ANTMINER S3+ Discussion and Support Thread

[bbxx]

hi
my antminer s3 at stock settings started to low performing

freq
218.75
   
temps
37
41

asic status   
oooooooo oooooooo
oooooooo ooo-oooo

so one chip is dead?
reboot does not solve this...


Elapsed   GH/S(5s)   GH/S(avg)   FoundBlocks   Getworks   Accepted   Rejected   HW   Utility   Discarded   Stale   LocalWork   WU   DiffA   DiffR   DiffS   BestShare
                                                
5h 40m 10s
406.93
428.80
0
429
15,852
5
42
46
45,253
0
3,601,572
6,084
2,029,025
639
0
2,530,253

that a lot of discarded...
is it normal ?


there is polmine raport
https://polmine.pl/getgraphdatasrv.php?gid=BTC_worker5567092517e0ed42d94cf318195e0737

Discards do not matter. CK said they mean nothing and should never have been reported and tracked in the first place. The "-" you see is a malfunctioning ASIC. It should still be under warranty and BitMain can help you fix it if the chips is bad. I got someone good when I had a under performing board and they replaced it.

Before you do all that "-" is not a dead a ASIC "x" is and even those can come back (I've seen it) power off the supply try moving your PCIE cables around. I assume your only using 2 one on each board, if your using 4 unplug 2 (if no plans to OC) and then power the supply back on. Reboots alone don't always fix S3's. I agree discards don't matter.

thanks for info.
after powering off psu and give it few minutes to rest all went to normal.
no dead chips.

is psu broken/ageing or it is antminer issue?
psu is corsair cx750 powering only this s3

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[tave]

hi, i checked second fan of s3, seem minimum value for this fan is near ~6000-7000 and max ~7000-8000.
but first fan speed seem normal, and near 2000 ~ 3000.

what is problem? software issue? hw issue?

[visdude]

Besides security, what performance or efficiency gains will I get from the cgminer update on my S3+ B8?  and Do I even need to update?

Also because I have the overclocked from the factory S3+ B8 do I need to plug in all 4 PCIe cables or am I OK still only plugging in two?  I plan on putting 3 S3s into 1 1200 watt PSU (Corsair AX1200i)

Thanks in Advance for your response!!

You do not need four PCIe power inputs, overclocked or not.  Ideally, each blade should have its own PCIe cable/harness from the PSU as opposed to connecting only one harness that splits into two PCIe connectors.

Loosely basing on the S3+'s published stock specs (@ 225M), three units would draw a total of 1065WAC (355WAC * 3) at the wall.  Note that I specifically stated "Loosely" as some manufacturers tend to conveniently understate/overstate specs for marketing purposes.  Expect the at-the-wall wattage to be higher than specified; the degree of which depends on the PSU's efficiency and the ambient room temperature at the time of measurement.  The Corsair AX1200i has a maximum of 1205WDC on its single +12V rail and is approximately 90% efficient @ around 80% load.  Three S3+s would then require 959WDC (1065WAC * 90%) from the AX1200i.  Therefore, the load exerted on the AX1200i is 80% (959WDC / 1205WDC) which is right around the consensus of 20% headroom for a 24/7 operation.  You should be fine.  However, whether to overclock further with your current setup or not would entirely depend on your personal comfort level/threshold as far as safety is concerned.  Obviously, your "headroom" or safety margin would diminish as you increase clock frequencies.

As a point of reference, each of my S3s are powered with a mere Corsair CX500 and have been overclocked to 243.75M for weeks now with ambient room temperatures reaching up to 40C (104F) at times without skipping a beat.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=671189.msg8227268#msg8227268

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=671189.msg8471571#msg8471571

[Stratobitz]

The Ax1200i really is a top notch PSU. I didn't actually buy them for the S3 units, I had 4 left over from my Litecoin GPU rigs that I've long since shut down.

But running 3 S3 units has been no problem. The PSU fan doesn't even seem to be at full speed. They've been running for weeks.

Room temperature may also affect the draw. Our Ants are in a cool server room, which helps keep them and the PSU cool. I'm also on filtered AC Power. So voltage off the wall might also factor into it. If off the wall you're Voltage is 116 vs 110, that's a 5% increase in power input.

Our large order of S3+ Units come in Tuesday (BitMain Shipping Confirmed Yesterday).  We've bought a dozen EVGA 1300 G2 Units. I am going to see how they compare.

Hoping I may be able to squeeze in 4 Units per 1300 even if I have to underclock. I'll post results and use my kill-a-watt to get you all numbers.

Strato

[Stratobitz]

Also, it looks like we may have a few more AntMiner S3+ Units coming in than we have the power to drive power/psu wise.

I'm considering selling 6 of them. PM me offers if interested. Tracking says they will be delivered on Tuesday and we could ship out that same day via 2nd Day Air or Overnight from Zip 20910. Also use the UPS site to see delivery transit times.  Typically shipping UPS ground will actually be 1 Day - within 250 miles of my Zip, at a fraction of the cost of Overnight.

Make reasonable offers folks if interested folks. People are PMing me off my other post offers like .5 BTC shipped. These units are sold out. The next batch of S3+ units hasn't even started taking orders and shipment is likely more than a month away at best.

Please use the UPS website to get shipping cost and price that into your offer on the Box at I'm guessing 15 LBS per unit.

Best,

Strato

[mdude77]

The Ax1200i really is a top notch PSU. I didn't actually buy them for the S3 units, I had 4 left over from my Litecoin GPU rigs that I've long since shut down.

But running 3 S3 units has been no problem. The PSU fan doesn't even seem to be at full speed. They've been running for weeks.

Room temperature may also affect the draw. Our Ants are in a cool server room, which helps keep them and the PSU cool. I'm also on filtered AC Power. So voltage off the wall might also factor into it. If off the wall you're Voltage is 116 vs 110, that's a 5% increase in power input.

Our large order of S3+ Units come in Tuesday (BitMain Shipping Confirmed Yesterday).  We've bought a dozen EVGA 1300 G2 Units. I am going to see how they compare.

Hoping I may be able to squeeze in 4 Units per 1300 even if I have to underclock. I'll post results and use my kill-a-watt to get you all numbers.

Strato

The Ax1200i may be top notch, but I don't understand the desire to throw money at it unless it's for fun.  

For less than half of that I can get a Rosewill Lightning Gold 1300W PSU.  I know it can run three S3s because I've used it to drive three OC'd S1s without a problem.

I think the only think the Ax1200i has going for it is it is pretty.  Seriously.  Well, alright, you can connect it up to a PC to see real time values.

Otherwise, they look identical, except the Lightning has 108A on the 12V rail, and Ax1200i has 100.4A.  Everything else important looks the same to me .. fan size, warranty, efficiency (what is Platinum supposed to get you?).  Except price of course.

Again, I ask why?

(NewEgg has Lightning at $149.99 AR, only $10 more $20 less than the equivalent eVGA.  The Ax1200i is at $329.99.)

M

[visdude]

Anyone think it would be possible to run (4) S3+ Units off a single EVGA 1300 G2... If perhaps I underclocked them a bit?

Wondering if the loss in hash would actually give better ROI using less PSUs.

Strato

At 80% load, an EVGA 1300 G2 with a 1300WDC maximum output on its single +12V rail would be approximately 91% efficient and draw around 1144WAC at the wall.  This means that four S3s would have to be underclocked so each draw around 286WAC at the wall (1144WAC / 4); i.e. (1144WAC * 91%) / 1300WDC * 100.  This should give you a reference point to realize your idea.

[Stratobitz]

The Ax1200i really is a top notch PSU. I didn't actually buy them for the S3 units, I had 4 left over from my Litecoin GPU rigs that I've long since shut down.

But running 3 S3 units has been no problem. The PSU fan doesn't even seem to be at full speed. They've been running for weeks.

Room temperature may also affect the draw. Our Ants are in a cool server room, which helps keep them and the PSU cool. I'm also on filtered AC Power. So voltage off the wall might also factor into it. If off the wall you're Voltage is 116 vs 110, that's a 5% increase in power input.

Our large order of S3+ Units come in Tuesday (BitMain Shipping Confirmed Yesterday).  We've bought a dozen EVGA 1300 G2 Units. I am going to see how they compare.

Hoping I may be able to squeeze in 4 Units per 1300 even if I have to underclock. I'll post results and use my kill-a-watt to get you all numbers.

Strato

The Ax1200i may be top notch, but I don't understand the desire to throw money at it unless it's for fun.  

For less than half of that I can get a Rosewill Lightning Gold 1300W PSU.  I know it can run three S3s because I've used it to drive three OC'd S1s without a problem.

I think the only think the Ax1200i has going for it is it is pretty.  Seriously.  Well, alright, you can connect it up to a PC to see real time values.

Otherwise, they look identical, except the Lightning has 108A on the 12V rail, and Ax1200i has 100.4A.  Everything else important looks the same to me .. fan size, warranty, efficiency (what is Platinum supposed to get you?).  Except price of course.

Again, I ask why?

(NewEgg has Lightning at $149.99 AR, only $10 more $20 less than the equivalent eVGA.  The Ax1200i is at $329.99.)

M

Well as I said I didn't buy them for the S3s. I already had them. So yes completely agree. The only plus I think is the Ax1200 would I think have better resale appeal. From time to time they are all sold out.

Strato

[Stratobitz]

Anyone think it would be possible to run (4) S3+ Units off a single EVGA 1300 G2... If perhaps I underclocked them a bit?

Wondering if the loss in hash would actually give better ROI using less PSUs.

Strato

At 80% load, an EVGA 1300 G2 with a 1300WDC maximum output on its single +12V rail would be approximately 91% efficient and draw around 1144WAC at the wall.  This means that four S3s would have to be underclocked so each draw around 286WAC at the wall (1144WAC / 4); i.e. (1144WAC * 91%) / 1300WDC * 100.  This should give you a reference point to realize your idea.

Realize my idea??? You just crushed my idea.



Strato

PS. Thanks that actually is good info. I'll stick with 3.

[visdude]

The Ax1200i really is a top notch PSU. I didn't actually buy them for the S3 units, I had 4 left over from my Litecoin GPU rigs that I've long since shut down.

But running 3 S3 units has been no problem. The PSU fan doesn't even seem to be at full speed. They've been running for weeks.

Room temperature may also affect the draw. Our Ants are in a cool server room, which helps keep them and the PSU cool. I'm also on filtered AC Power. So voltage off the wall might also factor into it. If off the wall you're Voltage is 116 vs 110, that's a 5% increase in power input.

Our large order of S3+ Units come in Tuesday (BitMain Shipping Confirmed Yesterday).  We've bought a dozen EVGA 1300 G2 Units. I am going to see how they compare.

Hoping I may be able to squeeze in 4 Units per 1300 even if I have to underclock. I'll post results and use my kill-a-watt to get you all numbers.

Strato

The Ax1200i may be top notch, but I don't understand the desire to throw money at it unless it's for fun.  

For less than half of that I can get a Rosewill Lightning Gold 1300W PSU.  I know it can run three S3s because I've used it to drive three OC'd S1s without a problem.

I think the only think the Ax1200i has going for it is it is pretty.  Seriously.  Well, alright, you can connect it up to a PC to see real time values.

Otherwise, they look identical, except the Lightning has 108A on the 12V rail, and Ax1200i has 100.4A.  Everything else important looks the same to me .. fan size, warranty, efficiency (what is Platinum supposed to get you?).  Except price of course.

Again, I ask why?

(NewEgg has Lightning at $149.99 AR, only $10 more $20 less than the equivalent eVGA.  The Ax1200i is at $329.99.)

M

I couldn't agree with you more.

Alternatively, I think the Corsair CX500 has the best bang for the buck especially when timed with the regularly-occurring $20 rebate offer in conjunction with additional promo code discounts of up to $10 at the Egg, bringing down the cost to as low as $10-$20 each depending on the list price.

[RealMalatesta]

Has anybody checked the massive jump in the hashrate at hashnest? From 75363 gh/s to 308056 in only a couple of hours for the Antminer S3. Looks to me as if Bitmain is going the KnC-path.

[moss]

Hello guys,
where re the settings to control the fan speed?
is here a starter guide/thread/how to  anywhere ?
i updated the firmware already.
Also i 'll install a watercooling system.

If you are going to watercool, how are you planning to create the water jackets?  Given the need for precision, that will be the hardest part of the job.  Also, it's not just the heat sinks on the outside of the blades - you will need to include those between them too.  If you can solve the jacket issue, the rest should be fairly easy, as you can probably use off-the-shelf parts.  Don't forget you'll need fans on the rad, so there's no escaping them altogether.

I agree with you regarding the S3 fans - they are very loud indeed.  At least mine are, anyway - perhaps some are less so.  To quieten my S3s down, I decided to change these fans.

The fans are of the PWM 4 pin type, with the speed controlled by the hardware.  It is easy to buy 120mm fans that are much quieter than the standard ones, but it is not so easy finding fans as efficient - the standard ones are very good!  To replace them you need a fan with a high static pressure for the inlet - the best ones I found were the Corsair SP120 PWM High Performance edition fans, designed to push air through heat sinks, etc.  Even a 120 to 140 adaptor with well regarded 140mm PWM fans wasn't as good as these Corsairs.  On the outlet, I eventually settled on the Thermalright TY143 140mm PWM, which has a 120mm mounting.

Note that my S3 fans spin within a range up of to about 2,300 rpm for the inlets, so I chose new fans accordingly.  I have seen some printouts on here showing fan speeds of 5000+ rpm.  If those are accurate speeds (not sure how they can be), I don't know what anyone would buy to replace those (industrial standard fans, perhaps?).

My S3s are now much quieter and very tolerable, for me at least.  BUT - even with these expensive replacement fans, the S3s run a degree or two hotter than the standard ones.  It's a trade off that I'm willing to accept to save my hearing! 

[bluecityste]

Update to shipping - my order placed 30th August for two S3 & 2 upgrade kits has been dispatched today (Monday).

[BITMAIN]

ANTMINER S3+ -B9 sales open, shipping starts on Sept. 18th 

[Tupsu]

ANTMINER S3+ -B9 sales open, shipping starts on Sept. 18th 

Price:      0.58 BTC

[Bitkoinzz]

The Ax1200i really is a top notch PSU. I didn't actually buy them for the S3 units, I had 4 left over from my Litecoin GPU rigs that I've long since shut down.

But running 3 S3 units has been no problem. The PSU fan doesn't even seem to be at full speed. They've been running for weeks.

Room temperature may also affect the draw. Our Ants are in a cool server room, which helps keep them and the PSU cool. I'm also on filtered AC Power. So voltage off the wall might also factor into it. If off the wall you're Voltage is 116 vs 110, that's a 5% increase in power input.

Our large order of S3+ Units come in Tuesday (BitMain Shipping Confirmed Yesterday).  We've bought a dozen EVGA 1300 G2 Units. I am going to see how they compare.

Hoping I may be able to squeeze in 4 Units per 1300 even if I have to underclock. I'll post results and use my kill-a-watt to get you all numbers.

Strato

The Ax1200i may be top notch, but I don't understand the desire to throw money at it unless it's for fun.  

For less than half of that I can get a Rosewill Lightning Gold 1300W PSU.  I know it can run three S3s because I've used it to drive three OC'd S1s without a problem.

I think the only think the Ax1200i has going for it is it is pretty.  Seriously.  Well, alright, you can connect it up to a PC to see real time values.

Otherwise, they look identical, except the Lightning has 108A on the 12V rail, and Ax1200i has 100.4A.  Everything else important looks the same to me .. fan size, warranty, efficiency (what is Platinum supposed to get you?).  Except price of course.

Again, I ask why?

(NewEgg has Lightning at $149.99 AR, only $10 more $20 less than the equivalent eVGA.  The Ax1200i is at $329.99.)

M

I couldn't agree with you more.

Alternatively, I think the Corsair CX500 has the best bang for the buck especially when timed with the regularly-occurring $20 rebate offer in conjunction with additional promo code discounts of up to $10 at the Egg, bringing down the cost to as low as $10-$20 each depending on the list price.

Corsair will only pay ONE rebate per household per item. The cheapest I ever bought corsair cx500's was $45 after coupons etc. They are the best PSU for the price and they never burn wires. DO NOT buy the modular Corsair's though. The plugs they use are cheap and THEY WILL MELT  even with just one S1 running at 200gh.

[Subw]

ANTMINER S3+ -B9 sales open, shipping starts on Sept. 18th 

Price:      0.58 BTC

Total disappointment. Will skip this batch at this price.

[CryptoGuy]

ANTMINER S3+ -B9 sales open, shipping starts on Sept. 18th 

Price:      0.58 BTC

Total disappointment. Will skip this batch at this price.

That's what I'm thinking.

[Moria843]

JUST AN FYI.. for all who are waiting to get S3 upgrade kits for your S1's.....

I underclocked my S1's to 250 and they are running at about 125gh. I am running 2 s1's at this speed on a Corsair cx500 using adaptor cables (4 pin MOLEX to 6 pin PCE) and the cables are not hot. The power efficiency should be way better.
Also , the S1's will not run at 200mhz or 193mhz. They connect to the pool but will not hash.
Edit. I use Corsair cx500's on all S3's too. They never burn cables and they only shut down if they get real hot from room temp.

Check the undervolt thread for S1 at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=526060.0.  To improve the efficiency of the S1 you'll need to undervolt it as well as underclocking.  You'll gain the efficiency, but at the expense of hash rate.  The S1 to S3+ upgrade gives you both an efficiency improvement as well as more than double the hash rate (but the value for money is debatable).

Cheers

You definitely need to reduce the voltage to all 32 ASICs by changing the resistance on 8 resistors as describe in the undervolt thread if you want to improve efficiency. Simply reducing the frequency doesn't raise efficiency very much. I verified significant reduction with wattmeter by calculating J/Gh and outlined in earlier post.

[twib2]

ANTMINER S3+ -B9 sales open, shipping starts on Sept. 18th 

Price:      0.58 BTC

Total disappointment. Will skip this batch at this price.

Total agreement.