Should I buy Bitmain Antminer S5 and S7 ASIC miners at the end of 2022?

• ASIC
• start
• interface
• performance
• noise
• dignity
• possibilities
• conclusion

Since its inception, Bitcoin has not lost popularity among network users and over time, interest in it only grows. This cryptocurrency is already quite widespread; it can be bought or sold on special cryptocurrency exchanges or exchanged for other currencies (including fiat) in specialized exchangers. That is, there have been no difficulties with purchasing a cue ball for a long time. But there is another way to become the owner of BTC, which attracts those community members who, as they say, are not looking for easy ways. We, of course, mean cryptocurrency mining or, in other words, the creation of chain blocks using the computing power of special equipment.

At the initial stages, the mining process was available on the power of a regular computer, which attracted a large number of users to this activity. Such popularity undoubtedly played a role in the growth of Bitcoin and the influx of new miners. But on the other hand, it also caused an increase in the complexity of coin mining and an increase in the cost of the process itself. PC power became sorely lacking and then ASIC miners came onto the scene - devices that allow you to mine cryptocurrencies under new conditions.

One of the ASICs from BitMain – AntMiner S5

For the uninitiated, although among people interested in cryptocurrencies and their mining there are hardly any such people (but what if?!), we offer short information about the BitMain company.

This company is one of the world's largest manufacturers of equipment for mining digital currencies. It is so actively expanding its production that this activity is beginning to seriously worry its few competitors who are not ready to give the market under its overwhelming control. The company is Chinese, with its head office in Beijing. Bitmain developers have a number of popular mining devices, including the subject of our conversation today, ASIC AntMiner S5.

Let's start looking at the device from the moment the package falls into the hands of the lucky owner. We pay attention to this point for the simple reason that, as you yourself understand, the box with the miner may reach you in different conditions. Sometimes it seems that during her travels she was hardly played football. But in the case of the fifth model, don’t let such details scare you, since the packaging here is of very high quality and is replete with fixing devices that almost guarantee the integrity and safety of the product even with not very careful handling.

Once you open the package and verify the effectiveness of the “super-duper” packaging, you will have another reason to rejoice at your purchase. This will result in the weight of the device not even reaching a full 3 kilograms. Such a low weight is achieved due to the fact that the side panels directing the air flow are made of plastic (in the previous model the entire body is metal). This innovation gives the impression of fragility of the structure, but it is deceptive. In fact, everything is quite reliable and durable, especially since this is facilitated by well-placed fasteners.

The case does not have a top or bottom panel, making PCI-E slots easily accessible. A twelve-centimeter fan is placed at the end of the structure, blowing the radiator blades. This cooling unit produces a lot of noise (61-65 decibels), which makes the S5 not the best option for home use.

We've familiarized ourselves with the form, let's move on to the content. If we take purely visual impressions, then at first glance this device does not differ in anything fundamental from its predecessor BitMain models. But looking inside, you are convinced that the first impression cannot always be trusted, since the “filling” of the fifth Antminer is radically different:

1. Firstly, the “getter” is equipped with more productive and energy-efficient BM 1384 chips (new generation).
2. Secondly, a fundamentally new approach to power supply, which allows you to do without additional high-frequency power supplies.
3. And thirdly, heat is removed from the device body (previously this was removed from the chip substrate).

The design of the boards has also changed, although nothing revolutionary has happened in this sense. Basically, all the innovation lies in changing the size of the site. There are 2 boards here, they are installed parallel to each other, each with 1.5 dozen chips, which allow you to achieve a total hashing speed of 1155 GH/sec. Above the boards there is a network controller located horizontally, which serves to connect the device to the network. Each board has 2 six-pin PCI-E connectors.

Hash boards are controlled by a minicomputer (OPC) BBB, which is familiar to many of you. It compares favorably with its analogues by its increased performance, high standards of data processing and the ability to support any of the latest equipment. A special batch of OPK was developed for Bitmain, less expensive, but of no worse quality. For us, as users, this company’s approach, of course, cannot but please, since as a result we get a cheaper final product, which plays an important role when choosing a miner.

Bitmain

The largest and most successful manufacturer of mining equipment with its head office located in China. Their devices are sold under the name AntMiner with pre-installed software.

Current models:

Antminer S19 Pro

• Algorithm: SHA256;
• Hashrate: 110 Th/s;
• Power consumption: 3250 W
• Dimensions in mm: 370×195.5×290

Legacy models:

Antminer S9

SHA256; 13.5 Th/s; 1350W; 0.1 J/Gh; 12V; Ethernet. 16 nm technology, 189 BM1387 processors; two coolers, dimensions (mm) 350x135x158.

Antminer R4

Homemade ASIC. SHA256; 8.6 Th/s; 845W; 0.1 J/Gh; 12V; Ethernet; 52dB. 126 16 nm BM1387 processors; dimensions 515x100x 222 mm.

Antminer S7

SHA256; 4.73 Th/s; 1290W; 0.25 J/Gh; 12V; Ethernet. 24 nm technology; 135 BM1385 processors; two coolers; dimensions 301x123x155 mm.

Antminer S5

Price: ~ $49; 1155 GH/s; 590W; 0.51 J/gh; 75 Db; 28 nm BM1384 chips; Ethernet; cooler with two cooling radiators. Dimensions 298x137x155 mm.

Antminer U3

Compact and quiet USB miner. hashrate 64 Gh/s; power 0.75W; 4 microchips; 1 cooler; noise level 25 dB. Power supply included, cord sold separately. Electricity consumption and hashrate are changed using the cgminer command line.

Let's start

The first inclusion of the fifth model differs from the similar process on earlier miners.
For a number of reasons, the IP required for connection is not included in the stock router. One of these reasons is the use of BBB. In a word, you will have to start by searching for the device on the network. This can be done in several ways (for example, using FoundYourMiner). So, we turn on the ASIC, wait for the initialization to finish, which is indicated by 2 lit LEDs, and launch the search program.

You will need to enter the address of your subnet and click on “start”. The system will display all available segment miners, among which you will find the access address to your device. Next, you contact your unit using the received IP (this can be done through any browser). To do this, enter the address into the address bar. Then enter your username and password to access the interface.

How to buy

The popularity of cryptocurrencies has gotten out of control, and more and more people want to make money online. Demand for mining equipment is growing, and manufacturers are striving to increase profits. Intermediaries who engage in regional resales add their own markups. The combination of these factors leads to rising prices. On the other hand, manufactured devices are being improved, their quality and productivity are improving. New and productive ASICs pay for themselves faster.

Who to buy from is up to you to decide:

• ordering on the manufacturer’s website will ensure that there is no extra charge, but it will take time to wait for the ASIC to be released from the pre-order;
• the intermediary does not guarantee the manufacturer's price, but can deliver faster

Explore your options, compare your own resources, and make the right choice.

Let's show ASIC models that are in great demand among cryptocurrency miners. Miners are grouped by manufacturer. So, six recognized developers.

AntMiner S5 web interface

There is no point in staying too long in this section, since the interfaces of all models from Bitmain are very similar. But even if you have not encountered the products of this manufacturer before, you will still quickly figure it out. The company made sure that everything was intuitive, for which only the most necessary functionality was left.

First, let's look at the general settings (Miner Configuration/General Settings) and delete everything. Or you don’t have to delete anything, just immediately enter the necessary data, such as a pool, password or login, into the fields provided for this. There is one annoying detail in this process - if you are still inexperienced and you need time to figure out the settings, then during this entire period of time the ASIC, consuming your electricity, will generate income for the manufacturing company. Somehow it looks unfair, but nothing can be done.

Now let's move on to the settings, if necessary. IP changes in the “Network” tab. You just need to install Static instead of DHCP. In general, everything there is so optimized that you don’t have to go into this section, especially if you don’t really understand what needs to be entered and where.

Stable performance

What is surprising is the stable operation of the AntMiner S5 device literally from the first steps. For example, when the outside air temperature was above 30 degrees Celsius, the temperature on the blades did not rise above 58 degrees (in earlier models it could be close to 70). It is difficult to say what caused this effect; we are simply stating a fact.

Average frequency of 1155 GHz/sec. (plus or minus 5%), which the manufacturer stated, is fully consistent with reality. The device also passed the overclocking test perfectly (at 400 megahertz and 2 days of operation, it produced 15HW, which is much less than previous models).

To check the declared consumption (590 W, including PSU), we tested using 2 different power supplies. Their certificates are the same, 80+, only one has a simple one, and the other has a claim, “platinum”. The difference between the units is impressive, but the coveted 590 W could not be obtained in both cases (however, the “cool” power supply unit produced an almost minimal difference).

ASIC noise AntMiner S5

We have already briefly touched on this issue, but we want to devote a few more lines to it. Having measured the noise on both sides of the ASIC (from the front and the opposite side) with a calibrated device with an error of plus or minus 2dB, we were convinced that there was practically no difference - it was very noisy, no matter which side you approached. The noise comes from a high-performance cooler (we cannot name the exact model, it is not specified). That is, it is better not to use this ASIC at home, otherwise you risk having trouble with your household or a nervous breakdown if you live alone.

However, anyone who wants to somehow get rid of this problem does not sit idly by, but looks for a suitable fan model to replace the “original”, too noisy unit. This is not so difficult to do, since the standard cooler has standard dimensions.

Advantages and disadvantages of the AntMiner S5 device

Like any other miner, AntMiner S5 has its pros and cons, which we are going to tell you about. We are going to start with good news, that is, with something that you will definitely like.

Let's start with the affordable price, because this is one of the defining moments for most community members. Starting the device is quite easy, even a beginner can cope with this process. In terms of the relationship between electricity consumption and declared performance, this instance will give a head start to many less energy-efficient devices.

It should also be noted that the AntMiner S5 model has good overclocking potential and can be modified, which will undoubtedly be of interest to enthusiasts of this business. And finally, we can’t help but mention Russian-language support, the presence of which greatly facilitates “communication” with ASIC.

Now let’s start adding the obligatory “fly in the ointment” to all this “honey”. First of all, this is, of course, the terrible noise produced by the miner. You need to either look for some non-residential premises to work in, or change the fan.

The second negative point is the somewhat inconvenient first startup due to the fact that there is no static IP. And it should be noted that there are firmware flaws that make the device’s operation unpredictable in case of any failure.

conclusions

Based on testing results, the S5 miner turned out to be an excellent product from the company. If Bitmain continues in this vein with its future products, then the S6 may become a “killer” of miners from other companies, as was the case with the S2 and S4. According to a representative of the sales department of bitmain in the USA, yoshi, S6 will be the object of testing the company's new chips.

To reduce one of the disadvantages of the product - increased noise, we replaced the standard fan of the cooling system with a cooler from Cooler Master, since the size of the standard fan is standard. Thanks to this, we were able to reduce the noise of the device and lower the operating temperature by 4 degrees Celsius. Under operating conditions in winter, we managed to achieve stable operation of the miner at a speed of 1.41 Thesh/s, while power consumption rose to 630 Watts. With further overclocking of the device, the number of errors increased from 1-3% to 6-8%.

Bitmain Antminer S5 is a full-fledged ASIC miner that, without additional overclocking and cooling, with a power consumption of 480 Watts, allows you to get more than 1 Thesh/s. Such energy efficiency is very valuable, especially at the current low Bitcoin exchange rate, and helps to be in the black even in such unfavorable conditions.

At the moment, S5 is perhaps the leader in energy efficiency among modern ASIC miners, at least until the release of new products from competing companies such as Spondoolies and BitFury. In addition, it is worth noting that the S5 has a very affordable price.

Upgrade options

Antminer S5 cannot be called a “fresh” product today. Its specified mining power in the current period is, to put it mildly, insufficient. Of course, you can simply buy a more modern device (fortunately, there are plenty to choose from) and continue to work calmly. But some people cannot afford this for financial reasons, and some may be so sentimental that they cannot part with their trusted “breadwinner” (the latter is unlikely to be the case, but as a guess - why not? ). But something needs to be done.

There is only one way out - to somehow increase the power of the device. This can be done by using the Upgrade KIT, which will increase the hashrate of your ASIC by almost 7 times. This “panacea” will cost a thousand US dollars, but for this not a small amount you will receive, in addition to 2 new boards (48 chips each), a cooler, a memory card, thermal paste, and most importantly - a miner power of 7 Tx /sec, and this is already quite a serious indicator. A cheaper update will cost you exactly half the price mentioned above, that is, $500, but the effect will not be so impressive - only 3.3 Th/sec.

The only drawback of these methods of upgrading your miners is the high demand for upgrades and their frequent unavailability for sale. You can wait for your turn for more than one month.

What are ASICS for mining?

The main function performed by a special-purpose integrated circuit (this is how the name ASIC is translated) is to decipher the algorithms on the basis of which the blockchain of all cryptocurrencies operates.

Physically, Bitcoin mining ASICs are small blocks that contain high-performance chips, memory boards and a fan. Professional models are equipped with several processors. Miner miners can have different design designs, be of different shapes, sizes, purposes, and most importantly, have different speed indicators.