My second ZEC + XMR+ ETH thread builds info links thoughts and photos.

[Exsumane]

I added 3 more  msi  rx 470  the rack is now at 19 of them. I am getting 1 today  it will be at 20 of them.

I will do some photos later today.

Do you add the cards from the mining profit or use the extra cash?

[Hotmetal]

1. Labrador hosting is by kw/h metering (I dont have to worry about PSUs), so doesn't matter which miner uses what, I prepay 3 months in advance to get maximum discounts. They get Hydro power so if you have big time mining operations - you need to go to the cheapest power source to see profits. I get full remote access to the miners and also have my own subnet.

Hrmm.. Did everyone invest the same amount at the start?

2. SRR - https://simplemining.net/page/simpleRigResetter

Thanks, I can see this coming in handy.

3. I retired in Jan 2016 and my group (me and few close buddies) did some serious math .... begged our wives to allow us to do this project -- LOL  --- we made a handsome return during the early ETH and BTC days. We already had about 3GHs ETH GPU farm back then (thanks to Claymore's magic)... that got us going and also got more informed about mining in general - just being smart in when to invest and when to hold coins.

Yeah my wife is eyeballing me daily Would you say it's too late to get into mining now?

4. My group has 108 x S9s, 120 x Avalon 7s.... about 2 PH farm. About 15GHs X11 farm and small Scrypt farm; 6 x A4s. Let's just say, the BTC & GPU farm pays the cheque..... and the X11 & LTC farm pays the operation (power, rental, etc). So yes, I think me and the group are enjoying our post retirement nicely and most importantly, the spouses are happy to see us learning new stuff/tech/friends...  keeping us busy instead of bumming around at home.

How old are you gents? If you had to do it again, what would you do differently? Aren't the BTC miners a nightmare when they break?

5. Apologies my group is paranoid on security and sharing pictures. I am the Adminstrator for the project while the boys manages the Polo accounts, investments and wallets.

Perfectly understandable. What do you use to manage such a large farm?

6. I did share some basic pics on the GPU farm in this thread. I have started to streamline the GPU farm into Biostar Z170 4-PCI riserless format like Phil's - wished I had started like this earlier on -- it could have been so simple to manage and cheaper, rather than wasting hours troubleshooting why my 5th or 6th GPU doesn't work.... or why that blew the PSU and what not.

Urgh.. Those cards must get insanely hot when packed in so close together.. Surely that must push up the temp drastically?
What PSU are you using for those cards? I personally haven't had any issues with a 5th or 6th card. I'm using a Coolermaster 1200w PSU which is pretty decent.

[Hotmetal]

6. I did share some basic pics on the GPU farm in this thread. I have started to streamline the GPU farm into Biostar Z170 4-PCI riserless format like Phil's

Is this the board? http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=822

[ps_jb]

I have started to streamline the GPU farm into Biostar Z170 4-PCI riserless format

Do you think these MBs can be used for 4 GPUs?

http://a.co/i1sB4TF
http://a.co/dvemM6M

http://a.co/4xfxdVj

[LoneRangir]

I have started to streamline the GPU farm into Biostar Z170 4-PCI riserless format

Do you think these MBs can be used for 4 GPUs?

http://a.co/i1sB4TF
http://a.co/dvemM6M

http://a.co/4xfxdVj

They look good to me: four x16 slots spaced correctly to fit in a std eight-bay ATX mid-tower case.

And to citronick's point below.... yes, you sure have to piss around and waste time and mental energy to get that 5th and 6th card to work.  I'm stopping at 5 with the 990FX-UD7 board (AMD) I picked up on ebay (cheap... board, cpu for $100 shipped).

[citronick]

1. About 20-25% each person back then. Now, depends on how much we earned and how much to put back in, when we reach a certain ROI on investment.

2. SRR - this is cheaper alternative than buying a switched PDU.

3. I think its up to you and your goals. Any business has risks - the trick is managing, adapting and overcoming risks. So it depends what you want to achieve and what can you afford (dont sell the house) etc.

4. 50 years and above... age is just a number.... so much still to explore and learn. BTC & the blockchain, FINTECH, etc -- so exciting, so why not be part of that future. Mining ASICS... there is only Bitmain and Canaan - yes unfortunately.... quality control is still unregulated in the world of mining vs standard IT HW like server, network, CPUs, GPUs etc..... But to be fair, HW like S9 while not exactly perfect is a quite a machine. Same for A7s - its latest but has its quirks.... $/TH ratio is not as great as S9, while Bitmain's RMA process is not exactly a picnic - expect 1 month or more turnaround time. I guess that's part of the "agony and excitement" if you're a miner -- otherwise Bitcointalk.org will be collecting digital dust.

5. One of the investor is in the security business so yeah... we have to be vigilant at all times - plenty of bad guys out there. Our farm is not big just a small farm but we do run it like a business. GPU farm uses a combination of several tools like... Claymore's Ethman and AwesomeMiner.com. Of recent, I am also testing SimpleMining Linux deployment to further simplify things but I think we can't escape from Windows that soon because of GPU driver support, miner's preferences, learning curve etc.

6. Standardized on G2-EVGA 1000, 1300 and 1600 PSUs. Heat will always be the miner's nightmare - 4 slots or 6 slots format - the problem is the same because it runs 24x7. Always, undervolt to avoid overheating with plenty of fan RPMs -- better replace GPU fan vs replace a burnt GPU -- that's the cardinal rule IMHO. Also, Claymore's temp controls are excellent, so I use alot of his control switches. The 4 slot Biostars are target temp at 77c and hard stop mining at 95c. My wooden chop stick trick below is perfect solution for the moment and keeps them at check at 77-80c

[philipma1957]

I have started to streamline the GPU farm into Biostar Z170 4-PCI riserless format

Do you think these MBs can be used for 4 GPUs?

http://a.co/i1sB4TF
http://a.co/dvemM6M

http://a.co/4xfxdVj

eBay + newegg have this evga

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVGA-Z170-FTW-140-SS-E177-KR-LGA-1151-Intel-Z170-HDMI-SATA-6Gb-s-USB-3-0-ATX-Int-/302027547948?

I get an 8% discount

it appears to be good.

[ps_jb]

Thank you, All!

[LoneRangir]

How does one get an 8% discount? 

[ps_jb]

How does one get an 8% discount? 

Ebay Bucks. I got today offer on 6%, but sometimes it is going 8 or even 10%

[GabryRox]

FYI: Claymore ZEC 9.2 was just released. Looks like 470's capable of close to 220-230 now, which, coupled with ZEC getting close to $40 again, may push some (myself included) off of ETH and back to ZEC.  XMR still showing more profitable than both for me but I may consider switching my ETH rig over to ZEC if I can really get close to 225 per GPU.

[philipma1957]

I am getting 6% ebucks and 2% paypal master card.

I decided to order direct from newegg

here is why:

the board is 134.95  my shipping was free since I am a newegg premier member

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188178

and a $20 rebate

offer number is 73787

https://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/EVGA2MIRsDec16Dec3116LN06us.pdf

so 134.99 -20 = 114.99 for the board

I have this m.2 ssd

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272432411238?

39.99

[Hotmetal]

philipma1957 & citronick: What GPU's are you guys using and why?

[ps_jb]

I am getting 6% ebucks and 2% paypal master card.

Here is my way of getting highest discount on ebay. LInks are with my ref number - if you decide to register I can get some profit

1) Make an account on Swagbucks: http://www.swagbucks.com/p/register?rb=18548324
2) Register on Raise: http://geta.raise.com/aserov

From swagbuck website, using search type - raise. On a search page results you will see a raise site link and message that you will get a 1% cashback on purchasing on Raise.
On a Raise website search for Ebay gift cards. Right now highest discount is 0.3%, BUT - if you will have a look there (I made a allert) you can easily buy cards with 4% discount. It is difficult but you can buy 6%. Once I've got a card with 12% discount. Let say you got a card with 4%.
Go back to swagbucks website and type in search - ebay. You will get a message that you will get 1% from buying on Ebay.

Wait when Ebay will offer you highest Ebay Bucks. Let say 8%.

Then go through swagbucks to ebay and buy goods paying with Ebay gift card, purchased on Raise.

So your discount is:

1) 1% on swagbucks account for gift card
2) 4% on using gift card
3) 1% on swagbucks for buying on ebay
4) 8% on Ebay Bucks
Total: 14%

After I collect some cash on Swagbucks I usually exchange them on prepaid Visa or Paypal card.

It is a very good discount!

[philipma1957]

philipma1957 & citronick: What GPU's are you guys using and why?

i am a big fan of the rx 470 by mis



https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GAMING-RX-470-4G/dp/B01JS9F9K4/ref=sr_1_1?

First off it looks great in the dark  a great bling factor- by far the best looking rx 470 card I own.

Frankly I absolutely do not care how it looks but this card is like having the hottest looking woman you have ever known and she wants you moreover she has an amazing imagination and sense of willingness to use that imagination on you and you alone.

Here is what I mean  price with careful shopping and rebates the card can be had under 160 usd.
That is like your hot chick is loaded with money and likes to spend it on you!

Second it has big solid fans that are quiet when pushed.
That is like your hot girl friend never complaining even is you are pushing a little too much.

Third no backplate this allows four card to fit on the  biostar z170 mobo.
That is as if your woman can fit (use your imagination )

This is why I like and prefer the msi rx 470


btw just loaded claymore 9.2  and I get a small bump in hash and a small drop in power used.

[LoneRangir]

Earlier today, I consolidated two rigs into a 4-card setup.  Temps were too high,and fans were too loud. I rearranged the cards to put a particular card on the open end.  However, now when I go into WattTool,  three out of four of the cards show "NA" for the Voltage offset value.  Whatever value I try and set, does not take, and "NA" appears again. What is causing this?

[ps_jb]

Earlier today, I consolidated two rigs into a 4-card setup.  Temps were too high,and fans were too loud. I rearranged the cards to put a particular card on the open end.  However, now when I go into WattTool,  three out of four of the cards show "NA" for the Voltage offset value.  Whatever value I try and set, does not take, and "NA" appears again. What is causing this?

I had a similar problem with RX 480 but it was with quite a old drivers. Maybe re-installing drivers will help (pain in the butt)

[citronick]

philipma1957 & citronick: What GPU's are you guys using and why?

i am a big fan of the rx 470 by mis



https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GAMING-RX-470-4G/dp/B01JS9F9K4/ref=sr_1_1?

First off it looks great in the dark  a great bling factor- by far the best looking rx 470 card I own.

Frankly I absolutely do not care how it looks but this card is like having the hottest looking woman you have ever known and she wants you moreover she has an amazing imagination and sense of willingness to use that imagination on you and you alone.

Here is what I mean  price with careful shopping and rebates the card can be had under 160 usd.
That is like your hot chick is loaded with money and likes to spend it on you!

Second it has big solid fans that are quiet when pushed.
That is like your hot girl friend never complaining even is you are pushing a little too much.

Third no backplate this allows four card to fit on the  biostar z170 mobo.
That is as if your woman can fit (use your imagination )

This is why I like and prefer the msi rx 470


btw just loaded claymore 9.2  and I get a small bump in hash and a small drop in power used.

Agree. Very sexy in the dark with that glowing dragon emblem...

The MSI Twin Frozz fan/cooling solution on my R9-390 is by far the best one (& best looking) in my farm.

They have this Twin-Frozz design in all of their GPUs - I think that alone should win the best looking GPU award.

Power Color RED Devil has also some killer looks on their GPUs.

Very quiet fans like Phil said. Since its perfect for the Biostar mobo, it's my preference too.

RX - Polaris will be the new game in town for mining. Cheap and Good. Latest GPU as far as AMD tech is concerned so it will best post-sales too if needed to be sold off later to gamers.

[philipma1957]

16 msi rx 470 with leds + fans




20 msi rx 470 with leds + fans

[TheYankeesWin!]

So phil are you going to make that rack perfect?