Bitmain Antminer S9 Review All You Need to Know (2024)

Bitcoin Mining Hardware Comparison

Currently, based on (1) price per hash and (2) electrical efficiency the best Bitcoin miner options are:

AntMiner S7

Bitmain Antminer S9 Review All You Need to Know (1)

  • 4.73 Th/s
  • 0.25 W/Gh
  • 8.8 pounds
  • Yes
  • N/A
  • Bitmain Antminer S9 Review All You Need to Know (2)
  • 0.1645

AntMiner S9

Bitmain Antminer S9 Review All You Need to Know (3)

  • 13.5 Th/s
  • 0.098 W/Gh
  • 8.1 pounds
  • Yes
  • N/A
  • Bitmain Antminer S9 Review All You Need to Know (4)
  • 0.3603

Avalon6

Bitmain Antminer S9 Review All You Need to Know (5)

  • 3.5 Th/s
  • 0.29 W/Gh
  • 9.5 pounds
  • No
  • N/A
  • Bitmain Antminer S9 Review All You Need to Know (6)
  • 0.1232

PROS

CONS

  • At~$2100 (USD), it is considered expensive

  • Sold separately, you need to another $170 - $200 for Power Supply

AntMiner S9: Game Changer for Hobbyist Miners?

Since its creation, Bitcoin’s Difficulty has recorded several strong and often consecutive monthly increases , especially from late November 2015. It climbed from 520,569,941 GH/s to the present record high of 1,426,731,353 GH/s, which means Difficulty has nearly tripled since then. This peak was attained on May 24th 2016. That enormous growth has been spurred by major investment into Bitcoin mining technology and operations.

Having that spectacular growth, it has made Bitcoin the world’s most powerful computing network by far, but one unintentional consequence of that rapid growth was increased centralization. There was accumulation of profits, in China, where mining is most profitable that resulted to several contenders (e.g. KNC) being kicked out of the industry.

We have tried to calculate the amount of money that the Chinese have invested in mining; we estimate it to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Even with free electricity we cannot see how they will ever get this money back. Either they don’t know what they are doing, but that is not very likely at this scale or they have some secret advantage that we don’t know about.

- Sam Cole, KNC CEO

The same Chinese competitive advantage has been even more effective at extracting the profit-dependent hobbyist miner from the market. At this stage, in order to support the network, aid decentralization and possibly even to heat space, most home or office miners aren’t even hashing for the purpose of obtaining money.

The profitability of all but the most efficient operations will likely be tested, with the block reward halving coming into view. Will the new S9 be a game changer for smaller and hobby miners and return their lost profitability given that profits derived from the current generation of mining hardware are decreasing and will likely reach negative returns after halving?

The S9’s 16 Nanometer Technological Advantage

Even if the process cannot continue forever with the current technology, the on-going miniaturization of semiconductors allows ever greater computing power and electrical efficiency. Many have declared that Moore’s law is no longer true, because the rate of computing speed advancement has slowed as it reaches the physical limitations of silicon semiconductor technology.

A vital enhancement upon the 28 nm design usual to other modern mining devices is the 16 nm fabrication process used in the manufacture of the S9. Even though a 10nm process is just around the corner for 2017, further increases beyond that remain theoretical. Also, the design and manufacture of any 10nm Bitcoin mining hardware is likely to take at least a year.

Power Supply

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

Recommended for use with the S9 are:

1. AntMiner APW-12 1600 Watt Bitcoin Miner PSU, which is sold for just under $200 on Amazon, and

2. The EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 Watt GPU PSU, which is also priced for about $170 still on Amazon. Be reminded that the 1600 Watt EVGA PSU is significantly more costly, by about $115, compared to Ant Miner’s equivalently-powered offering.

Bitcoins / Month (Profitability)

Compared to any previous device crammed into its silicon, the S9 has more hashing power which is a massive 14 TH/s (TeraHash per second). We combined a total of 189 chips, spread over 3 circuit boards to achieve this phenomenal hashrate. Not to include the 15 brief TH/s spike that happened late 2011, a single S9 unit boasts a hashrate equivalent to the peak capacity of the entire Bitcoin network from its bootstrapping until mid-2012!

Let’s compute the projected profits from all that hashpower via CoinWarz’ Bitcoin mining calculator:

Bear in mind that Power Cost will be depending to your location and that Difficulty differs every two weeks, usually to the upside. Always remember that during post-halving, a number of marginal miners will most likely be pushed to either upgrade to a better hardware or shut down.

Your mining pool will decide your Pool fees; when solo-mining, a single unit is highly unlikely to find any blocks although the S9 is highly powerful. Finally, the Bitcoin to Dollar (USD) price is notorious for its constant continuous change.

As per the inputs discussed above, the S9 will yield 0.285 BTC / $159 per month and 3.36 BTC / $1939 in a year.

These puts return on Investment (ROI) slightly above one year! Of course, supposing that all factors were to stay constant for such impressive result despite the fact that it is very unlikely in the constant-changing world of Bitcoin!

Power Consumption

What makes the S9 the most electrically-efficient mining device to date is the cutting-edge manufacturing process. It uses a mere 0.1 Joules per Gigahash, making it roughly 2.5 times more efficient than the Antminer S7. The total power consumption of the device works out to around 1350 watts, although this figure is subject to about 7% of variance. The S9 consumes about 300W more than the S7.

Price

Starting from the 12th of June, the earliest batch of S9s will be available for order directly from Bitmain . The S9 is definitely high-priced, amounting to $2100 on Amazon. However, if you have low electricity costs, your odds are better than the miner paying for itself within a reasonable time frame. Ultimately though, a lot of which depends on the Difficulty and Bitcoin price.

As smaller manufacturing processes become standard across the industry and as other manufacturers release competing hardware, the S9’s price can be expected to drop appreciably over the coming months. Sometime in winter 2016, Bi Wang is launching its 14nm chips and BitFury’s own 16nm architecture hardware, promising fantastic power efficiency at 0.06 J/GH, is also reported to be coming soon.

Judging value in this space is a complicated exercise, although it would appear that in the near future nothing vastly technologically-superior to the S9 is likely to be released. The release cycle of a new generation of mining hardware every few months is likely to decrease from this point on, as manufacturers have transitioned to cutting-edge 16 and 14nm designs.

Setup

The S9 is a self-contained unit, excluding the power supply. No connection is needed to another computer to interface with other Bitcoin nodes. Its onboard web management portal allows for a simplified setup and maintenance process.

Temperature

The S9 is air-cooled and due to its sturdy design, it is fairly easy to maintain and service. As long as it is in a place with great ventilation, the S9 performs reliably, whether only one or several unit(s) is kept in a spare room or hundreds to thousands of units in a huge mining center.

Verdict: Does Hobby Mining with an S9 make Business Sense?

Yes, according to the data and results calculated above.

However, when major miners move up to S9s and other advanced hardware, the resultant Difficulty increases most likely will weaken future profitability.

On the contrary, profitability will increase due to halving that could bring about a higher Bitcoin price and reduced competition.

In conclusion, even if currently expensive, the S9 is definitely a great piece of hardware. Although ROI cannot be given an assurance, with the natural unpredictability of Bitcoin mining, it is likely to remain profitable for a longer period of time than the preceding generations of ASIC miner.

Bitmain Antminer S9 Review All You Need to Know (2024)

FAQs

Is the Antminer S9 still profitable? ›

Fast forward to today, and the Antminer S9 has transitioned from being the industry standard to an entry-level option. While it may not offer the same level of profitability as some of the newer models, it remains a viable choice for those looking to dip their toes into the world of Bitcoin mining.

How much can Antminer S9 make per month? ›

Short answer: About 0.0135 Bitcoins per month, which is about $72 / month in revenue (not counting hardware, software, or electricity costs) at today's BTC/USD rate of $5,300 (April 29, 2019).

Is Antminer S9 worth it in 2024? ›

The Antminer S9 remains relevant in 2024 due to its affordability, reliability, and optimization potential. This device is an excellent choice for those looking to start mining or seeking a low-cost and reliable solution for their mining farm.

What is the Antminer S9 used for? ›

Mining with the Antminer S9 can be highly profitable, especially when utilizing low-cost electricity or innovative setups such as using stranded energy. The S9 can also be adapted as a Bitcoin Space Heater, providing heat while mining, thus dual-purposing energy consumption into both heating and financial gain.

How long to mine 1 Bitcoin with Antminer S9? ›

The Antminer S9 has a hash rate of 13.5 TH/s ², which is a relatively low hash rate compared to the total network hash rate of 600 EH/s ¹. To put this into perspective, you would need around 130 Antminer S9s to mine one Bitcoin in 60 days ³. This highlights the scale of resources required to mine Bitcoin efficiently.

Which bitcoin miner is most profitable? ›

Bitmain Antminer K7 (63.5Th)

Another top-of-the-line machine from popular manufacturer Bitmain, the Antminer K7 was released in January 2023 and is one of the most powerful and profitable mining machines on the market currently, with a hash rate of 63.5 terahashes a second.

How long does an S9 miner last? ›

So, how long does an ASIC miner last? The model, maintenance, and manufacturing date all determine the lifespan of an ASIC. For example, the latest antminer, the Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro, is expected to have a lifespan of over five years. Other antminer models like the Antminer S9 last up to 3 years.

How long does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin? ›

The length of time it takes to mine 1 Bitcoin can vary. Each committed Bitcoin block releases 3.125 Bitcoin. To answer the central question in mind, it takes an average of 10 minutes to mine not just 1 Bitcoin but 3 — and that rate will fluctuate over time.

Is the Antminer S9 worth it? ›

While the S9 has a relatively low hash rate, it's one of the most affordable mining machines on the market. However, one thing to keep in mind is that the Bitmain AntMinerS9 has high noise levels — which means it may not be the best choice if you wish to set up your mining machine in your home.

How many solar panels does it take to run Antminer S9? ›

How many solar panels do I need to run an Antminer S9? S9 energy consumption = 1.15 kW. For solar panels it's recommended to add 25% onto the estimate to ensure constant amount of energy due to weather. So that would be 1.15 x 1.25 = 1.4375 kW.

What is the best Antminer for home use? ›

Ideal Bitcoin miners for pool mining include: - Antminer Slim Edition: Compact and efficient for residential setups. - Antminer S9: Reliable and widely used with upgrade options. - Antminer S9 Space Heater Edition: Combines mining with home heating. - Antminer S17 and S19 Series: High performance and energy efficiency.

How much can you make a day with Antminer S9? ›

0.01 USD / Day

*Please note that values are only estimates based on past performance - real values can be lower or higher. Exchange rate of 1 BTC = 53734.55 USD was used.

How much electricity does an Antminer S9 use? ›

Antminer S9 14Th/13.5Th has a maximum hash rate of 14Th/s and the total power consumption of the S9 is between 1078-1550 watts, depending on the hashrate and ambient temperature. Powering the unit with a standard power supply will result in power consumption of about 1600W (533W per board).

Can I mine other coins with Antminer S9? ›

While the miners are examples of application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) their actual purpose is to solve double SHA-256 algorithms, which Bitcoin happens to use. This means that, technically, an Antminer S9 can mine any coin that uses the same algorithm.

How long does Antminer S9 last? ›

For example, the latest antminer, the Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro, is expected to have a lifespan of over five years. Other antminer models like the Antminer S9 last up to 3 years.

How much is an Antminer S9 worth? ›

There are hundreds of second hand S9 miners available on Amazon and eBay for prices below $200 each. When bought in bulk prices are even lower. For instance, this seller on Alibaba has an offer for $130 miners on orders higher than ten pieces.

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