ANTMINER S4 Discussion and Support Thread

[Nolimitz84]

I have searched and read through many pages of this thread but I think it might just be easier for me to ask.

What should my voltage be if I overclock my S4's to 225M and higher?  Thanks

[Prelude]

I have searched and read through many pages of this thread but I think it might just be easier for me to ask.

What should my voltage be if I overclock my S4's to 225M and higher?  Thanks

0725 is fine for 225, some units will also work at 0720. You can't go above 225/0725 with the PSU included with the S4, you will overload it.

I measured 117A of current from the PSU at 225/0725, and it's rated for 120A.

[Nolimitz84]

I have searched and read through many pages of this thread but I think it might just be easier for me to ask.

What should my voltage be if I overclock my S4's to 225M and higher?  Thanks

0725 is fine for 225, some units will also work at 0720. You can't go above 225/0725 with the PSU included with the S4, you will overload it.

I measured 117A of current from the PSU at 225/0725, and it's rated for 120A.

Thanks!

[Prelude]

No problem. Good luck!

[dogie]

Dogie support for this product has now expired. Other staff will now service your queries in this thread. I can still be found in my own thread.

[donschoe]

is this the most power efficient bitcoin asic currently?

[Prelude]

No, that would be the S5 or SP20E. The S4 can apparently be made as efficient as they are by underclocking/undervolting, though.

[donschoe]

thanks.

[abracadabra]

I've started getting fans to fail and I'm worried that as the warranty lapses I will need to track down a supplier of fans.

Has anyone sourced a replacement fan?  Not worried about cable length, more the CFM and static pressure specs being similiar. 

I've replaced a few that have already failed with some Delta afb1212vhe that i had from gpu days to replace dead gpu fans. (i know.. i know.. overkill.. but they were "free")
The Deltas I have don't have pwm or tach, so would be nice to have those on any replacement.

Any ideas?

Also, what's the warranty on these? 3 months? or longer?

[sloopy]

I've started getting fans to fail and I'm worried that as the warranty lapses I will need to track down a supplier of fans.

Has anyone sourced a replacement fan?  Not worried about cable length, more the CFM and static pressure specs being similiar.  

I've replaced a few that have already failed with some Delta afb1212vhe that i had from gpu days to replace dead gpu fans. (i know.. i know.. overkill.. but they were "free")
The Deltas I have don't have pwm or tach, so would be nice to have those on any replacement.

Any ideas?

Also, what's the warranty on these? 3 months? or longer?

Warranty is 90 days through BITMAIN direct if you purchased through them or an approved re seller who does not handle their own warranty. Even in that case BITMAIN may help, but they told me it is their discretion.

I think Dogie recommended some fans which I am using on a power supply and haven't tried them on the S4, but they may work. Check out the dimensions to make sure though. Do not go off me saying this, but ?I do enjoy these fans.
corsair SP120 High Performance Edition with PWM. 2 pack is around 30 USD. I do not *think* they are enough for an OC S4, but check them yourself.

[nickgaff]

And where is the link to this s4 

[sEpuLchEr]

corsair SP120 High Performance Edition with PWM. 2 pack is around 30 USD. I do not *think* they are enough for an OC S4, but check them yourself.

Coolermaster Jet Flo 120's are far better fans; you just cut a little plastic from the connector and they work with PWM.  More to the point the S4 doesn't use 120mm fans; it uses either 92mm or 80mm ones.

huh? the S4 uses 120mm.....

[Cyper_BLC]

hi guys,
Bitmains last S4 firmware has a HUGE BUG.(or they do this in their knowledge for sell alot of S5) We cannot change voltage !!!
if you want to do downclock you must to use previus version.
initramfs.bin.SD-20150129.tar this version is Bad for voltage settings...

[Prelude]

So the fans on my S4s are starting to drop like flies. So far I've had 3 die in a span of 2 weeks, and decided to see if they were salvageable. I've re-oiled fans before, so I figured I'd give that a shot.

Here's what I found:



Bearing lubricant is completely dried up, and the lock ring popped off due to what I assume to be wear from a lack of lubricant. Fans normally have a rubber plug to seal the oil in, but these do not. They only have a sticker over the hole, which in my opinion is a fatal design flaw. I've had 3 out of 20 go bad so far, with a few more showing signs of degradation in the form of slower RPM than normal. I expect them all to go bad in due time because of this flaw, unfortunately, and you should too.

Hopefully Bitmain will consider sending out proper replacements to their customers, as these fans are completely unacceptable considering the lack of a rubber oil seal.

I managed to fix this one by taking the locking ring from another 120mm fan, but I still don't have an appropriate plug for the hole. I'll need to figure something out, and re-lube it.

[sloopy]

I decided to change my mind. Previously I stated BITMAIN would no longer hear from me after I received the 2nd Batch 2 S$ PSU replacement. This has been one of many PSU failures. I ran one week out of three with that particular S4. As the customer int his situation I feel I can retract, and move forward with my opinions. It isn't as though anyone from BITMAIN was communicating with me anyway.

I am no longer surprised by reading things like this about the fan, or the previous post regarding the firmware having voltage selection removed. BITMAIN should take a few lessons from several community members. They should hire some of the folks from this forum to be involved in every step of the next generation. The operation must be ran by someone who has little to zero experience building a company. *NOTE* I didn't say open a store, I said build a company. Very different.


Prelude, thank you for taking the time to share. Please let me know which replacement fans you are using. I am going to check all of my units now. I will always share anything useful if I find such.

[Prelude]

Prelude, thank you for taking the time to share. Please let me know which replacement fans you are using. I am going to check all of my units now. I will always share anything useful if I find such.

For now, I haven't replaced any. The fans which have stopped spinning entirely I've repaired by replacing the lock ring, and re-oiling them. Had to sacrifice 3 perfectly good fans to take their lock rings. 

I just finished re-oiling 8 fans across 2 S4s. As troublesome as it is, I sincerely think it's something everyone should do. Half of the fans were filled with dusty crap as pictured earlier, while the others still looked brand new. Some of the bearing were a little stiff, and their fan hubs had a very rough "travel" when you push them inwards. Re-oiling them seems to have helped a lot. Hopefully this will save them from their inevitable fate.

If you do re-oil them, you won't be able to reuse the black sticker that was covering the fan. Having nothing better on hand, I used duct-tape to cover the hole and keep the oil "sealed" in. I used Amsoil 5W-20 synthetic oil, which probably isn't the best for re-oiling a fan bearing but once again, it's what I had on hand and it's always worked great for me in the past.

I'd like to state that I don't think this is Bitmain's fault, as they didn't manufacture these fans. It would be nice of them to extend the 3 month warranty for the fans, though, as these seem to be failing pretty close to the 3 month mark. A quality fan usually has a MTBF of 50000 hours, these are having a hard time reaching 2160 hours. The same could probably be said of the PSUs.

[mdude77]

I'd like to state that I don't think this is Bitmain's fault, as they didn't manufacture these fans. It would be nice of them to extend the 3 month warranty for the fans, though, as these seem to be failing pretty close to the 3 month mark. A quality fan usually has a MTBF of 50000 hours, these are having a hard time reaching 2160 hours. The same could probably be said of the PSUs.

I think you give Bitmain too much credit.  They probably used the cheapest fans that would just barely fit the bill.  Like the PSU..

M

[bittalc1]

Prelude, thank you for taking the time to share. Please let me know which replacement fans you are using. I am going to check all of my units now. I will always share anything useful if I find such.

For now, I haven't replaced any. The fans which have stopped spinning entirely I've repaired by replacing the lock ring, and re-oiling them. Had to sacrifice 3 perfectly good fans to take their lock rings. 

I just finished re-oiling 8 fans across 2 S4s. As troublesome as it is, I sincerely think it's something everyone should do. Half of the fans were filled with dusty crap as pictured earlier, while the others still looked brand new. Some of the bearing were a little stiff, and their fan hubs had a very rough "travel" when you push them inwards. Re-oiling them seems to have helped a lot. Hopefully this will save them from their inevitable fate.

If you do re-oil them, you won't be able to reuse the black sticker that was covering the fan. Having nothing better on hand, I used duct-tape to cover the hole and keep the oil "sealed" in. I used Amsoil 5W-20 synthetic oil, which probably isn't the best for re-oiling a fan bearing but once again, it's what I had on hand and it's always worked great for me in the past.

I'd like to state that I don't think this is Bitmain's fault, as they didn't manufacture these fans. It would be nice of them to extend the 3 month warranty for the fans, though, as these seem to be failing pretty close to the 3 month mark. A quality fan usually has a MTBF of 50000 hours, these are having a hard time reaching 2160 hours. The same could probably be said of the PSUs.

Yesterday one of my fans also died . Today i must dissamble my unit.

[MyRig]

@bittalc1,

Sorry for the trouble.  We sent you PM.  Please check.  If its still under the warranty, please respond back to us. 

If it is out of the warranty, we should be able to provide the fan to  you for a small fee.

Thank you

[Prelude]

I'd like to state that I don't think this is Bitmain's fault, as they didn't manufacture these fans. It would be nice of them to extend the 3 month warranty for the fans, though, as these seem to be failing pretty close to the 3 month mark. A quality fan usually has a MTBF of 50000 hours, these are having a hard time reaching 2160 hours. The same could probably be said of the PSUs.

I think you give Bitmain too much credit.  They probably used the cheapest fans that would just barely fit the bill.  Like the PSU..

M

Oh, I'm sure they did. It would cost a fraction of a penny more for that rubber oil seal in the quantities they're buying.. Look at how much people were crying that the S4 was too expensive when it came out, imagine if they had put a quality PSU and 4 Delta fans. They have no choice to compromise, I guess. I'd be willing to pay a bit more for a quality PSU and fans, but most people would complain I imagine. The only quality parts in the S4 are the actual hash boards that were made by bitmain, the rest is outsourced lowest bid junk unfortunately. I'm sure bitmain thought those parts would be adequate for the job, but they had no way of telling for sure. Now they know.