Mining from 10 year old PC possible ?

[Dzeronimo]

I'm using my old desktop for mining. MB is ASUS M3A-H/HDMI, CPU is AMD Athlon II X3 445 and i have only 3 GB DDR2. This is a temporary solution so I'm using only one GPU. Hash rate is absolutely the same as when I'm using AMD A10 with 8 GB DDR3.

[zorachus99]

I have an AMD Athlon X4 with DDR2 memory running 2x 1080ti's   

[Dzeronimo]

Lucky you
For some unknown reason I cannot make it work with two risers. One works perfectly, the other one also, but when i try to use both a the same time it won't boot. After I clear CMOS I can enter BIOS (only when I try for the first time) but that's all.

[Raja_MBZ]

-Motherboard seems just fine
-You'll need one x1 to x16 USB riser for 2 graphics cards (one will be plugged in at x16 and one will be plugged in at the riser)
-Processor seems fine
-Hard drive is fine
-RAM is fine
-PSU is useless. Throw it and buy a new one with 1000 watts power supply.
-Those 2 GPU's should work just fine on this built (after the required changes)
-Complete upgrade isn't required
-No, go with 2 GTX 1080

2 gtx 1080 is better than 2 asus strix rog 1080 TI oc version ?
As 1080 is only 8 gb and 1080 ti is 11 gb or my motherboard doesn't support 11gb ?
Even my mining speed will be slow with 8gb when compared to 11 gb ?

I don't think so there'll be much of difference in hashrates between the versions & between 8 GB/11 GB, just make sure it's 1080. If I were you, I'd get the cheapest 1080 available. I've both, RX 480 8 GB and RX 480 4 GB, there's a very slight difference in hashrate (like 7%), while I remember there was a good difference in price. So this memory doesn't matter too much IMO. But yeah, if you're planning to overclock afterwards, you might have to explore more about the versions.

I'll warn you again here though, do NOT go with HP server power supply until and unless you've extremely cheap electricity.

[Dumpfdoesel]

-Motherboard seems just fine
-You'll need one x1 to x16 USB riser for 2 graphics cards (one will be plugged in at x16 and one will be plugged in at the riser)
-Processor seems fine
-Hard drive is fine
-RAM is fine
-PSU is useless. Throw it and buy a new one with 1000 watts power supply.
-Those 2 GPU's should work just fine on this built (after the required changes)
-Complete upgrade isn't required
-No, go with 2 GTX 1080

2 gtx 1080 is better than 2 asus strix rog 1080 TI oc version ?
As 1080 is only 8 gb and 1080 ti is 11 gb or my motherboard doesn't support 11gb ?
Even my mining speed will be slow with 8gb when compared to 11 gb ?

I don't think so there'll be much of difference in hashrates between the versions & between 8 GB/11 GB, just make sure it's 1080. If I were you, I'd get the cheapest 1080 available. I've both, RX 480 8 GB and RX 480 4 GB, there's a very slight difference in hashrate (like 7%), while I remember there was a good difference in price. So this memory doesn't matter too much IMO. But yeah, if you're planning to overclock afterwards, you might have to explore more about the versions.

I'll warn you again here though, do NOT go with HP server power supply until and unless you've extremely cheap electricity.

Went for the cheaper 1080's, no regrets here.

[zorachus99]

-Motherboard seems just fine
-You'll need one x1 to x16 USB riser for 2 graphics cards (one will be plugged in at x16 and one will be plugged in at the riser)
-Processor seems fine
-Hard drive is fine
-RAM is fine
-PSU is useless. Throw it and buy a new one with 1000 watts power supply.
-Those 2 GPU's should work just fine on this built (after the required changes)
-Complete upgrade isn't required
-No, go with 2 GTX 1080

2 gtx 1080 is better than 2 asus strix rog 1080 TI oc version ?
As 1080 is only 8 gb and 1080 ti is 11 gb or my motherboard doesn't support 11gb ?
Even my mining speed will be slow with 8gb when compared to 11 gb ?

I don't think so there'll be much of difference in hashrates between the versions & between 8 GB/11 GB, just make sure it's 1080. If I were you, I'd get the cheapest 1080 available. I've both, RX 480 8 GB and RX 480 4 GB, there's a very slight difference in hashrate (like 7%), while I remember there was a good difference in price. So this memory doesn't matter too much IMO. But yeah, if you're planning to overclock afterwards, you might have to explore more about the versions.

I'll warn you again here though, do NOT go with HP server power supply until and unless you've extremely cheap electricity.

The speed difference between 1080's and 1080ti's is A LOT.   In equihash you get 480H/s from a 1080, and 735H/s on a 1080ti.

[huntingthesnark]

It should work but you need to make sure the motherboard is at least PCIe 2.0 or higher.

I had an issue with very old motherboards where the GPU wouldn't detect because it was PCIe 1.0.

Upon turning on the fans just spin at 100% and nothing detected in bios.

This. Obviously have a go, but sometimes the new MB for 80quid seems like good value after 2 days of swearing. Sometimes old boards are great tho, so worth a crack.

[Raja_MBZ]

-Motherboard seems just fine
-You'll need one x1 to x16 USB riser for 2 graphics cards (one will be plugged in at x16 and one will be plugged in at the riser)
-Processor seems fine
-Hard drive is fine
-RAM is fine
-PSU is useless. Throw it and buy a new one with 1000 watts power supply.
-Those 2 GPU's should work just fine on this built (after the required changes)
-Complete upgrade isn't required
-No, go with 2 GTX 1080

2 gtx 1080 is better than 2 asus strix rog 1080 TI oc version ?
As 1080 is only 8 gb and 1080 ti is 11 gb or my motherboard doesn't support 11gb ?
Even my mining speed will be slow with 8gb when compared to 11 gb ?

I don't think so there'll be much of difference in hashrates between the versions & between 8 GB/11 GB, just make sure it's 1080. If I were you, I'd get the cheapest 1080 available. I've both, RX 480 8 GB and RX 480 4 GB, there's a very slight difference in hashrate (like 7%), while I remember there was a good difference in price. So this memory doesn't matter too much IMO. But yeah, if you're planning to overclock afterwards, you might have to explore more about the versions.

I'll warn you again here though, do NOT go with HP server power supply until and unless you've extremely cheap electricity.

The speed difference between 1080's and 1080ti's is A LOT.   In equihash you get 480H/s from a 1080, and 735H/s on a 1080ti.

Good that you mentioned it. Seems like my comparison of RX 480 8 GB & 4 GB was not applicable on comparison of 1080 and 1080ti. I actually have zero experience with nvidia cards, I've always remained in amd.

[Maren]

Motherboard : gigabyte GA-M68MT-S2
Processor : AMD Phenom ii x6 1045T
Hard drive : 1TB HDD
Ram : 4gb
PSU : 200W

Yes, you can. Need increase ram to 8 gb and ofc new PSU.

What cards ? max 3 on this mobo, so it can be, for example 3 1080.

You do not need 8gb ram for 2-3 cards, just a waste of money.

[QuintLeo]

4 GB of ram should be plenty for most mining usage on 2 cards - I've had systems that mined OK with *1 GB* of RAM, but they were single-card systems.

DEFINITELY need a power supply upgrade.
How big depends on specific usage - if you set the cards to run at efficient point around 60% TDP / 150 watts each (for most 1080 ti models) then you might be able to get away with a good 500 watt, but in general I'd recommend somewhat bigger than that.

You might want to SERIOUSLY consider downgrading to a lower-power-usage dual-core or even Sempron 145 single core CPU, that Phenom 6-core was a serious power hog IIRC.

 Nvidia 1080 to 1080 ti is a MAJOR difference in cards - it's more comparable to RX 560 to RX 570 (not QUITE as big a jump, but that's the right BALLPARK).

 RX 470/480/570/580 are VERY small variations to the point that ram SPEED often makes more difference than the actual GPU model in mining usage.

[megainarmy]

You can mine on any PC, in which you can stick those cards that you can mine. It is just necessary to choose the optimal power of the power supply. In your case, 850 watts is the minimum (better the gold specification). Everything else will go as it is.

[choychifung]

suggest update the GPUs then you are good to go.
Have fun

[QuintLeo]

You can mine on any PC, in which you can stick those cards that you can mine. It is just necessary to choose the optimal power of the power supply. In your case, 850 watts is the minimum (better the gold specification). Everything else will go as it is.

Nope - I "retired" quite a few PCs 2 years back when I moved that would NOT mine at all - but they were running AMD K5 series CPUs, did NOT have PCI (much less AGP or PCI-E) slots on most of the motherboards, and were pushing close to 20 years old at the time.

I JUST retired another pair of machines - AMD Palomino-series Athlons, 32 bit systems with no PCI-E at all though they DID have AGP - in THEORY one could mine on those, but AGP and PCI (not-E) cards were at best VERY VERY limited on CUDA cores or AMD Stream units and ALL of them were very old versions that probably nothing current supports or would work with.

You PROBABLY can mine with any 64-bit CPU based system, but some of the very oldest of those may not have PCI-E slots and the CPU will be very poor performance even on CPU-only coins or on Monero.

Anything from the last 12 years or so though should be usable - some of the Sempron Socket 754 systems I bought back in late 2006/early 2007 timeframe have been used to mine on and have A PCI-E slot.

[Jr.Sasha0209]

It does not depend on the computer. It all comes from your video card or processor, but in those days there was nothing really good for mining, so do not even waste time on such nonsense, it's easier to sell this computer on metal

[pickleburglar]

If it has a pcie slot then it can mine. One notable exception is polaris cards with old CPU's, they still work together but you can't install 64b win 10 on old CPU's and polaris cards need win 10 for drivers or you'll be stuck with bad hashrates.

You need a new PSU obviously...

Also why do people buy 1080Ti's for mining is beyond me

[QuintLeo]

1080 ti very close on both efficiency and hash/$ on MANY algorithms with anything else even as a bare card - don't ASSUME that all mining is Ethash (ETH/ETC/ECL and such) where the 1080 is a bad choice.
It also offers higher rig density than any other option that is affordable (Titan V is NOT affordable) for which some folks are willing to pay a small premium vs "max efficiency" cards.

Can also depend on what is AVAILABLE the last 3 months - sometimes you buy what you CAN get, not wait a month or two to sneak in a buy on something you would prefer IF you get lucky.

[Ultegra134]

Somebody can please help me for making my old PC into a gpu mining rig.

My PC specs.

Motherboard : gigabyte GA-M68MT-S2
2 PCIE slots : 1 PCIEx16 & 2 PCIEx1
Processor : AMD Phenom ii x6 1045T
Hard drive : 1TB HDD
Ram : 4gb
PSU : 200W

I am going to buy 2 asus rog strix gtx 1080 ti OC will it work on my built ?
Do I need to modify or completely upgrade to a new system ?
Also can I go with 1 gtx titan volta instead of 2 asus strix gtx 1080 ti oc ?

It's an old machine but could possibly do the trick. First of all, get rid of that PSU, buy decent one such as a Corsair Gold/Platinum if you are going to spend that much for GPUs, secondly, upgrade the RAM if possible. Since you have 1 x16 slot and 2 x1, you could possibly use GPU risers.

[pickleburglar]

1080 ti very close on both efficiency and hash/$ on MANY algorithms with anything else even as a bare card - don't ASSUME that all mining is Ethash (ETH/ETC/ECL and such) where the 1080 is a bad choice.
It also offers higher rig density than any other option that is affordable (Titan V is NOT affordable) for which some folks are willing to pay a small premium vs "max efficiency" cards.

Can also depend on what is AVAILABLE the last 3 months - sometimes you buy what you CAN get, not wait a month or two to sneak in a buy on something you would prefer IF you get lucky.

I'd rather wait a month or two instead of waiting for years for ROI. At no point have 1080ti's been anywhere close to being the most cost effective mining card, even with limited options, even considering electricity cost, it just doesn't work out.

[ValerKat]

PSU : 200W

I am going to buy 2 asus rog strix gtx 1080 ti OC will it work on my built ?
Do I need to modify or completely upgrade to a new system ?
Also can I go with 1 gtx titan volta instead of 2 asus strix gtx 1080 ti oc ?

 PSU 200W is precious little even for one of two asus rog strix gtx 1080 (250W each) you are going to buy. You need 600W minimum, better 800W (to pull peak ratings) or your power block will cut one with a smoke.

[QuintLeo]

1080 ti very close on both efficiency and hash/$ on MANY algorithms with anything else even as a bare card - don't ASSUME that all mining is Ethash (ETH/ETC/ECL and such) where the 1080 is a bad choice.
It also offers higher rig density than any other option that is affordable (Titan V is NOT affordable) for which some folks are willing to pay a small premium vs "max efficiency" cards.

Can also depend on what is AVAILABLE the last 3 months - sometimes you buy what you CAN get, not wait a month or two to sneak in a buy on something you would prefer IF you get lucky.

I'd rather wait a month or two instead of waiting for years for ROI. At no point have 1080ti's been anywhere close to being the most cost effective mining card, even with limited options, even considering electricity cost, it just doesn't work out.

A GTX 1080 ti is VERY cost effective on merged folding - probably the best card to use for that - *IF* you have a folding-optimized rig.

On ZEC, they're very close on hash/watt vs ANY member of the GTX 10xx family when all are operated at "most efficient" settings, and they've usually been very close on a "rig-level" basis on hash/$.

THE most cost effective, no - but not all that far off it and some folks are willing to pay a small premium for the higher rig density they offer (and lower time spent managing those rigs on LARGE farms).


The numbers probably vary if you're not in the US - some areas might charge more of a "premium" for the higher-end cards than we usually see here.