What Hardware Do I Buy to Start Mining?

Updated 13Feb2021

 GPU mining requires at least the following hardware:

A motherboard, CPU, RAM, hard drive, a power supply, an operating system, and graphics card(s)

Optional additional hardware:

Risers for the graphics cards, a case / open-air build, mouse / keyboard / monitor, PC power reset switch, motherboard standoffs, a wifi USB adapter, case fans, and a remote AC power outlet


Check Newegg, Microcenter, eBay, etc as well. Also check out /r/buildapcsales/ for deals.)


Recommended Motherboards

Mobo cost is a major consideration here. As is # of PCI Express (PCIE) slots. Your GPU's can mine in any PCIE slot (x1, x4, x16, etc). Most mobo M.2 slots are also compatible to GPU mine with, but are more finicky. 

 

Aside from graphics cards, this will be your biggest decision:

 

Brand

Model

PCIE slots

Video output

CPU socket

RAM compatibility

Link

ASRock

H110 Pro BTC+

13

DVI/HDMI

1151

DDR4

Here

ASUS

B250 Mining Expert

19

HDMI

1151

DDR4

Here

Gigabyte

GA-B250-Fintech

12

DVI/VGA

1151

DDR4

✪ New

Biostar

TB250-BTC D+ Mining

8

HDMI

1151

SO-DIMM DDR4

✪ New

ASUS

Prime Z270-P

6 + 2 M.2

DVI/HDMI

1151

DDR4

Here

ASUS

ROG Strix B250H Gaming

6 + 2 M.2

DVI/HDMI

1151

DDR4

Here

ASUS

Prime B250-Plus

4 + 2 M.2

DVI/HDMI/VGA

1151

DDR4

Here

MSI

Z170A Gaming Pro Carbon

7 + 1 M.2

DVI/HDMI

1151

DDR4

Here

MSI

Z270 Gaming M7

6 + 2 M.2

HDMI

1151

DDR4

Here

ASUS

Prime Z270-A

7 + 2 M.2

Display Port/DVI/HDMI

1151

DDR4

Here

MSI

Z170A SLI Plus

6 + 1 M.2

DVI/HDMI/VGA

1151

DDR4

Here

Gigabyte

GA-990FXA-UD3

6

none

AM3

DDR3

Here

Biostar

TB85

6

DVI/VGA

1150

DDR3

Here

Biostar

TB250-BTC

6

DVI

1151

DDR4

Here

Biostar

TB350-BTC

6

DVI

AM4

DDR4

Here

ASRock

H81 Pro BTC

6

HDMI

1150

DDR3

Here


Recommended CPU's

Pick a CPU that is compatible with the mobo you've selected from above. Intel is preferred here from both price-to-performance ratio and power consumption/heat. Somewhat counterintuitively, you’re better off with a cheapo processor like the G3900 as opposed to an octo-core whatnot because GPU mining is not bottlenecked by CPU, and a basic CPU runs at far less watts than a fancy CPU. For GPU mining, saving watts matters a lot.

 

Brand

Model

CPU socket

Link

Intel

Celeron G1840

1150

Here

Intel

Core I3-4170

1150

Here

Intel

Celeron G3900

1151

Here

Intel

Pentium G4400

1151

Here

Intel

Core I3-7100

1151

Here

AMD

A6-9500

AM4

Here

AMD

A8-9600

AM4

Here

AMD

X4-950

AM4

Here


Recommended RAM

This is easy. Grab minimum 4GB of cheap RAM. Going with 2 x 2GB or 8GB won't hurt. If building a rig with more than 8 GPU's, get 8GB RAM.

 

Brand

Size

Type

Link

Ballistix

4GB

DDR4

Here

Kingston

4GB

DDR4

Here

Patriot

4GB

DDR3

Here

Kingston

4GB

DDR3

Here

Crucial

8GB

DDR4

Here

Corsair

8GB

DDR4

Here


Recommended Hard Drives

Another fairly easy decision here. A solid state drive (SSD) is preferred, and you are more than fine with 120GB capacity. For 3 to 4 cards or less on Windows, you can get by with a 60GB SSD.

 

Brand

Model

Size

Link

Samsung

750 EVO

120GB

Here

Samsung

850 EVO

120GB

Here

Samsung

850 EVO

250GB

Here

Sandisk

SSD Plus

120GB

Here

PNY

CS1311

120GB

Here

Corsair

Force LS

60GB

Here


Recommended Power Supplies

General rule of thumb when predicting total power supply needed is to take your GPU power consumptions per whattomine.com then add 150W to that number for all other components (CPU, motherboard, fans, etc). So 6 * 1660 ti is about 750 W, 10 * 3070 is about 2300 W. Since your PSU will be running ideally 24/7, employ the 80% rule - don't run your PSU at more than roughly 80% of its max capacity. So that 6 * 1660 ti rig needs about 1000 W for the PSU, and that 10 * 3070 rig needs about 2900 W. Highly recommend you get multiple smaller PSU’s and string them together (see below).

 

Efficiency here is key as well - get a PSU rated Gold or better (Gold/Platinum/Titanium). Modular PSU's are preferred, as well as ones with as many VGA ports as possible.

 

EVGA G2's are often considered the mining standard.


Update to say I've done a ton of work to put together this:

Full PSU Recommendations Buyer's Guide here.

 

Brand

Model

Modular

Capacity

VGA ports

Rating

Link

EVGA

Supernova 550 G2

Fully

550W

2

Gold

Here

EVGA

Supernova 850 G2

Fully

850W

4

Gold

Here

EVGA

Supernova 1600 G2

Fully

1600W

9

Gold

Here

EVGA

Supernova 1000 G3

Fully

1000W

5

Gold

Here

Corsair

HX750i

Fully

750W

5

Platinum

Here

Corsair

HX1200i

Fully

1200W

6

Platinum

Here

Seasonic

SSR-750TD

Fully

750W

6

Titanium

Here

 

Above PSU's are but a few from a long list of good PSU's. Do yourself a favor and check out my complete list of PSU recommendations.


You can utilize multiple PSU's with an adapter like this (recommended) or hardware like Add2PSU or make your own connector.


Operating System

Lots to consider here. Windows 10 Professional (recommended), HiveOS (very good), EthOS, SimpleMining OS.


Recommended Graphics Cards

The meat of mining. And the most expensive part, of course. This decision is entirely based on the user and the preferred coins to mine. Current popular cards are the AMD 580, 5600 (and 5600XT), 5700 (and 5700XT), and the Nvidia 1660ti as well as the entire 30-series (3060ti, 3070, 3080, 3090). All 3rd party manufacturers (ASUS, EVGA, MSI, etc.) produce roughly the same hashrates, so your main consideration here is typically cost. Heat dissipation is worth considering for many rigs - more fans on the card means better heat dissipation, and quieter rigs. A smaller card form factor (like a 1070 mini) can be placed into smaller rigs but has worse heat dissipation. Considering card blower style - aftermarket cards typically run quieter and cooler than "reference" cards, but are also typically larger.

 

Carefully note how many power connectors are required for the card you choose. More power connectors are generally not preferred and lead to cable headaches - opt for something with a single 8-pin connection over 8-pin + 6-pin or even 2 x 8-pin power requirements when possible. 

Cards go in and out of stock all the time, so it is important to shop around different vendors and keep your eyes peeled for deals!

There are two graphics card producers: Nvidia and AMD. Nvidia cards are the best multi-algorithm cards, meaning they excel at mining lots of different coins. AMD however is the Ethereum specialist – they mine Ethereum (and other coins on the ‘Ethash’ algorithm) exceptionally well, but they don’t perform as well as Nvidia on nearly all other coins/algorithms.

 

Quick note: My personal preference has always been Nvidia, but that comes to bite my butt when Ethereum excels.

 

Current top earners are the Nvidia 30-series graphics cards. Which models are best? The 3060 ti and the 3070 run GDDR6 memory which does not need thermal heatsink replacements. So these are your standard plug-and-play, no hardware tweaking required mining cards. On the other hand, the 3080 and 3090 models run GDDR6x memory, and run so hot that they require hardware modification to justify their purchase. Head to Reddit’s /r/GPUmining forum for more on heat pad replacements and their benefits.

 

Ongoing list of comparisons and rankings of best cards:


Recommended Risers

Rigs with more than 2-3 cards nearly always must have powered risers, one per card.
You have three best options here, simply depending on how many PSU connectors you have available:

 

 Don't use SATA risers. Throw away the SATA adapter cables that all risers come with!!

 --Diagram example of the proper way to power cards/risers when using multiple PSU's--

Note: Using a single 16x ribbon cable and the rest as 1x risers often helps with stability.


Cases

The choice is yours. A typical computer case even for smaller rigs is not recommended due to poor air flow. A 4U server case or open air rig is preferred especially for larger builds. If purchasing a case, ensure the case and your motherboard have compatible form factors (ATX/mini-ATX/CEB, etc). When looking for open air frames, consider building your own.

Style

Material

Capacity

Stackable

Link

Server Case

aluminum

6 GPU

yes

Here

Server Case

aluminum

6 GPU

yes

Here

Open Air

aluminum

6 GPU

yes

Here

Open Air

aluminum & acrylic

6 GPU

yes

Here

Open Air

steel

8 GPU

no

Here

Open Air

aluminum

8 GPU

yes

Here

Open Air

aluminum

14 GPU

yes

Here


PC Power/Reset Switch

Turns the computer on/off/resets. A computer case typically comes with this, but if you are building an open air rig you'll need something like this or this.

 


Motherboard Standoffs

Standoffs aren't required by any means, but they protect your motherboard from damage and improve heat dissipation - Here.

 


Wifi Adapter

The choice is entirely yours. A direct ethernet connection is preferred, but not always possible. A cheap USB dongle like this one is sufficient.

 


Case Fans

Loud but mighty - case fans push the heat away from your GPU's. Open air rigs often don't need them, but case builds usually do. Fans come in various sizes and strengths. Choose the right size (80mm, 120mm, etc) as appropriate.

 


Remote AC Power Outlets aka Smart Plugs

Bottom of the Nice-But-Not-Required build list is a way to remotely power cycle your rig.

  • The Wemo Insight is preferred because it can function with IFTTT support and monitors watt usage.
  • Alternatively, the Etekcity Smart Plugs do not work with IFTTT but are much cheaper.
  • A Kill-a-Watt is useful for monitoring wattage use, but doesn't have remote power cycling capabilities.

Note: Smart plugs are typically rated for no more than 1200-1500W total power.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)