Cryptocurrency has gone mainstream, with 14% of American adults now owning some kind of crypto. While some are speculating and just trying to make a quick buck (or satoshi), many have a true passion for digital currencies and the decentralized financial future.
With a lot more people interested in how the crypto ecosystem works, we’re seeing more entrepreneurs, investors, and everyday enthusiasts jump into crypto mining. They want to play a part in building the crypto economy.
At Elite Mining Inc, we’re not only a global leader in green crypto mining. We also aim to educate, empower and partner with those who want to mine crypto themselves. That’s why we’ve put together this handy guide on how to build your own GPU mining rig.
So, what is crypto mining?
First of all, what is crypto mining?
Crypto mining is when machines or hardware use computational power to find the next block in the blockchain. Miners get rewarded for their contribution with a ‘block reward’— usually some of the specific cryptocurrency you’re mining. For a more detailed explanation, check out our article on crypto mining.
In this article, we’ll try to explain how you can build your own GPU mining rig at home! Before building your GPU rig to mine currencies, you should calculate whether you can be profitable. Profitability depends on many factors. Most important are your setup costs and electricity costs versus the potential coins profit (which is influenced by market conditions).
Websites like What To Mine can be used to calculate the potential profitability of your mining rig and which coins would be most profitable to mine with your hardware. When calculating, make sure that you fill in the electricity cost per kWh.
GPU mining vs other forms of mining
When mining cryptocurrencies, you have several options. The two main options are ASIC miners or GPU miners. ASIC miners are specialized miners that are made to mine ONE specific algorithm. GPU miners are basically one or more GPUs that mine specific or different algorithms.
Here are the pros of GPU mining:
- The ability to mine a lot of different coins through different algorithms
- Ability to sell the GPU miner on websites like eBay to gamers at a later stage (or use yourself)
- Relatively easy to buy a GPU
- The fun of making your own GPU rig
Cons of GPU mining vs ASICS
- ASICs are specialized and therefore generally more efficient at the specific algorithm they’re created for
- There is a high-end GPU shortage (sidenote: some miners also have a shortage)
Basically, GPU mining is a little bit less efficient than ASIC mining. However, GPU mining offers a wider variety of coins to mine, which can minimize risk. If one set of coins is doing poorly, you can switch to mining another coin much more easily than if you had an ASIC. Additionally, it’s easier to sell a GPU later on if you want to stop mining than an ASIC, as GPUs can be sold to gamers.
Which coins to mine
With so many coins to mine, it might be hard to figure out which one is the most profitable for your rig. When mining using a GPU, there is a decent amount of information on the internet. Research the hash rates other people are getting with that GPU, especially if you plan to overclock. It’s also important to research which mining algorithms work best for the GPUs that you have and once you have that information you can research which coins use that algorithm.
A website like https://whattomine.com/ can help you figure out which coins are currently the most profitable. Or, you can choose a coin that you like and think will perform well in the future, and mine that one specifically. Make sure to research which algorithms work best on the GPU you have so that you could maximize your GPU hashrate output for the specific coins.
Another option is to rent out your mining rig for other people to use while you get compensated for the usage of your rig. One website that enables you to rent out a GPU mining rig is Mining Rig Rentals. Alternatively, you could rent out your mining power through NiceHash. The NiceHash software will automatically switch between the most profitable algorithm to mine at the time and then pay you out in Bitcoin.
Lastly, it’s also possible to use a mining pool with profitability switching. These pools are similar to NiceHash, however, some pay out in the different coins they mine. These might be interesting if you like those coins (or less appealing if you prefer Bitcoin).
When making a decision on which method works best for you, calculate where you have the most potential for profit, as well as consider what feels most comfortable to you.
Building the GPU mining rig
First, find out which GPU you want to purchase. Different GPUs have different electricity requirements and different hash rates for different coins. So, research thoroughly. Currently there is also a shortage of some GPUs, so try to not overpay (as that will mean a longer time to recoup your initial investment).
Here’s a list of what you need to build a GPU mining rig:
- Frame to hold the GPUs together: This is optional and may not be needed if you only have 1 or 2 GPUs.
- A motherboard that has enough PCI-e slots to plug in the amount of GPUs you want: Make sure to have enough PCI-e 1 slots, since USB risers are plugged into PCI-e 1 on the motherboard.
- USB riser cables: These work like PCI-e extension cables, especially when trying to connect more than 2 GPUs or when you want to put them all together in a case. Multiple GPUs most likely won't fit on the motherboard itself so USB risers are required.
- PCI-e power supply cables or power supply splitter cables.
- CPU: This doesn’t have to be an expensive one.
- RAM: This can be relatively cheap but would recommend ddr4.
- SSD or even a thumbdrive for the operating system and mining software.
- USB WiFi router or ethernet cable.
- Power supply: Make sure the power supply is strong enough for all the GPUs combined, plus a little extra for the rest of the hardware. It’s always better to have a little extra to make sure the power supply doesn’t throttle. Since electricity costs are one of the main costs for mining, it might be a good idea to look for a high-grade quality power supply.
- The GPUs.
- Extra cooling: This is optional but might be a good idea.
When you have all the required components, then you must put them all together. The CPU, RAM, SSD will be installed on the motherboard as usual. The USB risers will be plugged into the PCI-e 1 slots on the motherboard and the GPUs will be plugged into the PCI-e 16 slot on the USB risers. All of this will then be mounted on the frame and all needs to be connected to the power supply unit. After that, the whole setup needs to be connected to the internet.
Then, it’s time to turn on the mining rig!
After turning it on, check that all the GPUs are functioning properly. It could also be a good idea to do a stress test to see how the cooling is and determine if some extra source of cooling is required. Software like MSI Afterburner can be used to monitor the GPUs.
The next step is to overclock the GPUs by boosting the core clock speed to increase the mining speed. When doing this, make sure to also increase the fan speed and keep an eye on the temperatures of the GPUs. Overclocking has risks, so if you don’t feel comfortable overclocking, don’t do it. If you know what you’re doing, it’s also possible to adjust the core voltage of the GPUs to potentially decrease the electricity requirement and therefore lower your costs. However tweaking anything manually brings risks and it might be a good idea to do some extra research or consult an expert before overclocking or changing any settings.
Conclusion
Building a mining rig can be quite challenging but also fun and potentially profitable, depending on a wide range of variables like electricity costs. GPU mining offers a wide range of options, especially when it comes to switching which coin you mine. Additionally, once you’re done mining, GPUs are relatively easy to sell on the secondhand market, as long as the GPU is in good condition.
With research and hard work, building a GPU mining rig could be personally rewarding. However, if you don’t have the time or expertise to build your own GPU mining rig, know there are other options.
At Elite Mining Inc, you can be in the cryptomining industry without having to do all the legwork. We offer hosting, investing, and more. Contact us if you are interested and would like some more information.