Alphacool launched a pre-built rack to hold graphics cards for crypto-mining. The Mining Rack 12 can fit up to 12 graphics cards, eight 360mm radiators, and four power supplies.
Most crypto miners try to maximize profits by minimizing costs. Usually, this means going for the cheapest possible option for every component that isn’t essential to the actual mining. This includes getting the cheapest but highest efficiency PSUs, the cheapest processors, and cheapest motherboards with most PCIe slots. Building your own chassis is another way to save.
Custom chassis are usually necessary because most graphics cards consume two slots and would block access to PCIe slots that could otherwise be used to fit more mining hardware. Most jerry-rigged mining machines, ours included, use PCIe riser cables and elaborate (see: jerry-rigged) solutions to maximize the graphics card-to-motherboard ratio.
If you’re lacking in DIY ability but can’t stand the sight of graphics cards hanging from a hamster cage, yet also want to ride the crypto-mining wave, then you might be interested in Alphacool’s new Mining Rack 12, which is a two-level rack that has correctly spaced slots for 12 graphics cards on the top, and two motherboards and four PSUs on the bottom.
The sides of the rack have cutouts for up to eight 360mm or 280mm radiators. These are just for cooling the graphics cards, though. There’s also room for a 240mm radiator for motherboard and processor cooling. The rack also has space for two pump-reservoir combo units. But given the flow restrictions of 12 graphics card water blocks and eight radiators, two pumps might not even be enough.
With the recent release of the first Ethereum-capable ASIC miner, Alphacool might have been a bit late to the crypto-mining party. How the second wave of ASIC miners will affect the current GPU-dominated mining landscape remains to be seen, however, and miners could still find traditional parts appealing.
The Alphacool Mining Rack 12 is available now in Europe for a price equivalent to $182.
