How to create a Crypto Miner from other World ( A PC Wall Mounted — DIY )
In our World, a Gamer and Miner one, this is a task all of us must achieve.
This is a Hardware installation guide where you can see and learn which are the components you need for liquid cooling your PC, and to make and awesome Art Machine from scratch.
How the story starts:
We always liked gaming and hardware, but it wasn’t until 3 years ago that we started using our knowledge on data mining with both ASICs and GPUs. We started a company, and became an start up with Mining Pool Development, Blockchain Related Development, Mining,Trading Clases, and more.
Our goal is to bring ease of use on anything related to blockchain, we believe this is a great advantage on financial tools for everybody.
Accounting this fact, we were interested in building a liquid-cooled mining rig as close to a work of art as possible.
Components:
Core Components
- CPU: Intel Xeon E5–2630 v3 2.4 GhZ 8 Core 20MB. Link $918
- Motherboard: MSI X99A GAMING PRO CARBON. Link $350
- GPU (top): 2 * MSI GTX 1070 SEA HAWK EK. Link $500
- GPU: 2 * MSI GTX 1070 AEREO. Link $420
- RAM: 8 * G.SKILL 8GB TRIDENTZ RGB. Link $125
- Solid Drive: KingDian 240GB SSD. Link $50
- PSU: EVGA 1600 P2. Link $350
Cooling Components
CPU Loop
- WaterBlock: XSPC RayStorm RGB V3. Link $73
- Water Pump: SC1000 (18W — 1.5A — 264 GPH). Link $40
- FAN (back only): 2 * Bit Quiet Pure Wings 2. Link $22
- Radiator & Reservoir: Nhowe Best DIY 240 Water Cooling Kit. Link $200
GPU Loop
- GPU Water Block: 2 * Thermaltake Pacific V-GTX. Link $140
- Reservoir & Water Pump: 2 * Enermax NEOChanger 300ml. Link $111
- Radiator: 2 * Artic Liquid Freezer. Link $100
Option 2 Radiator: 2 * XSPC EX420. Link $77 - FAN (back): 6 * Scythe Ultra Kaze 3000. Link $15
- FAN (front): 6 * Corsair ML120 Blue. Link $12
Option: Corsair ML120 PRO RGB. Link $27
Fittings & Tubbing
- 8 * XSPC PETG Tubing 14mm OD — 10mm ID Length: 50cm. Link $3,50
- 16 * XSPC G1/4" to 10–14mm Triple Seal Fitting. Link $5
- XSPC Fittings Sampler Pack. Link $80
- Flexible Tubing (from Nhowe Best DIY 240 Water Cooling Kit)
- Flexible Tubing Fittings (Nhowe Best DIY 240 Water Cooling Kit)
Misc
- Power Switch Button: Uxcell PC Dual USB Gold Tone. Link $16
- Liquid Coolant: 1* XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Green. Link $11
- Liquid Coolant: 1 * XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Blue. Link $11
- LED Lighting: 2 * Rayhoo Full Kit Computer RGB. Link $13
- Fan Controller: Thermaltake Commander FT Touch Screen. Link $30
- Aluminum L-Shape profile 1/2" (lenght: 3m). Aprox $1
- Vinyl Wrapping: 3M Black Carbon Fiber Vinyl (4ft x 12ft). Link $20
- Thermal Compound: Artic MX-4. Link $10
Cables
- Fan Hub System: SilverStone PWM Fan Hub System. Link $14
- ModTek 4-Pin Molex to 4 x 3-Pin Fan Connector. Link $9
- 4 * EPCI Express 16x Flexible Cable Card Extension. Link $20
- 4 * PCI-E VER 007 16x to 1x USB 3.0. Link $8
Frame
- Body: MDF Board (140cm x 90cm x 15mm). $38
- GPU & Motherboard Support: Acrylic backplate (5mm thick). Link $1
- 20 * Aluminum Standoffs (12mm x 20mm). Link $5
- 20* M2x10 mm Self-screwing Screws. Link $6
Tools
- XSPC Easy Cut & Bend Toolkit. Link $21
- Black & Decker Drill Project Kit. Link $60
- Thermaltake Pacific 16mm Hard Tube Bending Kit. Link $60
- Hot Air SMD Rework Station: YAXUN 850+. Link $55
- Miter Saw: Takima TKMS-10. $49
- Vernier. Link $2
So, once we have all the components and tools, we have spend $6.472. Let’s do it.
Remember, prices may change and parts, this is only reference.
Step by Step
- Frame design on CAD software:
For the frame we used a 140 x 90 cm MDF board, 15mm thick. We designed the frame on AutoCAD in order to supply the file to a CNC routing workshop, this way we assured the holes would be symmetrical and precise.
A trick we used to mark the holes where we would put the standoffs to support the acrylics and components is to have them routed in the workshop to a depth less than the thickness of the MDF sheet.
Remember to always specify a larger tolerance for all the through holes, this way it would not only guarantee a perfect fit but it will leave a little bit of room for the vinyl wrapping.
- Acrylic backplates for the lighting:
For backlight, we used a 5 mm thick acrylic board which we cut using a CNC Laser Cutting service, we also made a full 45° fillet around the edges. All of the acrylic backplates were designed using AutoCAD as well, all other specifications were directly given to the workshop.
In order to attach the backplates to the frame we used 6 mm aluminum standoffs, regularly used for glass and acrylic signs.
- Motherboard and GPU supports:
To support the motherboard to the acrylic backplate we marked the regular ATX motherboard holes to the acrylic in the CAD design. This way the laser cutting machine would cut the holes in the right places. A trick we used was specifying a slightly smaller diameter, this way the regular brass standoffs that come with every motherboard can screw easily into the acrylic.
To support the graphics card to the acrylic backplates was a tricky business:
We used a ½” aluminum L-Shape profile. This corresponds to the L-shaped holes in both the frame design and the acrylic design. The trick with this supports is to cut a length of the profile into an L-shaped support which will pass through the backside of the frame and the acrylic, this way the graphics card will rest on the short side of the L-support and the long side will be hidden behind the frame where it shall be fixed using short drywall screws.
- Frame wrapping:
We used a regular 3M ® vinyl wrapping with a carbon fiber pattern, a trick to avoid wrinkles while wrapping the frame is to moisten the MDF surface with a mixture of white glue and water, this avoids the formation of air pockets while laying out the vinyl wrapping, we used the whole width of the stock wrapping sheet and later cut out the excess.
To cover exposed wood sections on the holes, we cut some vinyl pieces to their sizes and carefully placed them in the holes for a cleaner look.
- Motherboard assembly:
Placing the RAM modules and the CPU is a pretty straightforward process for everyone in this business. But a little reminder, CPU sockets have their particularities, so always double check your motherboard before purchasing the CPU. The same goes for the RAM and there won’t be any trouble during the assembly. The next step, and the tricky one here, is to place the waterblock on top of the processor. Apply a thin layer of thermal compound, following all the best practices for this procedure, and place the waterblock on top of the processor as you would place a fan, making sure it fits correctly on the press-on sockets.
- Assembly:
In order to install the components onto the frame we had to found a set of screws that would go through the aluminum standoffs and not be long enough to pass through the frame. We screwed all the standoffs into place; then, we placed the motherboard over its corresponding acrylic backplate using the brass standoffs and then using the regular motherboard screws to fix it in place. Afterwards we placed the assembly in place screwing the aluminum standoff caps with the acrylic.
To install the graphics card we firstly placed the acrylic backplate in its location, screwing the standoff caps firmly. Then, we passed the L-Shaped profiles through the frame and the acrylic and placed the graphics card the short side of the profile, screwing it in place exactly the same way as you would place it on a regular case. Afterwards we screwed the long side of the profile into the backside of the frame.
The logic behind our watercooling strategy is to provide an extra cooling stage for each individual system. According to EKWB’s Water Cooling Guide, a rule of thumb in this business is to use a 120mm radiator for each component to be cooled. So by using a 360mm radiator for each system, composed by two graphics cards each, and a 240mm radiator for the CPU cooling we provide an extra cooling stage for each system, which should be sufficient to guarantee the whole system runs at low temperatures even while mining at GPU overclock speeds.
As you can see in the frontpage of this article we used two 360mm long radiators, each of which is equipped with six fans, three on each side. We used a liquid cooling kit that came enclosed and ready to use on a single CPU, this model comes equipped with a pump-waterblock, rubber hoses and its corresponding fans. But we chose to remove them from our system and use solely the radiator with our own fans and our own pump-reservoir combo. We recommend to use custom parts, instead of a packaged kit, since it will be easier to assemble and customize, but we used and modified those ones because they were being sold for very cheap.
To cool the CPU we built a separate loop using pieces from a starter kit for sale in Amazon. This is a cheap, chinese-made kit which we recommend for a first approach to water cooling, but for a more reliable PC you should turn to custom parts by market’s finest XSPC, EKWB, Thermaltake, Enermax or other recognized brand. We replaced the stock fans that came with this kit and we built a small frame to mount the radiator-fan assembly on the backside of the frame. The pump and reservoir we used were the ones that came with this kit and are placed strategically behind the frame to ease the layout of the piping.
- Piping:
This is where we got really creative, we used XSPC’s 14mm ODx10mm ID rigid acrylic tubing. Also this was one of the trickiest parts, in order to bend the acrylic tubing to the desired lengths and shapes one must use a bending kit, sold separately, to the specific diameter.
The process itself is pretty self explanatory, you must heat the pipe at 300 °C for 40 seconds to bend it into the desired shape, like a 90° bend or a 45° bend, but in order to do so and not get any wrinkles in the inside of the pipe or strangle the flow by changing its cross section you must use a solid rubber hose that keeps the cross section while the pipe is heated and bent. The kit also includes a pipe bender, an accessory that lets you bend the pipe to the exact shape. Another tool included in the kit is a pipe cutter, the one included in the Thermaltake kit is far superior, since it cuts the pipe without putting it under any compression stress that may arise from the cutting plier as was the case with the XSPC kit.
After all this explanation, all that we can recommend is to don’t be afraid to make mistakes while bending the pipes, we certainly messed up a couple of times while completing this project. All the pipe lengths were measured in place with a caliper, not because we cared much about precision, but because it was the tool at reach.
An important aspect of laying the piping, is the fittings to be used. Since we used rigid piping, we need to use rigid piping fittings where it would connect to rigid piping, we bought an assortment of different fittings for this purpose. One that became really handy was a 90° swiveling elbow for rigid piping, which we used for the ingoing pipe of the CPU radiator.
Since there is a part of these systems that wouldn’t be visible, we used flexible tubing in the backside to connect to the radiators and to connect the radiators to the reservoirs, this kind of tubing uses a different kind of fittings that’s specifically designed for flexible tubing. The tubing used for this part of the system was a part of the chinese-made kit, as well as the fittings used with it. The connection with the 360mm radiators was made by fitting the original rubber hoses from the radiator kits into the flexible tubing, which coincidentally had an inner diameter equal to the rubber hose outside diameter, this connection didn’t need for any further fittings or ties and still hasn’t leaked a bit.
- Wiring:
To power this computer we chose the EVGA 1600P2 , mostly because it would easily support everything and has enough ports to connect almost everything directly. We wired all of the essentials first, motherboard and CPU, then the VGA cables to wire the four graphics cards, two of which required a 14-pin connector, while the other two needed an 8-pin connector.
To power all the fans, pumps and lights we installed a fan hub that would be able to power up to eight components with a single periferics cable from the PSU and to complement it and bring another level of control over the cooling we used a fan controller which can power up to five fans, also from a single periferics cable.
For the PCIe connection between the graphics card and the motherboard we used a bridge of two components, a flat riser cable from EZDIY and a regular PCIe-USB riser card, powered via SATA cables.
- Filling the systems with coolant and leak testing:
We used XSPC’s liquid coolant concentrate which dilutes in a 9:1 proportion with water to produce a liter of coolant, for the graphics cards cooling loop we used the blue concentrate and a green one for the CPU cooling loop. In order to fill the reservoirs we adapted a rigid tubing fitting by removing the screw-on cap so we could prevent spills while filling with a funnel, we filled the reservoir and then started the system using a PSU tester to avoid powering the motherboard and other sensible components while the pumps helped filling the systems. The system was considered completely filled when all the air was purged from the tubing and waterblocks into the reservoir. After this, we ran the whole loops for about five minutes to look for leaks before plugin in all the sensible components. We detected a little leak in the CPU’s waterblock due to the presence of an additional O-ring in the fitting, which we removed to eliminate the leak. Fortunately there weren’t any other leaks in any of the systems.
- One small issue:
The water pump that came with the Nhowe Best DIY 240 Water Cooling Kit failed, we had to use that water pump for a year on other test projects and by the time we installed it in this setup it did not work. So we had to remove the coolant from this loop and replace the pump for the SC1000 which is from the same manufacturer and of larger capacity.
- System start-up and configuration:
In the first start-up of the computer we ran into an issue due to faulty RAM modules (2 * TridentZ RGB) which prevented the motherboard’s BIOS from running. After removing all the RAM modules but two, the computer ran the BIOS successfully. Then we installed our version of Windows from a flash drive and finally configured all the settings to improve our computer for mining purposes.
The makers:
Julio Garcia, Mechanic Engineer, Project Manager at Bitdharma LLC
Fritz Wagner, Production Engineer, C.E.O. at Bitdharma
Please support if you liked, that make us feel that it worth it, so we can continue doing cool work.
Our Wallet Development: www.d-wallet.org
Our Info Page: www.bitdharma.org
Our Loki Mining Pool: loki.dharmapool.org
