Build specifically for mining

mikeike951 · March 23, 2021

I'm currently in the process of putting together a PC for mining. I'm thinking of starting off small since all I've managed to get is a 3060 ti for the mining build, but I want room to grow and options. What do people do for power supplies? get multiple 850W or something similar for the GPU and PC? I assume the 1800w ones on eBay may not be that great since I don't really see those in pictures of other people's builds. I'm wanting to start with the ability to use Nicehash, since that's what I'm familiar with, and then maybe expand to Ravencoin mining. I was also assuming getting a Biostar TB350 for the motherboard. Anything specific to look for in the eBay posts?

Action_Johnson · March 23, 2021

I don't know anything about mining, but IIRC, the load is virtually 100% on the GPU.

So I'd just put together some random low-end used parts, you can put together for about $100 or less and go to town. So long as you have PCI-E 3.0, you should be good.

It behooves you to spend as absolutely little as possible on the rest of the computer to maximize your ROI and shorten the time it'll take for you to break even within a reasonable time (which you might not be able to at this point)

tikker · March 24, 2021

12 hours ago, Action_Johnson said:

It behooves you to spend as absolutely little as possible on the rest of the computer to maximize your ROI and shorten the time it'll take for you to break even within a reasonable time (which you might not be able to at this point)

Very much this. Consider any money you spend on this gone, nobody knows how long the bull run will last still and it will take quite a while before you'll start turning a profit with current prices. Planning for room to grow is probably an even worse of an idea than trying to future proof your gaming PC at this point, in my opinion.

airborne spoon · March 24, 2021

you'll make more money if you mine straight to a pool instead of nicehash.

like it was said you want to spend as little as possible to build the rig, ebay works but you may get old barely working stuff. check out amazon and newegg for older hardware that'll fit your build. i have a Ryzen 3 in my mining rig as it was the oldest cheapest CPU that would work in my MB.

With 1 card you can just throw it in the board but as you expand you'll need riser cards, make sure you look at reviews for them, as they are not all equal. i got some with a orangey color slot and a black board they work great but they cost about $2 more than some blue cheaper ones I've had fail repeatedly.

For PSU work with what you can find. i got 2x 1000w PSU in my rig which is way more than excessive but they were lying around my house not used in anything so i use them. i had to make my own PSU to PCI cables because there wasn't enough and i have the skills and tools to make them out of spare parts. Mouser.com has everything

You can also buy like a 1600w server PSU and a breakout board to power the GPU's with some additional cables.

Remember the basic rule is pay as little as possible to build the rig. then maximize the clocks for highest hash rates. then lower the clocks for least power consumption while still maintaining max has rates, (unless you're like me and have free power, then crank those clocks up).

CPUboi · March 25, 2021

On 3/24/2021 at 12:27 AM, mikeike951 said:

I'm currently in the process of putting together a PC for mining. I'm thinking of starting off small since all I've managed to get is a 3060 ti for the mining build, but I want room to grow and options. What do people do for power supplies? get multiple 850W or something similar for the GPU and PC? I assume the 1800w ones on eBay may not be that great since I don't really see those in pictures of other people's builds. I'm wanting to start with the ability to use Nicehash, since that's what I'm familiar with, and then maybe expand to Ravencoin mining. I was also assuming getting a Biostar TB350 for the motherboard. Anything specific to look for in the eBay posts?

as @airborne spoon already said, stay away from nicehash and mine directly to a pool. Also i would suggest to also, stay away from major cryptos (BTC,ETH,LTC) and instead try mining something like XHV, that has value, but is underground enough to be immune from crypto mining billionaires with massive rigs. also is ASIC resistant, so good on that front.