Note: Silly image proxy, had to post images as links.
So I have been reading this thread and others looking for the "350 Mhz OC w/ no volt mod @ < 5% errors secret".
Recently I was about to give up, but in the end I did learn some things and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
AFAIK the "lucky batch" excuse only applies if you don't modify your blizzard.
I am not a pro at this, but I'm a very tech person, willing to learn and I don't give up easy.
There are two reasons I am posting all this.
One, so that if I'm "doing it wrong" somebody can correct me.
Two, to help others before they go spending money.
This is my journey with my 5 blizzards... (WARNING: HI-RES IMAGE INTENSIVE)
First was to find the right miner.
I tried Zeus's solution, BFGMiner and some others and in the end I went with a fresh pull and compile of Dmaxl's Cgminer 3.11 for Zeus.
Currently I am using: --scrypt --zeus-chips 6 --zeus-clock 339 --scan-serial zeus:auto --zeus-nocheck-golden --expiry 120 --queue 10 --scan-time 20
I'm sure this isn't perfect, but it's been stable for me and averages between 7mh-8mh poolside depending on difficulty and gets < 5% hardware errors.
But I wanted the "350mhz" everyone is talking about (like the OP).
I chose
https://ghash.io/MULTI as my test pool because it has great stats and difficulty information.
To keep my wattage down and be efficient I used an old server 450w PSU that I got off of ebay for $20.
I cut the motherboard and cpu 12v leads and attached 2.1mm MALE Power Pigtail Connectors for CCTV with Terminal Blocks.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351081041457?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITThen I wired a barrel connector the red and black leads of a molex connector (5v) to attach to my 7 port USB hub with on/off switches.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301166887759?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITI also learned something new about the Raspberri Pi.
The hub will power it, there is no need to plug in the micro usb cable to the power connector of the Raspberry Pi.
For the computer, I used a Raspberry Pi model B and attached 3 heat sinks to it.
I had Arctic Silver 5, but didn't use it.
I attached them with the included sticky back tape.
Then I soldered a tiny cpu fan onto the 5v power of the Raspberri Pi.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/17x17x8-mm-Cooling-Fan-For-Raspberry-Pi-Overclock-DC-5V-13200RPM-Super-silence-/251595633221?pt=US_Server_Fans_Cooling_Systems&hash=item3a9444b245Since it was all heat sinked and cooled, I OCed it with rasp-config to 1ghz and then set force_turbo=1 in the /boot/config.txt.
The OS I chose was Minera because IT'S EPIC and Raspbian based.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/minera-v090-your-next-mining-dashboard-s9l3d3cpuminercgminerbfgminer-596620So, first I had to pull the miners apart and check out the terrible factory thermal paste job I kept reading about.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140721_234550.jpgOk, then I cleaned the thermal paste off with some cotton balls and a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140721_235059.jpgNow, before I go replacing the paste, it's time to add the heat sinks to the zeus chips.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141264980186?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITOn the first two blizzards, I removed the sticky adhesive backing from the heat sinks and cleaned them with q-tips and isopropyl alcohol.
I didn't want to do all the blizzards at the same so I could be a bit scientific about my testing.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140721_235545.jpgOn the first two blizzards with the clean heat sinks, I used Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive so that the heat sinks wouldn't ever fall off of the board.
This stuff sets quick (5 minutes).
On the other 3 blizzards I just used the sticky adhesive tape the came on the back of the heat sinks.
I also attached 3 smaller heat sinks onto the mosfets the same way with included sticky adhesive tape.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261474044223?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIThttp://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_001406.jpgWith all the heat sinks attached, then I began adding thermal paste to the back of the board.
I used Arctic Silver's Ceramique 2 Tri-Linear Thermal Compound as suggested by the OP.
I put the paste behind each zeus chip and the mosfets.
Normally I use a credit card and scrape a thin even layer but I wasn't putting it on a chip so I was generously sloppy.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_001821.jpgThen I reassembled the 5 blizzards.
Note: I took the picture before I fully tightened the board to the housing.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_002626.jpgSo then I fired up the blizzards at 350mhz hoping that I would see the magical < 5% errors.
No such luck!
I was getting about 10+%.
There was two things that I read about and had completely forgotten.
The first being cooling!
So after reading around I saw a few fan mods, some were done with tape, some house fans, most of them seemed like a mess.
And nobody was posting what size fans they were using.
I went into the garage and started grabbing random case and cpu fans to test.
In order for me to get the most "bang for the buck" out of my fans, I decided to sandwich 2 miners together in gridseed blade like fashion.
Basically, I removed the fans from the blizzards, bolted the enclosures together with the fan bolts and then rotated the fans 45 degrees and used regular case fan screws to attach them back on.
I did read about one guy using and old fan from an old server power supply, but he didn't specify the dimensions.
Next to my desk I had another $20 ebay special server psu.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301039879332?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649It had two 40mm highspeed fans on it, so I disconnected them and soldered 3 pin fan connectors on them.
These are VERY loud but move a lot of air and were my choice in the end.
I used Gorilla super glue to attach the fan onto the end of the enclosures.
The stuff is very strong but I can get the fan off later without too much effort.
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_181341.jpghttp://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_181425.jpgThe other fans I found that worked for my build were 50mm and they are MUCH quieter but aren't the turbo sounding monsters I ended up using.
I also replaced the 80mm stock fans on one build with Cooler Master 80mm led fans because I broke the stock ones. :p
http://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_133343.jpghttp://darkjedimasters.com/images/zeus-mod/20140722_133424.jpgNow that the cooling had been addressed, it was time to test again.
I started seeing 7%-8% hardware error rate.
A step in the right direction, but still not < 5%.
But then, a couple days later, it started to happen...
I began seeing 3%-5% hardware error rate at 350mhz on one of the units.
Then a second one.
They were the ones that I had used the thermal adhesive on.
And slowly the other 3 started showing 6%-7%.
My take on this was that the thermal adhesive and thermal compound had started to cure.
All that thermal paste work and I didn't even consider that it takes 20-80 hours for thermal compounds to "cure".
Maybe I'm wrong, but it really seems like this part is a big deal.My next steps will be to volt mod 1 blizzard (i have resistors on the way and a good soldering station) and then oil cooling in an aquarium.
I'm going to do this on just the 5th blizzard while I watch the results of the other 4.
I hope this was helpful and please please give me feedback, corrections and ideas.
I've given up on a timely ROI so now I'm just having fun with it.