If you want to build a mining rig for Monero, you have come to the right place. Most mining rigs consist of a frame, basic computer parts (motherboard, power supply, RAM, and so on), and somewhere between 4 and 7 GPUs. You can customize your rig depending on your budget and plans, but this guide describes a basic 6-GPU Monero rig.

A 6-GPU rig like this typically cost somewhere between $1,800 and $2,500 at the time of writing, depending on the GPU prices you could secure. During GPU shortages, the best cards sell out and prices spike, but there are usually ways to find cards at more moderate prices if you are patient.

Hardware list for a 6-GPU Monero rig

Power supply (PSU)

You want a power supply that saves you as much energy as possible over the long run, since you are trying to offset electricity costs with mining profit. A low-quality or inefficient PSU adds unnecessary charges to your bill, and a good one also reduces fire risk. For a 6-GPU rig, a 1200W 80+ Platinum unit is the safe choice. If you settle for 4 to 5 GPUs, a quality 1000W unit can work, but still choose one rated for efficiency.

Motherboard

There are many workable motherboard and CPU combinations for a Monero rig; the tricky part is finding one in stock. You want a board with at least as many PCIe slots as you have graphics cards. Mining-focused boards with many 1x slots are ideal for a full 6-GPU build; if you use fewer cards, almost any board with enough slots works.

CPU

The best CPU for mining is simply one that fits your motherboard's socket. Unless you plan to use the rig for something else, a budget CPU keeps the overall cost down — you do not need processing power for GPU mining.

RAM

You do not need much RAM to mine. A single 4GB stick is usually the most economical choice. Go with 8GB only if you plan to run other applications on the rig.

Graphics cards (4–6x)

For Monero, AMD RX-series cards were the sweet spot. The exact board brand matters less than the AMD chip inside — cards built on the RX 470, 480, 570, and 580 all work well, and an 8GB card is a good idea. A tuned RX 580 or 480 could push past 400 H/s while drawing roughly 140–150 watts. Nvidia's GTX 1070 was also capable of 400+ H/s at lower power draw, though Nvidia cards generally had weaker mining-software support at the time.

PCIe riser cables

Use good-quality powered risers (the common 6-pin-to-SATA versions). Do not cheap out here: risers are one of the most common failure points on a rig, and a bad one can kill a card or, worse, start a fire.

Storage, case, OS, accessories

A small SSD (around 120GB) from any reputable brand is plenty, and it is more energy-efficient and reliable than a spinning drive for a 24/7 rig. You will need a frame or mining case to hold everything, a cheap monitor, mouse, and keyboard for setup, and a power button. For the operating system, Windows 10 works fine for most mining software; a mining-focused Linux distribution is a solid free alternative.

How to assemble a Monero mining rig

Once you have all the parts, the build itself is straightforward even if you have never assembled a computer. Here is the sequence.

  1. Set up the frame or case. Follow the manufacturer's instructions, or build your own from wood or aluminum. You mainly need a stable surface to mount the motherboard and space to hang the GPUs.
  2. Mount the motherboard. Use standoffs or spacers so the underside of the board is protected. Mark the mounting holes, place the spacers, then screw the board down using every screw the board requires.
  3. Install the CPU. Open the socket lever, remove any plastic insert, line up the arrow on the CPU with the arrow on the socket, and seat it gently. Attach the CPU fan and connect the CPU power cable from the PSU.
  4. Install the RAM. Open the retention levers, line up the notch, and press the stick down until both sides click into place.
  5. Connect the SSD. Attach the SSD to the board with a SATA data cable, then power it with a SATA power cable from the PSU.
  6. Mount and connect the GPUs. Assemble the risers, connect the 16x end to the card and the 1x end to the board, and power each riser from the PSU. Mount the cards to the frame — zip ties are the common method — and connect the PCIe power cables to each GPU. Do not overload a single power cable across too many cards.
  7. Add a couple of fans. Position fans to move air across the GPUs, connecting them to the fan headers on the board.
  8. Connect the power button. Check the motherboard manual to match the correct header pins, usually near the bottom edge of the board.
  9. Check every connection. Mining rigs are prone to instability, so verify power to the SSD, GPUs, risers, CPU, and the main board connector. Tidy the cabling with zip ties and keep converter cables away from hot PSU exhaust.
  10. Install the software. With the hardware ready, load your mining OS or Windows and configure your miner. Our guide to setting up Claymore's on Windows covers the software side, and our list of mining pools will help you pick where to point your hashrate.

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