Looking for Help/Feedback on Building My First GPU Mining Rig - Will pay SBD
I'm building my first mining rig. I'm super pumped. But I have a few questions and want some feedback before I do something dumb, and I simply do not know a single person IRL who does this. So I have turned to Steem in hopes of finding someone to help me.
I'm starting off with 3 Radeon RX 580 GPUs. Maybe add on more in time. I looked up the electricity rates where I am and they are fairly cheap. I know there is a "just buy instead" trend of thought that is quite popular, but it seems super fun, and hopefully profitable in the long run.
This is going to be quite an adventure. I'm a software developer but hardware is not one of my areas of expertise, to put it kindly.
If anyone can convince me you know what you are talking about, and that you have successfully built and run rigs before, and can help answer my questions, I'll send you a couple SBD. Hopefully it'll end up being educational for readers as well.
I'm listening, shoot me some questions. ^^
Good Luck, Have Fun!
GPU: 3x - Radeon Rx 580
PSU: Thermaltake toughpower 1200w 80+ gold
MOTHERBOARD: Asus Prime Z270-P Motherboard
CPU: Intel Celeron G3930
4gb ram, 60gb ssd hd, etc
I was thinking of using metal wire shelving for a frame. I can't have the motherboard on metal, right? I've seen people suggest a wooden dish rack, would that work? How about just a DIY wooden base?
Is the 1200w PSU ok for power? I'm thinking of starting with 3 gpus, is that enough/too much power?
If you are careful, are there still real fire risks? What can be done to be safe if there are? Can I leave it running for days if I go on a trip?
What kind of fan setup would you recommend for cooling?
Is there anything important a newbie like myself might miss that would be a big issue?
Thanks!!
Alrighty let's see here.
The components all seem fine, got a green light there.
Metal or steel shelving works well, has a lower fire hazard than wood but is more expensive. There are some DIY templates or you can purchase pre-made frames. The fire hazard overall is low, but just something to keep in mind especially if you choose to use wooden pallets. The wooden option is cheap and quick and works.
The 1200w PSU will be enough to easily run the three cards if we assume a top consumption of 350W (some Radeon models take crazy power) but yours will probably run somewhere between 250W-300W. Perhaps you can find out the exact model of your RX 580? Depending on the manufacturer they can have different values. The rest of the components need some power too but it should be a stable setup with a bit of a buffer too. Always check how many PCI power connectors your PSU comes with as you may need additional cables. I also suggest a modular PSU so you can pick and choose from cables. Gold certification is fine, Platinum recommended. I'd say the two parts that are most likely to fail from overuse eventually would be the PSU and of course the Graphic Cards as both will be running at close to maximum capacity for hopefully months on end. So yes, you can leave it on while you go away. Get a good surge protector or APC unit between computer and socket if you are able!
They are probably small but I wouldn't discount it. With a single 3 GPU mine I wouldn't worry about it too much. Good circuits, solid assembly and quality parts should keep you safe.
You can get a slightly more powerful aftermarket cooler for the CPU to keep it stable for a longer time. As for the GPUs the open case and passive cooling was enough and looked something like this:
Perhaps someone else here has an opinion on that?
5.It's a big set of Lego when you first get it. And just like with Lego you will probably "step on a sharp brick" more than once during assembly trying to get the cables to reach, mounting everything in place and most important getting the GPUs to all be recognised and to run at the same time. One by One, Off and On. The mining stuff is easy enough to get to work once the hardware is running, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. You can do it!
awesome. thank you so much, makes me feel much more at ease. i might try to ask you follow-up questions, but sbd is on the way.
Thanks I appreciate it and I'm glad I could be of some use. Money or not, you are always welcome to write and ask! Happy building.
Is there an issue of the motherboard resting on metal?
These new ones are usually pretty solid and shock/static resistant. I still always use these little red plastic washer rings that I fiddle around the screw that goes in the motherboard if that makes sense.
Im thinking of using metal wire shelving for the rig, but just trying to figure out an easy way to attach the motherboard - do you have any recommendations?
Awesome, hopefully I'll have time to type them or tonight or tomorrow morning