This is my humble crypto mining farm. It’s not super big, merely a hobby, well, maybe a little bit more than just a hobby…
We as humans have incredible abilities to create things, admire things and enjoy things.
Owning and running a crypto mining rig is one thing, but building it yourself is one of the most rewarding and satisfying feelings.
Despite the current lack of mining profits, the future of cryptocurrencies is something that I am really excited about.
But what drove me to build yet another rig? I mean, power prices are through the roof, the difficulty across all the established coins have skyrocketed and mining rewards are way down.
It’s passion. Passion for the industry and passion for technology. You’ve guessed it… I have to fuel my mining addiction somehow.
But to stay competitive in an ever-growing industry, the biggest factors to consider are the cost of power and the efficiency of our equipment.
You see, over the past year I invested heavily into sustainable renewable energy. I installed a solar system that is large enough to run my entire farm during the day, with surplus energy that I am able to store in a battery bank for later use. This enables me to still mine profitably.
So with that being said… let’s build something…
So, what do we need to build a new rig? Let’s start off with a rig frame, a mining-specific motherboard, a CPU cooler, a few GPU risers, some splitter cables, some more cables, a server PSU, and also a breakout board.
I am using a B75, 12 GPU mining motherboard, which connects via USB to the GPU risers, instead of the traditional x16 and x1 slots.
The first item that I need to install is the RAM. This motherboard has 2 RAM slots, but I will only be using one of these slots.
Take the RAM, line it up with the slot in the correct orientation, and firmly press it into the slot until the securing tabs click in place.
The beauty of this motherboard is that it can be powered by a 24-pin ATX cable and connector, but it could also be powered by two 6-pin PCIe cables, if you are using a server PSU for instance.
Another advantage of this motherboard is that it is cheap and it comes with a used CPU preinstalled.
Mounting the CPU cooler is super simple. Just take the protective cover off from the cooler that will expose the thermal paste that is already installed.
Just line up the 4 pins with the holes in the motherboard and secure them by pressing them firmly until it clicks in place.
The fan needs to be powered, so just connect the fan cable to the appropriate connector on the motherboard.
I have already installed the motherboard standoffs on the rig frame, so all we need to do is line up the motherboard mounting points with the standoffs and secure it with some screws.
There are several ways to power your mining rig, and I am a great fan of server PSU’s, as they are reliable, efficient and very cost effective.
Today I am using a Dell 1400W server power supply, as well as a Parallel Miner ZSX breakout breakout board, that will supply all the necessary power to all of the components, including the motherboard, GPU risers as well as the GPUs themselves.
With the breakout board attached to the server PSU, and everything in place, it’s time to attach the motherboard power supply cable. In this case, the breakout board does have a 24-pin ATX connector, so I will be using the supplied cable from Parallel miner.
Connect the cable on both ends and make sure that it is properly inserted and secured into the 24-pin connectors.
The next step is to connect all the required 6-pin PCIe power cables to the breakout board and neatly route them.
Let’s get the GPU risers installed. Line up the riser with the GPU in the correct orientation and snap it into place, making sure that each riser is secured properly.
Now place the GPU onto the frame and secure it with the correct screws at each designated mounting location.
Connect all the necessary splitter cables to the risers and GPUs and connect the PCIe cables to the risers.
In this case my GPUs has one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector, so I am using a splitter and 1 PCie cable for each GPU, and then I split 1 PCIe cable between 2 GPU risers.
This ensures that the cables can handle all the required wattage and that I do not create a fire hazard.
Now it’s time to install the GPU riser USB cables and also do some cable management, so that everything looks neat and organized.
We are almost ready to run the rig for the first time. The only things left is to insert the USB flash drive, that has HiveOS and the rig configuration preinstalled… connect the LAN cable from my network switch… and plug in the power cable to the server PSU.
Now it’s the moment of truth to see if there will be any explosions once we power on the PSU…
Seeing all these lights blink, the fans spinning and hearing the whistling sound from the power supply, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment every time I boot up a new mining rig.
It is amazing that we can take a selection of items, put them together and bring them to life and also provide our contribution to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
This RTX 3070 rig is one of the most efficient rigs I now own and will continue to serve me as an employee for years to come.
What is your crypto story and do you feel proud, like me, every time you create a new rig? I would love you to share your experience in the comments.
Follow me along on my crypto journey and see if you like this video too.
and as always, stay safe, stay healthy and I will see you in the next video.
