Figured I'd share since I've learned alot on these forums.
I came across a "trick" to build cheaper 3-4 GPU miners.
I've bought 9 of these workstations so far and am having fantastic results -- they are rock solid:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883284912&cm_re=HP_Z400-_-83-284-912-_-Product
It's hardly any more than just buying a full copy of Windows 10 to buy the whole system.
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In any event... there is a "secret" to these things... the power supply plug on the motherboard is "EPS" and an ATX supply will NOT work.
So what you do... is buy a PSU extension cable and modify it like so:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111388964237560787781/album/5362166283613539361/5366587361195860994
** -- This is NOT my data but it is what I found when doing my research.
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I have build 3 & 4 GPU rigs using PCI-E extenders with these systems -- I am using 750-watt Rosewill Quark PSUs for mine.
Total cost is quite low... and I can still use cheap PSUs to keep my initial cost down (I stay away from more than 4 GPUs... generally I just use 3 per system).
I plan to build up about 30 of these total over time. But I am tapped out on buying them for now so I figured I'd share the info.
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I've also found dirt cheap RAM for them... since they only come with 4 GB:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/132163798234?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Some of them have 6-slots for RAM and others have 4-slots so you can do from 8-12 GB per system with these cheap 2 GB sticks.
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One more thing... EVGA has good deals on B-Stock Geforce cards... I ordered some today:
https://www.evga.com/products/productlist.aspx?type=8&family=GeForce+10+Series+Family
You can use 4x 1060 or 3x 1070 with those HP systems & a 750-watt power supply no problems (the 750-watt QUARKS are on sale for $84.99 on Newegg right now too).
Thank you for starting this thread and many thanks to others here who have replied. I am looking to start cheaply to build a multi-gpu mining rig.