How to Build a 6 GPU Cryptocurrency Mining Rig in 2022

263 Replies

2022 Guide to Building a Crypto Mining Rig

Building a 6 GPU Crypto Mining Rig is a fun project and a great source of passive income. This guide will help you find and assemble the best crypto mining hardware currently available, to build your very own DIY crypto mining rig. Assembly time for your crypto mining hardware is about 3 hours and this mining rig is currently generating right around around $500/mo of digital currency (in February 2022). The exact amount varies depending on the current market price of the coin you are mining (Ethereum, Monero, Zcash, etc).

Sidenote: If mining isn’t your thing, and you are just interested in purchasing some cryptocurrency as part of your investment portfolio, I personally use and recommend Voyager. Download the app and trade $100 to get $25 of free Bitcoin. Use code JOSWDN to claim your free BTC.

6 GPU Ethereum Mining Rig Hardware Build List

Listed below are the components along with the amount you will need to assemble your GPU mining rig. Once your components arrive, you will want to come back to this guide for assembly and configuration instructions. I’ve included a YouTube video further with complete assembly instructions as well. If you find the guide helpful, give me a follow on my YouTube channel. I post frequently about crypto mining, trading crypto and other cryptocurrency related topics.

5 Minute 6 GPU Ethereum Mining Rig Assembly Video

1x Power Supply – 1200 Watt Gold Rated Power Supply The key here is to have an efficient power supply that will save you over the long run in electricity costs. Look for Gold or Platinum rated (as opposed to silver or bronze). This is the industry standard for rating the efficiency of a computer’s power supply unit (PSU).

1x Motherboard/CPU Combination – What is the best motherboard for mining Ethereum? I’ve listed below my favorite motherboard and processor combo that is compatible with 6 video cards.

MSI Z390-A PRO LGA1151 | Intel G530 CPU

If the motherboard listed above is out of stock or difficult to find, these motherboards will work equally well for a 6 GPU mining rig.  Just be sure to match the motherboard with the correct processor (under ‘frequently bought together’ in the Amazon listing).

6x Graphics Cards 

First Choice Nvidia GTX 1660–   The very efficient Nvidia GTX 1660 can produce a hash rate of 30Mh/s using only 80 watts of electricity and is the best GPU for mining in 2022. It is much more power efficient than most of the AMD cards available on the market. Get one with twin fan design as they seem to run cooler than some of the other models I’ve tested. I put this card in all the rigs I build currently. 

You can also check eBay or find other recommended mining GPU’s in my mining GPU comparison guide or the GPU Price / Performance Comparison Google Sheet (Updated Daily).

A close second choice for a mining GPU if the previously mentioned GPU is hard to find or out of stock, would be the Nvidia GTX 3060TI, capable of 60MH/s at only 160 watts of power. I’d recommend upgrading to a 1200 watt power supply as you will be doubling the mining capacity of your 6 GPU mining rig.

1x RAM (System Memory) –  16GB RAM – You need a fair amount of system memory to mine Ethereum effectively. 16GB should be enough to also mine other cryptocurrencies like Monero.

6x USB Riser Cables –  USB Riser Cables – These are to connect the 6 graphics cards to the motherboard and allow spacing between cards for heat dissipation and are necessary when building a rig with this many GPU’s. I like the MintCell 6-pack sold on Amazon.

1x Hard Drive (SSD)  –  120GB SSD  for installing the operating system and your mining software. Anything 120GB or larger is plenty of space and will also allow the system to use disk space if needed for swap files.

1x Custom Mining Case –  I’d recommend an Open Air 6 GPU Mining Case. I’ve built several of these 6 GPU rigs for family and friends and any of the popular models available for $80-150 work well.

1x Operating System –   I recommend mining on Windows 10, since it has great driver support for all the best mining graphics cards.

Alternatively, you can download NiceHash OS, HiveOS or RaveOS and flash it to a USB 3.0 thumb drive for a very simple mining set up.

Monitor, Mouse and Keyboard set to configure all the software settings, initially. Once your mining rig is configured and running, you can monitor it and the other dozen you build 😉 with remote monitoring software.

Assembling the Custom Ethereum Mining Hardware

  1. Scroll up to watch the assembly video that shows exactly how to assemble all the hardware components.
  2. Un-package everything
  3. Build / assemble the Open Air 6 GPU Mining Case
  4. Install processor and RAM on motherboard
  5. Plug in all riser cables
  6. Place motherboard in custom open air mining rig case and connect motherboard PSU connector (leaving PSU unplugged from the wall of course)
  7. Plug in SATA hard drive (or optional Linux on USB stick)
  8. Connect all GPUs to riser cables and fasten them to custom case. You might need to experiment for optimal spacing to keep the cards cool.
  9. Plug in all power supply connections.
  10. Connect mouse, monitor and keyboard and an internet connection (I use a USB WiFi adapter)
  11. Check all connections once more
  12. Fire it up and install the operating system and mining software (see additional instructions below).
  13. Make sure fans are fully functional. Start the mining software, tweak settings for maximum hash rates and let it run!

Motherboard, Windows and Mining Software Configuration

  1. Update the motherboard to the latest BIOS using a USB thumb drive. You can find the latest BIOS for the Z170 SLI Plus motherboard here.
  2. Configure Motherboard BIOS with the following settings changes:
    • Settings > Advanced > PCI subsystem Setting: PEG 0 and PEG 1 set to Gen1
    • Above 4G Decoding (cryptocurrency mining) should be set to Enabled
    • OS settings: disable Windows 7, enable Windows 10
    • Save and reboot
  3. OS / DRIVERS / MINING Setup:
    1. Boot from Windows 10 USB install media (you can buy it pre-loaded or build your own on the Microsoft website).
    2. Install Windows 10 Pro x64
    3. Install Nvidia Drivers
    4. Install MSI Afterburner and set memory clock to 600, and power to 70. This will give you 30Mh/s per 1070 GPU
    5. Install any system drivers that didn’t auto-install (check device manager)
    6. Rename PC to mining worker name. Something like Minion001, Minion002, etc.
    7. Install Claymore Dual Miner, edit the config file with your Ethereum address and miner name. Drop a shortcut to the mining software .exe file in your system startup folder if you’d like to auto-start mining when Windows boots up. You can find the system startup folder in Windows 10 by going to: Start > Run  and entering ‘shell:startup’.
    8. Disable windows update using this guide.
    9. Set power profile to ‘always on’
    10. Install your favorite remote access software, especially if you plan to have more than one rig to manage.
    11. Fire up the mining rig and rake in those crypto coins!

I’ve received several questions about configuring drivers, adjusting overclocking/undervolting settings and configuring the mining software. Below, you’ll find a very brief 5 min video showing how to implement these 3 important steps in the mining rig configuration process.

Configure GPU Drivers, Overclocking & Claymore Mining Software

Something I’ve done when building out a GPU mining farm, is to do the OS/DRIVERS/MINING setup and then just clone the solid state drive using a 2 bay hard drive dock with offline clone feature built in.

Congratulations! You are now the proud operator of your very own custom built 6 GPU ethereum mining rig. Be sure to also check out our reviews of the best Litecoin mining hardware and Bitcoin mining hardware.

Sidenote: If mining isn’t your thing, and you are just interested in purchasing some cryptocurrency as part of your investment portfolio, I personally use and recommend FTX Global Crypto Exchange (Use FTX US if a US resident)

263 thoughts on “How to Build a 6 GPU Cryptocurrency Mining Rig in 2022”

  1. nick

    I’ve built the 6 GPU rig based exactly on your instructions, but when I power it up I cant get a signal to the monitor (vga error lights red on mobo). The monitor is plugged into the motherboard, not a GPU. Any advice? Thanks for the help.

    Reply ↓
    1. Josh Post author

      Try disconnecting all GPU’s except for one. Then boot into the BIOS and flash the BIOS to the most recent version. I’ve had this issue on some of the units I built.

      Reply ↓
    1. Josh Post author

      As long as the motherboard you choose supports 6 GPU’s, it would just be a matter of adding them with the powered USB riser cables.

      Reply ↓
  4. Kelly

    Does using those riser cables not drop performance? Would it be better to use 3 full size cables and 3 of these? or am I missing something?

    Reply ↓
    1. Josh Post author

      Here are the specifications for that GPU:
      Model: GV-N1070WF2OC-8GD
      Chipset: Brand NVIDIA
      Processor: 1582 MHz
      Memory Speed: 1771 MHz
      Graphics Processor: Nvidia GeForce
      GPU RAM (Memory) Size: 8 GB

      Reply ↓
  6. Amr Aziz

    you are doing a Great job thanks for the info , just wanted to ask you if mining is restricted in any country i live in egypt and i don’t know if my isp blocks mining , is it possible ? if not can i build a rig for 2k

    Reply ↓
  7. Gerhardus Jansen van Rensburg

    Hi, I from South Africa and struggle to get the Dual Core CPU, will the Intel i 3 or i5 work?

    Reply ↓
  8. Ddonga

    Thank you so much for the rundown.

    My question is. Does it matter if the 1070’s are not the same? Lets say i get 2 founders edition one Form asus another 2 From msi gaming and finaly one Form evga. I feel kind of silly asking this. I assume it doesnt matter mich as long as the cards run in the same chip

    Cheers

    Reply ↓
    1. Josh Post author

      It doesn’t matter if they are the same model. I’ve built rigs with several different 1070 models (due to the GPU scarcity the last few months).

      Reply ↓
  10. jesse

    Also do you suggest running the 1070 founders edition or the super clocked? Im looking for something with less issues when setting up. Thanks in advance! You rock

    Reply ↓
    1. Josh Post author

      Ideally, you should have a twin fan 1070 model for best cooling efficiency. The founders’ edition mines at the same speed, but I’ve noticed the fan speed is faster to keep the temps at a reasonable number.

      Reply ↓
  11. Aizal

    Josh, does PSU brands means anything? I’m split between choosing Segotep 1250W ($255) and EVGA 1300 G2 ($300).

    Both are gold rated, both using Japanese capacitors. Difference are only brands and warranty period (2y vs 10y)

    Reply ↓
    1. Josh Post author

      I prefer the EVGA brand and have used it on many rig builds with zero issues. The 10 yr warranty can’t be beat.

      Reply ↓
  12. Daniel

    Do you solo mine or use a mining pool? If you use a mining pool which is the most profitable? I am using Claymore miner, ether only, pool mining through DwarfPool.

    Reply ↓
  13. Daniel

    Thank You for adding the Motherboard, Windows and Mining Software Configuration. I have been fighting with the overclock for weeks. Thanks to your settings I am finally running at 31MH/s per card instead of 25-26 MH/s. I bumped the memory clock to 700, and power to 80.

    Reply ↓
    1. Josh Post author

      You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear you found it useful. This website is a side project for me, so there is a lot more information I want to add (including how to trade crypto with virtually guaranteed profits on every trade). It’s just a matter of me finding/making time to document everything I’ve learned and then write all the content in an easily understandable format. 🙂

      Reply ↓
      1. LC

        My brother and I just finished our first rig. There are so many guides out there but yours stood out for some reason. Really glad we followed your advice. Awesome instructions. Super easy to follow and understand. What little troubleshooting we had to do we found answers for either in the guide (things we missed the first time) or in the replies section.

        Thank you. I hope to read more guides from you (like this how to trade profitably guide).

        Reply ↓
    1. Josh Post author

      Theoretically, you can run 8 GPU’s in Windows 10. In practice, it gets pretty complicated to configure more than 6 in a rig. I’ve managed to run 7 GTX 1070’s stable on the Z170A Gaming M5 motherboard with a 1000 watt Platinum rated PSU pulling 850w at the wall.

      Reply ↓

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