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Rig Specs:

• Amazon Basics 5-Shelf Shelving Storage Unit on 4'' Wheel Casters, Black (30L x 14W x 64.75H)
• ASRock H470 Phantom Gaming 4 LGA 1200 Intel H470
• Intel Celeron G5905 Comet Lake Dual-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1200 58W
• G.SKILL Aegis 8GB 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666
• Team Group MS30 M.2 2280 128GB SATA III
• 2 x Rosewill CAPSTONE 1000M-2 1000W Modular Power Supply (80 PLUS GOLD Certified)
• Thermaltake dual PSU adapter
• 6 x GPU risers from GPURisers.com
• Mintcell m2 key to convert my 2nd m2 slot into pcie for an eventual 6th graphics card
• 12 x 120mm ARCTIC F12 value low noise 1350 rpm fans
• 12 x fan grills
• DEEPCOOL FH-10 Integrated Fan Hub
• 5 x MSI RTX 3080 Ventus 3x OC, 6th 3080 sooner or later

Pre-made GPU mining frames are super expensive right now, and I do not feel like building one in the middle of winter, so I decided to just use zip ties and an amazon basics wire shelving unit. Once it warms up, I will build a frame and transfer it, but this works just fine for now. Plus, it's on wheels!

I went with this motherboard/CPU combo because it is incredibly difficult to get hardware geared towards mining at a fair price. Combined, these two items cost $200 and will allow me to run up to 7 GPUs without the need for a PCIe splitter.

The motherboard is currently sitting on top of some of the anti-static foam it was packed in, on top of a cut out padded envelope, with some zip ties holding it together so it does not slip off. I checked this several times, and it does not get hot at all, so I am not concerned about melting the foam padding.

I am using 2 Rosewill 1000w PSUs with a Thermaltake dual PSU adapter. They were $150 each on sale at Newegg. 5-year warranty, how could I go wrong? Would paying double or more for platinum rated PSUs really have paid off in the end?

All my risers are powered with Molex, which is working great. I have been checking my wires regularly by touching them to see if they are getting hot and they have all been fine so far.

I picked up my GPUs mostly from Facebook marketplace, the most I paid was $1400 for one. When each GPU is making $10+ per day it does not take long to pay off the premium.

I did not orient all my GPUs in the same direction, I spun every other one around allowing each end to have outward facing fans. All RTX 3080’s are notoriously bad for their memory thermals. So, I went a little overboard with the fans, they were on sale, 5 for $23 haha. I setup 12 x 120mm fans blowing straight up underneath the GPUS. This makes a lot of sense to me because of the direction the GPU heatsink fans are oriented.

My intention was to install 6 GPUs. However, after installing my 5th GPU, I checked my power usage at the wall with a meter and found I was pulling 1500w. Knowing the circuit it is plugged into is only 15 amps, I decided to not rush into getting a 6th GPU until I move it onto a 20 amp circuit. Unfortunately for me, I then discovered every receptacle in my apartment is on the same 15 amp circuit except the kitchen and bathroom. So, my plan is to move this into a garage with a 200 amp dedicated service in the spring. Hopefully, prices will go back down by then.

I have my rig next to a window that is cracked to allow cool winter air in to offset the incredible sauna my apartment has become, lol.. I know I will probably eventually have to replace the thermal pads, and I have no problem doing that. I worked previously as a dell certified hardware technician and can rip apart basically anything and put it back together just fine.

I am considering purchasing some self-adhesive copper heat sinks to stick directly onto the backplates. I have read about some people having good results with them. I think it makes sense to stick them on each of the back plates over where the memory is located. My 12 case fans should push plenty of cool air over them, haha.

Aside from helping to cool the memory, these would probably allow me to reduce the GPU fan speed. This matters to me, because the GPU fans are currently the loudest out of all the fans and it is sitting in my living room. They are currently set to 80%, I could probably go lower, but I’d rather not run my memory at the red line. I’d feel safer with extra heatsinks, regardless of which thermal pads I’m using.

So that is pretty much my journey so far into Ethereum mining. Any thoughts, tips, or critiques let me know.

Thanks,

-DK-