Stock for now, like I said, no time. But I plan to return to it in the next day or two. I think this fan is definitely the limiting factor here now; that and I need a better PSU which is also on the way.
Only issue now is the heatsinks weight makes the stand topple over, I'll need to do some modifying there too. The game never ends but boy do I love to tinker
Topic: Very unofficial review of the BitaxeGamma miner. - page 2. (Read 744 times)
Looks good. What did you set it at?
400 freq
1000 volt
490 freq
1060 volt
Or higher.
400 freq
1000 volt
490 freq
1060 volt
Or higher.
Well, the first iteration is running. I don't have time to really mess with anything currently but it works as is and temps seem a few degrees lower (really need a bigger/better fan on this now) but the Xbox heatsink seems like a decent option if you have one laying around and are comfortable cutting one up and drilling some holes
That heatsink looks like you've done a great job. I too will be using all 4 mounting points for my cut down Xbox heatsink. The reset and boot buttons will probably be hidden (no biggie - I don't use them) but I THINK the shape of the heatsink will allow me to sneak under anyway but let's see, I'll hopefully report back today
good.
cygan has good thread / link he tested a few heatsinks.
the gamma 1370 chip burns more power than the 1368 and 1366 it is more efficient and allows higher hash but it does burn more juice.
and the 7-8 mm chip which is say 49 or 64 mm square is small compared to the stock 45 mm square heat sink.
In retrospect I think I could make the stock heatsink work if I used these to tighten.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5CQ5SX3?
with these rubber washers.
https://www.mcmaster.com/99604A220/
machine screw
metal washer
rubber washer
oem heatsink
pcb board
rubber washer
metal washer
nut
second nut
even with a 2 point attachment this would not get loose like the springs on the oem heatsink did
and the rubber washers allow proper tightening.
that solution would end the rocking
at least I can now have fun with heatsinks
That heatsink looks like you've done a great job. I too will be using all 4 mounting points for my cut down Xbox heatsink. The reset and boot buttons will probably be hidden (no biggie - I don't use them) but I THINK the shape of the heatsink will allow me to sneak under anyway but let's see, I'll hopefully report back today
The issue with the stock heatsink is two pin mount with springs. the springs are not that stiff so the stock heatsink can rock.
remember it has a 5000rpm fan on it.
my stock heatsink was also a bit rough there is a photo.
Not understanding the mechanical issue I thought there was a short. as temps could swing from 50c to 65c
and back to 50c eventually it would get to say 72c and power off.
I listened to sidehack and took apart the unit. I tried a few fixes with the stock heatsink. I said fuck it as it kept overheating.
I purchased a few ideas and fans to play with a better heatsink solution.
this works fine for low speed.
I will add a different fan and stop the avalon fan.
I will use a different heatsink its coming.
I am of the belief that the stock heatsink needs replacement. if you want to do this.
here is a possible heatsink that may have correct holes.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175714276331. this indeed would need a little bit of work to fit as it may not clear the reset and boot buttons.
But be aware you will need to play with heatsinks with the gamma
remember it has a 5000rpm fan on it.
my stock heatsink was also a bit rough there is a photo.
Not understanding the mechanical issue I thought there was a short. as temps could swing from 50c to 65c
and back to 50c eventually it would get to say 72c and power off.
I listened to sidehack and took apart the unit. I tried a few fixes with the stock heatsink. I said fuck it as it kept overheating.
I purchased a few ideas and fans to play with a better heatsink solution.
this works fine for low speed.
I will add a different fan and stop the avalon fan.
I will use a different heatsink its coming.
I am of the belief that the stock heatsink needs replacement. if you want to do this.
here is a possible heatsink that may have correct holes.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175714276331. this indeed would need a little bit of work to fit as it may not clear the reset and boot buttons.
But be aware you will need to play with heatsinks with the gamma
I'm cooking something in regards to cooling too. I have a side gig of repairing, restoring and selling old Xbox consoles for more sats and just had the idea to use on of those heatsinks on the Gamma. It's not perfectly sized so I'll have to cut it down a bit but I think it should work perfectly. Have a new 60mm fan on the way too which I'm hoping will also fit. I'll post pics once I've got it together and hopefully some before/after results
yeah I don’t have the best shop and tools ⚒️ anymore.
I cut this heatsink
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134999782205?
here it is with stock fan blowing on side
and here is side view
with Avalon nano fan on top and stock fan is still on side
top view of how it works at the moment
I'm cooking something in regards to cooling too. I have a side gig of repairing, restoring and selling old Xbox consoles for more sats and just had the idea to use on of those heatsinks on the Gamma. It's not perfectly sized so I'll have to cut it down a bit but I think it should work perfectly. Have a new 60mm fan on the way too which I'm hoping will also fit. I'll post pics once I've got it together and hopefully some before/after results
well whether the controller works well enough is interesting question.
over night the new four screw heatsink did its job.
I think this is a good, well better heatsink and I grabbed it
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335319211992
he sold it for a bid of 17 bucks
I will post on it when I install it
and not many rejections which makes it look like the controller may be okay
over night the new four screw heatsink did its job.
I think this is a good, well better heatsink and I grabbed it
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335319211992
he sold it for a bid of 17 bucks
I will post on it when I install it
and not many rejections which makes it look like the controller may be okay
this is interesting but I believe it is for the 1368 or 1366 chip correct?
the 1370 chip would do 1000 gh or maybe 1100 gh at your freq.
which is double the work. which would mean more rejects .
That's where the configuring of the asic comes in. The speed of the asic is not (meaningfully) related to the work the controller needs to do when the asic(s) are correctly configured. You can configure the asic to require few work updates and also produce only high difficulty (and thus rarely occurring) results. The only hard limit on the maximum #asics a controller can handle is the number of asic strings that can be connected to the controller and that depends on the number of serial ports the controller has. the 1370 chip would do 1000 gh or maybe 1100 gh at your freq.
which is double the work. which would mean more rejects .
New heat sink fixed issue.
I am going to look for a bigger fan.
I will post some more photos on thursday.
I am going to look for a bigger fan.
I will post some more photos on thursday.
As has been pointed out in other threads, the ESP32 micro-controller used is an extraordinarily poor choice for miners. It is made for use in very simple IoT devices such as sensors, thermostats, wearables, etc. that do not need good performance. Even the maker of them clearly states that. Even the best one only has 2 cores/threads which means that at best it can process hashes and do I/O without having to interrupt the processes provided the main and I/O threads are programmed to run independently. AFAIK the one used in the BitAxe has only 1 core...
All of that out of the way, does it work? Sure - but when there is a change of work and when it talks to the WiFi things slow down a lot. Because Skot is/was an IoT developer it makes some sense that he'd pick the ESP32 just because he is familiar with it. Unfortunately he did not know that you REALLY need a REAL multi-core/threaded CPU to ensure decent performance so the various processes running do not have to interrupt each other. Even the original RasPi-1 used a more capable chip. ref https://www.elprocus.com/difference-between-esp32-vs-raspberry-pi/
FYI, while the 1st ones from Sidehack will be using the same micro he is already redesigning it to use the Pi Nano to eliminate the processing bottlenecks and also allow using USB along with hardwired LAN connections.
edit: struckout comment on redesign.
Sorry for the long quote..All of that out of the way, does it work? Sure - but when there is a change of work and when it talks to the WiFi things slow down a lot. Because Skot is/was an IoT developer it makes some sense that he'd pick the ESP32 just because he is familiar with it. Unfortunately he did not know that you REALLY need a REAL multi-core/threaded CPU to ensure decent performance so the various processes running do not have to interrupt each other. Even the original RasPi-1 used a more capable chip. ref https://www.elprocus.com/difference-between-esp32-vs-raspberry-pi/
edit: struckout comment on redesign.
But I'll post some facts so everyone can form their own opinion;
- The average blocktime is 10 min. (600.000ms)
- My single core esp32-c3's need less than 1ms to check (including crc check/difficulty check/stale check) and submit a found nonce.
- The wireless connection has a sub 20ms latency
- Latency to the pool (solo.ckpool.org for me) including the wireless latency is around 50ms
So, according to my poor math due to the very slow esp32 I will get an additional rejected share every 12.000 submitted shares, ... I know, its shocking
In reality my rejected shares are anywhere between 1 in 750 .. 3000 shares submitted (depending on connection/pool load?).
In short: the speed of the controller does not in any way/shape or form matter. You can overload an esp32 by (mis)configuring the asic(s), but why would you do that?
The stats from 1 of my miners;
Code:
Hashrate (GH/s)
11d:00h:38m:49s 1 day 1 hour 5 minutes 1 minute 5s
464.71 464.40 463.70 459.41 455.39 450.95
solo.ckpool.org:3333
#connects Difficulty Accepted Rejected Best share Luck
1 1686 61201 46 111857641 1.1x
Asic
Temperature Health Frequency Vcore set Vcore actual Job interval
38.43°C 100.1% 520MHz 1.175V 1.182V 55ms
11d:00h:38m:49s 1 day 1 hour 5 minutes 1 minute 5s
464.71 464.40 463.70 459.41 455.39 450.95
solo.ckpool.org:3333
#connects Difficulty Accepted Rejected Best share Luck
1 1686 61201 46 111857641 1.1x
Asic
Temperature Health Frequency Vcore set Vcore actual Job interval
38.43°C 100.1% 520MHz 1.175V 1.182V 55ms
this is interesting but I believe it is for the 1368 or 1366 chip correct?
the 1370 chip would do 1000 gh or maybe 1100 gh at your freq.
which is double the work. which would mean more rejects .
I am not arguing that for whatever chip you are showing that it is not good enough as it appears that you are doing okay for the older chips.
I am arguing the results do not apply to the newer chips since it is far quicker and does more in the same time.
thus the errors would be double if it scales linear. but since the results are not shown by you info I can't tell if the chip overwhelms the controller and the errors reject go up 3 or 4 or 5 fold not 2x
edit found a heatsink that I can mod I think it is better
marking the drill mount holes
top view this is 50mm by 50mm
will need to cut 4 tabs for each mount corner
you can see the thin rubber washer for 1 mount
these four with the nylon screws will lock the new larger heatsink in place
no rocking this should get me there. with less work than other ideas
As has been pointed out in other threads, the ESP32 micro-controller used is an extraordinarily poor choice for miners. It is made for use in very simple IoT devices such as sensors, thermostats, wearables, etc. that do not need good performance. Even the maker of them clearly states that. Even the best one only has 2 cores/threads which means that at best it can process hashes and do I/O without having to interrupt the processes provided the main and I/O threads are programmed to run independently. AFAIK the one used in the BitAxe has only 1 core...
All of that out of the way, does it work? Sure - but when there is a change of work and when it talks to the WiFi things slow down a lot. Because Skot is/was an IoT developer it makes some sense that he'd pick the ESP32 just because he is familiar with it. Unfortunately he did not know that you REALLY need a REAL multi-core/threaded CPU to ensure decent performance so the various processes running do not have to interrupt each other. Even the original RasPi-1 used a more capable chip. ref https://www.elprocus.com/difference-between-esp32-vs-raspberry-pi/
FYI, while the 1st ones from Sidehack will be using the same micro he is already redesigning it to use the Pi Nano to eliminate the processing bottlenecks and also allow using USB along with hardwired LAN connections.
edit: struckout comment on redesign.
Sorry for the long quote..All of that out of the way, does it work? Sure - but when there is a change of work and when it talks to the WiFi things slow down a lot. Because Skot is/was an IoT developer it makes some sense that he'd pick the ESP32 just because he is familiar with it. Unfortunately he did not know that you REALLY need a REAL multi-core/threaded CPU to ensure decent performance so the various processes running do not have to interrupt each other. Even the original RasPi-1 used a more capable chip. ref https://www.elprocus.com/difference-between-esp32-vs-raspberry-pi/
edit: struckout comment on redesign.
But I'll post some facts so everyone can form their own opinion;
- The average blocktime is 10 min. (600.000ms)
- My single core esp32-c3's need less than 1ms to check (including crc check/difficulty check/stale check) and submit a found nonce.
- The wireless connection has a sub 20ms latency
- Latency to the pool (solo.ckpool.org for me) including the wireless latency is around 50ms
So, according to my poor math due to the very slow esp32 I will get an additional rejected share every 12.000 submitted shares, ... I know, its shocking
In reality my rejected shares are anywhere between 1 in 750 .. 3000 shares submitted (depending on connection/pool load?).
In short: the speed of the controller does not in any way/shape or form matter. You can overload an esp32 by (mis)configuring the asic(s), but why would you do that?
The stats from 1 of my miners;
Code:
Hashrate (GH/s)
11d:00h:38m:49s 1 day 1 hour 5 minutes 1 minute 5s
464.71 464.40 463.70 459.41 455.39 450.95
solo.ckpool.org:3333
#connects Difficulty Accepted Rejected Best share Luck
1 1686 61201 46 111857641 1.1x
Asic
Temperature Health Frequency Vcore set Vcore actual Job interval
38.43°C 100.1% 520MHz 1.175V 1.182V 55ms
11d:00h:38m:49s 1 day 1 hour 5 minutes 1 minute 5s
464.71 464.40 463.70 459.41 455.39 450.95
solo.ckpool.org:3333
#connects Difficulty Accepted Rejected Best share Luck
1 1686 61201 46 111857641 1.1x
Asic
Temperature Health Frequency Vcore set Vcore actual Job interval
38.43°C 100.1% 520MHz 1.175V 1.182V 55ms
Ahh the joys of mass production. You might never see it but 10% of your boards could.
Board deflection of only 1% will cause this, even a .5% settling error of the asic will cause it. Maybe too much paste on asic pad.
More of a problem for Muti asic boards though
We used a pretty high quality thermal pad on the R909 to help with contact and thermal expansion issues. Got along quite well.
Single chip, just gotta make sure the heatsink mounts flat to it and stays flat to it. Two-point with a tiny chip gives a lot of room for swing. Can't wait until we have the new heatsink samples in hand with four screws and a nice solid base for better lateral heat transfer away from the central hotspot.
Phil, sorry yours went out with an unlapped heatsink. It was one of the very first production units after the five samples I built to test thoroughly. We started sanding the heatsinks smooth a day or two after yours went out. Wish I'd thought of it sooner.
four nylon screws very thin rubber washers that will compress four nylon nuts
I have four of these plates 20 bucks for them I can make 16 mounts
mount OEM heat sink on plate.
the OEM heat sink is not nearly as smooth as the aluminum mount plates I purchased.
When it is done I will photo it whaling (I hope)
and I have some copper plate on the way. I will see if it is better.
cygan has good results with better heat sinks.
check it out: https://plebbase.com/research/naked-lama-um-gamma-i-mean-bitaxe-gamma-61
that link is from here:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/--5506695
and his best one has four mount screws.
I have four of these plates 20 bucks for them I can make 16 mounts
mount OEM heat sink on plate.
the OEM heat sink is not nearly as smooth as the aluminum mount plates I purchased.
When it is done I will photo it whaling (I hope)
and I have some copper plate on the way. I will see if it is better.
cygan has good results with better heat sinks.
check it out: https://plebbase.com/research/naked-lama-um-gamma-i-mean-bitaxe-gamma-61
that link is from here:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/--5506695
and his best one has four mount screws.
As has been pointed out in other threads, the ESP32 micro-controller used is an extraordinarily poor choice for miners. It is made for use in very simple IoT devices such as sensors, thermostats, wearables, etc. that do not need good performance. Even the maker of them clearly states that. Even the best one only has 2 cores/threads which means that at best it can process hashes and do I/O without having to interrupt the processes provided the main and I/O threads are programmed to run independently. AFAIK the one used in the BitAxe has only 1 core...
All of that out of the way, does it work? Sure - but when there is a change of work and when it talks to the WiFi things slow down a lot. Because Skot is/was an IoT developer it makes some sense that he'd pick the ESP32 just because he is familiar with it. Unfortunately he did not know that you REALLY need a REAL multi-core/threaded CPU to ensure decent performance so the various processes running do not have to interrupt each other. Even the original RasPi-1 used a more capable chip. ref https://www.elprocus.com/difference-between-esp32-vs-raspberry-pi/
FYI, while the 1st ones from Sidehack will be using the same micro he is already redesigning it to use the Pi Nano to eliminate the processing bottlenecks and also allow using USB along with hardwired LAN connections.
edit: struckout comment on redesign.
All of that out of the way, does it work? Sure - but when there is a change of work and when it talks to the WiFi things slow down a lot. Because Skot is/was an IoT developer it makes some sense that he'd pick the ESP32 just because he is familiar with it. Unfortunately he did not know that you REALLY need a REAL multi-core/threaded CPU to ensure decent performance so the various processes running do not have to interrupt each other. Even the original RasPi-1 used a more capable chip. ref https://www.elprocus.com/difference-between-esp32-vs-raspberry-pi/
edit: struckout comment on redesign.
Nah, the ESP32S3 (indeed dual core) is more than enough for a handful of ASICs. It's your Cortex-A running Linux that is overkill
So that's like why every other miner doesn't use them? Cheap is cheap ...
But rock it does. Northbridge heatsinks are designed for chips with large packages and/or integrated heat spreaders, more like 25mm square than 8mm square. With that much area, a 2-point mount is okay because there's no leverage to rock it. A small chip in the middle might as well be a single point fulcrum. It's super easy to upset.
We're already designing an improved heatsink (more dissipative surface area on the fins) with 4-point M3 screw mounting, like what's been working on our stickminers for most of the last decade. Might have samples in the next week.
Phil, I think yours went out before I started lapping the heatsink underside. The ones we got in were not exactly smooth either, and the smoother and flatter the mating surface, the better.
We're already designing an improved heatsink (more dissipative surface area on the fins) with 4-point M3 screw mounting, like what's been working on our stickminers for most of the last decade. Might have samples in the next week.
Phil, I think yours went out before I started lapping the heatsink underside. The ones we got in were not exactly smooth either, and the smoother and flatter the mating surface, the better.
my heatsink is grooved bigly
I just got back from a long day on the road and spending time with my Demented bro in law.
I am really spent at the moment.
I have parts and will be showing my fix.
Its cheap enough.
But rock it does. Northbridge heatsinks are designed for chips with large packages and/or integrated heat spreaders, more like 25mm square than 8mm square. With that much area, a 2-point mount is okay because there's no leverage to rock it. A small chip in the middle might as well be a single point fulcrum. It's super easy to upset.
We're already designing an improved heatsink (more dissipative surface area on the fins) with 4-point M3 screw mounting, like what's been working on our stickminers for most of the last decade. Might have samples in the next week.
Phil, I think yours went out before I started lapping the heatsink underside. The ones we got in were not exactly smooth either, and the smoother and flatter the mating surface, the better.
We're already designing an improved heatsink (more dissipative surface area on the fins) with 4-point M3 screw mounting, like what's been working on our stickminers for most of the last decade. Might have samples in the next week.
Phil, I think yours went out before I started lapping the heatsink underside. The ones we got in were not exactly smooth either, and the smoother and flatter the mating surface, the better.
I haven’t experienced this uneven heatsink issue you mentioned. It kinda seems like you got a bad batch.
Four point mount custom heatsink with a thicker base will be awesome! There really isn’t any headroom anymore with the current one.
Ahh the joys of mass production. You might never see it but 10% of your boards could.
Board deflection of only 1% will cause this, even a .5% settling error of the asic will cause it. Maybe too much paste on asic pad.
More of a problem for Muti asic boards though
But rock it does. Northbridge heatsinks are designed for chips with large packages and/or integrated heat spreaders, more like 25mm square than 8mm square. With that much area, a 2-point mount is okay because there's no leverage to rock it. A small chip in the middle might as well be a single point fulcrum. It's super easy to upset.
We're already designing an improved heatsink (more dissipative surface area on the fins) with 4-point M3 screw mounting, like what's been working on our stickminers for most of the last decade. Might have samples in the next week.
Phil, I think yours went out before I started lapping the heatsink underside. The ones we got in were not exactly smooth either, and the smoother and flatter the mating surface, the better.
We're already designing an improved heatsink (more dissipative surface area on the fins) with 4-point M3 screw mounting, like what's been working on our stickminers for most of the last decade. Might have samples in the next week.
Phil, I think yours went out before I started lapping the heatsink underside. The ones we got in were not exactly smooth either, and the smoother and flatter the mating surface, the better.
I haven’t experienced this uneven heatsink issue you mentioned. It kinda seems like you got a bad batch.
Four point mount custom heatsink with a thicker base will be awesome! There really isn’t any headroom anymore with the current one.
My Gamma just arrived and got it set up within minutes. Smooth setup and running very well. I don't have time to tinker today but plan on having a proper fiddle with it tomorrow!
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