Topic: Help Choosing... S5 or Spondoolies SP20? (Read 1455 times)

It's hard to see it though.  I sometimes feel the same.... if I only would have mined during CPU day's.  But I did not it seemed like a crazy thing when I heard about it.  Some that mined it spent what would be tons of money on things years ago, best example is the well known pizza being bought.

You can't beat yourself up for it though.  Same thing goes for normal investing I think the same about netfix... I should have known as I hated rentals locally.  But I did not jump big so again I can't really go on forever beating my self up forever on it.

I suggest buying in your case and holding onto it.  Might not be a short term big profit you want.  But long term... maybe you will have a decent return.

Best you can do is selling your asic miners and buy some outside fornitures, hehehe.
BTW, if you want to relife the golden age, try to mine Ethereum; nothing is guarantied, but some people here thinks is a good try...
An S5/SP20/S7 can be a problem with wifes, so be aware (s3/u3 are very silent!)

It's really a shame I missed the golden age of Bitcoin mining.  It must have been fun being able to mine hundreds and even thousands of Bitcoin back in '09 and '10.  Even better for those that have held on to them this whole time.  I started late December (2015)/early January of this year (2016) and I've only mined a total of .5195 (with my two S3s and a U3).  If only I had known!

I would agree S5's run hot and loud..... so you will be under clocking if you went with one.  Also I think you might lose more in S5/SP20 in value then what you mine with current S7 price.  It is going to push all old gear down in my eyes (this is not instant though).   Your weather... sucks for mining. 

With your heat and situation you are honestly better off buying and holding I think currently aswell.  You are right though not to put money into mining if you cannot lose with BTC and have other needs more vital.  There is nothing wrong with using priority's.    

based on the last post you should buy some btc and just hold it for 90 days.

if you buy .250 btc it would be about 107 usd

I understand completely.  The only problem is I simply cannot purchase a S7 right now.  Several things are stopping me...

1) My environment will not allow it.

a. My modest 1800 sq. ft. home has no spare room that I could house the S7.  Even if I did,
b. The amount of heat and noise put off by the S7 would be unbearable to have anywhere in the house.
c. I live in Texas (just outside San Antonio) and our summers begin in April and end in Oct.  It's already in the 80s.  So,
d. If I put the S7 in the garage, it would then be in an non-vented space that would be 140-150 degrees F (60-65 C) in the evening after both vehicles (with hot engines) are pulled in and the door closed.
e. Again, it's very common to have 105F (40C) degree days in the shade, while low temps *might* drop in to the low 80s (~26-31C).  It's common to still be 90 (32C) degrees or hotter after midnight.  Lows in the 70s don't typically happen until beginning of October.
f. I have no basement (don't really exist in Texas), nor do I have any type of outdoor shed/enclosure. 

2) Finances

a. The price of the S7 is still prohibitively high for me.  Why?
b. I just picked up a third car payment (Father-in-Law passed away three weeks ago and his 2012 Honda Civic only has 2.5 more years on the loan and 40k miles.  I bought it to keep it in the family, to take pressure off my mother-in-law's finances, and so my son will have a car when he turns 16 in five years, haha!)
c. I would also have to buy a big ass power supply.
d. I would have to have an electrician come out and do something special to the circuit in order to accommodate the S7, right? (I think I read something like that)
e. I don't want to put all that on the credit card and pay interest on something that already wouldn't make me any money, especially since I won't be able to run it during the summer months.
f. My wife would be furious that I bought an S7 (on a credit card) and didn't buy the new patio furniture she has been wanting instead.  Although I see it as stupid since it's too hot to sit outside anyway! (lol)
g. I would feel guilty buying the S7 when there are other more important things (considered by my family, anyway) that need to be purchased first.

I know a lot of people have been telling me to pick up the S7 this week, but it would be a huge burden to buy one and then figure out where to put it.  :/

Phil is a great guy OP I would take him up on the offer.  We are not seeing it yet but the new S7 price WILL push down all older gen prices on gear.   And it's not necessary the quickest process so right now your best off getting a S7.  They truly are at a unbeatable rate currently if buying new gear.

Watch in a month if bitmain keeps this pricing up how much old gen will go down in prices.   And bitmain might be selling inventory and it's temporary... no one really can give great speculation as they have become so darn good about keeping secrets with no leaks.

Op buy the s-7. If you need a free coupn let me know

SP20E will hit the same hashrate as a S5 using a hair less power (in general, units vary enough that SOME SP20E might need a hair more power than the best S5s out there), but are A TON more flexable on balancing efficiency vs. hashrate, and will pull a LOT more hashrate if you're willing to pay the price of lower efficiency.

 Both seem to have good long-term reliability if the temps are kept reasonable.

 SP20E is a bit quieter, but that's not by a lot. You don't want to park either right by your bed.

Look at prices of S7's right now with coupons before you buy either.  I think you will be surprised as getting a S7 most likely will make more sense currently.  They are just getting pretty darn cheap.   

It's going to push S5 and SP20 prices down even more, this might not be instant though.  Might take a little time to do.

I don't know if you are informed about the new halving, next 3 month; in july, the block reward will be halved to 12.5BTC instead of 25BTC. If you don't have a very cheap electricity, you will not be able to mine with thouse miners (at this moment, $0.075/kw i think, but you will need at least $0.035/kw to continue mining with theese machines without enter in loss). Please, try to calculate your proffit before buying the machine: https://bitcoinwisdom.com/bitcoin/difficulty

BTW, with an SP20, you will need a 1200/1300w PSU to run it full specs, but in best eficience mode, it will need only 500/600w. I used this table to know the best configuration:

0.655v to 0.661v - 1269gh/s - 741w
0.645v to 0.651v - 1241gh/s - 697w
0.635v to 0.641v - 1196gh/s - 667w 
0.620v to 0.625v - 1038gh/s - 553w (can be improved with a 80+Platinium PSU)
0.610v to 0.620v - 1092gh/s - 566w <-- Yes, this is not in range...
0.605v to 0.611v - 1001gh/s - 511w
0.590v to 0.600v - 876gh/s - 433w
0.585v to 0.595v - 854gh/s - 418w <-- At this point, the eficiency goes about 0.49w/ghs, better than the s5

Note this table is for an SP20E and can be improved with a 80+Platinium PSU to 0.45w/ghs or 0.46w/ghs
Important: This is based on my personal experience, all can be different with other miner/conditions.

Good luck anyway, and enjoy this hobby!!

Here is something that could be useful if you are from USA/Canada:
EVGA 1300W for example should do. https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/closed-1393152
Trusted member selling bunch of SP20: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bunch-of-sp20s-for-sale-44-canada-1410518

Yeah, I think I'm with ya on that!  If the environment gets too hot or I need it to quiet down a bit, I'd rather it hash at 0.8Th/s-1.0Th/s than have to turn the whole thing off.  When it gets cooler and/or I don't care about noise as much, I can crank it up to the 1.6-1.7 Th/s.

I just need to decide on a power supply.  I would say minimum 1200, yeah?  I just don't know if a server or ATX PSU would be better.

sp20 all day!

more flexibility in speed, noise, efficiency...

Awesome.. now I need to decide whether to get a server-style PSU or ATX.  Any advice?

Yep. See http://www.spondoolies-tech.com/products/holiday-special-sp20-jackson-shipping-from-stock

Yeah, I don't know the story.  I've only ever had Antminer S3s.  Easy to setup and I just forget about it.  I've heard the S20s are super loud, but since it's going in the garage it won't be a big deal I suppose.  I'll probably have to keep it off during July-September since my garage will probably be over 100 degrees F.

The Sp20 doesn't need a separate controller or anything, right?  Just a beefed up power supply?

[sarcasm]
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Just if the OP doesn't know the story of SP50

Get an SP50 dude!!! Just ask Spoondolies,they'll be happy too sell ya one 

At this point, SP20, i could be more efficient when needed (than the s5)