Fury/Blizzard tuning and mods

[nst6563]

Thanks soregums. Will give the cgminer version a try (the BFG version worked pretty well for me).

Next topic how are you guys getting error rates that low??? I still can never get less than 10% error rates (and it often climbs to 25% and sometimes even 30%) using my Furies. Maybe both of mine are lousy ones but dang.
Anyone have suggestions for a good pi image that has cg or bfg already compiled?
I still have another set of Furies and Blizzards on the way (I foolishly bought a large number of them after I made sure the first couple i had pre-ordered worked but before thoroughly testing them ).

There is a list of rpi images in the first post.  Minera was just added and it supports just about everything and has a very active and responsive developer. 

[SoreGums]

Thanks soregums. Will give the cgminer version a try (the BFG version worked pretty well for me).

Next topic how are you guys getting error rates that low??? I still can never get less than 10% error rates (and it often climbs to 25% and sometimes even 30%) using my Furies. Maybe both of mine are lousy ones but dang.
Anyone have suggestions for a good pi image that has cg or bfg already compiled?
I still have another set of Furies and Blizzards on the way (I foolishly bought a large number of them after I made sure the first couple i had pre-ordered worked but before thoroughly testing them ).

Being winter my room is pretty cold.
I'm assuming cgminer is telling the truth...
I'm at ~10% w/ clock of 332 diff 512

[Honeycutt22]

K - I know know know this is probably a dumb questions.. But I'm just getting into scrypt mining and don't understanda all the variations.. scrypt, x11, x13 etcetc...

I purchased 2 Fury's and currently use them on middlecoin. Won't make  any money so looking into X11/13.

Is it possible to mine X11/13 or scrypt-n with the Fury's? I tried with no luck, but figured I was missing something in the tuning/setup.

[SoreGums]

Is it possible to mine X11/13 or scrypt-n with the Fury's? I tried with no luck, but figured I was missing something in the tuning/setup.

Not possible.
You have a round peg (scrypt miner) that only fits in round holes (solves scrypt problems).

If you want to fill up triangle holes (solve x11 problems) you'll need a triangle peg (x11 miner).

Remember that ASIC stands for Application Specific Integrated Circuit. The electronics are arranged so that they do a single task efficiently and only that single task.

[Ruledo]

Note: Silly image proxy, had to post images as links.

So I have been reading this thread and others looking for the "350 Mhz OC w/ no volt mod @ < 5% errors secret".
Recently I was about to give up, but in the end I did learn some things and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
AFAIK the "lucky batch" excuse only applies if you don't modify your blizzard.
I am not a pro at this, but I'm a very tech person, willing to learn and I don't give up easy.
There are two reasons I am posting all this.
One, so that if I'm "doing it wrong" somebody can correct me.
Two, to help others before they go spending money.

This is my journey with my 5 blizzards...  (WARNING: HI-RES IMAGE INTENSIVE)

First was to find the right miner.
I tried Zeus's solution, BFGMiner and some others and in the end I went with a fresh pull and compile of Dmaxl's Cgminer 3.11 for Zeus.
Currently I am using: --scrypt --zeus-chips 6 --zeus-clock 339 --scan-serial zeus:auto --zeus-nocheck-golden --expiry 120 --queue 10 --scan-time 20
I'm sure this isn't perfect, but it's been stable for me and averages between 7mh-8mh poolside depending on difficulty and gets < 5% hardware errors.
But I wanted the "350mhz" everyone is talking about (like the OP).

I chose https://ghash.io/MULTI as my test pool because it has great stats and difficulty information.

To keep my wattage down and be efficient I used an old server 450w PSU that I got off of ebay for $20.
I cut the motherboard and cpu 12v leads and attached 2.1mm MALE Power Pigtail Connectors for CCTV with Terminal Blocks.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351081041457?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Then I wired a barrel connector the red and black leads of a molex connector (5v) to attach to my 7 port USB hub with on/off switches.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301166887759?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I also learned something new about the Raspberri Pi.
The hub will power it, there is no need to plug in the micro usb cable to the power connector of the Raspberry Pi.

For the computer, I used a Raspberry Pi model B and attached 3 heat sinks to it.
I had Arctic Silver 5, but didn't use it.
I attached them with the included sticky back tape.
Then I soldered a tiny cpu fan onto the 5v power of the Raspberri Pi.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/17x17x8-mm-Cooling-Fan-For-Raspberry-Pi-Overclock-DC-5V-13200RPM-Super-silence-/251595633221?pt=US_Server_Fans_Cooling_Systems&hash=item3a9444b245
Since it was all heat sinked and cooled, I OCed it with rasp-config to 1ghz and then set force_turbo=1 in the /boot/config.txt.
The OS I chose was Minera because IT'S EPIC and Raspbian based.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=596620.0

So, first I had to pull the miners apart and check out the terrible factory thermal paste job I kept reading about.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140721_234550.jpg

Ok, then I cleaned the thermal paste off with some cotton balls and a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140721_235059.jpg

Now, before I go replacing the paste, it's time to add the heat sinks to the zeus chips.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141264980186?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

On the first two blizzards, I removed the sticky adhesive backing from the heat sinks and cleaned them with q-tips and isopropyl alcohol.
I didn't want to do all the blizzards at the same so I could be a bit scientific about my testing.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140721_235545.jpg

On the first two blizzards with the clean heat sinks, I used Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive so that the heat sinks wouldn't ever fall off of the board.
This stuff sets quick (5 minutes).
On the other 3 blizzards I just used the sticky adhesive tape the came on the back of the heat sinks.
I also attached 3 smaller heat sinks onto the mosfets the same way with included sticky adhesive tape.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261474044223?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_001406.jpg

With all the heat sinks attached, then I began adding thermal paste to the back of the board.
I used Arctic Silver's Ceramique 2 Tri-Linear Thermal Compound as suggested by the OP.
I put the paste behind each zeus chip and the mosfets.
Normally I use a credit card and scrape a thin even layer but I wasn't putting it on a chip so I was generously sloppy.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_001821.jpg

Then I reassembled the 5 blizzards.
Note: I took the picture before I fully tightened the board to the housing.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_002626.jpg

So then I fired up the blizzards at 350mhz hoping that I would see the magical < 5% errors.
No such luck!
I was getting about 10+%.

There was two things that I read about and had completely forgotten.
The first being cooling!
So after reading around I saw a few fan mods, some were done with tape, some house fans, most of them seemed like a mess.
And nobody was posting what size fans they were using.
I went into the garage and started grabbing random case and cpu fans to test.
In order for me to get the most "bang for the buck" out of my fans, I decided to sandwich 2 miners together in gridseed blade like fashion.
Basically, I removed the fans from the blizzards, bolted the enclosures together with the fan bolts and then rotated the fans 45 degrees and used regular case fan screws to attach them back on.

I did read about one guy using and old fan from an old server power supply, but he didn't specify the dimensions.
Next to my desk I had another $20 ebay special server psu.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301039879332?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
It had two 40mm highspeed fans on it, so I disconnected them and soldered 3 pin fan connectors on them.
These are VERY loud but move a lot of air and were my choice in the end.
I used Gorilla super glue to attach the fan onto the end of the enclosures.
The stuff is very strong but I can get the fan off later without too much effort.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_181341.jpg
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_181425.jpg

The other fans I found that worked for my build were 50mm and they are MUCH quieter but aren't the turbo sounding monsters I ended up using.
I also replaced the 80mm stock fans on one build with Cooler Master 80mm led fans because I broke the stock ones. :p
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_133343.jpg
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_133424.jpg

Now that the cooling had been addressed, it was time to test again.
I started seeing 7%-8% hardware error rate.
A step in the right direction, but still not < 5%.
But then, a couple days later, it started to happen...
I began seeing 3%-5% hardware error rate at 350mhz on one of the units.
Then a second one.
They were the ones that I had used the thermal adhesive on.
And slowly the other 3 started showing 6%-7%.
My take on this was that the thermal adhesive and thermal compound had started to cure.
All that thermal paste work and I didn't even consider that it takes 20-80 hours for thermal compounds to "cure".
Maybe I'm wrong, but it really seems like this part is a big deal.

My next steps will be to volt mod 1 blizzard (i have resistors on the way and a good soldering station) and then oil cooling in an aquarium.
I'm going to do this on just the 5th blizzard while I watch the results of the other 4.

I hope this was helpful and please please give me feedback, corrections and ideas.
I've given up on a timely ROI so now I'm just having fun with it.

[Ruledo]

I will post graphs from Minra and ghash.io's multipool later after it's run for a good while.

[MobileWill]

Thanks very helpful. I am struggling with heat issues myself.

Here is my current setup, except I have 6 more, 3 on the rack on top and 3 more the able in front of it.

My mistake is the PSU is a making everything hot. Its a Cosair RM750 zero fan.

I need to do something about cooling not sure what yet.

http://www.mobilewill.us/2014/07/diy-miner-rack.html

I also redid the paste and added heatsinks, just haven't posted about it yet.

[vabchgent]

I drilled a 3 inch hole in mine and added a extra 80mm fan pushing down on the chips with the heat sinks. Also re TIM them.Turbo Fury. 

[nst6563]

If you want the MOST, definitely use thermal adhesive.  The sticky adhesive that comes on the heatsinks is ok, but nowhere near as good as something like arctic ceramique   or another dedicated thermal adhesive.  I used thermal adhesive on my first two Fury's and was able to hit the 350/354mhz mark with a 4%-5% error rate.  This becomes even more important if you voltmod it as it generates even more heat.  Airflow through the circuitboard chamber is also important...the more the better but don't go deaf due to diminishing returns.  The second two Fury's I first tried the sticky adhesive that came on the heatsinks and I had much higher error rates.  The sizes of the heatsinks is also important.  Try to get the biggest heatsinks that will fit in the chamber.  Tiny mosfet heatsinks will not do much.

[MobileWill]

Thanks for the info.

Here are the heatsinks I used.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cooling-kit-72pcs-For-Bitcoin-Miner-Antminer-ASIC-180GH-s-DIY-Aluminum-Heatsink-Cooler-Reduce-About/1661008735.html

The thermal tape on these isn't bad. The heatsinks do get super hot so its working. They use 3M and Sony tape.

I wonder if this would work on my rack. Pair two furys together, back to back. Then place them parallel with the rack and put a fans on either side. One blowing one sucking. Maybe would have to close the sides or something to make a air channel. I think the PSU shouldn't be on the rack. It producing way too much heat because its a zero fan, even at high load the an doesn't spin much.

[nst6563]

Thanks for the info.

Here are the heatsinks I used.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cooling-kit-72pcs-For-Bitcoin-Miner-Antminer-ASIC-180GH-s-DIY-Aluminum-Heatsink-Cooler-Reduce-About/1661008735.html

The thermal tape on these isn't bad. The heatsinks do get super hot so its working. They use 3M and Sony tape.

I wonder if this would work on my rack. Pair two furys together, back to back. Then place them parallel with the rack and put a fans on either side. One blowing one sucking. Maybe would have to close the sides or something to make a air channel. I think the PSU shouldn't be on the rack. It producing way too much heat because its a zero fan, even at high load the an doesn't spin much.

If you're really feeling adventurous you could relocate the power connector to the other end of the board so that all the cables are connected to one end.  Reducing clutter, and allowing for a somewhat larger fan to be mounted on the one end to blow air through both units.  Check out post 596 on page 30.  Sorry the pics are so big, took them with my phone and it creates huge pics.  One of these days I'll resize them.

[MobileWill]

Thanks for the info.

Here are the heatsinks I used.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cooling-kit-72pcs-For-Bitcoin-Miner-Antminer-ASIC-180GH-s-DIY-Aluminum-Heatsink-Cooler-Reduce-About/1661008735.html

The thermal tape on these isn't bad. The heatsinks do get super hot so its working. They use 3M and Sony tape.

I wonder if this would work on my rack. Pair two furys together, back to back. Then place them parallel with the rack and put a fans on either side. One blowing one sucking. Maybe would have to close the sides or something to make a air channel. I think the PSU shouldn't be on the rack. It producing way too much heat because its a zero fan, even at high load the an doesn't spin much.

If you're really feeling adventurous you could relocate the power connector to the other end of the board so that all the cables are connected to one end.  Reducing clutter, and allowing for a somewhat larger fan to be mounted on the one end to blow air through both units.  Check out post 596 on page 30.  Sorry the pics are so big, took them with my phone and it creates huge pics.  One of these days I'll resize them.

Thats and idea. What would be easier is to just use a DC extension and connect to the existing connector and pass it through the Fury to the other side. Might get a bit hot though. See what I can do this weekend. Get some case fans that have the molex connector and then power it from the PSU.

[Ruledo]

Thanks for the info.

Here are the heatsinks I used.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cooling-kit-72pcs-For-Bitcoin-Miner-Antminer-ASIC-180GH-s-DIY-Aluminum-Heatsink-Cooler-Reduce-About/1661008735.html

The thermal tape on these isn't bad. The heatsinks do get super hot so its working. They use 3M and Sony tape.

I wonder if this would work on my rack. Pair two furys together, back to back. Then place them parallel with the rack and put a fans on either side. One blowing one sucking. Maybe would have to close the sides or something to make a air channel. I think the PSU shouldn't be on the rack. It producing way too much heat because its a zero fan, even at high load the an doesn't spin much.

If you're really feeling adventurous you could relocate the power connector to the other end of the board so that all the cables are connected to one end.  Reducing clutter, and allowing for a somewhat larger fan to be mounted on the one end to blow air through both units.  Check out post 596 on page 30.  Sorry the pics are so big, took them with my phone and it creates huge pics.  One of these days I'll resize them.

Yeah was thinking about that to go with the 3" hole and extra 80mm fan.
The 40mm fans work great but now my office sounds like a server room.
Starting to think oil is the way to go...

[nst6563]

Yeah was thinking about that to go with the 3" hole and extra 80mm fan.
The 40mm fans work great but now my office sounds like a server room.
Starting to think oil is the way to go...

Try running a Falcon/Thunderx3.  I run my miners in my basement, ambient temp is around 69f....so it's nice and cool for operating miners.  The Falcon has 3 "turbo fans" on it and it sounds like a dang vacuum cleaner.  Compared to the Falcon the fans on my fury's (inlcuding the 50mm fan mounted on the end) are inaudible.  Hell...I can't hear a damned thing when I'm near the falcon in the basement.  I may end up moving it to the garage down there. 

[jeezy]

Thanks for the info.

Here are the heatsinks I used.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cooling-kit-72pcs-For-Bitcoin-Miner-Antminer-ASIC-180GH-s-DIY-Aluminum-Heatsink-Cooler-Reduce-About/1661008735.html

The thermal tape on these isn't bad. The heatsinks do get super hot so its working. They use 3M and Sony tape.

I wonder if this would work on my rack. Pair two furys together, back to back. Then place them parallel with the rack and put a fans on either side. One blowing one sucking. Maybe would have to close the sides or something to make a air channel. I think the PSU shouldn't be on the rack. It producing way too much heat because its a zero fan, even at high load the an doesn't spin much.

If you're really feeling adventurous you could relocate the power connector to the other end of the board so that all the cables are connected to one end.  Reducing clutter, and allowing for a somewhat larger fan to be mounted on the one end to blow air through both units.  Check out post 596 on page 30.  Sorry the pics are so big, took them with my phone and it creates huge pics.  One of these days I'll resize them.

Yeah was thinking about that to go with the 3" hole and extra 80mm fan.
The 40mm fans work great but now my office sounds like a server room.
Starting to think oil is the way to go...

One word for you brother: Novec

[nst6563]

One word for you brother: Novec

+1.  I don't have any of those blowers but they would be good for blowing the air through the chambers.  
I actually have a couple blowers from old GPU's....hmmmm.....great....new idea...thanks

:Edit:  Total tard moment...complete brain fart...I misread Novec and thought Nidec who make some decent blower fans

[Honeycutt22]

Is it possible to mine X11/13 or scrypt-n with the Fury's? I tried with no luck, but figured I was missing something in the tuning/setup.

Not possible.
You have a round peg (scrypt miner) that only fits in round holes (solves scrypt problems).

If you want to fill up triangle holes (solve x11 problems) you'll need a triangle peg (x11 miner).

Remember that ASIC stands for Application Specific Integrated Circuit. The electronics are arranged so that they do a single task efficiently and only that single task.

Ahhh, thank you for the simple explanation! It's usually me trying to put my round peg in dirty holes that gets me into trouble.

[Ruledo]

One word for you brother: Novec

Got a USA source for this mythical 3M™ Novec™ 7000 Engineered Fluid?

[nst6563]

One word for you brother: Novec

Got a USA source for this mythical 3M™ Novec™ 7000 Engineered Fluid?

Have you tried going to 3M's website to see if they offer any 'samples' of it?  I have gotten some samples of their Vikuiti LCD backlight films before (made a small 7" standard LCD sunlight readable with them).  They (Like Texas Instruments) offer samples on a lot of their products.  Being samples, it's not much...but it might be enough for a blizzard/fury if they offer it.

:Edit:  http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MNovec/Home/Support/RequestSample/   Novec Engineering Fluid is in the list

Just for the hell of it, I submitted for a sample order.

[MobileWill]

One word for you brother: Novec

Got a USA source for this mythical 3M™ Novec™ 7000 Engineered Fluid?

Have you tried going to 3M's website to see if they offer any 'samples' of it?  I have gotten some samples of their Vikuiti LCD backlight films before (made a small 7" standard LCD sunlight readable with them).  They (Like Texas Instruments) offer samples on a lot of their products.  Being samples, it's not much...but it might be enough for a blizzard/fury if they offer it.

:Edit:  http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MNovec/Home/Support/RequestSample/   Novec Engineering Fluid is in the list

Just for the hell of it, I submitted for a sample order.

Which version of it did you get? 8200?