The S9 generated sensation since it first came out in June 2016. However, crypto coins are volatile, and in this article I propose to check if it is still profitable to mine bitcoins with the S9. Let´s go.

From video cards to miners

There was a time when anyone could mine Bitcoins using their video card. However, with the addition of new miners and mining farms to the bitcoin network, the possibility of mining this crypto coin with a simple PC disappeared. No GPU could provide the necessary hashrate to be profitable.

This is why Bitmain, a China-based company developed and launched a set of ASICs that are accessible to the casual miner and have a reasonable return on investment, allowing ordinary people to start mining Bitcoin again. The company is well known for ASIC mining models such as the R4 and S7. As the difficulty rate increases, Bitmain launches new miners to keep up with demand. Its latest S9 is the first-class ASIC miner that uses 16nm technology to deliver superior performance.

Bitmain Antminer S9 Overview

For a price that can be around US $ 2,100, not including the power supply, the Bitman Antminer S9 uses the company’s most modern chip, the new 16nm ASIC Chips BM1387. This hardware triples the hashrate of the previous generation of miners, producing 14 Th / s of processing power, while at the same time owns the energy consumption level of Antminer S7 miners, which is equivalent to 1,375 watts.

Another important point is the speed with which the miners discard the hardware due to the loss of profitability. Bitcoins mining hardware is rapidly becoming obsolescence, so Bitmain wants to make its future Bitcoin mining equipment with a lower obsolescence rate.

The Antminer S9 follows the same form factor as the very popular Antminer S7 and is almost the same size. However, it has more than three times the power and double the efficiency of the S7.

Something innovative on the part of Bitmain is that the S9 is compatible with the power supplies that are used in older models, a change that will be welcomed by the mining community. In addition, the team continues to maintain the air-cooled system, which is easy to maintain for experienced people or for users who are just starting out in the mining world.

Bitmain limits the number of devices that each user can order to 5 units, in order to distribute the devices in a decentralized way over time.

Bitmain Antminer S9 Specifications

The technical specifications of Antminer S9 are the following:

• Hash Rate: 14.0 THS ± 5%
• Power consumption: 1375W + 7% (on the wall, with APW3, 93% efficiency, 25C ambient temperature)
• Energy Efficiency: 0.098 J / GH + 7% (on the wall, with APW3 93% efficiency, 25 ° C ambient temperature)
• Rated voltage: 11.60 ~ 13.00V
• Number of chips per unit: 189x BM1387
• Dimensions: 350mm (L) * 135mm (W) * 158mm (H)
• Cooling: fan 2 × 12038
• Operating temperature: 0 ° C to 40 ° C
• Network connection: Ethernet
• Default frequency: 650 MHz

Bitmain Antminer S9 Prices

There are several lots and revisions of the S9 available in the market with slight differences in price and features. In the official page of Bitmain the S9 has an approximate cost of 1300 dollars, however due to the high demand and limited production of units, these usually exhaust in a short time. To date all S9 directly marketed by Bitmain through its official site are depleted, so it will play to be alert to the announcement of new units. The price on sites like Amazon and Ebay can easily exceed $ 2100.

The S9 is far from cheap. However, the lower your electricity costs, the greater the likelihood that the miner will pay for himself within a reasonable time.

Of course, much depends on the difficulty and the price of Bitcoin.

As smaller manufacturing processes become a industry-wide standard and with other manufacturers launching competitive hardware, the price of S9 is expected to fall within a few months.

• The Antminer S9 consumes 1375W, with a 7% variation. It uses just 0.1 joules per Gigahash, making it about 2.5 times more efficient than the Antminer S7.
• For the S9 to work without problems it is recommended to use a power supply of 1600W or more.

S9 Power supply

The good news is that existing power supplies, at least those with sufficient power, are fully compatible with the S9.

Recommended for use with the S9 are:

• Bitmain AntMiner APW5 1300 Watt (110v) / 2600 Watt (220v) PSU, which sells for approximately $ 350 at Amazon
• Bitmain AntMiner APW12 1600 Watt PSU, sold for approx. $ 300 at Amazon
• EVGA SuperNOVA 1600 Watts T2 80+ GOLD Titanium, costs about $ 400 at Amazon.

S9 Cost effectiveness

Revenues are highly dependent on the mine difficulty rate, which in turn depends on how many people are mining the same coin simultaneously. Since large Chinese consortiums continue to buy Bitcoin mining equipment, it is expected that the difficulty of mining with this criptomon will continue to increase steadily.

However, the price of Bitcoin also rises. It started with 0.08USD by Bitcoin in July 2010, and reached a whopping $ 2,000 in May 2017.

At present, there is not a more powerful miner of Bitcoin than the S9. The S9 has more processing power than any previous device: a massive 14 TH / s (TeraHash per second). In fact, a single S9 drive has a hashrate equivalent to the maximum capacity of the entire Bitcoin network from its bootstrap through mid-2012.

We will now calculate the projected earnings based on the mining difficulty rate and the most recent exchange rate:

• The difficulty rate to date (5/29/17) is 595,921,917,085
• The current exchange rate (5/29/17) is 2221.04 dollars for each Bitcoin
• Taking into account the current difficulty rate, the S9 will in theory produce 0.179 BTC, which is equivalent to $ 399.36 per month and 2,148 BTC / $ 4770 per year.

The Return on Investment as you can see is feasible in a period of approximately 6 months, especially if the price of Bitcoin is kept on the rise.

S9 Additional Requirements

• Apart from the power supply, the S9 is an autonomous unit. It does not require connection to another computer to interact with other Bitcoin nodes.
• Its on-board web management portal allows a simplified installation and maintenance process.

S9 Noise and temperature

The S9 is definitely not meant to be used inside a house. The miner is very sensitive to temperature, so it requires adequate cooling to maintain stable operation. The 16nm chips die easily due to overheating, so it is recommended to install the S9 in a place like a garage or a dedicated mining farm.

The S9 works reliably in well ventilated spaces, whether a few units maintained in an open and well ventilated room, or hundreds of units in a large industrial mining center.

The S9 is quite noisy. It comes with two large high revolution fans that produce about 77-80 Db of constant noise (the equivalent of a vacuum cleaner).

So if you want a compact and quiet mining equipment for the home, your best bet is probably the AntMiner R4.

Verdict

The S9 is the most advanced and efficient bitcoin miner today. If you are serious about mining Bitcoin or need to expand your current mining capacity, the S9 and its 14 TH / s are the best choice currently available in the market.

The S9 will continue to be profitable for much longer than previous generations of ASIC miners thanks to its 16nm design and high processing power.

In the current difficulty this miner can mine around 0.179 Bitcoins every month, which makes it profitable if the price of the criptomoneda is kept up. If the cost of electricity is not a problem, this miner will cover hardware expenses in 6 months.

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