What does a gigahash farm build look like? (miner porn inside!)

BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
edited April 2016 in Mining
I've been keeping my eye on GPU coins for a while now and was happy to see one really take off again. It was time to build some new rigs!

We had access to a cab with 2x 30a 208v circuts at a local datacenter (on the cheap) and it was decided that it needed to be filled...

First, i decided to start small... a dozen 370s seemed like a good start :smile:

Having to fill cab space, i decided on using Gray Matter GPU cases. By far the cheapest (tho $500 is necessarily cheap) rackmount GPU mining option available. I have to say these cases while simple are EXTREMELY effective. The wind tunnel effect they produce is stupid and keep temps low even on heavily overclocked cards.
miningrigs.net/?product=graymatter-gpu-server-case-copy

12x MSI R7 370s from newegg
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127886

H81 Asrock BTC Pro motherboard, a cheap Celeron CPU, 8 gigs of RAM, and a SSD (all x2) from newegg. Yes, you only need 4gb RAM and a 16gig SSD but i wanted something that at least had some resale value.
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157471&cm_re=h81-_-13-157-471-_-Product
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1N83U90757
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313531
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178966

I had a stack of EVGA 1300w G2 power supplies from previous bitcoin miners so i just used two of those (which was overkill for the 370s) but these things are reliable and always have plenty of power.
amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Crossfire-Warranty-120-G2-1300-XR/dp/B00COIZTZM

Turns out Bitmain sells the fans they use on their S5/S4+/S7 on their site. Having worked with them before and knowing the air volume they can push, fan selection was an easy choice. These being PWN fans also gives me the ability to control their speed through the mobo bios.
https://bitmaintech.com/productDetail.htm?pid=00020160105104607947aoAkWsJK06D0

And so the builds begin...









I started mining on Windows which worked fine but didn't allow me to set clock speeds. I then proceeded to build a unbutu miner which took some work and in the end worked well enough but just like with windows, i couldn't get it to set clock speeds or show GPU temps. Now granted, im a linux noob at best, so im sure that someone with the right skills could probly get it to work better.

In the end i went with genethos.
https://ethereum-mining.info/en/

Once you figure it out (changing the language from russian to english helps) it really is very simple and effective. Setting clocks is easy, gpu tems and status are at a click, and its rock stable. :smiley:

After playing with clocks for a while i managed to get just under 16mh per card for a total of 95mh per rig. The killawatt reads ~800w at the wall.



In building the two 370 rigs, i had learned much about ethereum mining. It was decided that all future rigs be with 4gb+ cards (to avoid future dag size issues)

A MSI R7 370 4GB rig, a Sapphire R9 380 4GB rig, and a PowerColor R9 390 8GB rig followed.
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127884
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202166
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131672

The 380 rig pulls 1250 watts from the wall and seems to be the best overall choice as far as price / mh, and optimal useage of the 1300w PSU. The 390 rig has 2 power supplies in it, a 1300w and a 750w. and pulls about 1800w from the wall.







The 370 4GB hashes the same as the 2gb version. The Sapphire 380s are getting 20mh each (they don't overclock well) for a total of 120mh.


The PowerColors get just under 30mh each. (currently 1 card down, had to RMA)


Here's a picture of 4 of the rigs in the cab at the datacenter.


I've since added 2 more Sapphire 380 rigs and a MSI 390 rig and have maxed out my power at the datacenter and have two of the new rigs running in the house... lol. :smiley:

Current total farm:
6x MSI R7 370 rig - 95mh
6x MSI R7 370 rig - 95mh
6x MSI R7 370 4GB rig - 95mh
6x Sapphire R9 380 rig - 120mh
6x Sapphire R9 380 rig - 120mh
6x Sapphire R9 380 rig - 120mh
5x PowerColor R9 390 rig - 148mh
6x MSI R9 390 rig - 169mh

Total - 962mh


Post edited by Blink on
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Comments

  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    reserved for future rig porn
  • adasebadaseb Member Posts: 1,043 ✭✭✭
    Those S7 fans use like 5Amps so how did you plug them into the motherboard without burning the fan headers?
  • Chris31Chris31 Member Posts: 21
    edited April 2016
    adaseb said:

    Those S7 fans use like 5Amps so how did you plug them into the motherboard without burning the fan headers?

    It doesnt have to be on the motherboard. The pic shows the fans are connected to the 4 pin molex together with the USB powered riser?
  • Chris31Chris31 Member Posts: 21
    Beautiful rig by the way B)
  • SIRacer09SIRacer09 Member Posts: 246 ✭✭
    @Blink Looks good! Couple questions. Don't these cards exhaust out the front, and if so, are you pulling air from the back to the front with the fans? This would pull hot air to the front of the cabinet. Are you guys utilizing a hot aisle?
  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    Chris31 said:

    adaseb said:

    Those S7 fans use like 5Amps so how did you plug them into the motherboard without burning the fan headers?

    It doesnt have to be on the motherboard. The pic shows the fans are connected to the 4 pin molex together with the USB powered riser?
    they are powered off a 4 pin molex. I also have them set lower in the bios. because of the design they produce a really nice static pressure which moves a ton of air through the case.
  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    SIRacer09 said:

    @Blink Looks good! Couple questions. Don't these cards exhaust out the front, and if so, are you pulling air from the back to the front with the fans? This would pull hot air to the front of the cabinet. Are you guys utilizing a hot aisle?

    All the cards i used were normal twin fan types, not reference style ones. The airflow through these cases is absurd. temps on my overclocked 390s are at about 70c. temps on all the other cards are in the low 60s.

    We are utilizing a hot aisle and exhausting out the back although the case can be mounted either way (facing front or back because of reversible rackmount ears). If you're using reference style cards you could mount it "backwards" and exhaust out of what is considered the front of the case.
  • adasebadaseb Member Posts: 1,043 ✭✭✭
    Blink said:

    Chris31 said:

    adaseb said:

    Those S7 fans use like 5Amps so how did you plug them into the motherboard without burning the fan headers?

    It doesnt have to be on the motherboard. The pic shows the fans are connected to the 4 pin molex together with the USB powered riser?
    they are powered off a 4 pin molex. I also have them set lower in the bios. because of the design they produce a really nice static pressure which moves a ton of air through the case.
    If they are powered by the molex, how do you set the PWM in the bios ?
  • hasherhasher Member Posts: 642 ✭✭✭
    @Blink I'm very interested in this case. Can you show me a pic of one of your rigs with dual PSU installed? I want to know how they are mounted inside, and where the access to the ports are on both sides of the PSU.
  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    adaseb said:

    Blink said:

    Chris31 said:

    adaseb said:

    Those S7 fans use like 5Amps so how did you plug them into the motherboard without burning the fan headers?

    It doesnt have to be on the motherboard. The pic shows the fans are connected to the 4 pin molex together with the USB powered riser?
    they are powered off a 4 pin molex. I also have them set lower in the bios. because of the design they produce a really nice static pressure which moves a ton of air through the case.
    If they are powered by the molex, how do you set the PWM in the bios ?
    the molex adapter has a lead that attaches to a fan plug on the motherboard. It basically pulls power from the molex and has a pass through for the pwm to the mobo.
  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    hasher said:

    @Blink I'm very interested in this case. Can you show me a pic of one of your rigs with dual PSU installed? I want to know how they are mounted inside, and where the access to the ports are on both sides of the PSU.

    Its tight with two power supplies but it does all fit. The case comes with these little 90 degree usb adapters that allow the pcie plugs to clear under the second psu. I'll grab a picture next time im at the datacenter.
  • adasebadaseb Member Posts: 1,043 ✭✭✭
    Blink said:

    adaseb said:

    Blink said:

    Chris31 said:

    adaseb said:

    Those S7 fans use like 5Amps so how did you plug them into the motherboard without burning the fan headers?

    It doesnt have to be on the motherboard. The pic shows the fans are connected to the 4 pin molex together with the USB powered riser?
    they are powered off a 4 pin molex. I also have them set lower in the bios. because of the design they produce a really nice static pressure which moves a ton of air through the case.
    If they are powered by the molex, how do you set the PWM in the bios ?
    the molex adapter has a lead that attaches to a fan plug on the motherboard. It basically pulls power from the molex and has a pass through for the pwm to the mobo.
    So the 2 wires (Red and Black +12V and Ground) go to the molex and the other 2 (Tach and PWM) go to the motherboard?
  • hasherhasher Member Posts: 642 ✭✭✭
    Still waiting for the installed dual PSU pictures @Blink - thanks
  • keugerekeugere Member Posts: 38
    edited April 2016
    Hey, im also have MSI R7 370.

    Two of them.

    I tried to overclock it and what i get is only 0.5 m/h gain.

    I did 1500 GPU clock. Nothing else have been changed. Except cooler.

    Can you suggest what settings do i need to set to make it 16+ M/s?

  • _javi__javi_ Member Posts: 24
    Congrats! What a nice and clean setup!
    (My rigs are all around my garage, maxing out my home line.. 700mhs.)
  • General-BeckGeneral-Beck RussiaMember Posts: 26
    @Blink I'm glad my image was useful to you
  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    hasher said:

    Still waiting for the installed dual PSU pictures @Blink - thanks

    Sorry it took so long, work has been busy. Pics of the dual power supply rig are below. It is a little tight but everything fits as it should. No real complaints. The fans that come with the case are adequate for the 390s but im looking to upgrade to some 230cfm monsters. The case guys are supposed to have those available as an upgrade soon.









  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16

    @Blink I'm glad my image was useful to you

    It really does work well, i am using it on all of my rigs and am spreading the word to others. Keep up the good work with it!
  • o0ragman0oo0ragman0o Member, Moderator Posts: 1,291 mod
    @blink wouldn't end venting GPU's cool better than the side venting ones you've shown?
  • bbcoinbbcoin Member Posts: 377 ✭✭✭

    @blink wouldn't end venting GPU's cool better than the side venting ones you've shown?

    From my experience end venting GPU's use a single fan and run hotter than a typical double side vent.
    Plus it's actually good to have the card exposed/not covered up with plastic because those powerful fans vent the card more than the ones on top of the heat sink I would assume.
  • citronickcitronick Member Posts: 110
    Is the case 4U or 6U? How many can you put into a rack?
  • rdprdp Member Posts: 4
    Awesome post @Blink

    How did you fit 6x 380s into a case with only a 1300W PSU?

    The 380 is supposed to use 225W each, which is 1350W just for the cards, not even counting the CPU/RAM.

    Did you use a 1600W for the 380 build?
  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    edited May 2016

    @blink wouldn't end venting GPU's cool better than the side venting ones you've shown?

    As long as you're supplying cool air to the fans, both dual fan and reference style cards will operate just fine. You have to do some reversing of things to get the references to work with this case but it is possible.

    It's difficult to convey just how much air is pushed through this case. You can stand 5 feet behind it and still feel a considerable exhaust flow, enough to blow papers off a desk per say.

    The cards simply don't have a chance to heat up. They're constantly given cool air from the intake and heat is exhausted so quickly they don't get nearly as heat soaked as if they were just running in open air.

    I have noticed though that GPUs with heatsink vents that run front to back as opposed to up and down like the MSI 390s pictured above do cool a little better. For obvious reasons i would think...
  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    citronick said:

    Is the case 4U or 6U? How many can you put into a rack?

    They are 4U, so 10 in a standard 42U rack, 11 in a 45U. This is assuming you have the power to run them :wink:
  • BlinkBlink Member Posts: 16
    rdp said:

    Awesome post @Blink

    How did you fit 6x 380s into a case with only a 1300W PSU?

    The 380 is supposed to use 225W each, which is 1350W just for the cards, not even counting the CPU/RAM.

    Did you use a 1600W for the 380 build?

    My rig running 6x of the Sapphire 380s pulls 1250w from the wall on stock clocks (these cards don't oc well anyway) getting 20mh each. I can't speak for other manufacturers 380s but that's the power draw for the sapphire nitros.
  • demannudemannu Member Posts: 11
    How many ethers a day are you collecting on average with these bad boys?
  • citronickcitronick Member Posts: 110
    Blink said:

    citronick said:

    Is the case 4U or 6U? How many can you put into a rack?

    They are 4U, so 10 in a standard 42U rack, 11 in a 45U. This is assuming you have the power to run them :wink:
    My colo provider only limit me to 4 power points per rack. Could you send me the link to get one of those case? thanks
  • demannudemannu Member Posts: 11
    Hes using the Gray Matter cases found on miningrigs

    I just ordered one myself, cant wait for it to arrive.. $130 extra in shipping to new zealand though.. :neutral:
  • greenusergreenuser 50.8862°N 4.5537°WMember Posts: 439 ✭✭
    How much of that equipment is "continuously rated"?
  • greenusergreenuser 50.8862°N 4.5537°WMember Posts: 439 ✭✭
    edited May 2016
    Will you ever make your money back?
    19" Rack mounted servers are only £75 on ebay
    £75 gets you 2KW PSU, 8 GB RAM, 300GB HD, 2x 4core 2.5ghz Processor, 2x one gigabit network card....Plus Mobo with at least 5 pci-e slots
    just put the 6 GPUs in a separate 19" case on top of each server. feed your 6 risers in two groups of three with these.


    Just two blue USB 3 cables out the back onto two pci-e slots in server. Jump the power off the server 2kwPSU to the GPU case. Server are desigend to have 2 PSUs, one is redundent so if a PSU goes down it will work on one just one. This means loads of headroom. Mine is 2kw, the opreating system, geth and fans and HHDs runing is less than 300w. Thats 1.7Kw for mining.

    If Ethereum takes off and all our internet stuff gets decentralized, these servers will get cheaper. And there are data centers full of them

    RECYCLE YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENCE
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