This guy bought 108 R9 290s...

[Lays]

This^

 

Electricity costs in the US are between $21000 and $45000 per year ($.08 - .17 depending on where you live). Making the first year investment between 80-100k including parts, even looking at a five year life span (assuming no components fail) he would need to make between $ 170000- 283000 just to break even. I havent even factored in the cost to keep the room(s) these are in cool (adding the electrical costs needed to run the air conditioning would dramatically increase the cost).

 

You'd have to setup the room somehow that hot air would be exhausted somewhere and fresh air in from another way I'd asume.. Because 27000-30000 watts of electricity being used even a big room would turn it into a sauna VERY fast. 

 

Just with my 10x10 room I have my comp in right now, if I play a game for ~1hour or mine for like 45minutes, my room is instantly 75+ degrees, I'd hate to imagine it with 50x the amount of heat from that many grapics cards LOL.

[Guest]

You'd have to setup the room somehow that hot air would be exhausted somewhere and fresh air in from another way I'd asume.. Because 27000-30000 watts of electricity being used even a big room would turn it into a sauna VERY fast.

Just with my 10x10 room I have my comp in right now, if I play a game for ~1hour or mine for like 45minutes, my room is instantly 75+ degrees, I'd hate to imagine it with 50x the amount of heat from that many grapics cards LOL.

Maybe he lives in the North Pole and just wants to get his room to a decent room temperature with this method?

[Lays]

Maybe he lives in the North Pole and just wants to get his room to a decent room temperature with this method?

 

Seriously though I can't imagine the amount of AC's + exhaust fans he'd have to use to get rid of the heat, unless he's gonna rent a warehouse LOL

[Saladin]

Just with my 10x10 room I have my comp in right now, if I play a game for ~1hour or mine for like 45minutes, my room is instantly 75+ degrees, I'd hate to imagine it with 50x the amount of heat from that many grapics cards LOL.

I get totally understand that, my last graphics card was a gtx 480 that thing literally peeled the paint off the wall behind my computer, caused it to bubble and flake off. I cannot imagine the heat in the room (not to mention the throttling issues if they began to overheat). Also I just keep thinking about trying to keep the systems clean... the dust would be a nightmare.

[Lays]

I get totally understand that, my last graphics card was a gtx 480 that thing literally peeled the paint off the wall behind my computer, caused it to bubble and flake off. I cannot imagine the heat in the room (not to mention the throttling issues if they began to overheat). Also I just keep thinking about trying to keep the systems clean... the dust would be a nightmare.

 

Yeah... I don't understand quite how this guy plans on making all this come together.... Hmmph.

[Sandzsteedt]

There is always the possibility that he is not going to be running all the cards himself.

Now that the Lite Coin community is really looking for those cards he could just resell a major chunk of that mass of 290's and profit very well.

 

Supply and demand. If you own a big supply when the overall supply is small to begin with you can jack up the prices for the others. And if he manages to flip two cards way over MSRP he can now buy back three at MSRP and have a little buy/resell money game with GPU's.

 

Just an alternate business plan I thought I'd share.

[Saladin]

There is always the possibility that he is not going to be running all the cards himself.

Now that the Lite Coin community is really looking for those cards he could just resell a major chunk of that mass of 290's and profit very well.

 

Supply and demand. If you own a big supply when the overall supply is small to begin with you can jack up the prices for the others. And if he manages to flip two cards way over MSRP he can now buy back three at MSRP and have a little buy/resell money game with GPU's.

 

Just an alternate business plan I thought I'd share.

That only works if you can keep supply low and reliably sell your cards (quickly at a decent price). Given that the market for these cards is low (relative to the overall GPU market due to pricing) there simply isn't the demand to do this long term (probably not even short term), this doesn't even consider the fact that more cards will be shipped and availability will return. As a consumer you could maybe flip one or two GPUs in a supply shortage, you cant flip 100, there simply isn't the demand.

[MariusJS]

It clearly states "Co-Location" hosting, maybe he pays someone to keep the cards running? Like a monthly fee or something...

[Blackterror25]

Or he works at a retailer and just threw some boxes together took a picture and posted it online for bragging.

[Sandzsteedt]

Or he works at a retailer and just threw some boxes together took a picture and posted it online for bragging.

 

Could be that too.

 

There is no long term in the PC hardware because everything moves forwards so fast. He could just sell a few and try to get over MSRP and fund some mobos and CPUs before AMD spoils his party and then mine crypto currencies with the rest of them until someone else spoils his party with specific machines for mining.

 

Just for the LoL'z I would love to see 100 R9 290's in a room mining away and melting the paint off the walls.

[Saladin]

Just for the LoL'z I would love to see 100 R9 290's in a room mining away and melting the paint off the walls.

I think you hit the nail on the head there with it peeling paint.

[RuecanOnRails]

I've seen bigger. 

 

In all seriousness though, these sorts of mining farms are not that rare. Most of the large custom farms are also set up without ever touching retail prices making guesses of costs incorrect. They get the hardware in bulk OEM orders with bare minimums. Large enough special orders won't include a heatsinks or fans to keep costs even lower.

 

These kinds of farms are not the type you run in a house. The operators run them in specially designed server rooms. Here's an example/teaser of what one of these places may look like. posted by a big GPU miner https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=285656.msg3069425#msg3069425

[FlakeyBanana]

People are like where's all the amd cards?

[mogan23]

That's your reason for global warming. To power them and keep em cool you use more energy

[Fetzie]

There is no way he is running that in his house.

The sheer amount of amps he would need to run over 100 computers with 290s running on full load would instantly blow any domestic fuse box. The overloaded fuse box going out would probably kill a lot of those computers.

[ANUPLUCIFERGAMER]

Who knows? May be he just bought the boxes and nothing inside them! May be his retailer gave it to him! If he showed all the gpu's and not only the boxes..... 

[miyabwah]

Well, let's just say litecoin isn't stopping anytime soon....

[megadarkwood]

400 x 108 = 43200

 

that cost him $43200....

[rhyseyness]

400 x 108 = 43200

 

that cost him $43200....

If he paid retail price

[SirReallySam]

Ah, I see.. He's prepared for winter.

indeed

[MrSuperb]

If he paid retail price

 

 

"Sorry Tongue. Got them on Newegg for 400 a pop."

[TymmVonD]

He better lay low. A purchase of that size, this public on GPUs... Feds watchin

[rhyseyness]

"Sorry Tongue. Got them on Newegg for 400 a pop."

Fair enough. I stand corrected

[sonncha]

Geez.  43 000$ investment more or less, pre-tax, if he didn't get a discount. Let's say 40 000$ tax in with a discount... before the extra hardware needed to run it.

 

Hope he's got the rest ordered otherwise he's sitting on a pile of depreciating assets while difficulty goes up.

 

Also... hope it's not his first time mining.  Probably not, but that would be hilarious... oh, the troubleshooting that would ensue.

 

 

[GoingHamMiner]

400 x 108 = 43200

 

that cost him $43200....

You should ask this guy for litecoins instead