Guide: Things to Consider Before You Build a Mining Rig
Building a computer specifically to mine cyptocurrency is a big commitment, I spent about a week just doing research before I even consider putting a parts list together. When I started my build about 3 weeks ago, a 6 GPU mining rig cost about $2400-$2600, now if you're lucky enough to find video cards for $300-$350, your total cost would be about $3000.
If you still want to build a mining rig and you are committed in building one then you have to plan out everything.
Here are some of the items I considered when I was mapping my build and I'll try to give detail information about the items listed:
1.) Know the difference between the two GPUs (AMD vs Nvidia)
- Forums say that Nvidia is more popular among gamers and has a higher resale value, however when mining is in the equation Nvidia GPUs can't dual/merge mine that well compared to AMD. If you're solo mining a coin then both brands are great for the task.
2.) Are you planning to dual (merge) mine or solo mine?
- If you are planning to dual mine, then the AMD cards are the better choice.
3.) Which coins are you going to mine? (Can it be dual mined?)
- Choose your coins wisely, any and every coin has potential to be the next bitcoin, but they also have the potential to be worthless. I'm sticking with currencies that have some value to them, such as Ethereum and Monero. If you plan to dual/merge mine, find out which coins are capable of dual mining with https://whattomine.com/merged_coins/1-eth-dcr.
4.) How many GPUs do you plan to use?
- Six GPUs seem to be the magic number for me, you can use as many as you like just make sure your motherboard can support the GPUs. See my other post for more info about running multiple GPUs.
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@gam9p/cryptocurrency-earning-with-my-mining-rig
5.) What is your cost of electricity?
- This is something very important to think about when you start mining, if it cost more to run the machine then it will take longer for you to make your initial return. Also, if you are going to run more than 6 GPUs make sure your breakers can handle the power draw.
6.) Which OS are you using? (Windows, Linux, or Ethos)
- I like Windows for its ease of use but it has its limitations. A lot of people say Windows has problems running 6 GPUs and to use Linux if you are doing 7 or more. In the beginning I did have problems running 5 GPUs, but after a bios update and some bios tweaks the motherboard ran 6 GPUs just fine.
Here are some sites with some great information:
https://www.buriedone.com/
http://1stminingrig.com/
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/59zdjq/an-idiots-guide-to-building-an-ethereum-mining-rig
https://cryptosrus.com/ethereum-mining-rig/
Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.