10
Nov 2022
It seems that we kind of missed out on something crucial in the quiet modification of the Jasminer X4 1U miners described here and that is to consider the another thing that generates heat inside the miner. That is the controller chip on the miners control board that generally does not included a cooling heatsink on top of it. The Xilinx Zynq-7000 SoC (XA7Z020) utilized is not a traditional FPGA like we sort of assumed without appropriately examining the specifications of the chip. It remains in reality a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 Application Processor Unit (APU), and as you understand having a processor, even a lower power ARM one can get things hot when operating and under load 24/7 …
So, what obviously happened throughout the night, with no one present around the miner is the control panel of the Jasminer X4 1U that we were using for screening simply dying on us for no obvious factor. The only thing that comes to mind is the chip overheating for some factor and passing away on us, although the typical operating temperature does not seem to suggest any overheating concerns. Typically, when the miner is in its original plan inside the 1U box with all the high-rpm server fans the within ambient temperature is most likely lower and thus no additional cooling has been supplied for the controller boards processor, but when you open it up and customize it to utilize quiet fans things may end up being different. Luckily weve had a spare controller board currently purchased simply in case something like that happened, so we replaced it right away and the miner continued to function like before.
Weve measure the operating temperature level of the Zynq APU on the new controller board and it is nowhere near hazardous levels for such chips, at around 52 degrees Celsius (125.6 F) it ought to be pretty much safe even without additional cooling. Well, it may be now, however if what for some reason this temperature increases for a while, probably that is what happened for some factor with the APU getting greater load for a longer time period leading to getting too hot (thouhg it might also be some completely unreleated reason also, cant make sure). Simply to be on the safe side, it is a great idea to include a little memory chip cooler on top of the Zynq APU in order to keep the operating temperature lower at all times. Especially if you plan on utilizing a quiet customized miner and the standard setup where the problem could be less susceptible to appear.
An excellent suggestions may be to order a spare controller board just in case, especially if you are running more than just a single Jasminer X4 1U ASIC miner. This is to prevent possible downtime in case something takes place with the controller board on your miner. Do note that you can link numerous hashing boards with Jasminer X4 ASICs to a single control board (our both had 3 adapters for hash board), though weve seen board with more adapters. Weve attempted and the control board finds and works with a hashing board connected to all of the three available ports. So, as a momentary solution you might use a single control board to drive numerous hashboards of numerous miners in case you have more than juts one and you get a dead controller board.
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Do note that you can link several hashing boards with Jasminer X4 ASICs to a single control board (our both had 3 connectors for hash board), though weve seen board with more ports. Weve attempted and the control board functions and discovers with a hashing board connected to all of the three available ports. As a short-term service you might use a single control board to drive multiple hashboards of numerous miners in case you have more than juts one and you get a dead controller board.
