ANTMINER S3+ Discussion and Support Thread

[jowaybea]

What discount? And why would Bitmain charge less for blades use in an S1 upgrade vs an S3 purchase?

Maybe the cost of frame, controller, and shipping weight/volume is not negligable?

[allcoinminer]

Bitmain,

Could you let us know about the upgrade kits for S1s and S2s? When will these be available? I'd like to upgrade all of my S1s. Also, will the DC/DC component be fixed in these?

Why bother? What cost savings are you expecting to realize from reusing an aluminum frame and maybe the controller? $40?

The benefit is not only coming from the $40 but the discount for upgrading blades.

What discount? And why would Bitmain charge less for blades use in an S1 upgrade vs an S3 purchase?

Because BitMainTech is a company doing "BUSINESS".

[suchmoon]

What discount? And why would Bitmain charge less for blades use in an S1 upgrade vs an S3 purchase?

Maybe the cost of frame, controller, and shipping weight/volume is not negligable?

We're probably unlikely to see upgrade options as long as S3 is selling as fast as it is. They even increased the price. Once it starts to slow down we will probably get all sorts of incentives, upgrades, coupons etc.

[networkgeek24]

Anyone here good at linux and cgminer / cpus want to talk about the MIPS 24Kc controller and the heavy load it is under?

I think this has already been discussed at length. Previous posters showed that lowering the queue size in cgminer config to 1 significantly lowered the load.

[Phosphorous]

What discount? And why would Bitmain charge less for blades use in an S1 upgrade vs an S3 purchase?

Maybe the cost of frame, controller, and shipping weight/volume is not negligable?

As mentioned previously in this thread (although not quoted), those compose of perhaps 10% of the price, or approximately $40. Why wait around or hang your hopes on getting an upgrade kit to save $40? Not to mention an old S1 is worth about $150 or so on the open market, and you lose the ability to sell it if you upgrade.

[Moria843]

What discount? And why would Bitmain charge less for blades use in an S1 upgrade vs an S3 purchase?

Maybe the cost of frame, controller, and shipping weight/volume is not negligable?

As mentioned previously in this thread (although not quoted), those compose of perhaps 10% of the price, or approximately $40. Why wait around or hang your hopes on getting an upgrade kit to save $40? Not to mention an old S1 is worth about $150 or so on the open market, and you lose the ability to sell it if you upgrade.

Yea, but since my S1s are all paid off and still making money, why be in a hurry to sell? It's like keeping a car for 20 years until you drive it to the junk yard - sometimes it's more cost effective than trading them in every few years. Plus, all the S1 guys can wait for you S3 pioneers to work out all the bugs.

[Biodom]

What discount? And why would Bitmain charge less for blades use in an S1 upgrade vs an S3 purchase?

Maybe the cost of frame, controller, and shipping weight/volume is not negligable?

As mentioned previously in this thread (although not quoted), those compose of perhaps 10% of the price, or approximately $40. Why wait around or hang your hopes on getting an upgrade kit to save $40? Not to mention an old S1 is worth about $150 or so on the open market, and you lose the ability to sell it if you upgrade.

Yea, but since my S1s are all paid off and still making money, why be in a hurry to sell? It's like keeping a car for 20 years until you drive it to the junk yard - sometimes it's more cost effective than trading them in every few years. Plus, all the S1 guys can wait for you S3 pioneers to work out all the bugs.

S1 uses 2-2.5 times more energy than S3 for the same hash plus pricing was good a few weeks back. I am limited to <3kw extra during summer, so it was a no-brainer.
I loved the little fellas, but they just had to go.

[Collider]

I think there is a strong argument (atleast at the moment) to make for early S3 adoption: profitability.

So far every earlier batch was more profitable than the later one.

This is due to bitmain having a certain production cost of miners and shipping expenses, and they obviously want some profit on top of that too.

They therefore cannot lower their price indefinately, and the price is also lowered slower than mining with the unit makes you profit.

[tempestb]

Does anyone happen to know what the wattage usage is of the S3 at each frequency?  I'd like to put together a web form that takes the current Bitcoin price and the price you pay for electricity and then figures out what frequency would be best in terms of efficiency.  I could hook the units up to a watt meter and figure this out myself, but was curious if anyone had already done it and can save me the trouble?  (Or if there is a defined ratio, I could use that as well I guess.)

I'll make the site public and then potentially add other miners to it if they offer the same ability to change wattage/frequency and I have access to the numbers.   Maybe I'll call it Intelihash.   Haha...

[MoreBloodWine]

FINALLY got shipping info on one of my orders, hopefully the other follows suit sometime tonight.

[jowaybea]

As mentioned previously in this thread (although not quoted), those compose of perhaps 10% of the price, or approximately $40. Why wait around or hang your hopes on getting an upgrade kit to save $40? Not to mention an old S1 is worth about $150 or so on the open market, and you lose the ability to sell it if you upgrade.

That's your estimate.  But why do you think that?  Shipping alone must be non-negligible, as Bitmain ships super-fast from China.  4xS3 Blades, could easily fit in a single S3 sized box and weigh considerably less.

Regardless, the real evidence is, Bitmain keeps saying they are going to do it.  What reason could they possibly have to tell potential customers that an upgrade is coming if it is not economical for them to do so.  Surely they don't want to prevent people from ordering entire S3's if they aren't planning to sell the upgrade.  Because it is very obvious that some people who would otherwise purchase S3's are waiting for upgrade kits.

[masonbtc]

In stock mode with the ASICs at 218.75, how much power does an S3 pull?  The OP says 366 watts, while dogie's guide says 340.  If it's 340 I should be able to run 4 S3's off of one regular 120v circuit right?  340x4 = 1360 watts.  That's about 75% utilization of power...  Should be within the safe zone..

[jpchrist]

Does anyone happen to know what the wattage usage is of the S3 at each frequency?  I'd like to put together a web form that takes the current Bitcoin price and the price you pay for electricity and then figures out what frequency would be best in terms of efficiency.  I could hook the units up to a watt meter and figure this out myself, but was curious if anyone had already done it and can save me the trouble?  (Or if there is a defined ratio, I could use that as well I guess.)

I'll make the site public and then potentially add other miners to it if they offer the same ability to change wattage/frequency and I have access to the numbers.   Maybe I'll call it Intelihash.   Haha...

My results on a corsair HX750 Psu (gold rated)

218 = ~350W
225 = ~363 W
237.5 = ~388 W
250 = ~410 W

[Collider]

In stock mode with the ASICs at 218.75, how much power does an S3 pull?  The OP says 366 watts, while dogie's guide says 340.  If it's 340 I should be able to run 4 S3's off of one regular 120v circuit right?  340x4 = 1360 watts.  That's about 75% utilization of power...  Should be within the safe zone..

Yes you can.

Most ppl put the safe zone for a continous load at 80% anyway.

It is more of a guideline than a solid limit, you should be fine.

[jowaybea]

Does anyone happen to know what the wattage usage is of the S3 at each frequency?  I'd like to put together a web form that takes the current Bitcoin price and the price you pay for electricity and then figures out what frequency would be best in terms of efficiency.  I could hook the units up to a watt meter and figure this out myself, but was curious if anyone had already done it and can save me the trouble?  (Or if there is a defined ratio, I could use that as well I guess.)

I'll make the site public and then potentially add other miners to it if they offer the same ability to change wattage/frequency and I have access to the numbers.   Maybe I'll call it Intelihash.   Haha...

While I applaud your idea, and willingness to share with the community, you still have more to consider.

The problem is, there are other variables.  PSU quality/80Plus rating, 120v vs 240v, even the quality of power from your power company has some effect on the # of watts at the wall.  Not to mention, these S3's tend to vary all over the +/-5% manufacturer's acceptable tolerance range.  Much more so than the old S1's anyway.

But here, I'll share what I have.  2xB1 S3's clocked at 225mhz averaging 455GH each on a single EVGA 1300G2 (80Plus Gold) pulled about 720W from the wall.  Right in line with what most people are reporting for 225mhz on gold rated PSU's.

[tempestb]

My results on a corsair HX750 Psu (gold rated)

218 = ~350W
225 = ~363 W
237.5 = ~388 W
250 = ~410 W

Thanks JP, that's a good start!

[tempestb]

While I applaud your idea, and willingness to share with the community, you still have more to consider.

The problem is, there are other variables.  PSU quality/80Plus rating, 120v vs 240v, even the quality of power from your power company has some effect on the # of watts at the wall.  Not to mention, these S3's tend to vary all over the +/-5% manufacturer's acceptable tolerance range.  Much more so than the old S1's anyway.

But here, I'll share what I have.  2xB1 S3's clocked at 225mhz averaging 455GH each on a single EVGA 1300G2 (80Plus Gold) pulled about 720W from the wall.  Right in line with what most people are reporting for 225mhz on gold rated PSU's.

Thanks, I think what I'll do is put up a default for the device but allow you to change the wattage for each frequency if you want to spend the time to figure out what each of them are for your device/psu.  It's the same as going to one of those profit charts where you can preselect a miner and see what it might earn.  Obviously an Antminer S1 at 180gh isn't common, it'll be 176gh or overlocked to 200gh, etc.  So providing the same kind of flexibility to enable you to change it would be ideal. 

At the same time, if you run a lot of these units together and want to just assume a base average among them, having some idea if downclocking would result in more profit would be handy.   I'm writing it for myself but will make it available to all.  Then just improve it where good suggestions like yours come in and make sense.

Thanks again.

[allcoinminer]

In stock mode with the ASICs at 218.75, how much power does an S3 pull?  The OP says 366 watts, while dogie's guide says 340.  If it's 340 I should be able to run 4 S3's off of one regular 120v circuit right?  340x4 = 1360 watts.  That's about 75% utilization of power...  Should be within the safe zone..

On a 120V Grid Supply, you can run as much S3 as your money can buy.
What matters is the available Ampere to your house or farm.
For 120V the PSU efficiency is lower than 230V.
Multiply your 120V with the maximum available amps which allow through your breaker.
Make up your S3 power consumption to 125% and divide it from your above figure.
The number you got now is the maximum no of S3s you can run maximum or that's the maximum load you can have through that beaker.
For example if your house have 100A/120V and through a 20A breaker,
20A*120V=2400W
340W*125%=425W
2400/425=5.6 = 5 S3.

[9600]

Quick question, in the cgminer stats, there are a few different difficulty values. Diff, Diff1#, DiffA#, and DiffR#. I think I've got them all figured except for DiffR#, suggestions?

[networkgeek24]

Does anyone happen to know what the wattage usage is of the S3 at each frequency?  I'd like to put together a web form that takes the current Bitcoin price and the price you pay for electricity and then figures out what frequency would be best in terms of efficiency.  I could hook the units up to a watt meter and figure this out myself, but was curious if anyone had already done it and can save me the trouble?  (Or if there is a defined ratio, I could use that as well I guess.)

I'll make the site public and then potentially add other miners to it if they offer the same ability to change wattage/frequency and I have access to the numbers.   Maybe I'll call it Intelihash.   Haha...

My results on a corsair HX750 Psu (gold rated)

218 = ~350W
225 = ~363 W
237.5 = ~388 W
250 = ~410 W

I run 4 off of each LEPA 1600W power supplies. My meter shows ~1345 for each of my quad setups. I'm running at stock clocks so that comes out to about 336w per S3.