ANTMINER S3+ Discussion and Support Thread

[ftoole]

The timing is very sad if this is how it played out.  Would have been different if people had the s3+ machines for the last 60 days and then the new s4 got announced. 

What would you suggest they should have done? People were asking for S4 since June. How would it have been different if S4 was announced after 60 days or whatever, if people paid for S3+ without paying attention to the timelines and the risks?

Besides until we learn the price and specs it's all speculation anyway. S1 and S2 sold by side and I bought both and did very well with both. I bought S3 but not S3+ because math didn't make sense. Let's see the S4 and let's buy ONLY if it makes sense.

it is already clear where S4 has to be to be competitive. If shipping Oct 1, then minimally ~1.8-2TH, 1100W, hopefully 2.1-2.4 TH and 1300W PSU. Price-$1500-1550 (if 1.8-2th) and $1750 if 2.1TH. If shipping postponed to Oct 31 and 2.1-2.4 Th, then price should be ~$1500-1550. ~1.8Th on Oct 31 will have to cost no more than $1250-1275.

You know you can get 5 s3+ for 1450 based on 500 per btc. which is 2.2 th based on 453gh each and 1775 watts. so pay extra for less power but about 475-675 watts less in power consumption sure. Throw that money away.

[ftoole]

I am fairly new to Bitcoin and have only been mining for a couple of months. Anyways, I bought 2 S3's last month from Bitmain directly and set them both up just fine. Then after a week one of them stopped working. Here are the symptoms:

The machine turns on and the fan instantly spins up VERY fast and remains spinning loudly. I can access the machine and it is getting work from my pools. However, the pools show no submitted shares and and the miner shows a speed of 0.00 GH/s.

Does anyone have a solution?

Did you flash it with the latest Firm ware? If so check the adv tab of miner configuration make sure a freq is set.
Have you tried a second pool?
Do you have backup pools listed? (I noticed on my batch 3s some times they didn't recover properly if i didn't have all 3 pools filled in.

[allcoinminer]

I ironically had to actually REDUCE the clock speed of my S3 to get it to run stable at 455gh/s at the default it was going nuts all over ~380 - ~420gh/s but since reducing the clock to 412.5 it's held 450-455gh/s solidly for several days now

That's wonderful. I will give it a try. In which batch your S3 belongs to.

Seems like true for my device too. Let's see how long it will last.

It last only for a short time. Power consumption also fluctuating along with hashrate in a more wider range.

[Kev93]

I am fairly new to Bitcoin and have only been mining for a couple of months. Anyways, I bought 2 S3's last month from Bitmain directly and set them both up just fine. Then after a week one of them stopped working. Here are the symptoms:

The machine turns on and the fan instantly spins up VERY fast and remains spinning loudly. I can access the machine and it is getting work from my pools. However, the pools show no submitted shares and and the miner shows a speed of 0.00 GH/s.

Does anyone have a solution?

Did you flash it with the latest Firm ware? If so check the adv tab of miner configuration make sure a freq is set.
Have you tried a second pool?
Do you have backup pools listed? (I noticed on my batch 3s some times they didn't recover properly if i didn't have all 3 pools filled in.

I did not flash with latest firmware and I have tried 3 different pools and had all 3 of my pools filled in correctly. It was working for a while.

[Rabinovitch]

PCIe connectors are supposed to be keyed to fit one way...unless, of course, it's forced in.

Well, I could easyly plug them in upside down and burn out S2's stock PSU. It's being repaired now. I never thought that this is possible to do with PCI-E connectors. 

[visdude]

PCIe connectors are supposed to be keyed to fit one way...unless, of course, it's forced in.

Well, I could easyly plug them in upside down and burn out S2's stock PSU. It's being repaired now. I never thought that this is possible to do with PCI-E connectors. 

Sorry to hear that.  It's really easy to force them in as the keys are nothing more than subtle variations on the shape of otherwise square pinout sockets and are the same malleable plastic material as the entire housing.  That's why I always make sure to line up the locking tabs as they are the only visible indicator of proper orientation.

[eoakland]

I have purchased a new S3 and Corsair CX600 psu.  I set everything up and when I connected the PCI-E connectors to the S3 the psu quit working.
I was able to reset it and tested it and it ran o.k. but as soon as I connected it to the S3 it stopped again. I do not get any lights on the miner.
I am unable to connect to to the web setup presumably because the S3 is not getting any power.  I will appreciate any help/suggestions.  Thanks.

unplug it.  i don't think the corsair 600 is enough PSU to run the s3.  it may run for a bit, but eventually it will crobar it.  get at minimum a corsair 850tx to run it correctly. 

[xandriel]

It should be good enough for 500w, enough for an S3 but you may need to add a 5v load to get full efficiency. A 4r7 ohm 10w resistor across the 5v lines may well solve your problems

[eoakland]

I am fairly new to Bitcoin and have only been mining for a couple of months. Anyways, I bought 2 S3's last month from Bitmain directly and set them both up just fine. Then after a week one of them stopped working. Here are the symptoms:

The machine turns on and the fan instantly spins up VERY fast and remains spinning loudly. I can access the machine and it is getting work from my pools. However, the pools show no submitted shares and and the miner shows a speed of 0.00 GH/s.

Does anyone have a solution?

Did you flash it with the latest Firm ware? If so check the adv tab of miner configuration make sure a freq is set.
Have you tried a second pool?
Do you have backup pools listed? (I noticed on my batch 3s some times they didn't recover properly if i didn't have all 3 pools filled in.

I did not flash with latest firmware and I have tried 3 different pools and had all 3 of my pools filled in correctly. It was working for a while.

Kev93, try this....

1.  factory reset it.
2.  roll it back to July's firmware
3.  ssh into your device  and select the frequency you want to use.  218  is the stock frequency

try that....and report back

[ANJULE]

Can these really make any profit to anyone (except those with free electricity)?
Even more so: Can any asic make any profit to the common man? Since they have been used by manufacturer/reseller to "test" (mined for months), before shipping.
And thus driving the difficulty to the moon, which will drive the hardware more or less useless...
Any opinions about this?

[visdude]

I have purchased a new S3 and Corsair CX600 psu.  I set everything up and when I connected the PCI-E connectors to the S3 the psu quit working.
I was able to reset it and tested it and it ran o.k. but as soon as I connected it to the S3 it stopped again. I do not get any lights on the miner.
I am unable to connect to to the web setup presumably because the S3 is not getting any power.  I will appreciate any help/suggestions.  Thanks.

unplug it.  i don't think the corsair 600 is enough PSU to run the s3.  it may run for a bit, but eventually it will crobar it.  get at minimum a corsair 850tx to run it correctly.  

Can you please explain how the Corsair CX600 is not enough for an S3 when a CX500 has no problem handling an overclocked one?

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

[visdude]

It should be good enough for 500w, enough for an S3 but you may need to add a 5v load to get full efficiency. A 4r7 ohm 10w resistor across the 5v lines may well solve your problems

This is not necessary.  A simple jumper/bridge (paperclip or whatever) will do just fine.

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

[aurel57]

I ironically had to actually REDUCE the clock speed of my S3 to get it to run stable at 455gh/s at the default it was going nuts all over ~380 - ~420gh/s but since reducing the clock to 412.5 it's held 450-455gh/s solidly for several days now

which batch was it from?

[eoakland]

I have purchased a new S3 and Corsair CX600 psu.  I set everything up and when I connected the PCI-E connectors to the S3 the psu quit working.
I was able to reset it and tested it and it ran o.k. but as soon as I connected it to the S3 it stopped again. I do not get any lights on the miner.
I am unable to connect to to the web setup presumably because the S3 is not getting any power.  I will appreciate any help/suggestions.  Thanks.

unplug it.  i don't think the corsair 600 is enough PSU to run the s3.  it may run for a bit, but eventually it will crobar it.  get at minimum a corsair 850tx to run it correctly.  

Can you please explain how the Corsair CX600 is not enough for an S3 when a CX500 has no problem handling an overclocked one?

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

in my experience, 1 instance, which i just experienced....i had this same issue a few days ago.  initially i had my s3 running on a corsair 600.  the red light came on, and it would not hash anymore.  i experienced similar issues to Kev93.  i moved it to an antec 1300 and it started working (eventually it that had issues too...total fluke with the 1300). that's what led me to make that statement.  if OP is OC his s3 he is pushing 400 watts on a 600 that may eventually crobar it.

[visdude]

I have purchased a new S3 and Corsair CX600 psu.  I set everything up and when I connected the PCI-E connectors to the S3 the psu quit working.
I was able to reset it and tested it and it ran o.k. but as soon as I connected it to the S3 it stopped again. I do not get any lights on the miner.
I am unable to connect to to the web setup presumably because the S3 is not getting any power.  I will appreciate any help/suggestions.  Thanks.

unplug it.  i don't think the corsair 600 is enough PSU to run the s3.  it may run for a bit, but eventually it will crobar it.  get at minimum a corsair 850tx to run it correctly.  

Can you please explain how the Corsair CX600 is not enough for an S3 when a CX500 has no problem handling an overclocked one?

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

in my experience, 1 instance, which i just experienced....i had this same issue a few days ago.  initially i had my s3 running on a corsair 600.  the red light came on, and it would not hash anymore.  i experienced similar issues to Kev93.  i moved it to an antec 1300 and it started working (eventually it that had issues too...total fluke with the 1300). that's what led me to make that statement.  if OP is OC his s3 he is pushing 400 watts on a 600 that may eventually crobar it.

Your S3 unit exhibiting similar symptoms with two different and very capable PSUs (600W & 1300W) is not likely a PSU issue.  It's more like a connectivity/networking issue (red LED on) or perhaps, the unit itself is defective.

With a CX500, each of my S3s which are overclocked to 243.75M (491 GH/s) pulls 413WAC at the wall at 29C ambient room temperature.  At 85% efficiency (80 Plus Bronze), the S3 requires 351WDC from the CX500.  The CX500 has a maximum of 456WDC (38A) on it's single +12V rail.  Therefore, the S3 is only exerting a 77% load on the CX500's +12V rail which is very acceptable and still provides a lot of headroom.

The CX600 (similar efficiency as the CX500) has a maximum of 552WDC (46A) on its single +12V rail.  Therefore, the S3 would exert an even lower load on the CX600 at 64%.

I'm not sure what you meant by "crobar it" but if the CX500 is able to run an overclocked S3, it follows that the CX600 is even more capable of doing so and the numbers support that.

[R4v37]

The timing is very sad if this is how it played out.  Would have been different if people had the s3+ machines for the last 60 days and then the new s4 got announced. 

What would you suggest they should have done? People were asking for S4 since June. How would it have been different if S4 was announced after 60 days or whatever, if people paid for S3+ without paying attention to the timelines and the risks?

Besides until we learn the price and specs it's all speculation anyway. S1 and S2 sold by side and I bought both and did very well with both. I bought S3 but not S3+ because math didn't make sense. Let's see the S4 and let's buy ONLY if it makes sense.

it is already clear where S4 has to be to be competitive. If shipping Oct 1, then minimally ~1.8-2TH, 1100W, hopefully 2.1-2.4 TH and 1300W PSU. Price-$1500-1550 (if 1.8-2th) and $1750 if 2.1TH. If shipping postponed to Oct 31 and 2.1-2.4 Th, then price should be ~$1500-1550. ~1.8Th on Oct 31 will have to cost no more than $1250-1275.

You know you can get 5 s3+ for 1450 based on 500 per btc. which is 2.2 th based on 453gh each and 1775 watts. so pay extra for less power but about 475-675 watts less in power consumption sure. Throw that money away.

5 S3+ without PSU
with PSU, it'll add around $200-$300

while the S4 will be PSU included (if its the same story like S2)

hope we can enjoy this new "S"

[kryptokid]

I have purchased a new S3 and Corsair CX600 psu.  I set everything up and when I connected the PCI-E connectors to the S3 the psu quit working.
I was able to reset it and tested it and it ran o.k. but as soon as I connected it to the S3 it stopped again. I do not get any lights on the miner.
I am unable to connect to to the web setup presumably because the S3 is not getting any power.  I will appreciate any help/suggestions.  Thanks.

unplug it.  i don't think the corsair 600 is enough PSU to run the s3.  it may run for a bit, but eventually it will crobar it.  get at minimum a corsair 850tx to run it correctly.  

Can you please explain how the Corsair CX600 is not enough for an S3 when a CX500 has no problem handling an overclocked one?

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

in my experience, 1 instance, which i just experienced....i had this same issue a few days ago.  initially i had my s3 running on a corsair 600.  the red light came on, and it would not hash anymore.  i experienced similar issues to Kev93.  i moved it to an antec 1300 and it started working (eventually it that had issues too...total fluke with the 1300). that's what led me to make that statement.  if OP is OC his s3 he is pushing 400 watts on a 600 that may eventually crobar it.

Your S3 unit exhibiting similar symptoms with two different and very capable PSUs (600W & 1300W) is not likely a PSU issue.  It's more like a connectivity/networking issue (red LED on) or perhaps, the unit itself is defective.

With a CX500, each of my S3s which are overclocked to 243.75M (491 GH/s) pulls 413WAC at the wall at 29C ambient room temperature.  At 85% efficiency (80 Plus Bronze), the S3 requires 351WDC from the CX500.  The CX500 has a maximum of 456WDC (38A) on it's single +12V rail.  Therefore, the S3 is only exerting a 77% load on the CX500's +12V rail which is very acceptable and still provides a lot of headroom.

The CX600 (similar efficiency as the CX500) has a maximum of 552WDC (46A) on its single +12V rail.  Therefore, the S3 would exert an even lower load on the CX600 at 64%.

I'm not sure what you meant by "crobar it" but if the CX500 is able to run an overclocked S3, it follows that the CX600 is even more capable of doing so and the numbers support that.

Just as a follow-up to my last post that I have the power issue resolved, the S3 is now configured and running smoothly, mining on 2 pools.  The CX600 seems perfectly capable of handling the S3, at least in this basic configuration.

[thehairymob]

i have 2 S3 running off of CX750. One of them is overclocked to 237.5mhz with no problems. I did try pushing both to that but one runs hot at about 46-47c on stock speed. Really I need to open it up and check it out to see if I can bring those under control. Mind the old saying though, "if it ain't broken." I know bad attitude, I should look after my babies better.

[sjc1490]

Anyone have any idea what the new L1 product is going to be on Bitmain's site?

[Biodom]

You know you can get 5 s3+ for 1450 based on 500 per btc. which is 2.2 th based on 453gh each and 1775 watts. so pay extra for less power but about 475-675 watts less in power consumption sure. Throw that money away.

i have my s3 occupying all my power supplies. assuming that I need 2 EVGA 1300 plus one CX500-600 to run 5 S3 (overclocked), I will have to pay extra $380 at the minimum, so your math does not compute, pal.