ANTMINER S4 Discussion and Support Thread

[mrpark]

From my bitcoin mining calculations, you will never break even on the S4. Think about it, it will take you 5-6 months just to break even, during those months you will have 2 difficulty jumps. Can anyone who buys one of these explain to me what your reason is? Please don't say for the fun of mining, because you can just buy an old GPU to mine if that is the case....

I also think people who buy these for home use are underestimating how loud those thick fans are going to sound in their home....

[Biontic]

And people are buying these like crazy! Must be a real bargain. Maybe I should get in line after all. 

Not so much...
http://btc.blockr.io/address/info/1QB8Ds5KbGYBLQa5RyDQ2sVUeSKWf7qgkZ
26 orders in 90 mins - although I do feel sorry for whoever dropped 103BTC - ain't gonna see them back, this side of 2015!!!

[ChuckBuck]

How did people get coupons for the S4?

Says in the beginning of this thread:

Notification for S2 Upgrade Kit - Coupons being issued

To all customers that ordered AntMiner S2s: We analysed the business case for S2 upgrade kits for end users and determined that it would not be worthwhile for either party.
* The S4 runs at 0.69 W/Gh/s power efficiency, which is significantly improved compared with the S2’s 1W/Gh/s. Even though the upgrade kits used the newest BM1382 chips manufactured at 28nm process, it was not a significant leap in power efficiency.
However, the next generation chip is more likely to be worth doing upgrade kits with.
* The S2 is still profitable to run for the next several months with its 1W/Gh/s power efficiency and so now is not a good time to replace them.

Coupons will be issued to express our sincere thank you for supporting Bitmain over the year. Each coupon has a value of $200 and will be issued for each S2 unit purchased. These coupons are only applicable for the purchase of S4s and only one coupon can be used per S4.
If you ordered an S2 on bitmaintech.com, please check the coupons automatically added to your account. If you ordered an S2 from our authorized partners, please contact them directly to get your coupons. Below is the list of the authorized partners:

[s1lverbox]

I'm sorry for this but price is just so high. its better to buy 2 x 1th units and say than this....

[cloh76]

And people are buying these like crazy! Must be a real bargain. Maybe I should get in line after all. 

Not so much...
http://btc.blockr.io/address/info/1QB8Ds5KbGYBLQa5RyDQ2sVUeSKWf7qgkZ
26 orders in 90 mins - although I do feel sorry for whoever dropped 103BTC - ain't gonna see them back, this side of 2015!!!

Maybe they are just xferring BTC between their own wallets to try and encourage people to buy

[lowbander80]

Sorry Bitmain its soooooo expensive
with shipping its 3.9 btc

[Prelude]

I REALLY want to order some S4s, but I can't at this price. Just doesn't make financial sense.

[dlowings]

How much does the coupon reduce the price?

looks like it mostly covers shipping

[cloh76]

I really want to order them too, but that's just because i like all things new and shiny.  Doesn't make sense however from a cost and noise perspective.  Im fighting myself to wait for the B10 S3+ to become available, which makes more sense.  Searching eBay for more sensible buys

[jh7phone]

Anyone want 3 2 coupons for 0.1 0.66 btc PM me this afternoon today.

Edit: 1 sold 2 coupons available still 0.033btc each.

Edit 2: All 3 coupons sold. Thank you. 

[suchmoon]

Continuation from previous thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=784897.0

S4+Umisoo Hosting has advantage on:
1) Shipping cost;
2) No PSU investment;
3) No VAT or import tax;
4) Pre-order waiting time cost is negligible
5) Shipping and deployment is seamless and fast.
6) S4 now has option for hosting.

Is it just me or does this sound like "we priced the S4 so high plus extra shipping to make you buy our cloud instead" ?

[philipma1957]

And people are buying these like crazy! Must be a real bargain. Maybe I should get in line after all. 

Not so much...
http://btc.blockr.io/address/info/1QB8Ds5KbGYBLQa5RyDQ2sVUeSKWf7qgkZ
26 orders in 90 mins - although I do feel sorry for whoever dropped 103BTC - ain't gonna see them back, this side of 2015!!!

Maybe they are just xferring BTC between their own wallets to try and encourage people to buy

 that is funny. Looks like enough coin spent  at this address for 80-85 pieces


https://blockchain.info/address/1QB8Ds5KbGYBLQa5RyDQ2sVUeSKWf7qgkZ

[h3rlihy]

If the price was halved I'd still only be hesitantly considering it :')

[thecr4ne]

What happened to the S1 upgrade Kits? Taken down because they're a better deal than the S4?

[xstr8guy]

Beware. This is different than every other product that Bitmain have sold in the past. Shipping is NOT included in the price unlike past products.

And what's with the misleading efficiency chart? The text clearly states that it is .69w/GHs but the chart show .4w/GHs.

[jb0316]

Bitmain, congratulations on the release of the S4.  Unfortunately, the pricing and efficiency do not justify the purchase.

Amen! all of that HYPE! for nothing! Already better price points available in the market now.  Even from Bitmain on the S3s and purchasing a power supply.

What confuses me is  why go through all of that just to disappoint your buyers?

[patriotminer76]

Hey Bitmain!  Since most of the world isn't going to buy your S4 at that price, do you have any plans to offer more S1 upgrade kits? 

Did you discontinue them or just sell out?  Can't seem to find out from anyone if you expect to have them available again.  Lots of S1's out there that we could upgrade in order to mine coins to buy your S4 (after you lower the price, of course!).  So you see, leaving us with S1's and the rolling batches of S3's that are bought more often to be re-sold than used only hurts your S4 sales.  Kit me and make me happy.

Chris

[kendog77]

I thought the S1 had the same efficiency as the S2?     I think that graph might be misleading?

Here are real efficiency numbers at the wall:

S1 : ~2     W/GH
S2 : ~1.05 W/GH
S3 : ~.78   W/GH
S4 : ~.69   W/GH

I can personally confirm S1, S2, and S3 efficiency numbers using a decent gold power supply and kilowatt to measure power usage at the wall, but am using Bitmains published info for S4 efficiency.

[ThePhwner]

Damn these are expensive. And that estimate for the S3 ratio is great if you're using an 80 plus gold. However those get expensive fast, and on a normal 80plus or 80plus Bronze you get around 0.81 if you OC to 250 Mhz and its a good unit. It's actually not as good at lower speeds.

[dlowings]

Bitmain, congratulations on the release of the S4.  Unfortunately, the pricing and efficiency do not justify the purchase.

Amen! all of that HYPE! for nothing! Already better price points available in the market now.  Even from Bitmain on the S3s and purchasing a power supply.

What confuses me is  why go through all of that just to disappoint your buyers?

simple, they want to drive people to their cloud product where they have more control over the customer and less exposure to liability .