Building Cheap Miners : My "Secret"

[nsummy]

nsummy I am WAY jealous of those numbers. But for around $310 total and drawing 43W for 360h/s, I'm content enough (though if I buy any more, I would hold out for the i7s for SURE).

Yeah those numbers are nice. I can't get those on windows, it will bounce to 550, then rapidly just drop down to 250. Very weird.


I also tried installing linux but it was an epic fail. I have no clue how to deploy xmr-stak on linux. I'm sure someone would have gotten a laugh seeing me trying to navigate through it all knowing zero about linux lol.

Ah well.

Try commenting out the memory thing (I posted about it previously, can't remember it this second but it's one of the steps suggested in the guide). That solved that same problem for mine.

EDIT TO ADD: here it is: this may be a linux or Iris specific thing, but (at least on the i5) doing the suggested change to sudo vi /etc/security/limits.conf dropped my start from 359 to 320, and eventually my hashrate dropped to 180. Commenting it out brought everything back to 359 and stable, so I suggest testing it if you want, but it doesn't seem necessary (if you are still getting locked RAM messages, I was able to get rid of them by sudo running the miner, but I don't think they had an effect on hashrate)

I'm going to try out your suggestion.  VyperBTC and I have been exchanging a few messages and we are both experiencing the same issue with hashrate dropping.  It starts out fine, but eventually it will drop to the upper 200s.  At first I thought maybe the processor was too hot and throttling, but restarting the miner fixes it so I don't think that is the issue. 

[spinx]

So, the conclusion of all the benchmarks I've read is: find an architecture that uses an AMD CPU

Yes and no.  If you are talking about modern desktop processors, Ryzen wins out, the main reason being because it includes the SHA instruction set.  Probably the Epycs on the server side too, but they have barely released those to the market.  If you are interested in making a run at mining cryptonight the best bet is to find an old server on ebay with multiple xeon chips in it (The HP DL580 G7 was mentioned earlier in the thread).   The rub with the Ryzen chips are that the motherboards are expensive.

My HP DL580 G7 with 4 x E7-8837 does about 1600H/s on cryptonight.

how much power from the wall? thx

I can measure this tomorrow, i guess around 800W, not sure tho.

[spinx]

Spinx,

I tried to send you a PM but you don't accept them from noobs like me.    I'm hoping you might be able to give me some advice.  I'm having some problems getting my DL580 to boot w/ the 8837 chips installed.  I fired her up and let her sit for 20 minutes but while on, it never booted.  I also didn't get any error codes on the LCD indicator on the board, just 00.  Did you have to do anything special to get the CPUs to work?  I've read about some incompatibility problems based on board revisions etc.  I've also read something about updating the CPLD.

Any advice you have would be great.

Thanks!

Hi, i didn't really do anything special, just reset the bios to default settings, switched the cpus and booted. I can check board revision, bios version etc tomorrow when i'll have time to indulge myself in the mining operation

[VyprBTC]

nsummy I am WAY jealous of those numbers. But for around $310 total and drawing 43W for 360h/s, I'm content enough (though if I buy any more, I would hold out for the i7s for SURE).

Yeah those numbers are nice. I can't get those on windows, it will bounce to 550, then rapidly just drop down to 250. Very weird.


I also tried installing linux but it was an epic fail. I have no clue how to deploy xmr-stak on linux. I'm sure someone would have gotten a laugh seeing me trying to navigate through it all knowing zero about linux lol.

Ah well.

Try commenting out the memory thing (I posted about it previously, can't remember it this second but it's one of the steps suggested in the guide). That solved that same problem for mine.

EDIT TO ADD: here it is: this may be a linux or Iris specific thing, but (at least on the i5) doing the suggested change to sudo vi /etc/security/limits.conf dropped my start from 359 to 320, and eventually my hashrate dropped to 180. Commenting it out brought everything back to 359 and stable, so I suggest testing it if you want, but it doesn't seem necessary (if you are still getting locked RAM messages, I was able to get rid of them by sudo running the miner, but I don't think they had an effect on hashrate)

I'm going to try out your suggestion.  VyperBTC and I have been exchanging a few messages and we are both experiencing the same issue with hashrate dropping.  It starts out fine, but eventually it will drop to the upper 200s.  At first I thought maybe the processor was too hot and throttling, but restarting the miner fixes it so I don't think that is the issue. 

I've tried it but it didn't help unfortunately. I'm not sure how it would effect performance programming a script to close out and sudo start the xmr-stak every 15-30min. That's not getting to the root of the issue, it's just a bandage to get around the actual issue of why the hell is it happening lol

[nsummy]

nsummy I am WAY jealous of those numbers. But for around $310 total and drawing 43W for 360h/s, I'm content enough (though if I buy any more, I would hold out for the i7s for SURE).

Yeah those numbers are nice. I can't get those on windows, it will bounce to 550, then rapidly just drop down to 250. Very weird.


I also tried installing linux but it was an epic fail. I have no clue how to deploy xmr-stak on linux. I'm sure someone would have gotten a laugh seeing me trying to navigate through it all knowing zero about linux lol.

Ah well.

Try commenting out the memory thing (I posted about it previously, can't remember it this second but it's one of the steps suggested in the guide). That solved that same problem for mine.

EDIT TO ADD: here it is: this may be a linux or Iris specific thing, but (at least on the i5) doing the suggested change to sudo vi /etc/security/limits.conf dropped my start from 359 to 320, and eventually my hashrate dropped to 180. Commenting it out brought everything back to 359 and stable, so I suggest testing it if you want, but it doesn't seem necessary (if you are still getting locked RAM messages, I was able to get rid of them by sudo running the miner, but I don't think they had an effect on hashrate)

I'm going to try out your suggestion.  VyperBTC and I have been exchanging a few messages and we are both experiencing the same issue with hashrate dropping.  It starts out fine, but eventually it will drop to the upper 200s.  At first I thought maybe the processor was too hot and throttling, but restarting the miner fixes it so I don't think that is the issue. 

I've tried it but it didn't help unfortunately. I'm not sure how it would effect performance programming a script to close out and sudo start the xmr-stak every 15-30min. That's not getting to the root of the issue, it's just a bandage to get around the actual issue of why the hell is it happening lol

Well at least my problem isn't happening every 15 minutes.  More like letting it run for 15 hours then it happens   Actually though I just thought of something.  Did you ever go into the bios and enable turbo mode?  I think without that, the processor does actually throttle and that might explain why it happens so quickly for you.

[VyprBTC]

nsummy I am WAY jealous of those numbers. But for around $310 total and drawing 43W for 360h/s, I'm content enough (though if I buy any more, I would hold out for the i7s for SURE).

Yeah those numbers are nice. I can't get those on windows, it will bounce to 550, then rapidly just drop down to 250. Very weird.


I also tried installing linux but it was an epic fail. I have no clue how to deploy xmr-stak on linux. I'm sure someone would have gotten a laugh seeing me trying to navigate through it all knowing zero about linux lol.

Ah well.

Try commenting out the memory thing (I posted about it previously, can't remember it this second but it's one of the steps suggested in the guide). That solved that same problem for mine.

EDIT TO ADD: here it is: this may be a linux or Iris specific thing, but (at least on the i5) doing the suggested change to sudo vi /etc/security/limits.conf dropped my start from 359 to 320, and eventually my hashrate dropped to 180. Commenting it out brought everything back to 359 and stable, so I suggest testing it if you want, but it doesn't seem necessary (if you are still getting locked RAM messages, I was able to get rid of them by sudo running the miner, but I don't think they had an effect on hashrate)

I'm going to try out your suggestion.  VyperBTC and I have been exchanging a few messages and we are both experiencing the same issue with hashrate dropping.  It starts out fine, but eventually it will drop to the upper 200s.  At first I thought maybe the processor was too hot and throttling, but restarting the miner fixes it so I don't think that is the issue. 

I've tried it but it didn't help unfortunately. I'm not sure how it would effect performance programming a script to close out and sudo start the xmr-stak every 15-30min. That's not getting to the root of the issue, it's just a bandage to get around the actual issue of why the hell is it happening lol

Well at least my problem isn't happening every 15 minutes.  More like letting it run for 15 hours then it happens   Actually though I just thought of something.  Did you ever go into the bios and enable turbo mode?  I think without that, the processor does actually throttle and that might explain why it happens so quickly for you.

No i didn't - the only thing i did was enable power on if power loss. I'll change that and see if it helps, thanks!

[sundownz]

I want to scale up my ITNS mining & can't get ANY more GPUs... No problem for the miner who want's to get creative...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1809877.msg28512807

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/mining-with-opteron-servers.14956/

I found in the above thread(s) that a QUAD-CPU Opteron server (6300 series) can do ~2000 H/S in Cryptonight...so I got a little excited.

---------

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PowerEdge-R815-4x-Opteron-6380-64C-2-5GHz-16GB-H710-Trays-Rails-Monero-Crypto/173105716450?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Just bought 9 of these... that came out to $7551.91 total shipped for 18,000 H/S (that is conservative... one poster says 2200 for 4x 6378 chips... that would be nearly 20,000 H/S).

A typical RX570 will do ~600 H/S so that is equal to 30 pcs RX570 which would have cost $6870 *before* prices went totally nuts... and then you need the rest of the system as well for the Rx570s. Just need an SSD + LINUX to get these servers rolling so almost no extra money.

So... I figure up front I'm about even with the RX570s... just gonna use a bit more power (OPTERON 6380 is a 115-watt Chip... so probably 600-watts Per 2000 H/S... really not all that bad).

[SQ1]

I think I may be picking one of these up as well. Please let us know how it goes setting this up. You have definitely inspired a lot of folks, including me!

[mobomofo]

Just found a source for T7500's @ $125...  I see a single mention someone earlier in the thread; just wondering has anyone had success turning a T7500 into a mining rig?  They seem to be close to the T5500 in design...

I run them (T7500s). You can fit 3x GPUs directly on the board or use risers for better heat dissipation. There are 2x 6pin and 1x 8pin GPU power cables inside in the 1100w silver 80+ PSU.

Also, I run a pair of X5670s (and some x5680s in one) and when running the -t 18 switch on cpuminer and pick up 200h/s on ETN and keep the processors below 80% (extra $1+ a day). Ive tried using risers and breakout boards to get more than 3 GPUS and you cannot. I was able to get 4 for a short while, but it was too unstable and 5 would lock the system up the minute the miner was launched. I tried both the cheap 4 lane cards and the expensive 8 lane ones. Even thought the chipset has 40 PCIE lanes and the board has 36 usable, I can only get 3 cards to run reliably. I have used RX560, RX570/580 & 1070ti's in these.

I started with T7500's as they are a great computer for the money and have a bunch of them, but have quickly moved to new mining builds using dedicated mining boards. The T7500 with XEONS will take on modern i7s anyday if gaming or cad is your deal, but as a mining rig its a little limited for my taste... Mostly because they are server size boxes. I can fit 38 GPUs on a rolling 3" wide bakers rack but only 5 (ie 15gpus) of T7500s.

[mobomofo]

So, the conclusion of all the benchmarks I've read is: find an architecture that uses an AMD CPU

Yes and no.  If you are talking about modern desktop processors, Ryzen wins out, the main reason being because it includes the SHA instruction set.  Probably the Epycs on the server side too, but they have barely released those to the market.  If you are interested in making a run at mining cryptonight the best bet is to find an old server on ebay with multiple xeon chips in it (The HP DL580 G7 was mentioned earlier in the thread).   The rub with the Ryzen chips are that the motherboards are expensive.

My HP DL580 G7 with 4 x E7-8837 does about 1600H/s on cryptonight.

how much power from the wall? thx

My R810s with 4x XEON E7-4870 2.4ghz decacores run slightly over 1.33kh/s mining ETN on cryptonight and pull just under 700 watts (685w or so at 78 F) unless I turn the AC off and the fans spin on high.  I picked up these boxes with 4 processors ea for $700ea so it was a pretty good deal.

[Amstellodamois]

I want to scale up my ITNS mining & can't get ANY more GPUs... No problem for the miner who want's to get creative...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1809877.msg28512807

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/mining-with-opteron-servers.14956/

I found in the above thread(s) that a QUAD-CPU Opteron server (6300 series) can do ~2000 H/S in Cryptonight...so I got a little excited.

---------

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PowerEdge-R815-4x-Opteron-6380-64C-2-5GHz-16GB-H710-Trays-Rails-Monero-Crypto/173105716450?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Just bought 9 of these... that came out to $7551.91 total shipped for 18,000 H/S (that is conservative... one poster says 2200 for 4x 6378 chips... that would be nearly 20,000 H/S).

A typical RX570 will do ~600 H/S so that is equal to 30 pcs RX570 which would have cost $6870 *before* prices went totally nuts... and then you need the rest of the system as well for the Rx570s. Just need an SSD + LINUX to get these servers rolling so almost no extra money.

So... I figure up front I'm about even with the RX570s... just gonna use a bit more power (OPTERON 6380 is a 115-watt Chip... so probably 600-watts Per 2000 H/S... really not all that bad).

Thanks again for an inspiring post

[sundownz]

Thanks again for an inspiring post

I think I may be picking one of these up as well. Please let us know how it goes setting this up. You have definitely inspired a lot of folks, including me!

You're welcome! This forum is where I do most of my learning so I want to return the favor.

[sundownz]

ANOTHER Z400 UPDATE:

A friend of mine was able to get SIX graphics cards running in his Z400s with the 4x splitter card! I have only tried up to FIVE personally... so very cool to see his experiment with six working!

He shared on Facebook :



* You can CLICK the image if it shows up as a bad link and/or to see it larger *

[PharmEcis]

Even Microcenter is getting in on the gouging game.  1070ti's in stock but I'm not going to pay $939.99 + tax for one! 

I wasn't able to make any headway on my DL580 when it came to getting the better CPUs in but I can say it is currently mining with 3 cards in it.  I have figured out how to adapt some cables and am powering the 3 cards from the onboard power connectors.  I also managed to repurpose the micro sata connector that fed the optical drive to run an SSD.  One of my goals with all the server iron is to remove as much stuff as possible without making the servers get upset.

I've been seriously "ghetto rigging" things since I've been waiting on equipment to show up.  Of course, I spent the better part of yesterday trying to repurpose some older ATX PSUs to get the cards up and running, only to walk out of the location at midnight to find a box containing 2 PSU's that were supposed to be here today.  Sigh, life would have been easier if I had had those! lol

[badferret]

Thanks OP, was starting to shop for new rig parts, will give your secrets a shot.

[PharmEcis]

Hi, i didn't really do anything special, just reset the bios to default settings, switched the cpus and booted. I can check board revision, bios version etc tomorrow when i'll have time to indulge myself in the mining operation

I just attempted the same.  System still wouldn't boot with the 8837's.  I tried 2 old CPU's with 2 of the new, that didn't work either.  Then I left just 2 of the original CPUs and couldn't get it to boot.  I've put the original CPUs back in and now I get a long and short beep indicating a fatal ROM error: system ROM not properly configured.  Screen never comes up.  Now I'm down 4 workers just because I wanted to mine ITNS on the CPUs...  I'm hoping I can get this guy back up.  I was powering the cards pretty easily off the factory PSUs after figuring a few things out.

Tuesday I go pickup 28 servers.  Next week is going to be super busy...

[spinx]

Hi, i didn't really do anything special, just reset the bios to default settings, switched the cpus and booted. I can check board revision, bios version etc tomorrow when i'll have time to indulge myself in the mining operation

I just attempted the same.  System still wouldn't boot with the 8837's.  I tried 2 old CPU's with 2 of the new, that didn't work either.  Then I left just 2 of the original CPUs and couldn't get it to boot.  I've put the original CPUs back in and now I get a long and short beep indicating a fatal ROM error: system ROM not properly configured.  Screen never comes up.  Now I'm down 4 workers just because I wanted to mine ITNS on the CPUs...  I'm hoping I can get this guy back up.  I was powering the cards pretty easily off the factory PSUs after figuring a few things out.

Tuesday I go pickup 28 servers.  Next week is going to be super busy...

Sorry to hear that :/ But you did get more than 1 GPU running as i understand? On risers or?

[PharmEcis]

Cleared NVRAM and I'm back in business.  My ROM date is from 2011.  Would you mind when you get a chance to check what version yours is?  What OS are you running btw?

I had 3 cards running in the box and one being powered by a riser.  For cooling reasons I'm about to fire the box with 2 risers and 2 in the case.  (I'm short 4 pin molex power for the risers.)  I've been doing some heavy adapting and outside of me blowing a dual 12v rail by accident.  I'm getting to be fairly confident about running a bunch of GPUs in the box but of course, only time will tell! 

[spinx]

Cleared NVRAM and I'm back in business.  My ROM date is from 2011.  Would you mind when you get a chance to check what version yours is?  What OS are you running btw?

I had 3 cards running in the box and one being powered by a riser.  For cooling reasons I'm about to fire the box with 2 risers and 2 in the case.  (I'm short 4 pin molex power for the risers.)  I've been doing some heavy adapting and outside of me blowing a dual 12v rail by accident.  I'm getting to be fairly confident about running a bunch of GPUs in the box but of course, only time will tell!  

I will check BIOS version later, not at the facility right now. First i ran SMOS, but could only get 1 card working. Im planning to install Windows Server 2012 as it supposed to have the best driver support from HP? What about you?

Btw i did this mod tonight to be able to power my USB risers with a 2000W server PSU that only delivers 12V, this mod gives me 5V (molex design, need 5V to start the cards...) : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1542527.0 . So far so good.


Credits to @SerialLain

[PharmEcis]

I've tried 2008R2, no go.  I'm currently on Server 2016 using drivers for 2008 and 2012 plus Win 10 64 bit drivers for the Nvidia cards.

Great minds must think alike.  I bought a couple 12V to 5V converters myself.  It's how I'm adapting the power feed that was for the SAS array to drive cards based off the onboard PSUs.  I'm going to place an order from China as I can get the for a fraction of the cost, just have to deal with the wait.  I ordered enough to cover me for a server or two for now.

Wait, I just realized those are lipo converters from the RC world, you fly too?