Report: Building a GPU Mining Rig in 2017 part 1
This is a quick introduction into my efforts to building an altcoin mining rig in the year 2017.
A few weeks ago I decided to give crypto-mining a try and went on the search for affordable hardware to build a rig.
KW/h prices in my area are good enough to be able to make some returns. Anyway I have to say I don't build this to make money, it's more of a learning project and finally a good way to getting used to a Linux OS (Ubuntu) and slowly transition away from the terribly insecure Windows 10 - it only started bothering me during the last few months when I got more and more into cryptocurrencies.
I ordered the main components to my Dad's house because he could help me with the Linux setup.
As you can see his cat Minou was very pleased with the hardware.
I luckily found some Radeon R9 Nanos on sale and decided to buy one and do some testing before deciding to buy more.
Besides this card I also ordered two different models of the RX470. I will be testing these on saturday and depeding on the test results I will either buy 2 more R9 Nanos or two more RX470s.
I did order a fully assembled mining rig case as I am not much of a skilled DIY'er. Nonetheless I'll probably build the next one myself; doesn't seem too complicated. Just wanted to spare me the trouble and focus more on the actual hardware for my first mining project.
Monday next week I will start assembling the hardware and make a detailed report on my progress. I don't expect it to go too smoothly as I have very little experience with computer hardware and none whatsoever with Ubuntu. Well, we'll see and I keep you guys and gals posted. : )
Follow me if you are interested in more content like this. _ʕ•ᴥ•ʔノ
It's a fantastic and addicting experience. I'm eagerly awaiting two more gpus that should be in the mail.
Ha, yes, definitly a great experience. What GPUs are you using/waiting for?
I actually got the, 2 rx480 8gbs!
:3
Ah nice, I was thinking about these, too. I got the RX470s quite a bit cheaper, though and hope their TDP is a little lower.
Unfortunatelly the R9 Nanos are sold out, so I only managed to get two of them. I ordered a RX570 instead of the third R9, just to see how it compares to the RX470.
I did some rom flashing today and managed... this
the rx480's 8gb (asus strix oc) weren't the most delivering, the "even" ones are my original rx480 4g sapphrie nitros.
Thanks for sharing, so the 4GB are actually faster for ETH and DCR mining? I'll post some stats of my cards soon.
Oh, no - I wouldn't say that is the case at all. rx480's seem to range from 24-5 (stock) to 32ish mh/s after modificationst. These figures appear to vary depending on manufacturer, bios used, individual differences between cards etc. I have never heard the statement "4gb is better than 8gb," given I had the choice I would always get 8gb cards over 4gb.
It just happens to be the case when comparing my two sets of cards my 480 4g's from sapphire are currently out performing my asus strix 480 8g with the respective modifications.
At this moment, I my next set of a cards are likely going to rx480 nitro+(or just nitro)'s - 8gb if I can get them.
Oh, an important note - if you are interested in ETH mining, you cannot do it in on a 2gb card, I think the minimum is probably 4 (I don't know about 3). I am an ultra nub still - but something something about DAG file size or something.