Mining Rig Question

[stang99x]

I come looking for advice. For the sake of full disclosure, this was my first attempt at hard line and only technically my third, really my second custom loop as the third one was just a throw together of leftover parts for a second machine when I discovered there was no way I was shoving 3 3090's in one case. My issue at hand is I can't get it to where I want to be temperature wise. The reason is I mine ethereum with them. So here's whats in it all

System 1 on left is old
I7 6700k
MSI Z170a G7
G skill ripjaws 32GB (I don't remember the rest)
EVGA RTX 3090FTW3 Ultra x 2 (Both with Bykski blocks front and back)
Corsair HX1000

System 2 on the right is new
I9 12900k
Gigabyte Auros Z690 Master
G Skill 32G DDR5-6000
EVGA RTX3090FTW3 Ultra (Bykski blocks front and back)
RTX 3090 (Removed from an Alienware) (EK blocks front and back)
EVGA 1300 G2

They are both mainly run 24/7 mining. I do mess around on (yes, call me old) Warcraft from time to time for nostalgia reasons; well that and after you spent over a decade on a few characters you get a little attached when thinking about letting it all go. The main problem is I simply cannot get enough heat moved during mining. I started with a push fan setup that worked ok, however it pushed all that smokin hot air right in your lap and made it quite unpleasant to sit for more than a few minutes. I changed to a pull fan (I prefer push myself) and the system doesn't cool as well and there is still a TON or hot air resonating off these radiators. There are two 140's and two 120's on the back sucking air out of the case. There are 14 Antec Prizm fans with a 2000 rpm top end. (And they are all running 1800-2000 constantly) System 1 has an EK Coolstream PE 480 and an EK SE 360. System 2 has a ThermalTake CL480 64mm and an Alphacool 360. As it stands I run the cards at 50-65 percent power to keep the temps under 82C. The coolant temp on Sys 1 is 114F and Sys 2 is 107F. These cards at stock settings will run about 108 m/h. Right now the EVGA cards are running about 81 m/h and the Dell card 87 m/h at the lower power levels (Interestingly enough, the lesser powerful Dell card is actually better for mining, in that it pulls about 50 watts less power and can run within 5-10 m/h of the EVGA when running well, though it is intolerant of any changes to its core or clock settings)

I also have a I9 9900k on an Auros Z390 with 120GB ram sitting in a box. I was unable to get any display from it which is why I have the new stuff in sys2 now.

I guess that's enough info, if you need more just ask. I don't want to put fans in here that sound like a jetliner taking off. That's why I don't use any ASIC miners. Had one, immediately sold it was it is loud as hell. I'd like to keep the cards running at least 100 m/h each if possible and the VRM under 80C. I was able to accomplish this before when using the ROG case and an old something or other spare case. Or perhaps I'm asking to much?

 

[hokiealumnus]

Moved post to its own thread.

That's an incredible looking setup, but I think you're pushing it with what a desk "case' is designed to do. If you want to properly cool those things it would be better if you could put them in a case with both front and back fans, so air flows freely - cool intake and hot outtake in equal measures. Something like a Mountan Mods duality comes to mind - https://www.mountainmods.com/product_info.php?products_id=463 , but even that may not be enough space for all your cooling.

 

[BugFreak]

More pics please! That monster looks great.

Unless I missed it have you tried push/pull? I recently added fans to my setup for push/pull and it made about 3* difference on my 3080 when folding. It made the exhaust a little cooler on my legs which was nice too. Also you could try directing the heat away with an external duct on the case directing the exhaust air away or up.

 

[stang99x]

More pics please! That monster looks great.

Unless I missed it have you tried push/pull? I recently added fans to my setup for push/pull and it made about 3* difference on my 3080 when folding. It made the exhaust a little cooler on my legs which was nice too. Also you could try directing the heat away with an external duct on the case directing the exhaust air away or up.

Thanks for the comments. I should probably go full disclosure here and say I'm not really the computer type. That is to say, Hardware I could do all day long. Software on the other hand is not my forte. I built my last 5 or 6 computers. Only in the last 12 months did I start the custom loop work. I was thinking of building a desk and my wife, and yes I'm telling the truth here, told me to just buy the desk. She seemed to think that I would get pissed off and buy one anyway at some point so may as well just cut out the expense of building and go for broke to start. Every once in a while she reminds me why I married her.....lol

Previously when I was using the ROG Strix Helios GX601 for the main case. I had 3 push and 3 pull on the upper 360 rad and it did do a better job by several degrees. Unfortunately, as much as cooling was integrated into the design of the desk it was not designed to have fans on the outside. It has some metal strips screwed to the edges of the vents where the intake screens stick magnetically. I would imagine I could probably work out to do it but they kinda limited space down there and your knees are already getting really close. Like there is about 4 inches of clearance between my knees and the screens......and that's where all the undesired heat likes to emanate from. I bought a couple of 120x2 fans that run on 120 with an adjustable knob. I haven't really set it all up but I did hold them in place for a few minutes (8-10 minutes) and didn't notice much change.

Moved post to its own thread.

That's an incredible looking setup, but I think you're pushing it with what a desk "case' is designed to do. If you want to properly cool those things it would be better if you could put them in a case with both front and back fans, so air flows freely - cool intake and hot outtake in equal measures. Something like a Mountan Mods duality comes to mind - https://www.mountainmods.com/product_info.php?products_id=463 , but even that may not be enough space for all your cooling.

I'm not so sure I deserve a thread of my own, however thank you for the comments. Realistically I spent a couple days watching that guy on youtube, Declassified systems, and decided I wanted to build one of those. Granted nowhere near the level of the builds he does. That guy has the patience of a saint, I do not. But knowing that I can build just about anything, I figured a desk computer would push the limits since I had no experience with hard line or anything this big and intricate. I will say, I am still fighting some BSOD's from time to time, mostly System Service Exceptions. Makes me want to pull my hair out some nights. Again, I'm a hardware type and software is my own personal bane......well that and window tint. And there are a few things I would probably do differently, most likely things I will change when I do a clean out. I have not been happy with the EK block at all. It looks like it's filling with goo and it has always been the second card in the loop. The first cards block does not have maybe 10% of the goo buildup of the EK. And it's running on EK Cryocool.

So as it sits now, I'm running System 2 with the FTW3 paired with the Dell card at 60% and 65% power (Dell at 65%) They are staying at 78C 95% of the time and currently running within 10% of what they run at full power. The EVGA card pulling 251 watts, the Dell card 226w. Hash rates are at 96 and 89 m/h respectively. I can deal with that. The coolant temp is 107F
System 1 is both FTW3 cards running at 55%. 230w each. One thing I have learned for sure in all this is something I was curious about before. The whole Kingpin cards using the top 10% of chips or something like that (again not a computer person here) Read a few threads about getting lucky with some (non kingpins) and not with others. These two are running 81 and 91 m/h. Both cards running the same power and one is 10 m/h slower. And the faster card is the second in the coolant line so it is more heat soaked. The coolant temp on this side is 114F.
I'm prone to agree with you that the case may not be capable of handling the total heat output of all four cards. I mean I could get those horribly loud 3-5k RPM fans and probably get it down another 5C or so but I don't want to do that and my wife works from home 3 days a weeks so she won't want to hear it. I may end up just keep the cards running at 60% or less power to keep them under 80C. I want these cards to live a while as well as work. Not interested in melting them in a year for a few more m/h.

I don't really have a lot of photos. I do have a video from when it wasn't all hooked up yet when I was playing with the fans but it is to big to upload. I'll try to shoot a few pics and see if they come out. Usually it's better picture quality with the glass off.

 

[Soulcatcher668]

What desk did you use? Might be easier to suggest configurations for airflow.

 

[stang99x]

What desk did you use? Might be easier to suggest configurations for airflow.

Lian Li DK05


I would guess you all know all these parts inside, (not the desk, I would have an oversight on the biggest part of the build and forget to name it) but perhaps I'm incorrect in that assumption. The two pumps are Alphacool Eisball's in the middle. Unfortunately I ran out of space (Yes, even in this monster I ran out of space) and mounted them above a couple fans which is anything but ideal given the heat rising underneath now that the fans are pulling. I had started with the fans pushing which was fine as the hot air was going out and under the desk. Hindsight and all, probably should have been more adept at planning this out. If anyone is wondering about anything else just ask.....I'll give the best answer I can.
I have noticed the side with the 64mm 480 Radiator runs about 7 degree F cooler. I have another of the 64mm units that I will probably install if I have any reason to drain the system going forward.......or wait about 6 months and flush it all out and install it then.

 

[BugFreak]

If your wife allowed that purchase you need to keep her around for sure! Mine would kick me and my desk out of the house.

Just to be clear you have the front fans by your legs blowing out and they are your radiator fans correct?

EDIT: There more I look at pictures of that desk the more I must have one! This will not end well for me.

 

[stang99x]

If your wife allowed that purchase you need to keep her around for sure! Mine would kick me and my desk out of the house.

Just to be clear you have the front fans by your legs blowing out and they are your radiator fans correct?

EDIT: There more I look at pictures of that desk the more I must have one! This will not end well for me.

Yea after 21 years I think she's a keeper. I never really spent any money on myself. She always had a newer car every 2-3 years, I drove whatever junk I was messing with at the time. My two daughters never went wanting anything either, though I'm pretty sure that isn't the way they'd tell it. (spoiled children never understand how spoiled rotten they are) I finally bought myself a car that was 2 years old in 2015. I still have it too, sitting in the garage though it morphed much like my computer did turning into this monster. (Think superchargers, E85 fuel and more HP than can be grasped by the tires)

All the fans on the radiators are pulling at this time. Even with them pulling the radiant heat is pretty stout....like your legs will never be cold. The four rear fans are pulling air (or pushing) out of the case. I have a pair of 140's pulling from outside the case mountings and a couple 120's pushing from inside to out.

Should you wish to see what ultimately pushed me to do it, check this guy on youtube out. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep1HdSbmn1k His user name is Declassified Systems. Dude is a PC building gawd. He's done several desks. He's light years ahead of anything I'll ever even think about building. But watch his builds was enough to motivate me to do it.