Antminer S9 13.5 Th/s, 1320 W Bitcoin ASIC miner Review

Antminer S9 13.5 Th/s, 1320 W Bitcoin ASIC miner Review Click for a bigger version. Image copyright (c) Bitmain. 1) Overview of the miner and what else you might need 2) Unboxing experience 3) Detailed look at the device 4) Setup process 5) Configuration steps 6) Performance testing 7) Measuring power usage 8) Final thoughts 9) How to purchase Last updated on February 26, 2018. Check out my Steemit post: https://steemit.com/review/@hagssfin/review-guide-antminer-s9-13-5-th-s-1320w-bitcoin-sha-256-asic-miner If you want a nicely formatted version (as of February 26, 2018), you can download it here: https://mega.nz/#!14lFSQrI!HYGQd_QQLiJ6iWNi0UEvZu7wBC6ANYdBL2Y80jRYw_o 1) Overview of the miner and what else you might need The Antminer S9 is an ASIC miner designed for Bitcoin (SHA-256) using 16nm chip technology, made by Bitmain Technologies based in Beijing, China. This unit operates independently with a built-in controller, so no need for extra controllers like Raspberry Pi to get it going. It has a claimed hashrate of 13.5 Th/s and a power draw of around 1323 Watts. The miner weighs 4.2 kg and its dimensions are 350mm (length) x 135mm (width) x 158mm (height). For more info, check Bitmain's website: www.bitmain.com Technical specs: Other items you’ll need: - A server-grade power supply that has at least 10 PCI-E 6-pin connectors, each with its own dedicated cable, and at least 18AWG wiring. I personally used the Bitmain APW3++ 1600W power supply for my setup. Highly recommend this power supply for the S9, assuming your mains voltage is at least 220VAC. - A suitable C13 power cord.

Thanks for posting this. Moderator's note: This post was edited by frodocooper to trim the quote from HagssFIN.

Another very informative review! Great idea throwing in the fan model and number. I've seen Quite a few people asking for it. I'd like to see them get their shipping on schedule. They could just ship them immediately after oredered! Ha! Keep up the good work HagssFin!

Thanks for the cool review! I believe you meant to say 16 nm here. I have similar experiences with recent S9 batch, gives more Th/s than advertised and uses more power (~1400 W).

Yes, whoops.   16 nm. I fixed the opening post. Thanks for the feedback you guys.

Thanks for the updated review. Looking forward to receiving my 3 S9's

Great review - It is good to know I was not the only one to see the S9 use more power than advertised!  Mine was measured at 1430W at the wall on 220 which really surprised me.  I was originally hoping to run two S9s on a single APW5 (2600W) supply until I measured the power just one of them took.  This and the noise made me get rid of it in favor of less efficient but quieter options.

No. AC is just a big waste of electricity. For cooling, build a fan system in your facility, if needed. No. But a stable electricity and a stable internet connection are needed.

I have one S9 for sale, in case some EU area guy is looking for buying one https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2771379.0

What temps are you getting and what is your ambient room temperature?

67-73 on 2 S9's that have been up for 24 hrs now Ambient around 72 with basement window cracked an inch, low 30's overnight Will not work so well in summer

Greetings fellow miners, This review is now updated in February 26, 2018 and there is also a nicely formatted version of this review/guide available for download.   Link: https://mega.nz/#!14lFSQrI!HYGQd_QQLiJ6iWNi0UEvZu7wBC6ANYdBL2Y80jRYw_o EDIT: This is now also available in the Steemit blogging website. Link: https://steemit.com/review/@hagssfin/review-guide-antminer-s9-13-5-th-s-1320w-bitcoin-sha-256-asic-miner

The reliability is decent unlike the 14th/s which are known to shit the bed quickly.

Yeah it looks like 13-13.5 Th/s S9 is a sweet spot for good performance and for good lifetime.

Just to correct one thing: It has different fans front and back. I have no idea WHAT the difference is, but the front fan is NIDEC UltraFlo W12E12BS11B5-57 and the back one is NIDEC UltraFlo W12E12BS11B5-07. Both are rated 1.65 Amps and I see no visible difference between them. But if they took the effort to install two different fans in each unit (which means more complicated logistics), I'm sure they have a good reason for it. I can't find specs for the fans anywhere. If anyone has any info (or even a theory) about the reason for the different fans, I'm curious. I just know that my newer S9s that came with these fans run as much as 20 (!!!) degrees C cooler than the old ones I have with the Delta fans. My old ones with the Delta fans seem to max out at 4800RPM, I have seen the Nidec fans go up to 6000. I wonder if this is only the fans themselves, or maybe the new firmware is more aggressive in keeping the miner cool?

A good point, thanks for sharing.