“Mining rig” is a term that is used to describe computers that are dedicated to producing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Some mining rigs were created especially for the purpose, while some may have been put together using components that were intended for other uses, such as in gaming systems. The graphical processing units of gaming systems offer a better heat and energy profile than CPUs, and they’re able to extract cryptocurrency tokens from blockchains by solving a the hashing algorithm much more efficiently.
A mining rig needs to produce a lot of processing power, and the GPUs used for running 3D applications are often ideal. These graphics cards have now started to be tailored towards mining, since they’re so good at churning through the complex calculations involved. It’s possible to buy mining rigs where multiple GPs have been lashed together on frames and given adequate cooling, but they do consume an awful lot of power though, so it’s best to keep an eye on your electricity bill.
Mining Rig Companies
Mining cryptocurrencies is a highly competitive business, and there are only a few trustworthy mining rig manufacturers around. Bitmain is one of those, and it offers two mining rigs, the S9 series and the Antminer brand. Both consume 845-1375 Watts and offer a hash rate at 8.6 to 12.9 TH/s.
Canaan is another company and it offers the Avalon 721 ROQ Solid Miner. This mining rig is laid out intelligently and uses 16nm ASIC processers. It gives a hashing rate of 6 TH/s and uses 900-1200 watts.
Custom Mining Rigs
It’s also possible to put together your own system using dedicated parts from well-known companies in the business, but before you spend a penny on anything it’s worth calculating how much you’re going to make from your investment. There are plenty of mining calculators available online where you can input the hashing power of your machine along with things like electricity cost. As the difficulty level changes every day it can sometimes be tricky to get an exact estimate of your potential ROI, but it’s nevertheless worth doing anyway so you at least know roughly whether your mining rig will turn a profit or make a loss.
