Topic: Minimal hardware setup to mine Ether? (Read 627 times)

This looks like a good deal (refurbished set):

I have a few Ethereum miners running on Semperon64 based systems (I've had these for a decade almost, not going into why I bought a batch of them at one time back then).

 1 Gig ram in most of them (2 in one), Semperon 3000+ (might have one with a 2800+), 30 Gig HD in a couple but most are bigger (ALL of them are running EIDE, they're that old, though they have SATA ports they're very early SATA 1.5Mhz or some such), running Ubuntu 14.04.4 with XFCE replacing that horrid "Unity" junk (basically Xubuntu64 but I never found a site that I could download the actual Xubuntu from OTHER THAN 16.04 THAT BREAKS FGLX COMPATABILITY YOU NEED FOR OPENCL).

 Single PCI-E slot with a mix of leftover cards from Litecoin/X11 mining days and one "used" card bought recently 'cause it was VERY cheap.

 Most of them have old generic PS in the 400-480 watt range, one has a Energmax NAXN 450 (the rest of those I've used all died, I'm amazed this one is still working)



 Basically, you need a 64 bit CPU, at least 1 Gig ram (more is BETTER due to DAG file building), enough of a PS to run your vid card(s), HD or SSD (in theory a FLASH drive will work, but I'd say at LEAST a 16 Gig to have a prayer of running more than a couple days before DAG files overload it, and a 32 would be better).


 I would NOT try to mine Ethereum in a 8 Gig FLASH - you'll run out of space for DAG files in no time flat. 16 Gig isn't noticeably more any more, you can get those from Wallyworld for $10 or less any more.


 The critical parts are a good video card and the rest of the system STABLE. Efficient power supply is a help, since most Gold rated supplies tend to be a lot higher quality than the cheaper stuff.



 BTW - I don't RECOMMEND the Semperons, I just had them on hand and got them working. I'd recommend some sort of dual-core at least (My X240 based systems are a LOT faster at DAG file creation and don't slow the hashrate while DAG creating) and at least 2Gig RAM, preferably 4Gig so you don't have to "split the DAG files" when you're generating them.

buy this

asrock h81 pro btc
g1840
g.skill sniper 8GB
sandisk 64GB
evga 1000w
6 x risers

1000w is enough if you plan to buy nano or any other new card 1070, 480, 490, it's even good for currently line-up but you need to undervolt

Basically you need...

Gpu's (amds are faster)
mobo + psu
ram
hdd
psu
standoffs
OS

a frame, build and design your own rig so you can manufacturer more in the future if you expand.  I made mine out of pvc and its really nice and sturdy.

Don't skimp out on a hdd and ram, they don't cost much and will save headache getting it running.  Most of all make it a hobby, have fun and put something together that you will be proud of.

You do not need much horsepower as far as the computer itself is concerned. One of those cheapo AMD APUs would work just fine, just make sure your motherboard has multiple PCIE slots if you want to run multiple cards. Looking on pricewatch you can buy a motherboard, RAM and processor combo for about $90 that will allow you to run two video cards. All you would need on top of that is power supply, case, HDD, and video cards.

Cheapo build I priced out in 5 minutes:

processor and board (dual core AMD APU + 2 PCI-E slots on mobo) = $80
2gb RAM = $12
8gb USB stick for linux install = $5
cheapo case = $25 (or just screw it down to a piece of plywood and cool it with a small fan)

Dont go cheap on your PSU if you want to run two video cards. You want to buy something efficient with an 80+ gold rating.

I have been wonder what is the minimalist hardware needed to mine Ether? I am well aware you need a good dedicated graphics card. In theory, you simply need

1 - A mother board
2 - One or multiple dedicated Nvidia graphics card
3 - Power Supply Unit
4 - A CPU
5 - Memory sticks

Am I right to say I don't even need a hard disk since I could run the mining software on memory? I believe the core of the system is the graphic card and stable power supply. I don't even need a high amount of RAM or a power CPU, isn't it?

If my hypothesis is correct, what is the hardware you would recommend?