Tutorial: building a mining rig in 2023. 8x RTX 4070Ti
How do you build a mining rig with latest-generation graphics cards? In this 2023 video tutorial (in French), we assemble a rig of eight RTX 4070 Ti cards, from choosing the parts to the first boot under HiveOS. We go through each component, what is new with these cards and the precautions to take, especially if you are building your first rig.
Video from 2023: the prices below date from that time. See "What about today?" at the end of the article.
The cards: eight Gigabyte RTX 4070 Ti
At around €1,000 each, the RTX 4070 Ti looks expensive at first. But it is generally easily twice as powerful as an RTX 3070, which then cost between €400 and €600 new, for the same power draw: about 150 W maximum per card.
The cards we chose are mid-range Gigabyte models, with three large fans and a massive heatsink. They are very thick and a little over 32 cm long: something to check before choosing your frame.
Another 2023 novelty: the ATX 3.0 standard and its 12-pin connector. Each card comes with an adapter to standard 8-pin PCIe connectors.
The power supplies
The rig uses two power supplies:
- as the main unit, a modular 1,250 W Gold power supply from the previous generation, which offers plenty of 8-pin connectors. New ATX 3.0 power supplies add a 12-pin port, but this rig does not use it;
- as the secondary unit, a Chinese power supply.
To make them work together, we use a dual power supply coupler: the main power supply sends it a signal through a Molex connector, which starts the second one. PCIe splitters (one 8-pin connector to 2 × 8-pin) are then used to power the risers.
Motherboard, CPU, storage and risers
- Motherboard: a B250 BTC, a very popular 12-GPU model for Intel socket 1151 processors. Make sure you choose a processor from a compatible generation;
- CPU: an Intel G4400 at 3.3 GHz, more than enough for mining;
- Memory: a single 8 GB DDR4 stick;
- CPU cooler: a fairly sturdy Arctic model, with thermal paste already applied;
- Storage: a small 120 GB SSD. We advise against USB sticks, which are not reliable enough, while an SSD does not cost much;
- Risers: eight Happy Mining V010S+ risers, fitted with eight capacitors, twice as many as the V009.
The frame and cooling
To house eight cards of this size, the rig sits on a long, single-level frame measuring 85 cm. Two fan models are fitted:
- on one side, the most powerful ones, 95 CFM fans blowing towards the cards;
- on the other side, for extraction, where airflow matters less, 50 CFM fans.
The assembly steps
- The CPU: open the socket gently, as the pins of Intel sockets are very fragile, place the processor the right way round, then close it carefully.
- The memory: insert the DDR4 stick into a free slot.
- The CPU cooler: fit it on the processor and plug its fan into the motherboard.
- The SSD: before installing it, flash HiveOS onto it with balenaEtcher, connecting it to your computer like a USB stick with a SATA-to-USB adapter.
- Testing the motherboard: connect the 24-pin and CPU power, a screen via HDMI and a keyboard, then check that the machine boots. If the keyboard does not light up, the PC is usually not booting.
- Mounting the motherboard: six screws are enough. A magnetic screwdriver saves you from losing them.
- Cabling: route the cables before fixing everything: 24-pin and CPU power, SATA power and data for the SSD, Molex to the coupler, PCIe cables to the risers via the splitters.
- The graphics cards: for each one, plug in the 12-pin adapter, seat the card on its riser, screw it to the frame, then connect the PCIe cables.
A tip if you are a beginner: do not connect all eight cards at once. Start with a single card, boot, check that it is recognised, then add the others one by one.
The result
When HiveOS started, all eight cards were detected. No major problems to report: just one riser played up, which happens. The rig is up and running, and we still had two more rigs to build.
What about today?
Since Ethereum moved to proof of stake in September 2022, GPU mining income has collapsed, and the arrival of Kaspa ASICs in 2023 made Kaspa GPU mining marginal. The prices in the video are out of date. The assembly advice (power supplies, risers, cooling, gradual start-up) remains useful for any machine with several graphics cards, including for artificial intelligence workloads.
To configure the BIOS, read our article on installing and configuring the motherboard for mining, then follow our beginner tutorial for installing HiveOS. Have a look at our spare parts and our GPU and AI page too.