Building Hobbist Mining Rig

[TurbulentWinds]

I am looking to spend about $500 on a mining rig. I currently have a 1060 I can use in the system. I would like the motherboard to support 3 GPUs minimum and do not care about mining specific capabilities unless they are the same cost. I am not willing to purchase from 3rd parties. I would prefer to use Amazon for the transactions. What motherboard, case, CPU and PSU should I buy? I am looking to spend about ~$200 on those parts so I can afford a second 1060 or an RX 580.

[Airdragonz]

21 minutes ago, TurbulentWinds said:

I am looking to spend about $500 on a mining rig. I currently have a 1060 I can use in the system. I would like the motherboard to support 3 GPUs minimum and do not care about mining specific capabilities unless they are the same cost. I am not willing to purchase from 3rd parties. I would prefer to use Amazon for the transactions. What motherboard, case, CPU and PSU should I buy? I am looking to spend about ~$200 on those parts so I can afford a second 1060 or an RX 580.

Only $200 on all those parts? That's cutting it close, if not impossible. 

Getting a cheap Intel Celeron and compatible ATX mobo will run up to around $100. 

A sufficient psu will need to be 550w to 650w, if you plan on going with 3 1060s. Now going with 580s will require at least a 750w psu. Higher efficiency, the better. So the power supply will cost you around 70 - 100 bucks at least. That last amount you'll probably want to get some wood and nails from your local hardware store. Aluminum is recommended, but your budget won't allow for that. Do not use a case when mining with more than 1 gpu, unless it's an open-air case. And then you might want to get some Noctua iPPC fans to throw on top of the gpu's to exhaust the heat. 

[NoxiousOdor]

I don't know where you have been (maybe A mushroom field somewhere in Narnia?) but you have about the same chance to get struck by lightning as you have to get gpus within that budget. The gpu market is in a bad state right now. 

 

To answer your questions though, for a rig that small you can just use a normal psu and then get the cheapest motherboard and cpu that fit what you have stated above

[TurbulentWinds]

Just now, WhisperingKnickers said:

but you have about the same chance to get struck by lightning as you have to get gpus within that budget. The gpu market is in a bad state right now. 

Wow. I just bought a 1060 a few weeks ago for $300 and now they are going for $500. Jesus.

[TurbulentWinds]

3 minutes ago, WhisperingKnickers said:

maybe A mushroom field somewhere in Narnia?

A bit out of the way, yes.

[TurbulentWinds]

5 minutes ago, Airdragonz said:

Only $200 on all those parts? That's cutting it close, if not impossible. 

I figured from the part pricing I was seeing.

6 minutes ago, Airdragonz said:

Higher efficiency, the better.

What rating should I shoot for?

 

[Airdragonz]

2 minutes ago, TurbulentWinds said:

What rating should I shoot for?

 

Gold or higher is typically the best

[knightslugger]

AMD option: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157616&cm_re=SOC-_-13-157-616-_-Product - $50

Intel option: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157513 - $60

3 x 1x risers and some electrical tape ($30-ish)

an open box frame ($100?)

decent 500w-ish PSU to power any external connections (another $100?)

a 4GB stick of DDR3

and a 16GB USB drive (find one in the couch cushions)

 

zimzim-ala bim! cheapest 3-card (capable) mining rig on the planet. 330-ish bucks.