Assembling your first mining RIG

cryptobubulle
Sep 25, 2021
4 min read

Updated: Sep 26, 2021

You already mine with your self-financed PC (or not ... see the article) and you want to set up your first RIG like the big guys. First of all, you should know that the profitability is variable depending on the moment and that it is therefore constantly evolving. The estimated time needed to amortize your equipment is also variable.

Compared to a PC, a RIG has only one vocation, only one task, mining! As it runs 24 hours a day, it is ideal to have a room with ventilation, which is not a living room, to install it because of the noise, the heat it generates and its sensitivity to dust (which will not deprive you of a good cleaning from time to time).

This being said, I will present you with a basic configuration, allowing you to install from 1 to 8 Graphic Cards. This configuration will allow you to install either #Nvidia or #AMD models depending on your taste, the availability and price of the graphics cards, or the crypto you wish to mine.

Here we will talk about ETH mining with Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards and NiceHash to manage the mining.

Let's make a list of the material needed

(all pictures are links to Amazon)

Let's start with the base, your chassis, you can obviously make it yourself if you are DIY and have the time, for my part I would choose a ready-made model (saving time) even if in a while I would make one myself but that's another story!

Here is a quality steel rack, ready to receive 8 graphic cards and the necessary fans.

Sold for a little less than 132€ it's a good value for money (click on the picture for the description).

Concerning the motherboard that will be the heart of your RIG, I chose this recent model, cheap but solid, with its own processor, easy to find and with 8 PCI ports it will allow you to upgrade your RIG in the future (click on the picture for the description).

To run the RIG, there is no other choice than to provide it with some RAM, 4 GB will suffice. Here and contrary to usage, it is Sodimm laptop RAM. This doesn't change anything but I found it useful to specify it (click on the picture for the description).

Do not forget the PCI Risers for the connection! This may seem obvious to some, but you shouldn't forget anything. They will allow you to connect your graphics card(s) to the motherboard. Don't hesitate to have 2 in advance just in case. 1 PCI Riser per card (click on the image for a description).

To power all this you will need a few Watts, and even if you only plug in one CG to start with, I recommend a very good power supply that will allow you to evolve with peace of mind. The GOLD models are much more resistant so don't hesitate.

(click on the picture for the description).

Pour connaitre la puissance de l’alimentation de mining que vous devez acheter, je vous conseille de faire un rapide calcul et d’évaluer la consommation sur le site WhatToMine. Ajoutez simplement le nombre de carte graphiques qui composent votre RIG. . Autant prendre une petite marge de 40W. En théorie, l’alimentation peut atteindre 100% de sa puissance mais afin de la garder fonctionnelle et en bonne sur la durée, je vous recommande de ne pas dépasser 80%. Par exemple, avec une alim de 1000W, je ne recommande pas de dépasser les 800W.

In order to install your NiceHash OS, a USB key is enough, no need to install a useless and expensive HD. A simple small USB key at 8.50€ will do the trick. (click on the picture for the description).

Next are all the cables

The CPU power cable

Then the power cable from the motherboard

PCI express power cable(s) for the graphics card(s) (1 per card)

And finally, we don't want all this to catch fire because of the lack of ventilation, so we're going to stir up some air with at least 5 fans and a front. Personally I would recommend adding 2 more on each side for air flow. Personally I love the LED effect but you can opt for a model without. (click on the picture for the description).

So there you have it, the basics are there but what remains is to provide the ultimate weapon for your RIG, the graphics card or cards. It's hard to make a choice, especially in times of shortage, so I opt for an available card, with a reasonable consumption and interesting performances. The LHR clamping is gradually being hacked.