Hey everyone, I just finished building my first mining rig, thought I'd post it up here and see what you all think
![Smiley](https://bitcointalk.org/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)
How it started...
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130424_132743_zps055df7b7.jpg&t=663&c=GlSX3f1EgAgzlw)
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I didn't take pictures of bending it up. Press brakes are pretty damn intimidating, no distractions lol
Testing for fitment!
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130424_141942_zpsa0a26431.jpg&t=663&c=DR3NqfeDeAhwQg)
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I managed to get everything right the first time around!
The components...
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130426_174722_zps5a888349.jpg&t=663&c=5ReKgpFGiGhBbA)
Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 board. Z77, 1155. Gotta love all the pcie bandwidth!
Intel i3 3220. Probably overkill, but I want to use this for other things occasionally too.
16GB of some off brand 1600 ram
and
4 gigabyte 7970 Ghz editions
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130426_175811_zps046a3b7c.jpg&t=663&c=OY33iWulI1WZwQ)
Testing out the nut riveter and standoffs.
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130426_220532_zps1b247e44.jpg&t=663&c=taldBn2OskAiXQ)
The power supply, 1300W. Lots and lots of PCI-e plugs!
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130426_180603_zpscbd2c37c.jpg&t=663&c=NvsHnx_MPT-ZbA)
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130426_183645_zps32da0f26.jpg&t=663&c=-0BzcnIcOaX43g)
Dang, that's gonna be hard to keep cool....
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130428_170054_zps0b08cbec.jpg&t=663&c=H9f2dQrT8LxEDA)
My "idea" of a solution...
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130428_170114_zpsfffb6d33.jpg&t=663&c=bMBGlvkyP-ofSA)
Cable ties, built in so I can lightly pull the cards apart.
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130428_170139_zpsab1520ba.jpg&t=663&c=5DqNVU5aay5tNw)
Fan grilles in a few choice spots to keep cables away from fans. I split the chassis fan headers to power all these fans, this board only had 4.
Oh, and a couple of baby resistors to make it all go. Anyone familiar with GM's early vats lol
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130428_170216_zps6daee0c1.jpg&t=663&c=PYf_HTx1Fnie0Q)
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I hate these stupid intel fans. I've built at least 6 machines with these heatsinks and I've never been able to reliably use the built in wire ties!
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130428_170301_zps952c6dce.jpg&t=663&c=b867E9vS-AhLcQ)
This thing is a gigantic piece of crap. Unfortunately my ol' trusty Maxtor died on me
![Sad](https://bitcointalk.org/Smileys/default/sad.gif)
And finally, a little results...
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130428_170441_zps15006ba1.jpg&t=663&c=C_2UztvlBwkcPg)
Damn!! Too much heat, not enough room to get rid of it! Three of the 4 are throttling at around 95-97 degrees. The one on the end manages to get 630-640 at stock clocks, -v -w128 in guiminer.
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi879.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab357%2Fpontiacg5_2010%2F20130428_170623_zps53c6db93.jpg&t=663&c=hKKrCrIlWIYILQ)
And with a bit of clocking... I can't get any higher than 1175 stable right now. At those clocks I'm averaging around 680. I'm hoping for a little more when I get these spaced out and cooled down a little.
So, my new plan of attack is going to be spacing these cards out. I've ordered 4 8x to 16x cable risers, 8x because that's all the bandwidth my processor has for each. I know I don't need any more than 1x for mining, but I want to use it for other things too haha.
Even crippled up she's still averaging around 1900 MH/s. I've got the top three cards severely underclocked right now. Any recommendations to increase that are greatly appreciated haha
Stay tuned, interesting things happening when the risers decide to show up
![Grin](https://bitcointalk.org/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
I just realized that the lights are flickering in my living room because of this beast! Good thing it's going to run in a machine shop, free power!