I'm a new miner, as of a few days ago when Butterfly Labs *finally* got my pre-order to me (as I'm
sure is the situation with many others.)
I'm currently trying to choose the most efficient power-supply option for powering these monsters.
BFL publishes very specific requirements for the PSU used:
Butterfly Labs recommends a minimum 650 Watt, Single 12V Rail power supply with TWO PCIe power
cables. There must be at least 46 Amps on the 12V circuit being used. Under NO circumstances should
you use a “Y” or “V” PCIe power cable. Doing so risks overheating of the cable. Fire could result.
In order to ensure long life and cool operation, 16AWG power cable wires are the minimum
recommended. Most PSU’s use 16AWG PCIe power cables, but please make sure your PSU is properly
compliant.
The *cheapest* solution I've been able to find, would be a
CoolMax ZPS-1600B, which I can get for
$230 from Newegg. With two 110A and 50A rails, I could theoretically power three 46A miners on a
single 15A-breaker wall-circuit, spending $76-per-miner on power-supply. (Although I have to admit
some worry of buying the *cheapest* possible product …)
Edit: Seems that the single 110A rail on those multi-rail power-supplies powers *all* the PCI ports;
I wonder if I can get, or build, an ‘adapter’ from the 20-pin, or … hrm. /=
Within those requirements, does anybody have suggestions for a specific product, or at least
information on which brands offer the best value? What do you use to power your miners? (I'd like to
power at least two, or if possible, three, cards per power-supply. They shipped me a *lot* of
hardware to try to make up for all the delays.
)
