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RealKariverson (OP)
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December 07, 2017, 11:03:54 PM |
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Hi all! So I decided to spend some funds into creating a GPU mining rig. I am a newbie in mining, and I suck in whatever has to do with software, but I'm good with hardware.  I am also a cheap f*ck I spent the last month looking for good deals on used cards with remaining warranty. So I got tons of different kind of parts. Right now I have: Graphics Cards2 MSI TwinFrozr R9 290X 1 Asus reference design R9 290 1 Sapphire R9 390 8gb 1 ASUS RX560 4gb 1 Gigabyte RX460 4gb (I don't mind R9 cards as electricity cost is not a problem)Power Supplies1 Corsair RM850i 1 Corsair RM750 1 Coolermaster G750M Main componentsAsrock H110 BTC+ PRO Intel G4400 Samsung 4GB DDR4 2133MHz Trancend 120GB SSD Rest1 dual PSU adapter 1 ADD2PSU adapter 6x PCI Express Riser VER007S with SATA (no sata to molex cables, seller forgot to include them) 3x PCI Express Riser VER006C with PCIE 1 12 GPU Rig Frame Some electrical equipment to strengthen and stabilize my power line. (Old house) If you guys are wondering I can add how much each part cost me. Any thoughts on what I could have done better? I know 3 PSUs is not ideal, but bigger PSUs are so damn expensive. I have 3 more risers than GPUs and I got the H110 motherboard so I can have some expandability. Does anyone have any idea how to see my wattage consumption in real time? I am in Europe and Kill A Watt is not available here and we don't have any proper alternatives. Only some cheap Chinese knockoffs that I hear are really really bad. Almost dangerous. Maybe some input how to share my GPUs between my Power supplies? I am calculating that with card's TDP and staying between 80 and 90% of a PSU's total supply. My mining plan was to go for Ethereum. I quite like the currency in general. I got into some ICOs and I used ETH and I liked how fast the transactions were. But since the most trusted coin is still BTC will unlimited potential I was thinking of selling my hashpower to a service similar to the late nicehash and get BTC. I could always manually change between algos but I don't know if I can be bothered to make 10 different wallets and trade afterwards. As for the miner I'm gonna be in Windows 10 and I really liked the simplicity of Claymore. As for the placement of the rig, it's gonna be outside but under protection from Rain and Snow. Now that's winter that should keep the components nice and cool too. I was worried about humidity and condensation but I read that since the rig is working and producing heat, condensation will not be a problem. Photos coming up the next few days. I'm waiting for the last part the RAM to be delivered tomorrow. I hope it's tomorrow so I can have the Weekend to set it up. Thank you very much for reading. I will keep you updated. |
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VyprBTC
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December 07, 2017, 11:15:37 PM |
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Sorry, Ghetto fail - a Ghetto rig would not have used an add2psu, it would have used a paperclip... like me Good build congrats! For PSU's just don't cheap out there, I started with dual 850's and now I'm using all EVGA 1600 T2's. I'll probably start using server PSU's since they're like 1/3 the price of EVGA's but I don't know. Sometimes I think I just like spending money for no reason. |
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Undefined31415
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December 08, 2017, 01:29:09 AM |
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Graphics Cards
2 MSI TwinFrozr R9 290X
1 Asus reference design R9 290
1 Sapphire R9 390 8gb
1 ASUS RX560 4gb
1 Gigabyte RX460 4gb
(I don't mind R9 cards as electricity cost is not a problem)
Power Supplies
1 Corsair RM850i
1 Corsair RM750
1 Coolermaster G750M
Main components
Asrock H110 BTC+ PRO
Intel G4400
Samsung 4GB DDR4 2133MHz
Trancend 120GB SSD
Rest
1 dual PSU adapter
1 ADD2PSU adapter
6x PCI Express Riser VER007S with SATA (no sata to molex cables, seller forgot to include them)
3x PCI Express Riser VER006C with PCIE
1 12 GPU Rig Frame
Some electrical equipment to strengthen and stabilize my power line. (Old house)
If you guys are wondering I can add how much each part cost me.
Any thoughts on what I could have done better? I know 3 PSUs is not ideal, but bigger PSUs are so damn expensive. I have 3 more risers than GPUs and I got the H110 motherboard so I can have some expandability.
Does anyone have any idea how to see my wattage consumption in real time? I am in Europe and Kill A Watt is not available here and we don't have any proper alternatives. Only some cheap Chinese knockoffs that I hear are really really bad. Almost dangerous.
Maybe some input how to share my GPUs between my Power supplies? I am calculating that with card's TDP and staying between 80 and 90% of a PSU's total supply.
One other thing about going with older powerful cards like those R9-type cards is, for the hashrate you're getting, you're spending more on higher-wattage PSUs than you'd need to achieve similar hashrates with more efficient cards. (PSU costs are a factor to consider in addition to your electricity rate, when selecting inefficient cards.) Corsair is a generally good brand, but you have to keep an eye on which series of their PSUs you purchase. The lower-end ones and the mid-range ones usually have their guts made by Channel Well (CWT), which isn't too great, although they have gotten better than in the past, since they started working closely with Corsair. I would generally consider Cooler Master as a low-average performer as far as PSUs go. Usually they work with CWT or HEC as the OEM. PSUs manufactured by CWT or HEC are about as low as I'd go for a general desktop build, and I probably wouldn't buy a PSU from them for mining purposes. The especially reputable PSU OEMs are Seasonic, SuperFlower, and FSP. Upper-end units from Corsair, EVGA, XFX, and a number of other brands are handled by those OEMs. Realistically, you're *probably* going to be fine with the PSUs you chose. (Though, I wouldn't trust them for 24/7 operation at 80-90% of the rating.) However, especially when you're going to have 3 PSUs on a rig (in a nonredundant configuration that creates additional points of failure, if anything), you definitely want high-quality power supplies. If the primary PSU (powering the main motherboard connector and 12V CPU power) fails, the entire rig goes down. If one of the other two goes down, it might just take the connected graphics cards down, or it could crash the entire system (these GPUs were not meant to be hot-swappable, so something might throw an error). Additionally, higher-quality PSUs usually provide cleaner power, which is better for your cards, as far as longevity is concerned. As VyprBTC mentioned, the add2psu and dual PSU adapters are unnecessary. Regardless of how you power on the PSUs, distributing the load appropriately remains your responsibility. If there was a device that simplified that process, it might be worth it, but the add2psu and dual PSU adapter will do no such thing. |
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wacko
Legendary
 Offline
Activity: 1106
Merit: 1014
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December 08, 2017, 03:24:16 AM |
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I am in Europe and Kill A Watt is not available here and we don't have any proper alternatives. Only some cheap Chinese knockoffs that I hear are really really bad. Almost dangerous.
As far as I'm aware, those watt meter devices are pretty simple and there's plenty of them available in Europe, both chinese made and from local companies. You can easily find one in most large "home depot" stores. |
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nerdralph
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December 08, 2017, 04:10:49 AM |
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I use Dell 750W and IBM 1440W server PSUs along with a basic 500W 80+ ATX PSU. I paid less money for the server PSUs than for the ATX PSUs. It's easy to make a PSU interlock with a 5c optocoupler. http://nerdralph.blogspot.ca/2017/06/ |
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RealKariverson (OP)
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December 08, 2017, 11:22:03 AM |
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One other thing about going with older powerful cards like those R9-type cards is, for the hashrate you're getting, you're spending more on higher-wattage PSUs than you'd need to achieve similar hashrates with more efficient cards. (PSU costs are a factor to consider in addition to your electricity rate, when selecting inefficient cards.)
Corsair is a generally good brand, but you have to keep an eye on which series of their PSUs you purchase. The lower-end ones and the mid-range ones usually have their guts made by Channel Well (CWT), which isn't too great, although they have gotten better than in the past, since they started working closely with Corsair.
I would generally consider Cooler Master as a low-average performer as far as PSUs go. Usually they work with CWT or HEC as the OEM.
PSUs manufactured by CWT or HEC are about as low as I'd go for a general desktop build, and I probably wouldn't buy a PSU from them for mining purposes.
The especially reputable PSU OEMs are Seasonic, SuperFlower, and FSP. Upper-end units from Corsair, EVGA, XFX, and a number of other brands are handled by those OEMs.
Realistically, you're *probably* going to be fine with the PSUs you chose. (Though, I wouldn't trust them for 24/7 operation at 80-90% of the rating.) However, especially when you're going to have 3 PSUs on a rig (in a nonredundant configuration that creates additional points of failure, if anything), you definitely want high-quality power supplies. If the primary PSU (powering the main motherboard connector and 12V CPU power) fails, the entire rig goes down. If one of the other two goes down, it might just take the connected graphics cards down, or it could crash the entire system (these GPUs were not meant to be hot-swappable, so something might throw an error).
Additionally, higher-quality PSUs usually provide cleaner power, which is better for your cards, as far as longevity is concerned.
As VyprBTC mentioned, the add2psu and dual PSU adapters are unnecessary. Regardless of how you power on the PSUs, distributing the load appropriately remains your responsibility. If there was a device that simplified that process, it might be worth it, but the add2psu and dual PSU adapter will do no such thing.
Thank you for your comment. That is definitely something I thought about. Coolermaster is Enhance and the Corsairs are CWT. But pretty much all new corsairs, all lines are CWT. It's the older gen AX series that is seasonic. I do have an AX850 on my personal PC which has done no mining. Do you reckon it'd be better to use that and get the RM850i on my main PC? I will ofcourse be on an ongoing search for upgrading the rig. The moment I find a good deal for a good PSU I'll start upgrading. The adapters were just bought to power on the PSUs at the same time. At this time all cards will be evenly distributed between PSUs accordind to their TDP. Server PSUs is indeed another option I explored. Seemed a bit too complicated. But I might have been wrong. They only provide 12v so they're only for cards but how do I power them on and off. Do I risk damage if the cards are powered on like a minute before or after the motherboard? |
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Undefined31415
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December 08, 2017, 06:43:29 PM |
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One other thing about going with older powerful cards like those R9-type cards is, for the hashrate you're getting, you're spending more on higher-wattage PSUs than you'd need to achieve similar hashrates with more efficient cards. (PSU costs are a factor to consider in addition to your electricity rate, when selecting inefficient cards.)
Corsair is a generally good brand, but you have to keep an eye on which series of their PSUs you purchase. The lower-end ones and the mid-range ones usually have their guts made by Channel Well (CWT), which isn't too great, although they have gotten better than in the past, since they started working closely with Corsair.
I would generally consider Cooler Master as a low-average performer as far as PSUs go. Usually they work with CWT or HEC as the OEM.
PSUs manufactured by CWT or HEC are about as low as I'd go for a general desktop build, and I probably wouldn't buy a PSU from them for mining purposes.
The especially reputable PSU OEMs are Seasonic, SuperFlower, and FSP. Upper-end units from Corsair, EVGA, XFX, and a number of other brands are handled by those OEMs.
Realistically, you're *probably* going to be fine with the PSUs you chose. (Though, I wouldn't trust them for 24/7 operation at 80-90% of the rating.) However, especially when you're going to have 3 PSUs on a rig (in a nonredundant configuration that creates additional points of failure, if anything), you definitely want high-quality power supplies. If the primary PSU (powering the main motherboard connector and 12V CPU power) fails, the entire rig goes down. If one of the other two goes down, it might just take the connected graphics cards down, or it could crash the entire system (these GPUs were not meant to be hot-swappable, so something might throw an error).
Additionally, higher-quality PSUs usually provide cleaner power, which is better for your cards, as far as longevity is concerned.
As VyprBTC mentioned, the add2psu and dual PSU adapters are unnecessary. Regardless of how you power on the PSUs, distributing the load appropriately remains your responsibility. If there was a device that simplified that process, it might be worth it, but the add2psu and dual PSU adapter will do no such thing.
Thank you for your comment. That is definitely something I thought about. Coolermaster is Enhance and the Corsairs are CWT. But pretty much all new corsairs, all lines are CWT. It's the older gen AX series that is seasonic. I do have an AX850 on my personal PC which has done no mining. Do you reckon it'd be better to use that and get the RM850i on my main PC? I will ofcourse be on an ongoing search for upgrading the rig. The moment I find a good deal for a good PSU I'll start upgrading. The adapters were just bought to power on the PSUs at the same time. At this time all cards will be evenly distributed between PSUs accordind to their TDP. Server PSUs is indeed another option I explored. Seemed a bit too complicated. But I might have been wrong. They only provide 12v so they're only for cards but how do I power them on and off. Do I risk damage if the cards are powered on like a minute before or after the motherboard? There's no real need to try to synchronize the PSU startup. Ensure all the secondary PSUs are on first, then boot the system. |
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Victorio
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December 08, 2017, 07:00:18 PM |
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OP,
For the sake of safety, I would use 1 or max 2 server PSUs, preferably of the same model and condition. 3 different PSUs, even good quality, seem the weak point to me.
With server PSUs, you assemble the cabling by yourself and make sure every contact is strong and stable - very important when dealing with high currents. Additionally, you are not restricted to the configuration of power connectors.
Will the rig be enclosed or there will be free air flow? Low temperatures affect negatively computer hardware - I had a case when the miner started only after the ambient temperature got >15C. Haven't figured what was the problem - either the HDD or the server PSU.
From my calculations, you rig would be running OK with 2x 750-1000W or 1x 1600-2000W server PSU + a DC-DC ATX converter (picoPSU). If you're a skilled DIY enthusiast, I can help you with details in PM.
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RealKariverson (OP)
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December 08, 2017, 07:40:14 PM |
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OP,
For the sake of safety, I would use 1 or max 2 server PSUs, preferably of the same model and condition. 3 different PSUs, even good quality, seem the weak point to me.
With server PSUs, you assemble the cabling by yourself and make sure every contact is strong and stable - very important when dealing with high currents. Additionally, you are not restricted to the configuration of power connectors.
Will the rig be enclosed or there will be free air flow? Low temperatures affect negatively computer hardware - I had a case when the miner started only after the ambient temperature got >15C. Haven't figured what was the problem - either the HDD or the server PSU.
From my calculations, you rig would be running OK with 2x 750-1000W or 1x 1600-2000W server PSU + a DC-DC ATX converter (picoPSU). If you're a skilled DIY enthusiast, I can help you with details in PM.
Yep, I would had bought a couple from www.parallelminer.com but they're in the US and the Custom charges were gonna rape me. I will keep exploring that option to replace the PSUs I have. But next week I have to have the rig online. It's gonna be open air. Temperatures right now at night are already ~5C. :/ |
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VyprBTC
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December 08, 2017, 07:55:00 PM |
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OP,
For the sake of safety, I would use 1 or max 2 server PSUs, preferably of the same model and condition. 3 different PSUs, even good quality, seem the weak point to me.
With server PSUs, you assemble the cabling by yourself and make sure every contact is strong and stable - very important when dealing with high currents. Additionally, you are not restricted to the configuration of power connectors.
Will the rig be enclosed or there will be free air flow? Low temperatures affect negatively computer hardware - I had a case when the miner started only after the ambient temperature got >15C. Haven't figured what was the problem - either the HDD or the server PSU.
From my calculations, you rig would be running OK with 2x 750-1000W or 1x 1600-2000W server PSU + a DC-DC ATX converter (picoPSU). If you're a skilled DIY enthusiast, I can help you with details in PM.
Yep, I would had bought a couple from www.parallelminer.com but they're in the US and the Custom charges were gonna rape me. I will keep exploring that option to replace the PSUs I have. But next week I have to have the rig online. It's gonna be open air. Temperatures right now at night are already ~5C. :/ Everything sold on parallel miner can be found for 1/5th the price anywhere else. They just make it easy to source everything from one spot. just buy the server psu's, buy the breakout boards, you're good to go. |
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SafeCash
Newbie
Offline
Activity: 13
Merit: 0
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December 08, 2017, 07:56:18 PM
Last edit: April 24, 2018, 07:05:00 PM by SafeCash |
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Victorio
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December 08, 2017, 10:09:25 PM |
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I actually did find a 1500w one for 100euro and a 1200w one for just 27euro!!! I'm having trouble finding a cheaper breakout board though.
Where exactly are you from? I imported the PSU and connectors, bought 100 m cable locally and done all the soldering by myself. I used electric mounting rails instead of breakout boards: http://fb.ru/misc/i/gallery/43170/1705825.jpgIt allows you connect as many power cords (=consumers) as you need, while breakout boards are limited in output. |
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RealKariverson (OP)
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December 08, 2017, 10:13:48 PM |
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I actually did find a 1500w one for 100euro and a 1200w one for just 27euro!!! I'm having trouble finding a cheaper breakout board though.
Where exactly are you from? I imported the PSU and connectors, bought 100 m cable locally and done all the soldering by myself. I used electric mounting rails instead of breakout boards: http://fb.ru/misc/i/gallery/43170/1705825.jpgIt allows you connect as many power cords (=consumers) as you need, while breakout boards are limited in output. I would rather not go into DIY stuff. I might be competent but I'm not knowledgeable enough. If you read my edited post, I think the stuff I found might be good enough. |
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antantti
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 1176
Merit: 1015
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December 08, 2017, 10:49:56 PM |
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Mixing hawaii and polaris can be a major PITA, they like different driver generations. About Corsair RM series, it's not the best there is but it does it's job more than well, just don't push those hawaii's with ETH/ dual mining or you might have some melted connectors. My Brennenstuhl with rm1000x + 4x290x, calculator says $22/ day:  |
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Victorio
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December 08, 2017, 11:01:56 PM |
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Mixing hawaii and polaris can be a major PITA, they like different driver generations.
About Corsair RM series, it's not the best there is but it does it's job more than well, just don't push those hawaii's with ETH/ dual mining or you might have some melted connectors.
My Brennenstuhl with rm1000x + 4x290x, calculator says $22/ day:
Drivers for different GPU generations can be installed manually through the device manager. Your profitability makes me wonder - either the calculator is broken or you mine some top class coin  |
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antantti
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 1176
Merit: 1015
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December 08, 2017, 11:19:38 PM |
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Drivers for different GPU generations can be installed manually through the device manager.
True, it's just that making them work together on that same rig is sometimes challenging when trying to find the most profitable coins out there. If I were OP I would just build two rigs. Your profitability makes me wonder - either the calculator is broken or you mine some top class coin My number bending calculator is always broken. But I'm working on it haha! |
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RealKariverson (OP)
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December 08, 2017, 11:27:14 PM |
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Is that really only 673 Watts for 4 290 cards? Or am I reading it wrong?
I don't know about the drivers. I tested them all with the same drivers, the blockchain beta ones. I also tested them with their respective latest drivers too and both gens performed worse.
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