In this post, we’ll introduce two ways to overclock Bitmain Antminer S9 series miners, and shaow you how to use Bitmain ASIC Boost firmware to overclock Antminer S9.
In simple words, overclocking is “pushing” an ASIC’s capabilities go beyond what is typical. Overclocking has several benefits for miners, not the least of which is the ability to increase income. Learn more about the benefits of overclocking in this article, and learn how to properly overclock your ASICs to boost performance, increase power, and reduce costs.
Table of Contents
Can You Overclock Antminer S9?
Overclocking simply means that the ASICs use more energy, hash at higher rates, and generate more reliable proofs of work than at stock settings. For example, an Antminer S9 that typically produces 13.5 TH/s at 1200 W consumption could be overclocked to produce 16 TH/s at 1600 W consumption instead.
Why Overclock Bitmain Antminer S9?
Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of overclocking:
- Overclocking improves the performance of the devices, which has a positive impact on revenue
- Overclocking can also be used to reduce power consumption, which is also good for your net profit — you’ll spend less money on paying electricity bills
- By choosing an overclocking profile, frequencies and voltages are adjusted and optimized. As a result, the ASIC is more stable and its chips “live” longer. This way, you reduce the chances of sudden expenses for repairs or purchase of new devices due to the failure of the old ones
- By choosing a specific profile, you can optimally “adjust” to the ambient temperature. For example, if it’s too hot in the room, you can go for a profile that consumes less power — accordingly, the temperature of your ASICs will also be lower, and you will minimize the danger of overheating
Possible Difficulties of Overclocking Bitmain Antminer S9
Overclocking has many advantages, but it can also lead to some difficulties:
- A higher temperature is a direct result of faster mining. Therefore, you will have to pay even more attention to your equipment and ensure heat dissipation and ventilation — otherwise your ASICs can overheat
- By overclocking devices as much as possible, you also maximize power consumption, which will increase expenses accordingly
- To get your ASICs up to the fastest possible speed, you might need to purchase new power supplies. Factory power supplies may be not enough for the desired overclocking profile
- Maximum overclocking can lead to numerous device errors
How to Overclock Bitmain Antminer S9?
It’s possible to speed up the Bitmain Antminer S9 in a number of ways. First, some devices have an ASIC Boost feature that boosts performance, such as the Bitmain Antminer S9 Series. Our engineers created a feature called ASICBoost or ASIC Boost that uses electricity to power the miner more effectively.
Use the New Version of Antminer Overclocking Firmware
4 new multi-level security firmwares, which respectively support Models T9+, S9, S9i, and Antminer S9. The firmware does not support miners who use the C5 control board (only a few S9 Antminers may use the C5 control board). Even if you upgrade the new firmware by mistake, it won’t matter. Automatic control card type verification is performed by the firmware. A C5 control board will automatically skip the upgrade, and the miner’s firmware version will not change afterward.
The miner configuration page now features a new working mode drop-down menu. You can step down or overclock the corresponding gear to decrease the power consumption of the miner or increase its hash rate. It is recommended to use matching batch tools to realize batch selection of multiple miners’ gears.
The screenshots of Antmier S9/S9i/S9j with multiple gears are as follows:
The screenshots of Antminer T9+ with multiple gears are as follows:
Drop-down menu description:
| Gear Adjustment | Describe |
| Normal | In normal working mode, the working voltage and frequency remain unchanged. |
| HashRate+0.5TH/S~+2.0TH/S | Using the initial theoretical hash rate as a guide, overclocking should result in a hash rate increase of 0.5 to 2.0T. |
| HashRate Unchanged-Lower Voltage | Reduce the operating voltage, the operating frequency, and the hash rate remain unchanged, reducing power consumption. |
| HashRate-0.5TH/S~-3.0TH/S | Reduce frequency and voltage, reduce power consumption, and reduce 0.5~3T hash rate based on the initial theoretical hash rate. |
| Low Power Enhanced Mode (Only available for S9/S9i/S9j) | Frequency reduction and voltage reduction: For S9, the hash rate is reduced by 4.5T based on the initial theoretical hash rate; Based on the initial theoretical hash rate, decrease the hash rate for S9i/S9j by 3.5T. |
1. It is not recommended to upgrade the overclocking firmware
(1) The following issues affect miners: unstable hash rates, a lack of hash boards, incomplete chips, and a hash rate that is more than 5% lower than theoretically possible when using standard firmware.
(2) The power supply for the miner has the following limitations: the output is unstable and the power is less than 1400W.
2. Description of power supply and gear adjustment
(1) For Antminer S9/S9i/S9j: 1400W power supply can support +0.5T gear, 1600W power supply can support +1.0T/+1.5T/+2.0T gear.
(2) For the Antminer T9+: A minimum 1800W power supply is needed if the hash rate is greater than or equal to 12.5T after overclocking; a 1600W power supply can support equipment with a hash rate below that.
(3) If you need to overclock, the recommendations for gear selection are as follows: first, run steadily in normal gear for a while; next, select +1.5T gear; if the effect of +1.5T is better, you can continue to choose +2.0T in accordance with the power supply’s room temperature. If the effect of +1.5T is not good, you can downshift to +1.0T/+0.5T.
Note: In actual use, the power supply may not even drive within the aforementioned power range due to the difference between it and the miner.
3. Circumstances that need to be downshifted after overclocking
(1) The power supply has the following flaws, among others: it cannot withstand higher overclocking gears.
(2) The following issues can arise for miners: over-temperature protection (real-time hash rate of 0), loss of hash board, loss of hash rate, loss of chip, unstable operation, etc.
4. The following conditions are normal after overclocking
(1) The hash rate is less than 0.5T lower than the target value; for instance, the average hash rate is 14T. The actual hash rate rises to 15.5T once it surpasses 2T. In this situation, you have the option of staying in this gear or reducing it to +1.5T.
(2) The hash rate is 0.5T higher than the desired value; for instance, the typical hash rate is 14T. The actual hash rate reaches 16.5T once it surpasses 2T. You can decide to remain in this equipment in this situation.
Installing custom firmware on a Bitmain Antminer is another well-liked and dependable method of overclocking. Please be aware that there isn’t a universal firmware; you’ll need to install the exact version that’s appropriate for your particular devices.
Summary
In this article, we went into detail about how to overclock the Antminer S9 using Bitmain ASICBoost Firmware. Choosing dependable custom firmware will allow you to overclock your Antminer S9 series miner.
FAQs
What is the Clock Speed of Antminer S9?
For reference, the most powerful Antminer currently available, the S19 Pro, produces 110 TH/s, and Bitmain’s 2016 model, the still-widely-deployed Antminer S9, launched at 11.5 TH/s.
What is the Max Hashrate of S9?
Model Antminer S9 (13.5Th) from Bitmain mining SHA-256 algorithm with a maximum hashrate of 13.5Th/s for a power consumption of 1323W.
Does Overclocking Increase Hashrate?
The term “overclocking” refers to raising the clock and memory speeds above their listed official speed ratings. Overclocking your GPU cards will boost your profits, so we strongly advise it. Increasing the Core clock and Memory clock frequencies will increase your GPU hashrate.
