twentyseventy



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LegendaryActivity: 1386Merit: 1000 AlcheMiner 96MH/s Alchemist Scrypt Miner Unboxing / Review October 16, 2014, 03:25:03 PM

Last edit: October 24, 2014, 08:25:00 PM by twentyseventy #1

It seems that many people here on the boards aren't familiar with



You can see more information about the company at www.alcheminer.com - current pricing is:



96MH/s Alchemist - $1,500 $1,199

256MH/s Alchemist - $3,900 $3,099



This review/unboxing will be focused on the 96MH/s version



Actual Hashrate:

100MH/s @ GHash.io LTC, 50,000 Diff

94MH/s @ Clevermining (still testing), 65,536 Diff



Power draw: 900W (haven't tested at the wall)





With KNC's Titans plagued with such issues, it's been great to see that the Alchemists were made with such high quality.



NOTE: I maintain a business relationship with Alcheminer, so I have a vested interest in the company's success - please take this into account when reading this review. All information here is true and complete, but bias (recognized or unrecognized) is always a possible issue.



Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the build quality and, after the last firmware update, the hashing capability.



I received it about a week ago and, after two substandard power supplies, am finally hashing away with no problems.



Finally arrived from Taiwan!











Packed very well -





Box only includes the miner and two screw-on plates (not pictured) for rack-mounting











Looks very slick; the casing is like a thick computer tower case, not flimsy metal.











The front has three fan intakes - this is the 96MH version, so there is only one set of boards and fan. The 256MH/s model would have all three. The top right hand corner has the LED display screen and the power button.











The rear has the fax exhaust port, a PCIE 8-pin power port for the controller board and three more for the mining boards themselves. Last is of course the ethernet port.









Looking good with the wireless bridge









Get a good PSU!



It will need 900W @ 12v, so ensure that your PSU can handle that - I've got a EVGA 1300W just to ensure that there's enough for the draw. Also, the EVGA PSU came with a pin connector so that you don't have to short the PSU with a paper clip to start it - talk about foresight!













The LED fades in and out constantly while it's hashing - you wouldn't want it in your room for this reason... or because it's loud and hot!



The hashrate, when first powered on, spikes up to well above 100MH, but later comes back down to the standard 90 - 98MH/s range. I'll be interested to see if the boards can support higher hashrates with future firmware updates.













...and he lives in the garage now! 'Wife doesn't like the noise and heat' is almost a cliche on these forums - but it's true! This is best suited to a garage, cool basement, or other area away from main living area. The fan is pretty loud and it does generate a significant amount of heat if kept enclosed with little venting.











The backend is easily interfaced through a web browser and allows pools settings, hashrate monitor, IP settings, password change, and firmware updates.







Performance





The miner did require a firmware update when I first received it; there was an issue with the pool settings.



After getting everything set up, I was hashing at Ghash.io LTC pool at an average of about 75MH/s - there would sometimes be a ramp up and down, but that was the average after about 24 hours.



Tom, the lead engineer, sent a new firmware update with promises of better performance. After breaking it in for 14 hours, it was hashing at an average of 100MH/s!



You can see here in GHash's performance history - the change in variance is the new update. The miner does better with larger shares (50,000+) instead of smaller shares like 4096 or 8192.



This is the cause of the big variance and the increase in stales/rejects. Even with the increase in rejects, the hashrate is still far better than before.







Clevermining is still coming along as well, but I have yet to get a full 24 hours on the pool.













Hope you enjoyed the unboxing! Please let me know if anyone here would like additional pictures or information

It seems that many people here on the boards aren't familiar with AlcheMiner , a Scrypt-miner company located in Taiwan.You can see more information about the company at- current pricing is:$1,199$3,099This review/unboxing will be focused on the 96MH/s version100MH/s @ GHash.io LTC, 50,000 Diff94MH/s @ Clevermining (still testing), 65,536 Diff: 900W (haven't tested at the wall)With KNC's Titans plagued with such issues, it's been great to see that the Alchemists were made with such high quality.: I maintain a business relationship with Alcheminer, so I have a vested interest in the company's success - please take this into account when reading this review. All information here is true and complete, but bias (recognized or unrecognized) is always a possible issue.Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the build quality and, after the last firmware update, the hashing capability.I received it about a week ago and, after two substandard power supplies, am finally hashing away with no problems.Box only includes the miner and two screw-on plates (not pictured) for rack-mountingThe miner did require a firmware update when I first received it; there was an issue with the pool settings.After getting everything set up, I was hashing at Ghash.io LTC pool at an average of about- there would sometimes be a ramp up and down, but that was the average after about 24 hours.Tom, the lead engineer, sent a new firmware update with promises of better performance. After breaking it in for 14 hours, it was hashing at an average ofYou can see here in GHash's performance history - the change in variance is the new update. The miner does better with larger shares (50,000+) instead of smaller shares like 4096 or 8192.This is the cause of the big variance and the increase in stales/rejects. Even with the increase in rejects, the hashrate is still far better than before.Clevermining is still coming along as well, but I have yet to get a full 24 hours on the pool.