How to assemble a rig for mining with your own hands

What is a Rig in a Mining Farm?
What sizes are available
Accessories
How to build a ring for mining
Buying ready-made
Assembling
Design and set up a rack
Components installation
Cooling Installation
Setup and startup
Possible problems
Managing a Mining Rig

What is a rig in a mining farm
Cryptocurrency mining equipment is a compactly assembled computer with video cards. Smaller farms run on 6-20 graphics processing units (GPUs). Large ones consist of hundreds and thousands of devices. A standard case cannot hold a set of graphics cards. Therefore, they are placed in a rig. This is a rack for storing 6 GPUs.

Mining farm frame, putting together a wooden housing for mining, a farm with 1080 video cards
Mining farm frame, building in a wooden mining case, farm with 1080 graphics cards
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Buying a ready-made case will cost 15-100$. But it's cheaper to assemble it yourself. Special skills and physical strength are not required for this. Even someone with basic knowledge about the PC can cope with the process.
Rigi are made of different materials. The main requirement is stability and durability.

MATERIAL FEATURES
Wood The most affordable option. Will cost a maximum of 10$s. Disadvantages - it is easy to ignite, and in the garage can rot.
Aluminum corners You can buy elements of the right size and assemble them yourself. Price - up to 25$. Advantages - they do not burn, are resistant to mold formation, do not rot, easy to clean.
Combined assemblies Rack of aluminum profile with wooden shelves or frame made of metal pipes.
What sizes are available
Before assembling a rig in a mining farm, you need to decide how to ensure good cooling and free air circulation. You can use a closed enclosure that keeps the temperature low. However, such designs are expensive.

The size of the case depends on the number of video cards and available space in the room. A standard motherboard has 6 slots. Therefore, frames for 6 graphics processors are often used. For free air circulation, the rack should have these dimensions:

Width - 55-60 cm.
Depth - 35 cm.
Height - 30 cm.
The frame for 12 graphics cards is made 120 cm wide. The depth and height remain unchanged. If you need to place several slabs of 6-12 video cards, they are placed next to each other or one on top of the other.

rig-soft4bro

Mining farm

Accessories
The equipment for mining should be assembled compactly. So it will take up less space. Also additional devices will be needed to connect several video cards to one computer. Usually a rig consists of the following elements:

The motherboard. It should have several slots (preferably 6 or more).
Graphics cards. Finding the best option is not easy. But it is worth to focus on the fastest possible payback.
Power Supply. The necessary power is not less than 1000 W, it must correspond to the graphics processors performance. If necessary, you can install a second power supply unit. It is usually placed on the side of the rig.
Processor. You must choose a model that is compatible with the motherboard.
RAM. Minimal size is 8 GB.
Hard drive. For the best performance it is better to use SSD.
PCI-e USB raisers. These are devices for connecting multiple graphics cards to the motherboard.
Fans. For a closed type farm you will need at least 3-5 fans.
Cables and extension cords.
Rig frame.

How to build a rig for mining
To complete the farm, you can buy ready-made racks of open or closed type. Often, the suppliers of mining equipment offer to assemble a rig for a separate fee. For such work a warranty is issued. But it is expensive to call a master every time you need to reconnect the devices. The miner must be able to perform maintenance of the farm if necessary. Therefore, it is worth learning how to assemble a rig.

Buying off-the-shelf
Many miners take cryptocurrency mining equipment from stores. This is convenient when there is free money and you do not want to understand the intricacies of the installation. In 2022 you can buy a farm for mining Ethereum (Monero) as a whole or just a rack of components. There is a warranty on the assembly and components.

The finished case has already thought about the location of shelves, attachment points for boards, power supplies. The enclosed forms are properly ventilated for proper airflow.

The finished rack will cost $20-$100, depending on the material and size. Another $20-90 will be needed for assembly. A closed cabinet with elaborate ventilation and noise insulation will cost more - from $180 depending on the size.

rig2-soft4bro

Assembling by yourself
The payback is important in mining. Therefore, beginners and professionals are trying to save money. The average payback of a farm is 2-2.5 years. That's how long a new video card will last at maximum loads.

Finished frame can have the same price as a motherboard or fan. However, a rig rack does not affect the performance of crypto mining, so you can save money on it.

Designing and assembling the rack
First, you need to calculate on a calculator the profitability of mining for a particular coin. The payback period and the exit to the net profit is important. Then you can buy video cards. Under them, you should pick up other components. Frame should not withstand critical loads. It is enough that it performed the main functions - provided a compact placement of equipment, free circulation of air and was not fire hazardous.

The size of the bottom panel should be chosen taking into account the size of the motherboard. If there is no air conditioner in the room for the farm, the riga should not be more than 2 floors. The distance between the slats from 40 cm is acceptable. The case is assembled with rivets and bolts. For wooden frames you can use screws. Before you assemble the reega for mining with your own hands, you need to stock up on components and tools. We will need:

Case materials. You can use wooden strips impregnated with a compound to protect against mold and moisture, or metal corners (20 x 20 x 2 mm). This material heats up more than aluminum, so you need room for additional fans.
Fittings. Suitable bolts, screws, screws.
The drawing of the ring for mining. You can make one yourself, or take a ready-made. It is necessary to provide space for the motherboard, video cards, additional fans.
A tape measure for measuring parts. It is necessary to precisely maintain the distance between the components according to the sketch.
Drill or screwdriver to assemble the components.
Hacksaw for cutting aluminum profiles.
This is the procedure for the assembly of the riga:

Cut aluminum profile or wooden strips according to the drawing.
Strengthen the bearing angles with bars, fix them with self-tapping screws.
Assemble according to the blueprints.
Assembly scheme
Drawing of the Mining-Rig
Installing the components
Mounting the Rig is not much different from assembling an ordinary PC. The procedure for installing the components is as follows:

Attach the motherboard to the bottom panel with self-tapping screws. Put dielectric seals under the fixing points.
Fix the RAM (random access memory) strips. Open the latches beforehand.
Install the processor. There is a marking on one of the corners of the chassis and motherboard.
Apply thermal paste. Attach CPU heatsink and cooler.
Attach hard drive with a Sata cable.
Mount the graphics cards on the top console with at least 10 cm distance between them.
Attach the raisers (adapters) to the motherboard slots. Connect the video cards to the video card ports.
Connect power via the power supply to the video cards.
Install the power and reset button on the motherboard.
Fix the internet cable. Supply power via the surge protector.
Connect the mouse and keyboard with the cable.

If you don't have a remote access program on your hard drive, connect a monitor.

The main part of assembling the farm is now complete. If everything is done correctly, maintenance will not be required before six months of operation of the equipment. If there

are any problems, you should first check the connections of the farm components and the power supply.

Mounting the cooling
Cryptocurrency mining equipment often overheats. Therefore, the installation should be placed in a well-ventilated and cool room. For small home farms, it is enough to connect an air conditioner and conduct ventilation. Video cards are installed at a distance of 10 cm from each other. If they overheat, you need to add fans to the side of the farm - one in front of each adapter.

If the equipment is on a balcony or in a garage, you can install an exhaust box on top. It will collect the hot air and blow it above. A corrugated pipe is led to the box. It will blow the hot air outdoors. This way it will not heat up the room and the mining farm.
It is better to place the rack with the components not close to the wall, but in the middle of the room. Thermal pads with a thickness of 0.5-5 mm are also used to cool video cards. You can take the silicone ones from the manufacturer or replace them with metal ones. In order not to make a mistake with the thickness of thermal pads, it is recommended to buy a set with different sizes. It will cost $15-$20 To replace the gaskets you need:

Remove the cooling radiator.
Lubricate the copper gaskets with thermal paste for better contact and install them in place of the silicone ones.
Setup and startup
After assembling the main components, you need to activate the farm. The order of setting up the rig for mining is as follows:

Turn on the computer. Connect the flash drive with the operating system. Install the operating system, download drivers and updates.
Restart the computer and enter BIOS. To do that, press Delete or F2 while booting the operating system.
In the power management section activate the automatic restart in case of disconnection from the mains (setting Always on).
Reboot the computer. Make sure that the system has detected video cards.
Register in a pool for mining. Create a digital wallet. In 2022, solo cryptocurrency mining is unprofitable.
Download a mining program from the pool's website or the developers' resource. You can use Claymore's Dual to mine ether or Sia.
Run the program.
Remove the miner's boot folder from the antivirus software.
Set up the program autorun. To do this, place the software shortcut (.exe) in the autorun folder, specify the login and password in the configuration.
Disable automatic Windows updates.
Install software for remote PC access. Disable monitor.
Mining is started - the program will work automatically. Further, the user only needs to occasionally monitor the statistics.

Possible problems
Due to the popularization of cryptocurrencies, mining is engaged in people who are far from computer technology. Like any business, mining digital assets comes with risks:

The farm may not turn on or spontaneously restart. You need to check the temperature mode of the equipment and the logs of the mining program.
The farm fails to start due to an improperly connected or faulty component. It is necessary to reassess the design and replace the broken components. The reason may also be the lack of power on one of the components.
Due to constant work at maximum load and excessive overclocking, the video card can fail prematurely. The faulty component will have to be replaced.
Unstable Internet connection leads to a drop in equipment efficiency. It is worthwhile for a miner to secure himself - to set up a backup channel to use two communication providers at the same time.
Coins can be lost due to storage in an insufficiently reliable place. For example, in a pool account, on an exchange. It is worth using non-custodial storage and hardware wallets.
If the farm is installed in a room with bad wiring, not designed for high power consumption, a fire can occur.
The price of a mining farm depends on the cryptocurrency exchange rate and the market situation. The user should be prepared that in a year or more he will be able to sell the equipment much cheaper.
The price of cryptocurrency can fall and mining becomes unprofitable.

Managing a mining rig
Cryptocurrency mining is an automatic process. Once the equipment is installed and configured, the user only needs to do maintenance once every few months. Personal presence near the farm is not required.

If the farm stands in a separate room, you should connect remote access to the computer. To do this, you need to install the program TeamViewer. The miner will be able to connect to the farm at any time and control the mining.

If there are failures in the Internet connection, the program will not stop working. It is also necessary to monitor the hash rate. A decrease in the rate can signal a video card or processor failure.

Many mining programs have functions of automatic video card temperature control (NBMiner, CGMiner, MultiMiner). In case of overheating or mining failure, the user will receive a message to his phone or email.

Summary
Any user with a basic knowledge of PC hardware can assemble a mining rig. You can easily make a rack yourself or buy a ready-made one. At the same time, the case must fit perfectly with the equipment. First, you need to determine the number and models of video cards and then select the rest of the accessories. Suitable in size rig can be assembled from wood or aluminum corners.

Payback is important in mining, so you should use all opportunities to reduce the cost of equipment. Ready-made reegs are expensive, almost as expensive as a motherboard or a fan. That's why they are rarely used in home farms

How to assemble a rig for mining with your own hands

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