Macgyver Mining Rigs! (hodgepodge mining hardware / cooling systems, etc)

[Grike_SixEcho]

In this thread, I ask that you post anything (potentially funny) having to do with Macgyver-esque mining hardware!

I've heard a lot of stories about amazing ways that people have cooled or created their mining rigs for next to nothing, and I was hoping you could share stories with everyone.

I'll start - Found a mediacenter-style PC online for the cheaps.  $400 got me 6GB DDR3 1333, an Athlon II quad at 3.0GHZ, a TB of 5400rpm storage, and an old MSI R5770 Hawk (that's the one with the twin frozr enclosure)

I added another EVGA R5770, and crossfired, boosting that nice RAM for my main PC, and the hard disc for my RAID array.  It's currently running DamnSmallLinux off a flash drive (serves it right)

Both my cards would do the whole "I'm gonna get to 70C now" thing.  This was not okay with me.  Removing the side panel -2C  Pointing small fan inside -3C.  Finally ended up putting it into a large cardboard box with a hole in the bottom for the AC vent that's on my floor, and holes for the PSU and GPU exhaust (PCI slots in the back).  The goal here was to ONLY allow air into the system via the nice cold (free) AC air, and only allow air out the PCI slots used for GPU exhaust.  The amount of airflow was so much it was making the secondary case fan cry, so I just yanked it out, and replaced it with a 4Ohm resistor.  Total temp change= -21C

On a side note, the top mounted PSU was competing with GPU #1 for intake air, so I put a piece of cardboard between the two, so they could get two different directions of airflow going. 

I consider this a success.  Fun stories always welcome from you.

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[resin]

First of all, Nice work!

You could have shaved some cost with a cheaper CPU since you're probably not using the CPU for computations anyway, and you could run the entire thing on much less than 6GiB of RAM and just a flash drive using the linuxcoin distro ( depending on if the computer is dedicated or if you use it otherwise). How many megahashes/second are you getting with the pair of 5770's?

There is a thread in this forum that shows a number of great innovations, storing the mining rig in the snow, external PCIe extenders allowing for more cards to be added to a single system, using some "cases" which are designed for tech benches which are entirely open. There are many who are using no cases at all and pointing conventional house fans at the system boards. Make sure you check it out.

It's not feasible for me to have a system that isn't fully enclosed, I've been opting to use the Silverstone Raven case which definitely adds some expense to the system, but rotates the system board by 90deg so that the PCI cards are all at the top of the case, and then it has 3 giant fans at the bottom that blow the air up and out of the case at a low RPM which makes it significantly more quiet. I use an 1155 motherboard with enough space between the 3 PCIe slots to put 3 full sized cards in there (EVGA) and a core i3-2100t which only uses 35W. Then I tuck that badboy under my desk at work and consume the free power and air conditioning in my office. My total cost was about $1k with 3x 5830's which when tuned correctly yield 1 gigahash/second. I bought a pretty high end power supply ( Corsair 850HX ), but I'm thinking that even if the cards draw 150W each + 35 CPU + 30 Motherboard I could have probably used a 550W power supply for a fraction of the cost. I don't have a kill-a-watt to determine my actual draw.

[Grike_SixEcho]

First of all, Nice work!

You could have shaved some cost with a cheaper CPU since you're probably not using the CPU for computations anyway, and you could run the entire thing on much less than 6GiB of RAM and just a flash drive using the linuxcoin distro ( depending on if the computer is dedicated or if you use it otherwise). How many megahashes/second are you getting with the pair of 5770's?

I'm still tuning them, but I can produce at the very minimum 300MH/s.
I'm aware that this CPU was quite overkill for a mining rig, but that was the CPU the pre-built referb had in it.  I have no intention of taking it out to sell, and certainly not switching it for my hex-core phenom on my custom jobbie.
In addition, I yanked out the ram and put in a spare gig of DDR3 1066 I pilfered from "throw away anything day" at my place of residence.

House fans over an exposed motherboard you say?  Interesting to say the least.  They're quite cheap, are they not?

Lastly, I did get a OCZ StealthXstream II 750watt for only $40 ($70 in coupons) to power the two cards.  I believe it was cheap because of it's TERRIBLE reputation, despite the brand.
I'm also in the process of unsoldering some PCIe x16 v2.1 slots from a broken high-end motherboard I obtained from a dumpster with intent to make my own PCI slot extenders so the cards can be zip-tie mounted for better airflow.

Once more, my intent was to hear about hodgepodge rigs, not to say yours isn't interesting.  Could you link me to the other thread? I did a cursory search before making this thread and found nothing.

[Grinder]

If you're into rack computing I've found that this is the perfect rack: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49875896

I have an older version with a little bit deeper drawers, so you may only be able to use every other drawer in this one. Other than that it's perfect. Cheap, one mainboard fits nicely in each drawer, it's no problem connecting cables and ventilation is great. If you need better circulation I suggest something like this: http://www.nextag.com/standing-fan/products-html

[namley]

I'm int he process of putting together my shelf cooling system, which includes a 5 Tier Resin Shelf ( Walmart 24.99 ), 10,000 BTU Air conditioner ( FREE! ), Dryer hose, duct tape, silica packets, and perhaps a roast beef thermometer.

I'll post pictures when i get something up.

[mooreaa]

I had an extra comp HP Elite 8100, it has a PCI e graphics cards slot so I shoved a card in there... but found out there is not enough power from the power supply. I bought a power supply, found out the pins on the HP were non standard, so I shoved a power supply tester on the new PS and am powering the graphics card from an external power supply :p

Could it damage my machine? possibly? Shrug, I'm doing an extra 300Mh/s so I figured what the hell

[rearwheels]

If you're into rack computing I've found that this is the perfect rack: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49875896

I have an older version with a little bit deeper drawers, so you may only be able to use every other drawer in this one. Other than that it's perfect. Cheap, one mainboard fits nicely in each drawer, it's no problem connecting cables and ventilation is great. If you need better circulation I suggest something like this: http://www.nextag.com/standing-fan/products-html

I was taking measurements of the Ikea rack last night. Seems to fit a ATX with PSU side by side.

I trying to decide if I should put just cardboard below the motherboard, or make a stand from aluminium L-brackets.

[redcodenl]

Cardboard! Somebody told me that his whole rig is running because of stategically placed cardboard. And I'm now doing the same.

My motherboard has a small problem, it has 3x double PCIe x16 slots, but I can't use the bottom one because of a SATA connector that is in the way. So I've got 2x 6870 in there at the moment. They are placed next to eachother and they reach temperatures of 99 and 82 degrees (the top one has serieus cooling problems, it is blocked). Jamming a piece of cardboard between the cards, forcing a bit of room between them has greatly reduced this problem, they are currently running at 87 and 81. I'm now waiting for 2 case fans I've ordered to fix the cooling problem for good. And I've also ordered a flat SATA cable to allow we to put in another card.

Oh, and yes, I'm currently also using a desk fan instead of a good case fan...

[Grinder]

If you already have rack mountable equipment you're probably better off with a LackRack, though.

[Grike_SixEcho]

If you're into rack computing I've found that this is the perfect rack: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49875896

I have an older version with a little bit deeper drawers, so you may only be able to use every other drawer in this one. Other than that it's perfect. Cheap, one mainboard fits nicely in each drawer, it's no problem connecting cables and ventilation is great. If you need better circulation I suggest something like this: http://www.nextag.com/standing-fan/products-html

That's one nice rack!

[Grike_SixEcho]

Cardboard! Somebody told me that his whole rig is running because of stategically placed cardboard. And I'm now doing the same.

My motherboard has a small problem, it has 3x double PCIe x16 slots, but I can't use the bottom one because of a SATA connector that is in the way. So I've got 2x 6870 in there at the moment. They are placed next to eachother and they reach temperatures of 99 and 82 degrees (the top one has serieus cooling problems, it is blocked). Jamming a piece of cardboard between the cards, forcing a bit of room between them has greatly reduced this problem, they are currently running at 87 and 81. I'm now waiting for 2 case fans I've ordered to fix the cooling problem for good. And I've also ordered a flat SATA cable to allow we to put in another card.

Oh, and yes, I'm currently also using a desk fan instead of a good case fan...

Like I said in my original post, a simple piece of cardboard between competing component intakes helps greatly by making two channels of air.  Your cards get up to 80c?  Yikes.  Whenever mine hit 60C I get all worried.

[tito13kfm]

https://i.imgur.com/Mt8jF.jpg

Click for bigger!

As you can see, I have optimal airflow between my cards by a strategically placed Carmex tube.  The fan sitting on top is from a broken Xbox360, I clipped off the connector, stripped the wires, and taped them in to some 4-pin molex connectors with some packing tape.  It's caseless and sitting on the box one of the graphics cards came in.

Motherboard was the cheapest board with 2x PCI-E x16 I could find.  CPU is a Sempron 140.  I know I could have gotten one with 1 x16 and 1 x1, but I didn't want to bust out the dremmel or wait for shipping on some extenders.
2x5850s OC'd to 950/300, stock voltage.

750MHash/sec total.  GPU1=70C, GPU2=78C

PSU is a Kingwin (I know, I know) 850W Black series.

Harddrive was pulled from a MyBook Essentials that used to be a backup drive on my main rig.  Monitor is a 46" Panasonic plasma TV.  Both cards are hooked in to it.

This is my 3rd mining rig.  I call it, the Ticking Time Bomb!

[Grike_SixEcho]

This is my 3rd mining rig.  I call it, the Ticking Time Bomb!

It's... beautiful!

Quick question: why aren't the cards crossfired in that pic?

[anodyne]

30°C outside, no idea how hot it's inside. New 5850 to go with the 5870. Didn't take long to figure out that it works better on top of that 10 year old case rather than inside.

I need a better CPU cooler. Or at least a syringe of thermal compound so I can get that chunky Intel thing remounted properly once I have taken it off to see how many dust bunnies I can find between the fins...

[Grike_SixEcho]

is that a pico-atx or something?

 Wow.

[BiggieJohn]

100F here in central Texas in the afternoon.  
1.5Ghash/sec was getting a little warm, so I had to improvise a cooling solution

[anodyne]

No, regular ATX. Maybe it's the perspective and the 120mm fans that makes the rest look smaller.

[Slasklitta]

100F here in central Texas in the afternoon.  
1.5Ghash/sec was getting a little warm, so I had to improvise a cooling solution

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m584/biggiejohn/th_IMG_20110607_225345.jpg

Wtf is that?! :O

Please explain more

[BiggieJohn]

100F here in central Texas in the afternoon.  
1.5Ghash/sec was getting a little warm, so I had to improvise a cooling solution

Wtf is that?! :O

Please explain more

added another pic.

3 boxes, on a wire rack, sitting above a portable air conditioner (vents via hose in window)
plastic is to duct the hot/cold air directly into the AC unit.

 

[minerX]

I had rope holding 4 GPUS to the shelving top...  But I came up for a more permanent solution and cut them all down.  No pics unfortunately.

[flyswatta]

100F here in central Texas in the afternoon.  
1.5Ghash/sec was getting a little warm, so I had to improvise a cooling solution

Wtf is that?! :O

Please explain more

added another pic.

3 boxes, on a wire rack, sitting above a portable air conditioner (vents via hose in window)
plastic is to duct the hot/cold air directly into the AC unit.

 

Awesome!  I'm frying in the Texas heat myself - had to move my 'garage rig' to a room the the house.  What's the air conditioner costing you to run? 

[BiggieJohn]

Awesome!  I'm frying in the Texas heat myself - had to move my 'garage rig' to a room the the house.  What's the air conditioner costing you to run?  

it's about 1000 watts, runs constantly from noon-8pm, cycles during the night, 59Kw/h in the last 64 hours (Kill-a-watt meter),
so at .095/KWh * 59KW/h = $5.60 not too bad, I'm generating about 2.5BTC per day, so it's an acceptable cost of mining.
running the central air constantly to keep the room cool would cost at least 3x more.

[flyswatta]

Interesting.  I almost wonder if it would be worth it to drywall around it to get better efficiency. Nothing fancy just stand up 4 walls and a roof.  Put in a hinged 'access panel' (don't know if it would be worth putting in a door). I'm talking mcguyver style - no fancy studs or anything.  Just drywall, corner connectors and screws holding it all together..  You could probably do it for less than $50.  I bet it would pay for itself in two weeks, especially if the value of BTC drops.  

Edit:  I bet it would cut the noise too, but you may not care if it's in the garage.

[BiggieJohn]

Interesting.  I almost wonder if it would be worth it to drywall around it to get better efficiency. Nothing fancy just stand up 4 walls and a roof.  Put in a hinged 'access panel' (don't know if it would be worth putting in a door). I'm talking mcguyver style - no fancy studs or anything.  Just drywall, corner connectors and screws holding it all together..  You could probably do it for less than $50.  I bet it would pay for itself in two weeks, especially if the value of BTC drops.  

Edit:  I bet it would cut the noise too, but you may not care if it's in the garage.

on that idea, I would go  with thin plywood, or paneling rather then drywall, easier to screw together

[Grike_SixEcho]

3 boxes, on a wire rack, sitting above a portable air conditioner (vents via hose in window)
plastic is to duct the hot/cold air directly into the AC unit.

 

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

[Slasklitta]

100F here in central Texas in the afternoon.  
1.5Ghash/sec was getting a little warm, so I had to improvise a cooling solution

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m584/biggiejohn/th_IMG_20110607_225345.jpg

Wtf is that?! :O

Please explain more

added another pic.

3 boxes, on a wire rack, sitting above a portable air conditioner (vents via hose in window)
plastic is to duct the hot/cold air directly into the AC unit.

 

Cool! Or is it?

How much did the temperature drop?

[BiggieJohn]

100F here in central Texas in the afternoon.  
1.5Ghash/sec was getting a little warm, so I had to improvise a cooling solution

Wtf is that?! :O

Please explain more

added another pic.

3 boxes, on a wire rack, sitting above a portable air conditioner (vents via hose in window)
plastic is to duct the hot/cold air directly into the AC unit.

 

Cool! Or is it?

How much did the temperature drop?

The problem was running the central air constantly to keep the room cool enough was costing me about $3/hr, this costs me about .10/hr

[darkpandora]

 

[flyswatta]

awesome! are those exhaust or intake fans on top?

[Maxxx]

darkpandora, that is a cool idea. Let us know how it works. Like the bottom I'm guessing are intake?

[darkpandora]

darkpandora, that is a cool idea. Let us know how it works. Like the bottom I'm guessing are intake?

the tow bottom fans are intake with dust filters, the four top fans are outtake. and the exhaust are intake, cool air from outside. works very well.
my temps are at 67 at night and 70 at midday, its summer here in Norway, in winter it will get very very cold . and the overclock profile is on profile 1 on my 6990 (880Mhz).

[Grike_SixEcho]

And to think that I worry when my R5770s hit 60C. (it's 90F here almost daily - hot as balls) But then again, you're mining an order of magnitude faster than me