Bitmain Ant S9K, S9SE Bitcoin Miner Trial Experience

In June 2016, Bitmain released the Bitcoin mining machine Antminer S9 (Caiyun Review: Bitmain Antminer S9 Bitcoin Miner), which uses 189 of the latest generation of BM1387 Bitcoin mining chips independently developed by Bitmain at the time. The whole machine has a computing power of 11.85 TH/s, a power of 1172W, and a power consumption ratio of 100W/T. The BM1387 chip is the fifth generation of Bitcoin mining chip independently developed by Bitmain. It uses TSMC's 16nm FinFET process and is designed with a fully customized solution. The maximum computing power of a single chip can reach 74GH/S.

No one expected that a classic Bitcoin mining machine, Ant S9, would be born.

According to previous experience in Bitcoin mining, the lifespan of a Bitcoin mining machine will be gradually eliminated as technology advances and mining difficulty increases. The longest lifespan of a mining machine is about one year at most. This rhythm has not changed much since the birth of the first ASIC mining machine in 2013.

Since the birth of the Ant S9 series in 2016, the first Ant S9 has a computing power of 11.85T. Different models of S9 with different computing power have been continuously iterated, and 13T and 13.5T versions have also been launched. In May 2018, Bitmain continued to launch upgraded versions of S9, S9i and S9j, with computing power ranging from 13T to 14.5T, and power consumption was further reduced. In the winter of 2018, when the market was in the cold winter season, Bitmain also developed a water-cooled S9 Hydro Bitcoin mining machine with a computing power of 18T and a power consumption of 1800W.

After three years, Ant S9 still occupies a dominant position in the Bitcoin mining industry. Today, we conducted a comprehensive trial experience of the latest models of Bitmain's classic Bitcoin mining machine Ant S9 series, the Ant S9K and S9SE.

The Antminer S9K-14T and S9SE-16T mining machines were launched in July 2019. At that time, the Bitcoin market just experienced a small peak, and the price of the currency reached 90,000 yuan. Perhaps this mining machine was born for this wave of market conditions.

Compared with the first generation S9, the new miners of Antminer S9K-14T and S9SE-16T are shorter and smaller. The physical dimensions of Antminer S9K-14T and S9SE-16T are 321.3*129.6*200mm and the weight is 4.56kg.

First generation Ant S9

Ant S9K-14T (two units)

Antminer S9K-14T side

Ant S9K-14T interface

Ant S9SE-16T

Ant S9K-14T interface

Ant S9SE-16T interface

The fans and control boards of Antminer S9K-14T and S9SE-16T are the same.

Ant S9K-14T

Ant S9SE-16T

Antminer S9k-14T uses the BM 1393B-BGM chip independently developed by Bitmain. The chip process is 16nm, and the three computing powers contain a total of 180 ASIC chips.

Antminer S9SE-16T also has three hash boards and uses 180 TSMC 16nm ASIC chips codenamed BM 1393CE-BGM.

Antminer S9SE-16T is the latest generation of S9 from Bitmain. The difference from previous generations is that a protective cover is designed for the control panel and power interface. You can remove it by unscrewing the middle screw behind the cover to facilitate the installation of the power cord.

Although the added cover increases the shelf-loading process, it provides protection for the control panel and power interface. The style after the power supply of the whole machine is installed

The measured power consumption of Bitmain Ant S9K-14T is 1273W. The btc.com mining pool receives stable data 24 hours a day, with an average computing power of 14.21T. The measured power consumption ratio is 89.58W/T.

The measured power consumption of Bitmain Antminer S9SE-16T is 1378W. The btc.com mining pool receives data stably 24 hours a day, with an average hashrate of 16.03T. The measured power consumption ratio is 85.96W/T, which is 4% lower than that of S9K.

Three years have passed, and the classic Antminer S9 series continues to occupy a place in the Bitcoin mining industry and is still active in the mining circle. Maybe the performance of Antminer S9 will continue until the end of the flood season in 2019, or maybe it will continue until May 2020. Who knows? Time will give the answer.
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