Which miner is best to build. Types of mining farms for cryptocurrency production. Farm components

In 2017, even people who do not have access to the Internet know what Bitcoin is. And active network users have information not only about the features and rapidly growing rate of bitcoin, but also about the specifics of the issue of this cryptocurrency, namely, the ability to mine it independently. Therefore, it is natural that in stores selling powerful video cards, from time to time there is a shortage of hardware - people buy up cards to create their own Bitcoin farms and mine cryptocurrency on them. But to make a profit from mining digital coins, purchasing a card with a high hashrate and installing it on your PC will not be enough. You also need to understand how a Bitcoin farm works, how to assemble it yourself, and how to start mining. Let's try to answer these questions in simple words, and also tell you how to assemble a bitcoin farm for 50,000 rubles. And we’ll separately figure out whether it’s possible to earn bitcoins by playing virtual games with withdrawal of money.

Bitcoin farm: what is it in simple words and how it works and produces cryptocurrency

The custom of calling computers used for cryptocurrency mining “farms” came from the United States, because it was American miners who, when communicating with each other, jokingly began to call their PCs equipped with several video cards that way. Now the term Bitcoin farm is used all over the world, and in any country this phrase means computers connected to one network with powerful equipment connected to them, on which digital coins are mined.

Theoretically, processors, video cards, and specialized equipment - ASIC miners - can be used as hardware for Bitcoin mining. But in practice, the power of the processor and even a gaming video card today is no longer enough to mine the most expensive and popular cryptocurrency. Therefore, Bitcoin farms that bring consistently high profits operate on the latest ASIC models.

If you answer the question, a Bitcoin farm - what is it in simple words and how does it work, then we can say this: it is one or several powerful machines interconnected that mine Bitcoin. Of course, a Bitcoin farm must always be connected to the Internet, because all operations to create new coins are carried out online. And due to the fact that in the Bitcoin system one new block, which today brings 12.5 coins, is mined on average in 10 minutes, computers must work around the clock. The reason for this is simple - 24/7 mining maximizes the chances of solving each new block before other miners do.

Software tasks performed by a Bitcoin farm

The Bitcoin farm has only one task - to solve a new block before other miners and thereby earn a reward for its owner. That is why the characteristics of the processor, motherboard, RAM and hard drive of the computer on which mining is carried out do not play any role. But the performance of video cards or ASICs, which are used to mine cryptocurrency, is key. The fact is that both the complexity of bitcoin mining and the number of bitcoin farms are increasing every day, and in order to successfully compete with other “diggers” of electronic coins, you need to have very powerful equipment with a high hashrate.

Mining itself, from the point of view of the software problems being solved, represents the following sequence of actions:

The Bitcoin system provides all miners with the hash function of the new block, and some of the hashing characters were taken from the previous, newly created block, and the other part were arbitrary.
Software equipment installed on mining farms all over the world solves a new block in parts by enumerating numbers - that is, it selects characters that would fit a given hash function (for reference, each block contains tens of thousands of characters, and the hash - the function is a chain of several dozen characters).
When any mining farm manages to solve a block, it will immediately be entered into the blockchain, and the system will give miners a new hash function that must be solved to obtain a new block.
For a solved block, the miner who extracted it receives a reward of 12.5 btc. Those who did not cope with the task simply begin solving a new block.

According to the principle described above, new blocks are created not only in bitcoin, but also in other cryptocurrency systems. Only the hashing algorithms differ: BTC uses SHA-256, Ethereum uses Ethash, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Digitalcoin uses Scrypt, etc.

On video cards you can mine cryptocurrency with almost any hashing algorithm, the main thing is to install the appropriate software on your computer. But ASIC miners are initially “tailored” to a specific algorithm, so each model is suitable for mining a limited number of electronic currencies.

Bitcoin farm - how to start mining digital coins

Considering cryptocurrency mining as a way to make money online, novice miners first of all wonder how a bitcoin farm is assembled and how to start mining bitcoins on it. In fact, there is nothing complicated in assembling a mining farm for bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency, and any user who knows how to connect other equipment to the motherboard will be able to complete the farm in less than an hour.

Assembling a small Bitcoin farm involves removing the case from the computer system unit and installing it on a rack made in the form of a frame, and then connecting it to the motherboard via video card risers and placing them on the rack at a distance of at least 10-15 cm from each other. Since powerful video cards require additional power, they come with special wires through which the cards installed on the motherboard are connected to the power supply.

In this article we will talk about the main tool through which cryptocurrency is mined. Let's consider the configuration, assembly and configuration of the farm for, as well as the selection of the optimal configuration.

A mining farm is a regular computer with video cards connected to it; a standard home farm includes from 4 to 6 video cards. This quantity is optimal from the point of view of choosing a motherboard and power supply (server or two regular synchronized ones). With the help of a special program (miner), the farm computer ensures the transfer of computing power in favor of the Blockchain system, the cryptocurrency that you are currently mining.

As a rule, regular serial video cards are used (both for games and normal work), but since mid-2017, special lines of video cards for mining from NVIDIA P106-100 and P104-100 (analogues of the serial GTX 1060 and GTX 1080) began to appear.

They are adapted for mining and differ from serial ones in the higher issued hashrate (mining speed is 30% higher), but also lower warranty - 3 months. Due to the very short warranty period, these model lines have not gained much popularity among miners. We will tell you more about choosing a video card and other components below.

Material navigation:

Why are miners needed in the Blockchain system?

What will we mine on the farm - bitcoins or altcoins?

It makes no sense to mine Bitcoin on video cards today, since the complexity of the network is too high, so we mine alternative coins on GPUs (altcoins - Ethereum, Zcash, Monero). If you want to mine Bitcoin (BTC), then there are the following options:

on services and is the best option for mining bitcoins for 2019, and, in principle, the best option for mining any popular cryptocurrency because does not require large investments, quickly pays for itself and there are no problems with setting up and maintaining the functionality of the equipment.
A special one designed exclusively for mining BTC (the most expensive solution and it takes a very long time to pay off).
Mining altcoins with a video card with instant conversion to Bitcoin (not the most profitable option for video cards, but earnings go directly to BTC).

List of stages to start mining cryptocurrency

You buy several video cards (optimally 4-6) with good cooling and the best hashrate (performance)/cost ratio; you also shouldn’t forget about the amount of memory, for example, since 2017, some cryptocurrencies (in particular Ethereum) cannot be mined with cards 2 Gb or lower due to DAG file size, and in 2019 it will grow to 4 Gb and to extract it you will need cards of 6 Gb or higher.
Purchase a good powerful power supply because... consumption will be high from 0.7 to 1.5 kW. There are two options - a server power supply or two regular ones (synchronized with a special cable). Both options have their advantages, it's up to you.
A structure similar to a server rack is constructed on which the farm is mounted and assembled. There are many such designs for sale on Avito and forums, the average price is 1,500 rubles.
Everything is connected and assembled like a regular PC, but video cards are connected with special risers (Molex or 6pin).
We install Windows (preferably version 10), configure the software (miner, overclocking utility, etc.), and start mining!

Of course, this is a very short list of actions, then we will look at the assembly and configuration process in more detail and analyze all the details.

What does a standard mining rig consist of?

A mining farm is an assembly of several components that are combined with each other and produce virtual currency. The technology continuously solves complex mathematical problems, the result of which is a converted program code, which is a cryptocurrency.

The farm is based on video cards, since they are the ones that handle the computing processes. The more powerful the video card, the faster it selects numerical variations, the more coins can be mined in a limited period of time. Accordingly, the more video cards, the more income they will bring in total.

The farm consists of a complex of various components:

SSD disk (its advantages are stability and speed). 60 gigabytes may be enough, but it is better to take 100-160.
(optimally 4-6 pcs.).
. An ordinary motherboard with the required number of connectors for a video card will be sufficient.
(with a margin of 20-30% of the maximum consumption of the entire system). Farms with 4+ video cards often require more than one power supply. They basically buy several 750-watt units and simply connect them together to work.
(one for each video card).
RAM (4 GB is enough).
USB WatchDog.
Frame. It is best to make the frame from wood or aluminum. The size of the mining rig will be slightly larger than its frame due to protruding parts, adapters and the cooling system. An average truss will be approximately half a meter high, 70cm long and 50cm wide. A large mining rig can reach length and height parameters of one meter.
Monitor emulator.
It would be advisable to buy 1-2 more coolers for better cooling, but this depends on the location of the farm and the conditions in the room where it is located.

The last two points are not required for the operation of the farm, but USB WatchDog increases the stability of operation when you are not around and there is short-term electricity. And the monitor emulator allows you to run the farm without a monitor; you must first install TeamViewer in startup.

Discount coupon when purchasing equipment for a mining farm in the Computeruniverse.ru online store:

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How to assemble a mining rig yourself - two best video instructions!

How to assemble a farm yourself is described in detail in these videos; each demonstrates the process of connecting and setting up from start to finish, including registering on the pool and setting up the miner.

Tips for choosing farm equipment:

motherboards

Most miners encounter the first problems already at the stage of choosing a motherboard. There is little reliable information on the Internet about which hardware is guaranteed to work with multiple video cards. The classic scheme for assembling a farm for broadcast is 4, 6 or 8 video cards. Accordingly, not every motherboard will support so many devices along the bus. This is where many people get caught.

The main criteria for choosing a motherboard for mining:

Number of PCI-E x16, PCI-EXPRESS x1 and M.2 ports

Note: all PCI ports must be ACTIVE (they can be paralleled and then only one of the pair works!).

The price should be as cheap as possible, and there should be as many ports as possible and they should be located as conveniently as possible. There are boards positioned as specialized motherboards for mining, for example, the ASRock BTC series or boards from Biostar.

To assemble a budget-level farm, miners choose used motherboards based on socket 775. As a rule, mid- and premium-segment boards on this platform have 4 or more PCI-E ports and can easily detect all video cards on board. Among them, the most famous are motherboards based on P45, P43 and P35 chipsets (Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L or Asus P5Q Deluxe).

However, the best option is still current, but already inexpensive motherboards in a simple design on the Z270 chipset. For example, Gigabyte GA-Z270P-D3, which works with six video cards without “dancing with a tambourine.” Such a piece of hardware can be purchased for about $90-$100.

ASUS PRIME H270-PLUS boards are popular in mining, but they are almost out of stock anywhere, due to the fact that they are in various guides. Usually people do not want or cannot choose for themselves, so they blindly follow what is written to them. But there are a great many similar options.

For adherents of the AMD platform, there is also a good option in this price category - Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P. But this board only supports 5 video cards.

Setting up a motherboard for mining

For normal operation, disable all unnecessary functions in the BIOS, for example, sound and usb 3.0 ports. Next, in Standard SMOS Features, switch the Halt on item to No Errors (this is necessary so that there is no error checking at the beginning and the farm starts quickly after the same reboot). Disable (DISABLED) the HDD S.M.A.R.T function. We look for the AC Back function and turn it on (the farm will automatically start after power is applied).

At the end, we set to boot from a flash drive to install Windows 10. For some boards, additional settings are required, for example, for ASUS PRIME H270-P you need to enable the 4g Decoding (advanced\system agent) item, if this item is not there, then just update the BIOS.

Raisers

The cards will be connected through risers (special adapters). They are universal, connecting to both PCI-E x16 and PCI-E x1 ports. You need to buy only USB 3.0 raisers and make sure that the wire is longer, for example, 60 cm.

The technological feature of PCI Express wiring does not allow using all connectors at once to directly connect video cards to the motherboard. They will certainly interfere with each other's cooling, or they will not be able to be installed at all.

There is a way out - a PCI-e extender, or riser. They come in two types - a cable with connectors or a separate board with a full PCI-e 16x connector and additional power distribution. The common form of the adapter looks like this: a riser, a contact pad and a USB 3.0 wire.

Such adapters differ in the type of power supply. The most common and reliable ones are powered through molex connectors of computer power supplies (connectors for powering DVD drives, old HDDs).

For video cards without external power supply, it is strictly necessary to install risers with power via the PCI-e connectors of the power supply. These wires are designed to withstand heavy loads and will not overheat.

For powerful video cards with external power supply, it is better to buy the molex version. Since the graphics card power load is removed from the PCI-e connectors, there will be no strong current at the riser power terminal, which means there is no need for powerful wires.

The average price for a riser in Russia fluctuates around $6-$7. In China, such an adapter costs no more than $5.

The risers differ in versions, the main difference being the power connectors. Choose them based on those available on your power supply. When connecting power to the farm, add to the power consumption of your card and risers, about 80 W. BE CAREFUL WHEN CONNECTING THE RISER INTO THE PCI-E x16 SLOT, it can be connected on the wrong side and it will fit into the connector. The result will be disastrous. Watch the position of the key on the connector.

In order to connect an additional card to the M2 port you will need a special adapter.

CPU

CPU mining is not relevant in 2019. Therefore, choose the simplest and most inexpensive processor for your farm, based on the socket of your motherboard. The processor must be able to handle Windows 10 and the work of the miner. Celeron G1840 BOX processors of this type are suitable.

To assemble a simple configuration for Ether and similar coins, you can install the most affordable processors:

Celeron G3900 (G3930) for a farm on an Intel platform with a Z270 chipset (about $40);
Core 2 Duo E7300(any C2D series, starting from 7xxx) for a farm on an Intel platform with P45, P43, P35 chipsets (price negotiable, no more than $10−$15);
Athlon X3 445 for a farm on an AMD platform with a 970A chipset (in China the processor can be found for less than $10).

For CPU mining, you can consider multi-core stones that mine coins using the Cryptonight algorithm. For example, Core i3, i5, i7 for the platform based on the Z270 chipset.

Although there are other, more profitable options. For example, Xeon E5-2650. But this is server-grade equipment, so it is better to entrust the search for components and configuration to a knowledgeable person. And for a “home” miner, a farm on a weak processor is enough.

We recommend purchasing the BOX version of the processor, since this package includes a cooler. The price difference between BOX and OEM versions is minimal, but purchasing a third-party cooling system will cost more. Plus, the warranty on the “boxed” cooler is no longer 12, but 36 months.

Video cards for mining

For an approximate analysis of earnings from mining on specific video cards, there are special ones that provide up-to-date data online at the moment because Network complexity and course are constantly changing. Here you can see how much a farm with certain cards on different coins will bring you.

Nvidia and AMD graphics chips have their advantages and disadvantages. But the main difference between them is the efficiency in mining. Depending on the coin, miners select exactly those video cards that provide more power and consume less electricity using a certain algorithm, for example, it is efficient to mine Ethereum on cards from AMD, and Zcash on Nvidia cards.

The main pros and cons of cards from two manufacturers can be outlined as follows::

Nvidia is easier to set up, has fewer cooling issues, but slightly higher power consumption. After mining, you can sell it profitably.
AMD is more difficult to configure and maintain, there are nuances in cooling, but there is a solution to gluttony (fine-tuning the voltage in the firmware). Less popular among gamers, they sell worse.

Video cards are selected taking into account what needs to be mined. The GTX line is best suited for coins based on the Equihash algorithm. For example, Zcash or Bitcoin Private. All this is thanks to the architectural features of green graphics chips. So, the GTX 1060 produces a little more than 310 soles, and the Radeon RX580 only 290. The difference is especially noticeable if you turn on two 1050Ti versus one RX580. Then the difference in power will exceed 20% in favor of Nvidia.

But for ether and other coins based on the Ethash algorithm, it is better to look towards the red camp. From the same RX580 you can squeeze more than 30 megahashes, while the GTX 1060 with 6 GB of video memory accelerates to only 22. And the price difference between such video cards is minimal.

However, buying video cards is not limited to choosing a graphics chip manufacturer. In any case, the video card will mine and earn money. Therefore, the reliability and durability of equipment plays a primary role in mining:

The cooling system should consist of copper heat pipes. Memory chips must be cooled by a main heatsink or a copper plate through thermal pads. The power batteries on the board (mosfets, transistors) must be cooled by a common or separate radiators.
High-quality cards are reinforced with a metal plate - backplate. This promotes good heat dissipation from the PCB and affects its rigidity (the risk of chip failure due to board misalignment is reduced).
An additional 4 or 8 pin power supply is required. This will reduce the load on the riser and PCI-e lines of the motherboard.
It's good if the coolers are assembled on rolling bearings. With proper care, such fans work for a very long time even in mining (bearings are found in video cards from MSI).

At the moment, the following cards are most relevant:

To begin, click on the main page “Create an account” or “Register” and get to the registration page.

Note! When registering, it is advisable to enter a strong password containing upper and lower case characters, numbers and special characters. It should not be the same as other passwords you use. Remember your safety.

After entering the data, click the checkbox to agree to the terms of service (the Russian version of the translation is lame here, yes), and proceed to the next stage. You will need to move the slider so that a separate piece of the puzzle aligns with the main image.

Now all that remains is to check your email and confirm registration on the exchange by clicking on the “Verify Email” button, which is contained in the letter. After this, you can log into the exchange by entering your email address and password.

When we first launch, we are asked to set up two-factor authentication using a Google Authenticator key or SMS confirmations. But this is not necessary.

Hello! In this article we will talk about mining farms.

Today you will learn:

What is a mining farm?
How it works.
How to build your own farm.

What is a mining farm

Let's start, as always, with a little theory.

In simple words mining farm – a set of components interconnected and producing virtual currency.

Cryptocurrency farms can consist of completely different components: video cards, processors, hard drives, special equipment created exclusively for mining. Initially, the concept of “farm” did not exist. Especially at a time when you could only use your home PC for mining.

But over time, the complexity of mining increased, algorithms improved and became more complex, and therefore mining on a home PC became simply unprofitable. Then people started looking for components and the right combination of them. Initially these were processors, then hard drives were added, and then video cards.

True, now most miners mean by the concept of “farm” several video cards interconnected. Such a design can perform only one task - to mine cryptocurrency using its computing power.

Farms on video cards have become popular thanks to ether, which has a mining algorithm that is not as complex as Bitcoin, but has already gained great popularity. That is why many remembered that earlier, back in the 12-13s, cunning gamers used their video cards to mine bitcoins. And they did it quite successfully.

And in order to mine bitcoins now, just a farm on video cards will not be enough. You need special equipment - ASIC processors, which cost a lot of money (from 5 thousand dollars), but have colossal computing power, ideally suited for mining.

The first cryptocurrency mining farms have come a long way from home PCs to full-fledged installations that cost several million rubles.

In this article we will talk mainly about farms on video cards, because:

They have a fairly simple design;
Do not require huge financial investments;
They pay for themselves quickly (150-180 days including electricity).

Bitcoin mining farm

Before we talk about farm work and how to do it at home, you should immediately understand one thing:

A bitcoin mining farm will now be practically unprofitable.

Due to the high difficulties in mining this cryptocurrency and the entry of large Asian companies into mining, a single farm simply cannot cope and will work with much lower profits than if it were mining, for example, ether or z-cash.

This does not mean that you will not be able to mine bitcoins. Not at all, you are guaranteed to receive your income.

But another question is what you need for this:

Use third-party services, lending them your power;
Share profits with other participants;
Depend on complete strangers.

And this all means that such production turns out to be too risky and less profitable.

How does a mining farm work?

Let's pay attention to video cards. The “red” representatives of Radeon are best suited for mining. They are more adaptable, have more computing power, and therefore produce a lot of currency.

But since there are almost no Radeon video cards in Russia, and those that exist cost a lot of money, you have to be content with green analogues from GTX. Their later models have average mining performance, but demand for them has not yet reached the point where the price becomes disproportionately high.

Now let's talk about how the mining farm works.

To put it quite simply, then mining farm - an installation that directs its computing power to solve one problem - cryptocurrency mining. That is, you build a small analogue of a PC (very conditional), connect all the necessary equipment, configure it, and after that all resources at the maximum level will be directed to cryptocurrency mining.

The power of one farm is approximately 26 times higher than that of an average home PC costing 40-50 thousand rubles. Moreover, unlike a computer, power is not distributed to work programs, maintaining the system, or carrying out any operations. It is clearly focused on one thing - currency extraction.

Now that you roughly understand how a mining rig works, let's figure out what it takes to assemble a rig.

What is needed for a mining farm

In order to assemble a mining farm, you will need:

Motherboard. An ordinary motherboard with the required number of connectors for a video card will be sufficient.
HDD. 60 gigabytes may be enough, but it is better to take 100-160. One wallet with Ethereum weighs only 25 GB, and with Bitcoin - from 50 and above.
Video cards. No special advice here. Choose a suitable video card for mining, and then, based on this, assemble the remaining parts.
Power unit. Farms with 4+ video cards often require more than one power supply. They basically buy several 750-watt units and simply connect them together to work.
Adapters for mounting video cards (preferably Razer).
Equipment start button.
It would be advisable to buy 1-2 more coolers for better cooling.

Another important detail is the frame for the truss.

Its approximate dimensions:

Width: 42 cm;
Length: 55-60 cm;
Height: 35 cm;
Height of the video card bracket: 23 cm.

It is best to make the frame from wood or aluminum. The size of the mining rig will be slightly larger than its frame due to protruding parts, adapters and the cooling system.

In total, the average truss will be approximately half a meter in height, 70 cm in length and 50 cm in width. A large mining rig can reach length and height parameters of one meter.

Now some tips regarding equipment:

Don't buy ASRock motherboards. Although the developers claim that they created their product solely for cryptocurrency mining, experienced miners actively discourage inserting them into farms, citing overloads and overheating solely due to the design of the motherboard.
Buying video cards in Russia is becoming increasingly unprofitable. Those models that literally a year ago cost 10-11 thousand rubles are now sold in leading stores for 18 thousand. If you decide to assemble a farm yourself, pay attention to stores in Western Europe and America.
Don't spend a lot on a motherboard and hard drives. The cost of all related equipment should not exceed 10-15% of the price of the farm itself.

Now to more detailed instructions on how to assemble your farm.

How to build a mining farm

Assembling a farm yourself is not an easy task. However, if you know a little about computer hardware, this will not be difficult for you.

Video on creating a mining farm:

Farm setup

Once you have assembled the basic structure, you need to set up the truss. In fact, setting up a farm comes down to completely tearing down the system, installing new drivers and then working with programs.

After installing the operating system, we immediately update the hardware drivers to the latest versions. Then download MSI Afterburner from the official website to overclock your video cards. Next, install Teamviewer to work with the farm remotely, set the swap file to 20 GB and install.

We go to the site through which you will mine, select the pool (the network through which we will mine) and download the program itself. Then we open it like a notepad and write in it our wallet number, the name of the farm and the email to which notifications will be sent. Close it, click start, and the mining farm starts working.

Add the miner program to the autostart of your farm so that immediately after turning it on, it starts mining cryptocurrency.

This is roughly how a mining farm is set up from scratch. Almost all of the setup time will be spent installing the operating system.

To understand this better, watch the video:

Where to buy a ready-made farm for mining

If you don’t want to bother yourself with finding the necessary components, assembling, installing and configuring equipment, then it will be much easier to buy a farm. But there is one important detail.

There is no point in buying ready-made mining rigs on the secondary market or message boards. Firstly, people do not know the real cost of their structures and often inflate the price (up to 2 times), and secondly, you may encounter incorrect settings or low-quality equipment.

If you are in Moscow or St. Petersburg, then in your cities there are several companies that sell already configured turnkey mining farms.

In the provinces this is more difficult. It’s rare that anyone engages in mining in principle, and sells a finished farm either for a lot of money, or one that has already been killed.

Speaking about the ready purchase of farms, we cannot fail to mention special equipment for mining. It is created by manufacturers in order to make maximum use of hardware with minimal investment.

The most popular special equipment is ASIC processors. These are designs made specifically for working with bitcoins. They produce maximum power precisely in terms of production, but are completely unsuitable for everything else.

If we compare the cost of special ASIC equipment with the price of one average farm, it turns out that a mining farm will cost much less, even if you buy a ready-made one.

The capacity of farms at the same costs will be approximately 1.5 times less. But when buying special equipment for mining, there is a high risk that, if the threshold for entering the system increases greatly, you will not be able to mine anything on it, and there will be no one to sell it to, since the designs are not suitable for anything else.

Therefore, if you only want to engage in mining with maximum profitability, then it is better to buy a ready-made installation that will mine cryptocurrency. Prices: from 3 thousand dollars for the minimum configuration.

What cryptocurrency to mine on your farm

The question of which cryptocurrency to mine is quite interesting and controversial. On the one hand, there is a clear answer - ether. On the other hand, the complexity of mining and small rumors about changes in mining algorithms force us to look for backup options.

These options can be divided into two groups:

Famous cryptocurrencies;
Altcoins that are gaining popularity.

It’s up to you to decide, but dealing with popular cryptocurrencies is much safer and more profitable, and more profitable with those that are gaining popularity.

If you want to mine new altcoins, it is recommended not only to mine this cryptocurrency, but also to buy it. So, as the value increases, you will receive more money from the farm and have stability from your investment.

But dealing with altcoins is now very unsafe. You can easily go broke and lose several days/weeks, or even months of your farm’s work. Therefore, if this is your only farm and one of the few sources of income, then it is better to limit yourself to popular cryptocurrencies like Ether, Z-Cash, etc.

There you need to select a mining algorithm, set the power, and after that you will be given a list of options with the profitability of each of them.

How much does a mining farm earn?

The most interesting question is, of course, “How much does one mining farm earn?”

It will not be possible to answer this unequivocally due to the fact that, firstly, there are different farms, and secondly, the cryptocurrency rate has been actively jumping in recent months, and it will no longer be possible to talk about exact figures.

The only reliable figures that can be obtained are the payback of video cards. If we consider the most popular model in Russia now - NVIDIA GTX 1060, then the payback period varies from 140 days to 200, depending on the cost of cryptocurrency and electricity. Well, from setting up the farm, of course. Other video cards take a little longer to pay for themselves.

By overclocking the video card, you can significantly reduce the payback rate of the farm, by about 20-40 days. True, such a farm will heat up more, consume more electricity, require a better cooling system and, in principle, will last less.

Therefore, miners are forced to balance between income right now and the prospect of stable earnings for several years. But since the future is still vague, despite the increasing interest in cryptocurrency, experts still advise overclocking your video cards, if, of course, you know how to do it.

Moreover, judging by numerous articles on the Internet, investments in a farm pay off in 100-110 days. But if you explore the topic a little deeper and look at reliable forums, the figure will increase to 140-150 days at best. Based on our realities, we can talk about semi-annual investments, and in some cases, annual ones.

That is, video cards pay for themselves in an average of 150 days + equipment from the cooling system, motherboard and electricity will take another month. In total we get 5 - 6 months of payback.

For those who like specific numbers, it will all sound something like this:

A GTX 1060 farm brings in 90 rubles per day x number of video cards;
A GTX 1070 farm brings in 120 rubles per day x number of video cards;
A GTX 1080 farm brings in 130 rubles per day x number of video cards;
A GTX 1080 TI farm brings in 180 rubles per day x number of video cards.

Data valid for September-October 2017. What will happen next is still unknown.

If we compare prices with profitability and payback period, it turns out that the more expensive the video card (from those presented in the list above), the greater the profit and payback period will be.

That is, in the long run, it may turn out that the nominal income from 1 farm with 1080 TI will be higher, but for the same money that was spent on 4 TI video cards, you can buy 3 farms with 1060.

It is now difficult to find real data on how much farms bring in per day. And it’s even more difficult to predict its income, because due to its great popularity, mining algorithms are becoming more and more complex, prices are still jumping, and cryptocurrency sellers at any moment risk simply collapsing the market with their actions.

To see if mining is worth it at all, do some research with hardware suppliers. This is called cloud mining. It will allow you to understand whether there is money in cryptocurrency, whether it is profitable to invest in it, and generally get a “taste of money” in it.

While you are testing cloud mining, you need to watch training materials on:

Creating a mining farm at home;
Overclocking video cards;
Correct setup of equipment.

This is done so that you simply do not lose your investment. And now you will have to spend 100-110 thousand rubles on the first farm, which is quite a lot, taking into account the unstable economic situation.

Once you've tried cloud mining, compared all the costs and watched the training video, it's time to start building your own farm.

This is done quite simply, we even told you how. But one important point is still worth remembering: you need a normal cooling system. Overclocked video cards get very hot, and overheating is one of the most common causes of breakdowns of gaming video cards, not to mention mining, in which poor cards work even harder.

And now about acceleration. As they said on one of the forums: “If you can’t overclock your video card for mining, then it’s better to find yourself a stable job.” No matter how harsh it may sound, it is true.

Overclocking a video card from scratch is not an easy task, especially when you have absolutely no experience in it. But YouTube is one big instruction on how to overclock video cards, including for mining.

To understand how to overclock video cards, watch the video:

And one more, but very important note. If you are assembling a mining farm at home, then you need to live either with very peaceful neighbors, or in a house with very good noise insulation, since the farms hum quite loudly.

What to do with the farm if cryptocurrency goes down

Frankly speaking, the situation in which the cryptocurrency breaks the bottom is almost unrealistic. Demand for bitcoins, the flagship virtual currency, has been growing steadily for more than eight years. This is a pretty good indicator.

Another question is that there were periods when it sank significantly, and lost up to 50% of the positions earned for the year within 1-2 weeks.

It is in light of this uncertainty that people are wondering what to do when “mining ends.” This is especially true with the government’s statements that it seems to want to regulate the circulation of biktions and cryptocurrency in general, but continues to firmly tighten the screws on money laundering.

The easiest option that comes to mind is to sell components. And this is the most correct option. You will have nowhere else to use your computing power except to mine another cryptocurrency.

Those who are seriously thinking about assembling PCs from mining rigs can be safely advised to forget about this idea. You will have to spend an amount comparable to the cost of a farm on components for 3-6 PCs (depending on the number of video cards). At the same time, you will also need to understand that a used video card will cost much less than a new one.

All that remains is to closely monitor the video card market, and immediately after the equipment becomes obsolete, throw it onto the secondary market, within a week at most.

Important fact. The Russian secondary market is now reacting very sharply to everything that happens to the economy. But despite this, computer components have always stood apart, because there are always gamers, and they need hardware. Therefore, if you carefully consider the moment, dismantle the farm and sell the video cards, then you can easily recoup the cost of the farm in a week, if you have time.

But everything is not so sad. Blockchain technology is very interesting for businesses and entrepreneurs. Therefore, cryptocurrencies will continue to be created quite actively.

True, these are often hype and made in order to collect money into the owner’s wallet. But in some cases, worthy and interesting projects emerge. So, the same ETH in 2014 was “another alternative to Bitcoin,” and now it is already the second cryptocurrency in the world.

The world of currencies is developing very quickly and in the near future, perhaps we will get two or three more worthy replacements for the old cue balls.

Therefore, do not rush to part with mining farms and think about what to do after Bitcoin or Ether loses value. You will be able to mine and trade altcoins that are just starting to appear. With proper investments in trade and equipment, you can.

Conclusion

To summarize, we can say that a mining farm is now the only way to adequately invest in cryptocurrency earnings. If for some reason renting a mining farm is inconvenient for you, then assembling your own installation in your apartment will not be difficult. This will require only a monetary investment (100+ thousand rubles) and a little time to completely figure it out.

Don't expect your investment to pay off instantly. Most people who talk about 2-2.5 months are simply far from cryptocurrency and modern farming realities. Time passes, the algorithms become more complex, the price rises, but the payback still remains in the region of 120+ days (at best). If you want to start mining, it's a little late, but it's still profitable.

Good day, I have been in the topic of cryptocurrencies for quite a long time and have read a huge amount of materials about mining. In this article I decided to summarize these materials and describe in general terms how to assemble your own farm, what is needed for this and what problems you may encounter. I’ll say right away that I’ve never assembled my own farms, and I’m unlikely to ever assemble them, so this article contains only theory in general terms.

And so, perhaps we need to start with what kind of equipment will we assemble the farm from? After all, you can mine with ASICs, video cards, processors, and some cryptocurrencies even with a hard drive.

We'll take video cards. Why? Because:
1) Video cards can mine many different cryptocurrencies, while ASICs usually support only one algorithm.
2) Video cards are more affordable (top ones cost 30 - 40 thousand rubles, while one normal ASIC usually costs more than 100 thousand rubles).
3) If suddenly mining becomes unprofitable, then video cards can always be sold and return most of the money invested in the equipment. It will be almost impossible to sell Asik.
4) Video cards are sold in any computer store (although most likely you will have to look for a good video card and then order it via the Internet). Asics are not so easy to buy.

In general, video cards are ideal for building your own mining rig.

Which brand of video cards should you buy?
This aspect is quite important - first you need to decide what cryptocurrency you will mine, because... Cryptocurrencies work on different algorithms and for some cryptocurrencies (for example Monero) AMD video cards will produce more power, and for others (for example Ethereum) Nvidia cards will produce more power. Accordingly, first decide what you will mine, and then find out which company’s video cards are best for this coin.

How to choose the right video card model for mining?
Now - which video card model to choose? After all, there are the top-end video cards, and there are slightly weaker ones - the most important thing here is how much income the video card will produce. Each video card model produces a certain power for mining, and each video card model consumes a certain amount of electricity, and all models cost differently.
Here you will have to work with a calculator and Google. Look for the mining table on video cards - it will show how much power a specific video card model produces, take these numbers and find a mining calculator for the cryptocurrency you are going to mine - calculate how much you will earn from this video card per day, then subtract from this the amount you will pay for electricity - this will be the income that the video card can provide daily - then divide the price of the video card by the daily income that it produces and find out how many days it will pay off. Compare these figures for several video card models and accordingly you will find out which video card pays for itself the fastest - it’s worth taking.
This is a rather long and complicated method - you can just ask on cryptocurrency forums, they will probably tell you which cards are best to take now.

Which manufacturer should you buy video cards from?
Although there are only two companies producing graphics chips (AMD and Nvidia), they have dozens of partners who sell video cards with these chips (for example, ASUS, Gigabyte, Sapphire, MSI, etc.), so it is best to take video cards from the manufacturers themselves - AMD or Nvidia, because these video cards are usually made of better quality and can be overclocked more, accordingly they will produce more power and the income will be higher, but unfortunately it is very difficult to get cards from manufacturers, so take what you have.

Is it worth buying used video cards or is it better to buy new ones?
I believe that it is better to take only new video cards, because... they will be fully working, fresh, and most importantly, they will still have a guarantee and in case of any problems you can return or exchange the card.

As for used ones, they only have an advantage in price - yes, they are cheaper, so by buying used cards you can significantly reduce their payback period and increase the final profit, but it’s not known what they did with this video card - maybe it’s two days old It remains to work, but there will be no guarantee for it. In general, if you know how to buy a normal used video card that will work for a long time, then you can take them, I would still prefer a new one.

Well, that seems to be all about the choice of video cards. We bought video cards, what next? Now you need to assemble the farm. To begin with, it’s worth saying that video cards won’t work on their own - they need to be connected to something, and they need to be connected to a very ordinary computer consisting of a motherboard, RAM, hard drive, etc.

What equipment should I take?
Again, there is a lot of controversy here. Of course, you don’t need top-of-the-line equipment, but you’re also unlikely to buy old used equipment. It's worth taking something simple and inexpensive - the main thing is that you can connect as many video cards as possible to the mainland, because... The more video cards we connect to one motherboard, the fewer “computers” we need to buy. Well, I think such obvious things as the fact that a 50 GB hard drive, or even less, is quite enough for us, there is no need to say.

Mining farm housing:
Well, now we have video cards and “computers” to which we will connect these video cards - all that remains is to assemble the farm body. You can't put 4 or more video cards into one system case. There is nothing complicated in assembling the case - in fact, it should just be a stand on which you place the video cards - the main thing is that there is as much free space as possible around the video cards so that the heat dissipates well. It will look something like this:

How and from what to collect it - decide for yourself.

What about cooling:
If you use video cards at full power, they will heat up very much, so their standard cooling may not be enough. It is likely that you may need to install some kind of additional cooling - think about it for yourself. I saw options where they simply placed a fan in front of the farm - this is the same as an option.

Mining setup:
Well, everything is purchased, assembled and ready to launch - all that remains is to configure and launch. I won’t go into detail about setting up mining programs - they are different for each pool and I don’t think you will have any serious problems - if you were able to start mining on one video card from your computer, then most likely you can start mining on several at once.

Perhaps the most important thing in setting up for you will be to properly overclock your video cards. Because unoverclocked cards will produce 10%, or even 20% less power than they could, and accordingly 10-20% less money! Here again, everything is individual - look for articles, ask on forums, watch videos, etc. to find out how to properly overclock your cards.

Also, do not forget to install new drivers for video cards and use the latest versions of the mining programs themselves.

This is probably all for assembling and launching the farm. Now there is probably only one question left - how much can you earn from mining with video cards?

It’s difficult to give a definite answer here - the situation is constantly changing, new cryptocurrencies appear, and some disappear. If you constantly monitor new cryptocurrencies and constantly switch your forum to more profitable currencies, then it is quite possible to squeeze out up to 150% -250% per annum. If you mine one thing and don’t strain yourself too much, then it will be somewhere around 50%-100% per annum. It also depends on the price of electricity; the cheaper your electricity, the greater your profit. Well, and most importantly - as I already wrote above. In case of any problems with mining, you can always sell the video card.

The monetary success of some investors and miners is causing people to look at the cryptocurrency market differently. And some of them already want to set up a mining farm to make money from coins. The process of collecting your own farm is complex because it involves many nuances and details.

First, it’s worth deciding whether a person really wants to build a farm, because every day mining is becoming less and less efficient, and costs continue to rise. If the answer to this question is yes, then it’s worth providing step-by-step instructions for beginners on how to assemble a mining rig.

A cryptocurrency mining farm consists of several required elements, without which it simply will not work.

1) Video card. The most important part for mining, responsible for the extraction of cryptocurrencies using its power. It is advisable to select several video cards (5-6). It's better not to save on this, since the miner’s income depends on this element. Among the large companies that create video cards, there are two leaders: AMD and Nvidia. The history of their confrontation for the attention of miners began with the sharp growth of cryptocurrency.

The most popular video cards

Nvidia:	AMD Radeon:
GTX 1050ti	RX 470
GTX 1060	RX 480
GTX 1070	RX 570
GTX 1080 and 1080ti	RX 580

Best models

AMD and Nvidia have produced many quality products for miners. It is worth paying attention to the main ones:

Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti. One of the most powerful, but at the same time expensive video cards. The GPU has a frequency of 1480 MHz, which is a remarkable result. The model is suitable for those who are willing to spend money. It shows fantastic power, but the video card is not even in the top ten in terms of payback.
Nvidia GTX 1060 3Gb. The only minus of the model is 3 gigabytes of memory, otherwise the video card can easily compete with its competitors in terms of power. That's why it tops the list of fastest-paying products.
AMD RX 470 4Gb. Probably the best model of an American company in terms of price-quality. One of the fastest payback and profitable products on the video card market.

Both companies still have many models released. The fastest payback models are at the bottom of the table.

Prices vary depending on the company and the specific model. For example, the new Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti will cost a miner 60 thousand rubles. And for AMD RX 470 4 Gb you will have to pay 4 times less.

It is also worth remembering that the price of a used video card, for example, on Avito is several percent lower than the market price. Therefore, it is worth considering such offers to save money. But don't forget about scammers.

2) motherboards. The place where numerous video cards are connected. The choice of a specific model depends on their number. All products in this category are divided into groups from 4 to 13 supported motherboards. You can also choose another model for 2 or 3 video cards. The largest company producing motherboards is ASRock. It produces products for a different number of video cards. A good motherboard costs 6-8 thousand rubles.

3) Raisers. Special conductors through which video cards will be connected. It's better to buy risers with USB 3.0 and the maximum possible length. You don’t have to make a special choice, since the models differ only in the connectors, which must match the power supply. Raisers are cheap components. For one piece the seller will charge a maximum of 1,000 rubles.

4) CPU. At the beginning of the development of the cryptocurrency industry, mining took place mainly using the processor. But due to the constant increase in difficulty, mining on it will no longer be profitable. Now only lazy people don't build farms on video cards. Therefore, for 2018, the processor is a mere formality, and you need to choose one that can simply withstand the work of the miner. This model costs about 2-3 thousand rubles ( the most durable from Intel).

5) Power supplies. In no case should you skimp on this component, since the operation of the entire farm depends on it. Therefore, you need to be prepared to pay around 10 thousand rubles. It is worth choosing a power supply at least 100 W more than the potential power of the farm.

Also, for the adequate functioning of the farm, a hard drive, RAM and a housing for the mining farm are required. The minimum price for all components starts from 80,000 rubles.

Detailed instructions on how to assemble a mining rig

In general, the mining rig is sold as a complete set, but it is much more profitable to assemble it yourself. Considering that this is not a complicated process. So, step-by-step instructions for assembling the farm.

1) First you need to assemble a simple frame, which will contain the necessary equipment for mining cryptocurrency. This design is assembled simply and not for long, the main thing is to correctly calculate the required size.

2) Next you just need to start assembling the computer. To begin with, the motherboard is installed, it is located approximately at the bottom center in our made design. But, it is advisable not to just put it on the frame, but to lift it a little. note that When choosing a video card, you need to pay attention to the number of PCle slots.

3) After this, the processor with the cooler is connected to the motherboard.

4) Then the power supply is attached to the corner of our frame. This step is very important; if it is poorly secured, it can lead to dire consequences, for example, a farm fire.

5) Then the hard drive is installed on the stand. It must be connected to the power supply and motherboard using special cables.

By and large, this completes the assembly of the mining rig. Then you just need to connect the farm to power and the Internet.

How to set up a farm

To make money on your own using cryptocurrencies, you need to choose high-quality software. To do this, the user is determined by the coin that he will mine. And then he searches for suitable software that allows him to mine the necessary tokens.

Ready mining farm

There is also a more profitable option associated with connecting to a special pool. Its work looks simple: each mining rig connected to the server mines the required block. Their combined actions help to mine cryptocurrencies faster. After successful mining, all profits are divided based on the work done.

The number of pools is large, to choose the most profitable one, you need to find out about the server capacity, the method of dividing profits (everything equally or relative to the work performed) and about payments and commissions.

The NiceHash pool is suitable for beginners. It is designed in such a way that it mines the most profitable cryptocurrency at the moment, and then transfers it into bitcoins.

How to set up the NiceHash program, see the video below.

This service is reliable and easy to use. The Minergate pool has become extremely popular. A special program is installed on the user’s computer and uses the farm you assembled to mine cryptocurrency. What the miner earns can be withdrawn to the wallet at any time by paying a commission of 1.5 percent. In general, you just need to look through the possible pool options and choose the most convenient one specifically for the user.

As a result, you didn’t have to spend a lot of time and effort to assemble a mining rig at home, since this process is very similar to assembling a computer.

What cryptocurrencies are best to mine.

The cryptocurrency market in 2018 is proving to be unpredictable. But some conclusions about the profitability of coin mining can still be drawn. The most successful mining companies in 2018 are:

1) Monero. The main difference between this cryptocurrency and its large competitors is its easy mining, which even a laptop can handle. Also a positive thing is the gradual increase in price. In three years, the coin was able to grow from 2.5 dollars to more than 400.

2) Electroneum. Cryptocurrency with great prospects. The developers offer users secure anonymous payments. The creators also stated that they want to set up mobile mining, which will only increase the price of the coin.

3) DigitalNote. A small and little-known coin is precisely what attracts the attention of investors and miners. The mining process is extremely simple and can be done on a CPU.

As a result, assembling and setting up a mining rig is not that difficult, and with step-by-step instructions this process will take a matter of hours. And the profit from such a project can be unusually high. The main thing is to choose high-quality components and the right cryptocurrency for mining.