S-5 review. It has arrived some info is in!

[AbuGarcia]

when you replace the stock fan with the silverstone you go from a PWN fan to a fan with tach only?  so the silverstone fans go full speed all the time?

what is the CFM of the silverstone?  Volts and amp rating?

I say this because bitmain uses off the shelf chinese brand server fans.  If you use delta or nidec brand fans, you will see a huge boost in cfm with minimal noise increase at stock speeds or better yet, you can slow down those (delta, nidec) fans and have minimal noise and decent cfm.

[wpgdeez]

Thanks for the Review. Spondoolies-tech must be doing cart-wheels right about now 

[Gladimor]

Biggest failure on the side of BitMain is that these miners are noisy. I guess SP20 wins this round.

[bjalbert]

I could care less about the noise. How many watts are you drawing at 350 freq and what hash rate?

[pekatete]

when you replace the stock fan with the silverstone you go from a PWN fan to a fan with tach only?  so the silverstone fans go full speed all the time?

what is the CFM of the silverstone?  Volts and amp rating?

I say this because bitmain uses off the shelf chinese brand server fans.  If you use delta or nidec brand fans, you will see a huge boost in cfm with minimal noise increase at stock speeds or better yet, you can slow down those (delta, nidec) fans and have minimal noise and decent cfm.

Too damn right, if you clip a Nidec TA500DC with a resistor (to reduce voltage / amperage) you get a fantastic airflow / CFM with little noise. I think that is because the fins on the TA500DC are a bit longer (and more angled) than on the regular fans that bitmain deploy. I use a several of these on my S1's (don't laugh ... ) in pull position as replacement for the stock fans and they work wonders.

[bgibso01]

Ouch we are 0 for 2 so far on reviews.

[philipma1957]

when you replace the stock fan with the silverstone you go from a PWN fan to a fan with tach only?  so the silverstone fans go full speed all the time?

what is the CFM of the silverstone?  Volts and amp rating?

I say this because bitmain uses off the shelf chinese brand server fans.  If you use delta or nidec brand fans, you will see a huge boost in cfm with minimal noise increase at stock speeds or better yet, you can slow down those (delta, nidec) fans and have minimal noise and decent cfm.

no the silverstone is 4 pin pwm it is the pull fan.

I will order this as the push

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KFCRATC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

these two as push pull should work

[IYFTech]

Philipma,

Do you know where the cgminer conf file is? I can't find it anywhere - seems to be a different file system to Bitmains usual setup. I want to change the --queue setting, it's set at 8192!!

Cheers.

[pekatete]

no the silverstone is 4 pin pwm it is the pull fan.

I will order this as the push

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KFCRATC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

these two as push pull should work

If you are going to try out another fan, I'd hasten to suggest you look for one with deeper fins. They will provide a higher CFM at lower voltage and be quieter. For example, the stock NMB 4715KL fans that bitmain deploy are 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep, whereas a Nidec TA500DC is 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). If you can get a 2 inch deep fin / blade on the fan, I think you'll get an even better airflow + quieter for if you run them at less voltage.

PS. The Nidec TA500DC is not a 120mm fan, more like a 125mm fan, and on the S1's that I run it on, the holes do not fit those on the frame, however, it fits inside the frame and I attach them using double sided tape, that and the pull layout make it stick rather well. Additionally, I run them without the PWM (though they certainly have PWM as they are 6 wire). You can pick these off flea-bay for a pittance, shipped.

[vortexz]

cheap design, not good
S5 sux

[RchGrav]

now see this photo.  this is a huge mistake that bitmain did. if that jack was ½ inch taller 2 silverstone fans would make this gear really easy to mod.

I have complain about this more then one thread and others have mention this.  So someone dropped the ball here.
Especially  since this miner has 600 watts of heat to dump not 400.
The sad part is they decided to use 1 fast fan.  This was in my not so humble opinion a fuck up on their part.
I thought I would tame the sound of this miner with no real effort and I would like it better then the sp20e.  I will need to work hard to make the miner quiet.  Just think slap on 2 silverstone fans in 2 minutes and boom a quite or at least a pretty quiet miner with little or no effort.  Right now I unplugged the crazy loud stock fan and I am using the silverstone as pull.  very nice no issues.  but I downclocked to freq 225

I have a new mod in mind for the noise but that will be on tues.

So far this review feels like a bit more of how to fix a broken miner with cooling you would do differently, and how to mod it.

I'm confused about the review thread a bit, nothing personal.. just constructive criticism..  Hopefully there is more to come in terms of testing the default clocks and cooling configuration..

I'm not 100% sure the single fan design is "dropping the ball"..   There was a discussion on cooling designs I read someplace here, and a fluid dynamics engineer chimed in and said that a pull only configuration will always be more efficient than a push pull configuration.  He said Fluid Dynamics Don't Lie.

Also.. you mention the Db of the unit, which is a nice thing to give.. but for the laymen.. it would be nice to get an opinion on the volume of the noise by comparison to other miners..  I don't have a Db meter handy, and if I did, I would probably be forced to try to replicate the Db you are giving with my SP20E to get a subjective understanding of how loud the miner is.

Anyway.. so far it seems that you think in your humble opinion that this miner is a dud, the cooling system is dysfunctional, and it doesnt run at stock clocked configuration so you are going to run it at a decreased  frequency because there is a problem with the stock frequency.   Did the miner shut down at the stock clocks?  did it perform over time as they stated it would in the stock configuration?

Did I miss anything?   I'm just playing devils advocate here trying to flush out a fully rounded review of the miner as it comes... plug and play.. and how it performs as intended.  

I know you want to customize this beast to your liking, but how much solid data have you collected in the way bitmain ships this miner?.  Eh, to each his own.. I know you aren't a dummy.  :-)

I ordered an S5 also.. kinda bummed after reading your thread but still excited to get it... We shall see..

Looking forward to your final conclusion of how the miner performed before and after you had a chance to fix it properly... It would be nice to hear more about the miner in its stock configuration though, and how it performs... unless you are convinced its broken by design.


Rich

[AbuGarcia]

Oic, from the pic I could only see three wires.  Yea that fan works but at 24 bucks a pop that's super expensive.
I don't know if the board can handle the amps on the fan but you don't need to go full speed, you can get this for cheaper.



Dell  BETA V TA450DC B35502-35 120mm x 38mm Fan Y4574  NIDEC

http://ebay.to/1B0zGIT

Or


Delta 12V DC 1.60A Fan Model : AFC1212DE

http://ebay.to/1B0zZ6x

[Biffa]

If you are going to try out another fan, I'd hasten to suggest you look for one with deeper fins. They will provide a higher CFM at lower voltage and be quieter. For example, the stock NMB 4715KL fans that bitmain deploy are 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep, whereas a Nidec TA500DC is 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). If you can get a 2 inch deep fin / blade on the fan, I think you'll get an even better airflow + quieter for if you run them at less voltage.

PS. The Nidec TA500DC is not a 120mm fan, more like a 125mm fan, and on the S1's that I run it on, the holes do not fit those on the frame, however, it fits inside the frame and I attach them using double sided tape, that and the pull layout make it stick rather well. Additionally, I run them without the PWM (though they certainly have PWM as they are 6 wire). You can pick these off flea-bay for a pittance, shipped.

Umm.. not sure where you are getting your ideas from.

Its obvious just by looking at it that the S5  uses a 38mm fan, in fact the NMB 4715KL is a 38mm fan that pushes 130CFM@50dBA, not sure if thats what they are using on the S5 but nevertheless

Nidec TA500DC is a 127mm fan the 130CFM version is 48.8dBA and the 150CFM version 52.5dBA so not much in it.

The Silverstone is actually a better fan than both of them
Airflow: 42.8~171 CFM
Noise Level: 13.4~43.5 dBA(Max)

Even at max speed its more powerful than the Nidec and quieter than both, plus it uses the standard 120mm screw holes

Not saying its the best fan for the job, just that its not a bad one to try if you have it lying around from other stuff

[thomas_s]

now see this photo.  this is a huge mistake that bitmain did. if that jack was ½ inch taller 2 silverstone fans would make this gear really easy to mod.

I have complain about this more then one thread and others have mention this.  So someone dropped the ball here.
Especially  since this miner has 600 watts of heat to dump not 400.
The sad part is they decided to use 1 fast fan.  This was in my not so humble opinion a fuck up on their part.
I thought I would tame the sound of this miner with no real effort and I would like it better then the sp20e.  I will need to work hard to make the miner quiet.  Just think slap on 2 silverstone fans in 2 minutes and boom a quite or at least a pretty quiet miner with little or no effort.  Right now I unplugged the crazy loud stock fan and I am using the silverstone as pull.  very nice no issues.  but I downclocked to freq 225

I have a new mod in mind for the noise but that will be on tues.

So far this review feels like a bit more of how to fix a broken miner with cooling you would do differently, and how to mod it.

I'm confused about the review thread a bit, nothing personal.. just constructive criticism..  Hopefully there is more to come in terms of testing the default clocks and cooling configuration..

I'm not 100% sure the single fan design is "dropping the ball"..   There was a discussion on cooling designs I read someplace here, and a fluid dynamics engineer chimed in and said that a pull only configuration will always be more efficient than a push pull configuration.  He said Fluid Dynamics Don't Lie?

Also.. you mention the Db of the unit, which is a nice thing to give.. but for the laymen.. it would be nice to get an opinion on the volume of the noise by comparison to other miners..  I don't have a Db meter handy, and if I did, I would probably be forced to try to replicate the Db you are giving to get a subjective understanding of how loud the miner is.

Anyway.. so far it seems that you think in your humble opinion that this miner is a dud, the cooling system is dysfunctional, and it doesnt run at stock clocked configuration so you are going to run it at a lot less to get a feeling of how it works?

Did I miss anything?   I'm just playing devils advocate here trying to flush out a fully rounded review of the miner as it comes... plug and play.. and how it performs as intended.  I wouldnt mod something until I had some solid data to work off of to really know if I am making improvements.  Eh, to each his own.. I know you aren't a dummy.  :-)

I ordered an S5 also.. kinda bummed after reading your thread but still excited to get it... We shall see..

Looking forward to your final conclusion after your full review.. I would be nice to hear more about the miner in its stock configuration though, and how it performs... unless you are convinced its broken by design.


Rich

Phillip is like a decent amount of people here that run miners in their homes.

Down clocks for better wattage and to keep the power bill down as well as to try and keep the unit nice and quite for the home. If what he's saying is true and its loud, then it wouldn't be a good choice for home miners. And don't forget its a review, why run it at stock when your supposed to run it threw its paces.

Some people buy a miner based on what it would be doing in 3 months, you can run a miner for a few months stock but whats the power / efficiency like when you need to down clock.

I sure wouldn't want an SP10 under my bed, or in my room (Got a C1 to do that, nice little heater)

[Biffa]

Yes phillip is a tinkerer trying to get the best watt/gh ratio with low noise as possible. Its a refreshing approach, not one everyone always considers, but he'll probably be mining long after we give up from electrical costs

[IITravel01]

now see this photo.  this is a huge mistake that bitmain did. if that jack was ½ inch taller 2 silverstone fans would make this gear really easy to mod.

I have complain about this more then one thread and others have mention this.  So someone dropped the ball here.
Especially  since this miner has 600 watts of heat to dump not 400.
The sad part is they decided to use 1 fast fan.  This was in my not so humble opinion a fuck up on their part.
I thought I would tame the sound of this miner with no real effort and I would like it better then the sp20e.  I will need to work hard to make the miner quiet.  Just think slap on 2 silverstone fans in 2 minutes and boom a quite or at least a pretty quiet miner with little or no effort.  Right now I unplugged the crazy loud stock fan and I am using the silverstone as pull.  very nice no issues.  but I downclocked to freq 225

I have a new mod in mind for the noise but that will be on tues.

Are you sure that the network port if blocked if you use the Silverstone 140mm fan?  I've replaced the front fan on my S3+'s with the Silverstone 140mm fan and it goes just to the bottom of the network port and with a unsleeved network cable it fits fine.  If the S5 is the same as the S3 as I suspect, then it should fit even if others have said it doesn't.  If it's just at the edge, shaving a mm off the fan should work also.  With one in the front and rear, it should be able to have the Quiet setting on the fan for both and still have enough airflow (hoping).

[pekatete]

If you are going to try out another fan, I'd hasten to suggest you look for one with deeper fins. They will provide a higher CFM at lower voltage and be quieter. For example, the stock NMB 4715KL fans that bitmain deploy are 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep, whereas a Nidec TA500DC is 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). If you can get a 2 inch deep fin / blade on the fan, I think you'll get an even better airflow + quieter for if you run them at less voltage.

PS. The Nidec TA500DC is not a 120mm fan, more like a 125mm fan, and on the S1's that I run it on, the holes do not fit those on the frame, however, it fits inside the frame and I attach them using double sided tape, that and the pull layout make it stick rather well. Additionally, I run them without the PWM (though they certainly have PWM as they are 6 wire). You can pick these off flea-bay for a pittance, shipped.

Umm.. not sure where you are getting your ideas from.

Its obvious just by looking at it that the S5  uses a 38mm fan, in fact the NMB 4715KL is a 38mm fan that pushes 130CFM@50dBA, not sure if thats what they are using on the S5 but nevertheless

Nidec TA500DC is a 127mm fan the 130CFM version is 48.8dBA and the 150CFM version 52.5dBA so not much in it.

The Silverstone is actually a better fan than both of them
Airflow: 42.8~171 CFM
Noise Level: 13.4~43.5 dBA(Max)

Even at max speed its more powerful than the Nidec and quieter than both, plus it uses the standard 120mm screw holes

Not saying its the best fan for the job, just that its not a bad one to try if you have it lying around from other stuff

Those are not ideas, they are the facts as I have them.
1. The NMB 4715KL has a 38mm frame BUT the fan blades / fins are, like I said, 25mm. I know this because I've just measured one. And it is classified as a 120mm fan.
2. The TA500DC has 50mm frame and the fan blades are 38mm, just like I said. It may indeed be classified as a 127mm fan (against my 125mm), but my point was that the holes on it will not fit a with the frame of an S1, and possibly S5.

I have no claims to make towards comparative noise levels, but like I suggested, I clipped mine with resistors to reduce the voltage / wattage and they work wonderfully with my OC's S1's with little noise, much better than the stock NMB 4715KL (even with the blue wire hack!). I put that down to the size of the fan blades.

And by the way, there is no speculation in my comment, and therefore no chance of confusing / mixing numbers like you did, just un-udulterated observation.

[Syke]

I'm not 100% sure the single fan design is "dropping the ball"..   There was a discussion on cooling designs I read someplace here, and a fluid dynamics engineer chimed in and said that a pull only configuration will always be more efficient than a push pull configuration.  He said Fluid Dynamics Don't Lie.

A superior pull configuration only works in the case is fully sealed. The S5 is not sealed, so a pull configuration would be horrible on it.

[Xian01]

Controller on the top again Heat rises. Guess I'll be running 'em 90 degrees on their side (or upside-down on a wire rack) like the S3's.

[AbuGarcia]

Just remember nidec have different models of the ta450dc although frame will not vary.
Worst case even if the holes don't line perfectly you can't beat 10 bucks shipped.