Mining Crypto is necessary to use the appropriate hardware, software, and mining pool. To start, a great deal of knowledge, guidance, and patience is required. The following tutorial will show you how to build a crypto mining rig with 6 number of GPUs for cryptocurrency mining. It is intended for people who have no prior experience building computers on their own.
Let’s take a look at what makes a good crypto mining rig and what hardware you’ll need if you’re serious about cryptocurrency mining.
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Things You Should Know About Crypto Mining
- Crypto mining is the process of verifying and adding cryptocurrency transactions to a distributed ledger network, such as the blockchain. You can get a better mining experience with the pre-built device which somehow can’t handle the process.
- Importantly, crypto mining eliminates the possibility of two parties spending the same digital currency twice across a network.
- When one party spends cryptocurrency, the digital ledger must be updated by debiting one account and crediting the other, just as is done with physical currency.
- The problem with digital currencies, however, is that it is relatively simple to manipulate online systems.
What is a Crypto Mining Rig?
The “rig” is basically a customized PC. It has all of the components of a PC, including the CPU, motherboard, RAM, and storage. When it comes to graphics cards, things deviate from the norm. When it comes to cryptocurrency mining, it is the GPU, not the CPU, that is doing the hard work. You’ll need a powerful GPU for mining, and you’ll almost certainly need more than one. Much more.
In fact, a mining rig can be thought of as a low-cost PC with one or more high-performance GPUs attached. You must connect multiple graphics cards to a single system, which necessitates the use of a motherboard. If you intend to push things to their limits, you’ll also need more than one power supply unit (PSU).
Other mining-specific items will be required to get the mining rig ready for mining.
How to Build a Crypto Mining Rig Considerations
Here are a few things to think about when building a mining rig:
- It will not be inexpensive.
- You must consider power consumption in your mining equation because it can reduce your earnings.
- You’re not building a standard PC, so getting everything to work can be a game of trial and error and a lot of driver fiddling. Please be patient!
Why are graphics card prices so high? Price increases are being driven by two factors:
- Backlogs are caused by supply chain issues.
- To avoid further problems caused by high demand from miners, most cards now include LHR (Lite Hash Rate) to limit mining speeds, making them less desirable for crypto mining.
Because the card listed below is not limited, the price makes it ideal for mining. But, they are pretty advanced to help you out in how to build a crypto mining rig! Let’s check ’em out!
1. Motherboard: Asus B250 Mining Expert
The Asus B250 Mining Expert is a massive motherboard that can support up to 19 graphics cards. That’s a lot of information. The board isn’t new – it was released in 2017 – and it’s finicky when it comes to setup (it requires a specific layout of AMD and Nvidia graphics cards). Asus has published recommended GPU layouts for 19-, 13-, and 11-card for this board, and while other layouts might work, I recommend sticking with what the manufacturer suggests, as deviating from this is a recipe for serious headaches.
Yes, the price of this motherboard is skyrocketing, but that’s the nature of bitcoin mining. If you’re looking for something a little more affordable, consider the Monland B250C BTC Mining Motherboard. Much less powerful, but a fraction of the cost.
2. CPU: Intel Core i5-6500
Overspending on a CPU (central processing unit) for a mining rig is pointless because it is the GPUs that do the heavy lifting. This quad-core Intel Core i5-6500 processor is ideal for this setup and works well with the motherboard mentioned above. It is the best processing power to speed up your mining experience.
3. RAM: G.SKILL Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB)
You’re also not going to overspend on RAM. This 2x8GB kit from G.SKILL is compatible with the motherboard’s DDR4 2400 support.
4. Storage: SanDisk SSD Plus 1TB
These 1TB SSDs are ideal for this type of application because they’re under $100 each. You could use HDDs, but SSDs are my preference these days.
5. Power Supply: Segotep 850W Full-Modular
Depending on the number of graphics cards installed, you may require multiple power supplies. With so much competition, it’s understandable that you’d want to get your hands on the best deal possible.
These Segotep power supplies are reasonably priced and provide dependable performance. The modular design also prevents the mining rig from becoming a spaghetti of wires.
6. PCI-e Riser: 6-pack FebSmart 16x to 1x Powered Riser
A bitcoin mining rig differs from a regular PC. In that, all of the graphics cards cannot be directly connected to the motherboard, so these riser cards allow you to connect them indirectly.
You’ll need one of these for each card you connect (other than the card that goes into the x16 PCI-e slot). This six-pack of powered risers is fantastic for providing consistent power to your graphics cards.
7. Graphics card: MSI Ventus 3X GeForce RTX 3090 Nvidia
GeForce RTX 3090 Nvidia is an excellent Graphic Processing Unit card that provides everything you need in a mining rig. Overclocking potential abounds, as does stability and cooling performance. Another advantage is that it is quite efficient, which means lower power consumption and lower mining costs.
These gears of how to build a crypto mining rig should be your best references. Those are the important things you should, at least, know to start building your own rig. Mining crypto really does require compact and advanced gears. So, get your gears up and start mining!
Step-by-step How to Build Your Mining Rig
After you’ve got all the parts you need, you’ll have to start putting the rig together. At first, it may seem like a hard job, but if you follow the instructions, it’s just like putting together a Lego set.
1. Installing the Motherboard
Your motherboard that can handle 6 GPUs or more should be put outside the mining frame. Experts say that you should put a piece of foam or an anti-static bag under the box. Before moving on to the next step, make sure that the CPU socket protection is no longer held down by the lever.
2. Installing the Processor
The next step is to connect the processor to the Motherboard. Put the CPU you chose into the socket on the motherboard. There will be some thermal paste stuck to the CPU fan, so be careful when removing it. Mark both the socket on the motherboard and the side of the CPU.
If you don’t put these markings on the same side when you attach them, the CPU won’t fit into the socket. But you have to be very careful with the CPU pins when you put the processor into the socket on the motherboard. They are easy to bend, which will hurt the CPU as a whole.
You should always have the manual close at hand. Use it as a reference when you put the heat sink on top of the CPU. Before you connect the processor, you need to take the thermal paste and spread it on the heat sink’s surface. The power cable for the heat sink should be plugged into the “CPU FAN1” pins. If you can’t find it, you should look in the manual for your motherboard.
3. Installing the RAM
The next step is to set up the system memory, or random access memory. Putting the RAM module into the RAM slot on the Motherboard is pretty easy. After opening the side brackets of the slot on the motherboard, carefully push the RAM module into the RAM socket.
This step requires extra care because the RAM can only fit into the socket one way. Sometimes you have to push harder to get the RAM into the right place, but be careful not to break it. When the RAM is put on the right, the side brackets will automatically lock into place.
4. Mounting the Motherboard to the Frame
The Motherboard must be mounted onto the mining frame or a suitable equivalent. When handling the Motherboard, you should be extra careful not to scratch the bottom. If you have a metal frame for your mining rig, the Motherboard should only touch the frame where the screw holes are. Fix the screws tightly to hold the Motherboard in place.
5. Attaching the PSU (Power Supply Unit)
Put your PSU close to the motherboard. Make sure the mining rig has enough room for the PSU to fit in it. Look for the power connector with 24 pins that are on the motherboard. Most of the time, they only have one 24-pin connector.
They need to be securely attached to the Motherboard, or the mining rig won’t start up. The 8-pin power connector on the CPU should be attached to the Motherboard that is closest to the CPU. Since both the PCI-e 6+2 power conductor and the CPU connector have 8 pins, you should never mix them up. The CPU cables are bigger than the PCI-e cables.
6. Installing USB Risers
The x16 USB riser must be put together with the PCI-e x1 connector, which is the shorter one. This needs to be hooked up to the main computer board. For the risers to work, you need a way to connect them to electricity. Depending on the model of your riser, you may need a PCI-e six-pin connector, a SATA cable, or a Molex connector to hook it up.
Be careful when you connect all the power cables to the USB risers that go with them. Each PSU cable can have up to two Molex or SATA connectors. Do not connect 3 or 4 power connectors to 3 or 4 risers, as this can damage them.
7. Attaching the GPUs
Using the USB riser, the graphics cards should be firmly attached to the frame. Connect the power connectors for PCI-e 6+2 to your GPU. You’ll need to connect all of these connectors to the other 5 GPUs at a later time.
8. Make Sure All Cables are Connected
The last step is to check that the cables are connected correctly. Your monitor should be connected to the main PCI-E slot on your graphics card. After you hook up the mouse and keyboard, turn on your computer. Connect the power switch to the power pins on the Motherboard to do this.
If you don’t know where to look, you can check the manual for the motherboard. If it boots, that means the rig is in good shape. When everything is set up right, a message from the BIOS will appear on your screen.
Tips
- Curiosity and a hunger for knowledge are absolute necessities for any aspiring cryptocurrency or especially bitcoin miner.
- As new innovations appear, the crypto mining industry is always evolving.
- The highest-paying miners are professionals who dedicate a lot of time to learning about the ecosystem and honing their mining techniques.
- However, as more and more fossil fuels are burned to power the mining process, advocates for addressing climate change have expressed growing concern.
- To address these issues, some cryptocurrency communities, like Ethereum’s, are considering making the transition from PoW to proof-of-stake.
