash boards.
The goal with this setup is to get the maximum performance possible.
When the miner was ready with the startup process, the hash rate rose to about an average of 69.6 Th/s area.
Miner status page. Click for a high res. image. The power consumption was also measured during this test. --->
7) Power consumption measurement (top)The power measurement was done with
Perel E305EM6-G energy meter.
Technical specs data sheet (.pdf document):
https://mega.nz/#!Np0RTaTB!QS53Vov3tOXcxmg_f2-24YzcYmMyRymHu6MGnE8jXLg
Perel E305EM6-G. Click for a high res. image. Picture taken by HagssFIN.
Power measurement. Click to show a high resolution image. Picture taken by HagssFIN.A stable result for the power consumption at wall was 3370 W,
and the average hash rate for the mining was 69.6 Th/s.
These numbers give us a following power efficiency (at wall): 3370 / 69600 = 0.04842 J per Gh/s.
8] Conclusion (top)WhatsMiner M20S is a Big Beast for a miner and it is very efficient piece of gear in the currect Bitcoin ASIC miner hardware market.
The MicroBT guys have been able to produce very power efficient and competitive hardware in last few years
and they make a serious competitor to manufacturers like Bitmain, Canaan and Bitfury.
The M20S is a very dense package,
the nominal power load is very high, close to 3.4kW (!).
But luckily the guys have made great job in the hardware design.
I didn't have any heat issues with my miner.
There are large sized heat sinks with high rev. cooling fans
and the miner doesn't get too hot if you are in an environment within the technical specs limits.
This is an extremely loud miner as most of the modern ASIC miners are,
and I think it is quite obvious thing to say that you don't want to have a one with you in the bed room.
This machine performed just as advertised, actually a little better.
I got an average hash rate of 69.6 Th/s and the nominal rate is 68.0 Th/s (+-5%).
I think that this miner is yet again a great improvement in the WhatsMiner series.
I would like to thank Team Pangolinminer and Laurent, for sending this miner as a sample unit and
for the chance for me to do another WhatsMiner review here at the forum!
If you got any questions you'd like to ask, you are welcome to drop them in this thread.
I will try to give my best answer.
9) How to order (top)Shenzhen Bit Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. a.k.a. MicroBT has an official website in which you can make an order.
Website: www.microbt.com They also have official distributor partners for overseas sales.
See more details at the overseas distribution partner Team Pangolinminer website.
Website: www.pangolinminer.com This is a ref. link.
10) Video review by philipma1957 (top)
