Build a Modern Crypto Mining Computer in 2021
This DIY project probably won’t make you rich, but it will help you understand how Bitcoin works
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Earlier this year, I wrote an article about mining Bitcoin on any PC and also shared the details of a cryptocurrency mining PC I built in 2018. In mining a little Bitcoin of my own, I developed a much deeper understanding of how cryptocurrencies and the blockchain work (and made over $1,600 in the process).
What if you want to graduate to the next level, though, and build your own basic cryptocurrency mining PC using modern parts in 2021? I decided to find out, so I enlisted the help of my friend Adam, a computer engineer at a security company. (When I asked how he wanted to be identified for this piece, he requested “Adam the Magnificent,” but let’s just stick with “Adam”).
Adam designed a comprehensive “bill of materials” for a modern, home-built cryptocurrency mining PC using only parts available through major retailers like Amazon or Newegg. I bought all the parts, built the PC, and have been testing its mining capabilities. Here’s exactly how I did it and how you can build your own modern mining PC, too.
First principles
Mining refers to the mathematical process a computer performs in order to help create new cryptocurrency coins and to register transactions on the blockchain. Most cryptocurrency mining PCs use a graphics card, or GPU, to perform their mining operations. You can mine with a CPU, but it’s not nearly as efficient.
Here’s the bad news about building a mining PC in 2021: With crypto’s insane price spikes, finding a GPU today can be incredibly challenging, and in the words of The Verge, GPU prices are “utterly out of control.” Prospective miners now pay up to $850 for a GPU that once cost only a few hundred dollars. This guide, therefore, assumes that you’ve either finagled a GPU through some back-alley transaction (don’t tell Debugger the details) or that you already have…
