Bitcoin Forum

Just browsed over this case, could be the best suitable case for a mining rig: Very good ventilation, super cool looking! If there is a built-in water cooling system then this is overkill

http://www.muycomputer.com/files/HIDDEN_264_11051_FOTO_Antec_Skeleton-4.jpg

best case is no case,

This Skeleton sell for > 100$

Looks cool and all, but nothing more then a great way to relieve your wallet of those precious $'s.
The best case is no case. You can make something very similar with 1" aluminium tubing and a desk fan from your local store.

I know those guys with 20+ machines each equipped with 3x6990s can not afford this luxury, but when you have already minned enough coins, you want to do some decoration  8)

I'm even thinking about building a  small scaled natural air cooling tower, like this

http://www.bio.ie/images/cooling-towers.jpg

so this is pretty much the same thing as no case, but it costs 10x more. good job there
it's still a waste of money, you might as well re-invest the money back into mining hardware.

Seems you have not minned enough coins ;D

That's the problem of bitcoin economy: you want them, but do not want to spend them

I have had this case. I can tell you its only good for 2 cards, there is no room within the chassis for more. If you plan on only using two then it is great.

Besides "no case" which gets hard to maintain when dealing with larger numbers, I humbly submit the following:

http://www.target.com/Wire-Cube-Shelving-System/dp/B000789RSQ

Rack and stack.  The above and zip ties are really all you should need.  Why waste money on a case?

I want to see a setup in these Shelves so bad... Tell me you did please

Mine have got wheels!

http://www.btc-poolwatch.com/public/images/bigfan.jpg

HAHAHAHHA rearwheels that made my day.  How are the temps on those cards?

LOL, rearwheels, gotta love taking it for a ride.

Just added the big ass fan last week. Dropped most cards (5850s) about 5deg, except the inner most ones.

Also I've reduced all cards fan speed from 95% to 80%.

Removed 8x 120mm fans from the rigs.

Most value for money in terms of fans. (Big Ass fan ~= US$80).

Anyway, this wire tray is from Ikea. Look under the laundry section.

This one is sweet!

I will put the rig in the balcony most of the time to get cold enough air, but the dirt and rain is a big concern

By the way, I think the best setup will be card exhaust in up direction, this will suck the cold air from under

It sadly also means the upper computers get the heat from lower.

I think the optimium is a "wall of computers" with ventilators, sucking in cold airfrom one room, putting hot into another vetilated one. EIther install them in a door, or put some cardboard around them in front of an open / half open window.

Here is a 12 cube setup lol

http://www.amazon.com/KCF-Clothes-Organizer-3-Foot-4-Foot/dp/B001BRD2N8/ref=sr_1_124?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1311858076&sr=1-124

Would probably take a little creativity to get it all in a 14x14x14 in cube but that's what zip ties were created for lol.

Coming in v2.0 of my rigs.  Currently they're just PCs on standard metal shop shelves with fans circulating air accordingly.  My BTC profit model has been to get up and running as fast as possible first, then optimize for electrical efficiency using the profits.  As I pull hardware out of OEM cases, they'll be going into the cube stacks.

I've seen a few other rigs put into these kinds of things, not necessarily exactly the same, but close.  I think they're the way to go IMHO.  Can't beat the price and they're great for airflow. 

I still fail to understand why you'd want a "real" for bitcoin mining.

You can get 20" box fans at Lowes or Home Depot for like $15.  I've found they don't pull much current (on mid speed) and move more air than the rest.

It's all about the size of your fan blade imho so the 20" works really well.  Smaller fans may rev higher but have to work harder to blow the same amount of air.

TIP:  blow your exhaust air someplace outside, or at the very least to a part of your server room that doesn't mind being very warm AND where it won't spill into your fresh supply of cool air. 

Sheet metal (or aluminum if you can find it) and a nice pair of metal sheers work well for this.

would laying the bare motherboard on exposed metal short the motherboard? Those cubes seem extremely efficient other wise.

The cubes I linked are plastic-coated metal.  You'd have to tear the plastic (eg., with a set of pliers or some other sharp tool) then be unlucky enough to short.

A very basic modicum of common sense should prevent the above.

That being said, you can also fry a mobo by not properly grounding yourself before touching it too.

Pretty much any metal that deals with clothes (which is what the main purpose of these cubes are for) is plastic coated to make sure there is no chance of it rusting onto the clothes.  But if you are worried about it, just cut some plywood to slide in and mount everything to it.

I'd advise against plywood.  In the 1/10000 chance that something sparks, shorts, or overheats critically you want as little flammable fuel possible nearby.  Plus, wood does actually conduct electricity.  It also retains moisture.  Some plywood can also emit toxic fumes when heated up.

I know that all sounds paranoid.  So take it as you will.

That being said, in more than 20 years of professional experience working with computing technology, I've only seen one machine come close to igniting.  A NeXT cube optical drive in my lab (back in the 1990s) got hot enough to start smoldering.  Thankfully, I smelled the smoke in time.  I'm 99% sure it was the dust that had built up in the drive over the years.

I suppose you could also use some adhesive spray on glue and aluminum foil to create "fire resistant" plywood slabs too.  But you'd run into the fume issue there too I suspect.

I have a rubber/plastic floor mat between the motherboard and the plastic coated wire frame.

If you can't find 20" (or similar) box fans in a local store, I'm sure you can order them online someplace.  They're not the kinds of things you need to see up-close and personal (usually).

Kitchen / Mining Cart Mod -

https://i.imgur.com/AEg4Tl.jpg (http://imgur.com/AEg4T) https://i.imgur.com/PTqVBl.jpg (http://imgur.com/PTqVB)