ANTMINER S3+ Discussion and Support Thread

[Biodom]

unfortunately you are confusing electrically conductive and capacitive conductive with thermal conductive ..
AS5 is not electrically conductive but it is capacitive conductive ..
if u use AS5 you could potentially still see problems if it touches asic pins or other electronics.
gc-extreme is neither electrically conductive nor capacitive conductive but still same thermal conductivity as AS5.
not sure why we wasting silver in a thermal paste anyways...

I am not confusing anything anywhere, I know that it has capacitive properties, but I am not concerned much about it since I put less than a mm of it on the top very carefully with nothing on the pins and it works.

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[macgyver007]

As for the blob..all it shows is that the heatsink was poorly machined and/or applied improperly IMO

Since you like your AS5 so much why don't you take the inner heatsinks off and slather that on see how far your get....see the big shiny....ohhh I said too much

Actually, I did, in opposite to your "theoretical" rhetoric.
Cleaned the BMT blob, applied a thin layer of AS5, everything is fine, but speeds did not change at 18hr post-application, temperatures dropped 1-2oC
I am a patient man, but your are exceeding my limits. It is a first indication of a weaker mind to engage in name calling.
You are free to use whatever, I used AS5 and it is fine. Probably would not be fine if I put a pile of it there.

The "BMT blob" is a big step forward compared to the previous grease applications...but that machine needs to be tuned a bit better...spits out squares of 9 dots or a shitload for the inside area
What you would see is a decrease in hardware errors..not necessarily a drop in temp..in fact its not uncommon for the temperature to even go up a degree or 2 depending how poorly the contact is in the first place..or how much air is between the contact surface and chips in this case

I have been working with processors and electronics for over 20 years do what you like but don't tell people to follow you blindly....for your information you can use PENATEN CREAM which you can buy in any drug store/pharmacy/chemist for babies asses as a thermal compound as well...doesn't make it a good idea  but guess what it works and much cheaper than silver

[9600]

To all of those who have worked the front heatsink and paste. How tight did you go when re-attaching? I normally wouldn't be paranoid about things like this but it seems like they weren't that tight from the factory at all. Certainly don't want to crush any SMCs.

Tighten until resistance?

There is WAY too much BAD information in this thread...from overclocking to advice...WOW

STEP 1: VERY IMPORTANT!!!

Update the firmware IMMEDIATELY, and do not tick the box to save settings....you will have to wait a few minutes...lets say 3 minutes TO BE SAFE..DO NOT POWER CYCLE THE UNIT WHEN UPGRADING...then re-enter all your pool info...if this is too hard to do, then shut your machine off and call it a day...

I have done the front and back heatsinks....the front is not really what needs the proper surface contact as much as the back...hate to break the news but after reading through this thread I cant stop cringing...and don't know where to start...so here we go... since you only are concerned about the tiny little heatsinks which clearly are not as important as the MASSIVE ones in the middle of the unit    


DO NOT USE ARCTIC SILVER 5 IT IS CAPACITIVE..OR ANYTHING WITH SILVER IN IT.... STOP THIS NOW and if you have done this....get cleaning using a proper electronics alcohol FFS  

Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

some good grease to use is GC Extreme but a little thick for large application...GC Supreme works much better for that....

as for attachment of the semi-useless heatsink...do all 4 starting with the outside ones first then the inner 2, then tighten them 2 off kind of like when you change a car tire..if you don't know what I mean then I suggest learning how to change a tire properly for starters..bolts make all the difference but I digress  

As for clocking/stable running units...I am working on the how and why...so far I have seen every unit behave differently and hate to say it but the grease did not help the hashrate drop AT ALL

BITMAIN really needs to fix the firmware on these units...at least make a universal interface...this one is a hack of S1/S2 but missing all the basics like not having the page timeout, the option to have password saved in browser for starters
More important, there is a bug in firmware which shows inaccurate stats, for example when power cycle the unit, it shows uptime of 8 hours and the unit showing 1 minute, resulting in WRONG average hashrate for many hours

I've been poking about the front-side HS for a minute simply because BMT emailed me instructing me to do so. I believe they've emailed a few other users giving instructions to do the same. Regardless of other's experiences, my front-side HS went from cold to the touch (ineffective) to very warm after the cleaning.  

I HIGHLY doubt it has anything to do with the paste and most to do with the fact that the heatsinks were not tightened down at all in the first place. You can talk bout spring tensioners all you want, but with how roughly those HS blocks were made, 3/4 of my springs were caught on aluminum burrs.

[aztecminer]

since you only are concerned about the tiny little heatsinks which clearly are not as important as the MASSIVE ones in the middle of the unit    

you removed the inner heat sinks ?? how much time and effort did this take ??

[squashpile]

Missed my UPS guy and he didn't leave them. Called in and I'm going to try and pick them up from the UPS office this evening. The one time this dude comes before 6PM.

[macgyver007]

since you only are concerned about the tiny little heatsinks which clearly are not as important as the MASSIVE ones in the middle of the unit    

you removed the inner heat sinks ?? how much time and effort did this take ??

Yes first thing I did was disassemble 1 of the units to see what I was working with...I didn't time it but if you have done an S1 it takes less time than that as for effort not much at all but I will time the next 2 and see how long..you will need a substantial amount of grease if you clean and reapply the inner side..I have 4 more arriving tomorrow....was it worth it...to me yes...I like my hot components to be cooled properly...its easier to take that apart than to realign the outer heatsink just take your time and be careful... I used GC Supreme for the inside and GC extreme on the outer smaller heatsink side only because I still have some left...you will see a huge area that needs grease and most likely a lot of shiny metal which u should  NOT see...ooooops....

What I found was a lot of the screw heads were stripped so be careful to use the right size Philips screwdriver..some of them need a good twist to loosen

[1Neptune]

Quick question.   My Antminer on any clock setting seems to run at the expected hashrate for a few hours until eventually dropping off a few hours later.   The stock clock drops down to 410 gh/s after a little white and then the overclock speeds drop even further.   I do have 4 power connectors attached.   Any suggestions?

Make sure you've got the latest firmware. Mine went from 410 to 441 after updating. I've also found that they operate better with two, not four, pci-e connectors and using the connectors at the front (towards the network connection port).

how long did you check this for (2 instead of 4 connectors)?

The one running 503-510 GH/s has been running stable w/2 pci-e connections since July 24.
The one running 441-442 GH/s has been running stable w/2 pci-e connections since July 26.

[sveetsnelda]

This means I got fucked by chinese customs as well??  Should I expect 1 WEEK delay now?


   07/31/2014   12:42 PM   Your package is at the clearing agency awaiting final release.
Shenzhen,China    07/31/2014   07:12 PM   Departure Scan
   07/31/2014   05:37 PM   Export Scan
   07/31/2014   01:00 AM   Arrival Scan
   07/31/2014   12:45 AM   Departure Scan
Shenzhen,China    07/30/2014   11:21 PM   Origin Scan
   07/30/2014   07:27 PM   Pickup Scan
China    07/30/2014   02:44 AM   Order Processed: Ready for UPS

I'm still waiting on my batch 1 miners.  I've got 20 of them stuck in China customs since the 16th.  They say they keep trying to contact Bitmain.  I sent a message to Bitmain almost a week ago.  No response.

[denniscdunbar]

since you only are concerned about the tiny little heatsinks which clearly are not as important as the MASSIVE ones in the middle of the unit    

you removed the inner heat sinks ?? how much time and effort did this take ??

Yes first thing I did was disassemble 1 of the units to see what I was working with...I didn't time it but if you have done an S1 it takes less time than that as for effort not much at all but I will time the next 2 and see how long..you will need a substantial amount of grease if you clean and reapply the inner side..I have 4 more arriving tomorrow....was it worth it...to me yes...I like my hot components to be cooled properly...its easier to take that apart than to realign the outer heatsink just take your time and be careful... I used GC Supreme for the inside and GC extreme on the outer smaller heatsink side only because I still have some left...you will see a huge area that needs grease and most likely a lot of shiny metal which u should  NOT see...ooooops....

What I found was a lot of the screw heads were stripped so be careful to use the right size Philips screwdriver..some of them need a good twist to loosen

Do you have photos of the inner heatsink?  I was able to reapply the outer heatsinks with new thermal paste (both done s3 miners from a single 4gm tube).  How much thermal paste did you use on each s3 on the inner heatsink?


BTCBTC
DoubleDD

[Stale]

Early batch 4 order just received via DHL, both are up and running on the latest firmware and so far appear good. 

[Biodom]

Quick question.   My Antminer on any clock setting seems to run at the expected hashrate for a few hours until eventually dropping off a few hours later.   The stock clock drops down to 410 gh/s after a little white and then the overclock speeds drop even further.   I do have 4 power connectors attached.   Any suggestions?

Make sure you've got the latest firmware. Mine went from 410 to 441 after updating. I've also found that they operate better with two, not four, pci-e connectors and using the connectors at the front (towards the network connection port).

how long did you check this for (2 instead of 4 connectors)?

The one running 503-510 GH/s has been running stable w/2 pci-e connections since July 24.
The one running 441-442 GH/s has been running stable w/2 pci-e connections since July 26.

Thanks, but did you run the same miners with 4 connectors before? If yes-what were the numbers then?

[macgyver007]

since you only are concerned about the tiny little heatsinks which clearly are not as important as the MASSIVE ones in the middle of the unit    

you removed the inner heat sinks ?? how much time and effort did this take ??

Yes first thing I did was disassemble 1 of the units to see what I was working with...I didn't time it but if you have done an S1 it takes less time than that as for effort not much at all but I will time the next 2 and see how long..you will need a substantial amount of grease if you clean and reapply the inner side..I have 4 more arriving tomorrow....was it worth it...to me yes...I like my hot components to be cooled properly...its easier to take that apart than to realign the outer heatsink just take your time and be careful... I used GC Supreme for the inside and GC extreme on the outer smaller heatsink side only because I still have some left...you will see a huge area that needs grease and most likely a lot of shiny metal which u should  NOT see...ooooops....

What I found was a lot of the screw heads were stripped so be careful to use the right size Philips screwdriver..some of them need a good twist to loosen

Do you have photos of the inner heatsink?  I was able to reapply the outer heatsinks with new thermal paste (both done s3 miners from a single 4gm tube).  How much thermal paste did you use on each s3 on the inner heatsink?


BTCBTC
DoubleDD

It is the same heatsink from an S1 just with better machining   I didn't measure how much paste or how long it took as it was done as more of a mission but now I will make a point to note of it...what caught my eye the most was the way it was supposed to spread (top corners) and how it didn't spread (shiny metal)   so now maybe you have a better idea as to why your machine may not be working properly...or a start to why...hope this helps 

[heslo]

The option to edit my B5 order just disappeared, so I'm guessing I'll be getting an update soon!

Same here! Seems I too am very close to being shipped! Excited to say the least. After the last cluster fuck of an order for mining equipment from Black Arrow this has been a pleasant experience

[1Neptune]

Quick question.   My Antminer on any clock setting seems to run at the expected hashrate for a few hours until eventually dropping off a few hours later.   The stock clock drops down to 410 gh/s after a little white and then the overclock speeds drop even further.   I do have 4 power connectors attached.   Any suggestions?

Make sure you've got the latest firmware. Mine went from 410 to 441 after updating. I've also found that they operate better with two, not four, pci-e connectors and using the connectors at the front (towards the network connection port).

how long did you check this for (2 instead of 4 connectors)?

The one running 503-510 GH/s has been running stable w/2 pci-e connections since July 24.
The one running 441-442 GH/s has been running stable w/2 pci-e connections since July 26.

Thanks, but did you run the same miners with 4 connectors before? If yes-what were the numbers then?

Yes, of course, for proper testing. However it didn't take long to see both were running worse with all 4 pci-e connections than with two. I ran both for 3 hours before deciding what I was seeing was not going to improve. Time = money, so I returned both units to using 2 pci-e connections and have been seeing the rates noted above with very little variation.

[pumaro]

since you only are concerned about the tiny little heatsinks which clearly are not as important as the MASSIVE ones in the middle of the unit    

you removed the inner heat sinks ?? how much time and effort did this take ??

Yes first thing I did was disassemble 1 of the units to see what I was working with...I didn't time it but if you have done an S1 it takes less time than that as for effort not much at all but I will time the next 2 and see how long..you will need a substantial amount of grease if you clean and reapply the inner side..I have 4 more arriving tomorrow....was it worth it...to me yes...I like my hot components to be cooled properly...its easier to take that apart than to realign the outer heatsink just take your time and be careful... I used GC Supreme for the inside and GC extreme on the outer smaller heatsink side only because I still have some left...you will see a huge area that needs grease and most likely a lot of shiny metal which u should  NOT see...ooooops....

What I found was a lot of the screw heads were stripped so be careful to use the right size Philips screwdriver..some of them need a good twist to loosen

Do you have photos of the inner heatsink?  I was able to reapply the outer heatsinks with new thermal paste (both done s3 miners from a single 4gm tube).  How much thermal paste did you use on each s3 on the inner heatsink?


BTCBTC
DoubleDD

It is the same heatsink from an S1 just with better machining   I didn't measure how much paste or how long it took as it was done as more of a mission but now I will make a point to note of it...what caught my eye the most was the way it was supposed to spread (top corners) and how it didn't spread (shiny metal)   so now maybe you have a better idea as to why your machine may not be working properly...or a start to why...hope this helps 

Any chance you can make a video of this procedure?

[montyfd]

since you only are concerned about the tiny little heatsinks which clearly are not as important as the MASSIVE ones in the middle of the unit    

you removed the inner heat sinks ?? how much time and effort did this take ??

Yes first thing I did was disassemble 1 of the units to see what I was working with...I didn't time it but if you have done an S1 it takes less time than that as for effort not much at all but I will time the next 2 and see how long..you will need a substantial amount of grease if you clean and reapply the inner side..I have 4 more arriving tomorrow....was it worth it...to me yes...I like my hot components to be cooled properly...its easier to take that apart than to realign the outer heatsink just take your time and be careful... I used GC Supreme for the inside and GC extreme on the outer smaller heatsink side only because I still have some left...you will see a huge area that needs grease and most likely a lot of shiny metal which u should  NOT see...ooooops....

What I found was a lot of the screw heads were stripped so be careful to use the right size Philips screwdriver..some of them need a good twist to loosen

Do you have photos of the inner heatsink?  I was able to reapply the outer heatsinks with new thermal paste (both done s3 miners from a single 4gm tube).  How much thermal paste did you use on each s3 on the inner heatsink?


BTCBTC
DoubleDD

It is the same heatsink from an S1 just with better machining   I didn't measure how much paste or how long it took as it was done as more of a mission but now I will make a point to note of it...what caught my eye the most was the way it was supposed to spread (top corners) and how it didn't spread (shiny metal)   so now maybe you have a better idea as to why your machine may not be working properly...or a start to why...hope this helps 

Did your perfromance actually improve after this?

[aztecminer]

since you only are concerned about the tiny little heatsinks which clearly are not as important as the MASSIVE ones in the middle of the unit    

you removed the inner heat sinks ?? how much time and effort did this take ??

Yes first thing I did was disassemble 1 of the units to see what I was working with...I didn't time it but if you have done an S1 it takes less time than that as for effort not much at all but I will time the next 2 and see how long..you will need a substantial amount of grease if you clean and reapply the inner side..I have 4 more arriving tomorrow....was it worth it...to me yes...I like my hot components to be cooled properly...its easier to take that apart than to realign the outer heatsink just take your time and be careful... I used GC Supreme for the inside and GC extreme on the outer smaller heatsink side only because I still have some left...you will see a huge area that needs grease and most likely a lot of shiny metal which u should  NOT see...ooooops....

What I found was a lot of the screw heads were stripped so be careful to use the right size Philips screwdriver..some of them need a good twist to loosen

hmm this sounds like good work. was there excessive thermal paste on the inner side touching pins of the chips ??
i had notice with 2 out of my 8 S1's had grease leaking out from under the heat sinks and both of these two S1's were unable to be oc'ed ..
i did not bother to pull them apart because i didnt want to take the time from hashing ..
however I will look at them when i bring them down and exchange them out for S3's ..
i agree with you regarding keeping components well cooled ..
my S3's arrive soon and i might have a look, i might have to order more thermal paste though .

[R4v37]

Missed my UPS guy and he didn't leave them. Called in and I'm going to try and pick them up from the UPS office this evening. The one time this dude comes before 6PM.

if ur packages arrived at the warehouse, go call the UPS, and ask them if you can pick it up by urself now
u'll always ended up dissapointed if u want to wait them to deliver it
trust me, just pick it up urself, then mine immediately

[dance191]

To all of those who have worked the front heatsink and paste. How tight did you go when re-attaching? I normally wouldn't be paranoid about things like this but it seems like they weren't that tight from the factory at all. Certainly don't want to crush any SMCs.

Tighten until resistance?

DO NOT USE ARCTIC SILVER 5 IT CONDUCTS ELECTRICITY ..OR ANYTHING WITH SILVER IN IT.... STOP THIS NOW and if you have done this....get cleaning using a proper electronics alcohol FFS  

No, it does NOT. Please stop posting potentially wrong info with so much emphasis.
From the product sheet:

Hey Biodom, it is capacitive.  Your should not use anything silver based near electricity.  The arctic silver site even says as much in a warning. 

Again, don't use a conductive or *capacitive* paste on these chips.  There is no way you will keep them off all of the pins and it will come in contact with electricity.  Again, even the manufacture says to not use it where it may come in contact with electricity.

I am sure AS is great for a large processor with pins on the opposite side of the chip.  However, that is not this situation.

[squashpile]

Man I tried.. They said driver would not be back until 7:15. They close @ 7PM. lol. I told them to hold it and I'll just pick up there tomorrow.
I hate when this happens. At least it's in town and not stuck in a shipping fiasco like some.

Missed my UPS guy and he didn't leave them. Called in and I'm going to try and pick them up from the UPS office this evening. The one time this dude comes before 6PM.

if ur packages arrived at the warehouse, go call the UPS, and ask them if you can pick it up by urself now
u'll always ended up dissapointed if u want to wait them to deliver it
trust me, just pick it up urself, then mine immediately