Tutorial: Ethereum Mining Rig Part 1 (choosing the parts)

As i mentioned in my first post here in the last 2-3 weeks i have been looking to get the best parts for my mining rig. Ill try to be straight on the subject with all of my posts.. so here is what i have selected for my first mining rig:

Motherboard : ASRock H97 Anniversary (http://amzn.to/1UupYtr)

 Many miners use ASRock H81 Pro BTC which i have also selected it in the first run but then i decided to go with ASRock H97 Annyversary (specs) because of new chipsets and it can be sold easily after i am done with mining (if ever comes to that).

The Asrock H97 Anniversary (ASRock ATX DDR3 1066 LGA 1150 Motherboard H97 ANNIVERSARY) comes equipped with PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, but the Asrock H81 Pro BTC comes with PCIe 2.0 x16 slots. Even though, currently, the performance difference is negligible, the H81 Pro BTC may not be able to keep up with advancements in GPU technology in the further future. Check here for full comparison

UPDATE: November 16, 2016

UPDATED HERE: https://1stminingrig.com/best-mining-rig-hardware-mine-2017/

Decided to update this post and to add the newest video cards as best option for your rig, this two cards are the best value hash/cash/consumption.

AMD Radeon RX 480 (http://amzn.to/2kJrGrM)

You can find my latest Ethereum mining rig build with the RX 480 video cards here: https://1stminingrig.com/sapphire-amd-radeon-rx-480-8gb-ethereum-mining-rig-tutorial/

Same rig here but switched to mine ZCash can be viewed here: https://1stminingrig.com/amd-radeon-rx-480-8gb-zcash-mining-rig-520hs/

AMD Radeon RX 470 (http://amzn.to/2fWunDM)

I did not build any rig with this cards but you can check some reviews here: https://1stminingrig.com/?s=rx+470

IMPORTANT: If you are going to have a rig of 6x cards with one of this two, then you will have to get a much powerful PSU and which i recommend this one http://amzn.to/2fVWgx2

END OF UPDATE

GPU/Video Card: 4-6 Radeon R9 380 4g (http://amzn.to/1TkemZ1)

I think that the Radeon R9 380 and 380x are the best video cards for mining, watt consumption is somewhere at 200watt. One R9 380 can mine on average 20MH/s.

Radeon R7 370 4GB  (http://amzn.to/1T0okL8)

I decided to change GPU and instead of R9 380 ill choose R7 370 (after more researches i found out that this are the best performance per hash/cost/power out there), to more specific ill buy the following ASUS STRIX R7 370 http://amzn.to/1T0okL8 .

If you decide to go with R9 380 then you will have to buy a more powerful PSU, 1600W like EVGA SuperNOVA 1600 G2 80+ GOLD, 1600W Fully Modular NVIDIA SLI and Crossfire Ready 10 Year Warranty Power Supply 120-G2-1600-X1 (http://amzn.to/1PH6hXB)

CPU/Processor: Intel Pentium Dual-Core G3258 3.2GHz (http://amzn.to/1PH6c5Z)

Intel G3258 4 Pentium 3.20 GHz 3M Cache 2 Core Processor (BX80646G3258)
Compatible with Intel 8 or 9 series Chipsets
LGA 1150
2 cores
3.2Ghz base frequency

RAM/Memory: 1x HyperX Fury Black 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz (http://amzn.to/1SoxzDV)

Kingston HyperX FURY 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM – Black (HX316C10FB/8)
Asymmetric heat spreader for stylish heat dissipation
Compatible with Intel and AMD platforms
Easy to install – Plug-and-Play functionality

SSD/HDD: ethOS 16gb SSD (http://gpushack.com/collections/gpushack/products/ethos-16gb-ssd) (already ordered) UNBOXING VIDEO AND IMAGES

What is ethOs ? It’s a 64-bit Ubuntu distro already configured to mine. You buy and copy the digital image to an ssd or buy an ssd with the digital image pre-loaded. Basically this is the easiest way to start mining for a very beginner like me. Read more about the project here.

I will post an unboxing video soon!

PSU/Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1600W G2 (http://amzn.to/1PH6hXB)

Some people say that a 1300W psu is enough for a 6xgpu rig. I just decided to use 2 PSUs because i will not have the money to buy all of my GPUs at once.. so i will start with one 850W and once i add more video cards ill buy the second PSU of 850W or 750W.

With this new GPUs the consumption for 6x R7 370 will be somewhere between 860w an 900w so basically the 1600w PSU is too much and i had to look for a new one, i choose Corsair RM1000x 80+ Gold Certificate 1000w

Corsair RM1000 80+ Gold Certificate 1000w (http://amzn.to/24FTVfX)

Corsair RMx Series, RM1000x, 1000W, Fully Modular Power Supply, 80+ Gold Certified, 10 year warranty
The latest ATX12V v2.31 and EPS 2.92 standards and it is backward compatible with ATX12V 2.2 and ATX12V 2.01 systems.
4th generation Intel Core processor Ready (Intel Haswell and Z87 motherboards)
80PLUS Gold certified, delivering over 92% energy efficiency at real world load conditions.

Other parts:
USB 3.0 cable extender with PCI-E Riser: (http://amzn.to/1UuaR3b)

Ill suggest you to buy more than 6 because some of them can have some connection problem or something related. My advice is to buy at least 10 so you can have a few as backup, buy 15 if you can!

• Fixable PCI-E 16X to 1X Adapter USB3.0 USB 3.0 Riser Cable Flex Flexible Extension Cable w/ Molex 4 Pin Power Connector
• Can be used in 1X, 4X, 8X, and 16X slots on your motherboard
• Fixable board with 4 holes available on PCI-E 16X side to fix PCI-E 16X connector on motherboard for more convenient management for graphics card.

Power and reset switch cables for the motherboard: http://amzn.to/1Pk7qWi

uxcell 67″ Desktop Computer Case Power Supply Reset HDD Button Switch

• Cable Length : 1.7m / 67″
• Material (External) : Plastic, Metal
• Weight : 110g
• Package Content : 1 Setx Desktop Power Button Switch

Keyboard: http://amzn.to/1ZDZPrq

AmazonBasics Wired Keyboard

• Low-profile Keys Provide a Quiet, Comfortable Typing Experience
• Simple Wired USB Connection; Works with Windows 2000, Xp, Vista and 7

 

Monitor: If you don’t have an extra monitor in for your mining room check this 15″ Dell monitor super cheap http://amzn.to/1Ua7OhF Dell model # 1504FP 15″ Ultrasharp LCD Monitor in black

• Dell Ultrasharp Model:1504FP AC 100-240V 50/60 HZ, 0.5A 174569
• Measurements: 15″ screen 13.75″ W x14.5″ H x 6″ D

 

Thermal Compound: http://amzn.to/1Pk7SUw ARCTIC MX-4 Carbon-Based Thermal Compound, Non-Electricity Conductive, Non-Capacitive, Non-Bleeding – 20g

• Non-Capacitive, Non-Electricity-Conductive, Carbon Micro-Particle Based Thermal Compound
• Non-Curing, Non-Corrosive, Non-Bleeding, Excellent for CPU/GPU/Electronics/Lighting Cooling
• Low Thermal Resistance/High Thermal Conductivity Dissipating Heat Efficiently

Ethernet Cable: http://amzn.to/1UqBLUO Tera Grand – CAT7 10 Gigabit Ethernet Ultra Flat Patch Cable for Modem Router LAN Network – Built with Gold Plated & Shielded RJ45 Connectors and Generation 3 Mold, 25 Feet White

• ULTRA FLAT – CAT-7 10 Gigabit Ultra Flat Ethernet cable, slim and flexible, easy to fit into the tightest spaces
• 10 GBPS DATA SPEED – Compliant with ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-B, 2-1, Up to 10 Gbps Speed and Meets all Proposed CAT-7 Requirements; Supports: 10GBASE-T; 1000 BASE-T; 100 BASE-T;
• 10 BASE-T
• PROTECTION FROM INTERFERENCE – Shielded Twisted Pair and RJ45 Connectors to Protect Against EMI/RFI Interference

Watt usage monitor like “Kill a Watt: http://amzn.to/1YeCbTp P3 International P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor

• Calculates cost and forecasts by week, month, and year
• Displays eight critical units of measure on the large LCD display
• Built-in backup of accumulated information.

Case: i love this one but i think it is overpriced so i decided to build a similar one, link here

I decided to build my own frame/case to save money and i found this great tutorial showing how to build a wooden frame https://youtu.be/Cscm8blV40c here is a full tutorial

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[UPDATED] Monday, May 09, 2016

1. I decided to change GPU and instead of R9 380x ill choose R7 370 (after more researches i found out that this are the best performance per hash/cost/power out there), to more specific ill buy the following ASUS STRIX R9 370 (http://amzn.to/1T0okL8) (1175core & 1600mem put out).
2. With this new GPUs the consumption for 6x R7 370 will be somewhere between 860w an 900w so basically the 1600w PSU is too much and i had to look for a new one, i choose Corsair RM1000 80+ Gold Certificate 1000w (http://amzn.to/24FTVfX)
3. The frame: ill switch the wood with aluminum

Thank you for reading. As always, your comments, suggestions and questions are welcome. Subscribe and stay tuned for further updates!

Part 2: Building the frame