Litecoin is the third most popular cryprocurrency after Bitcoin and Ether. Founded in 2013 by Charles Lee, former Google employee, Litecoin has an estimated market cap of $150 million and is very similar to Bitcoin.
Its popularity and potential have made it lucrative. With the right mining hardware mining Litecoin is rewarding.
How To Build a Litecoin Mining Rig In 2018
Here we are going to take you step by step and show you how to build a Litecoin mining rig in 2018. Whether you are completely new to cryptocurrency mining or you have tried mining other cryptocurrencies and now you’re giving Litecoin a try, we’ve got you covered.
But, let’s first address the question: why Litecoin mining? Simply put, Litecoin is very profitable and you don’t require too much time. Because of increased competition, we recommend you invest in the right hardware to beat competition.
Now, let’s look at the Litecoin mining hardware that you will need to put up your GPU mining rig. They include motherboard, processor, memory, power supply, GPUs, RISERS, and Watt Resistors.
Motherboard
ASUS B250 Mining expert LGA 1151 motherboard for cryptocurrency mining
Our biggest concern when it comes to mining rigs should be how many PCIe slots it has. While doing this, you should know how many GPUs you are going to use because then you will know how many slots to you need. However, some motherboards will be unable to support all the GPU’s even if they have enough or more slots to attach them. Hence, you can’t just pick any motherboard.
My recommendation is the ASUS B250 motherboard because it’s perfectly designed for mining. It supports a total of 19 GPUs and also three power supplies. If you were planning on using 6 GPUs, don’t restrict yourself with a 6 GPU motherboard because later you might need to add more. The motherboard also features mining-centric diagnostic features.
If for some reason you can’t use the ASUS B250, ASRock H110 Pro BTC+ is the other mining motherboard I recommend. It supports 13 GPUs. Again, if you are on a tight budget, you can go with Biostar TB250-BTC it’s cheaper than both ASUS and ASRock but it only supports 6 GPUs. Thus, if that’s all you need, this should be fine.
CPU/Processor
Celeron G3900
The only thing to pay attention when buying a CPU is if it’s compatible with your motherboard. And, since it will essentially be of less use, there is no point of buying a high-end option. I’d advise you to go with the cheapest. In my case here, I’ll go with Celeron G3900 since it’s compatible with all the motherboards that I recommended above.
Memory
When it comes to memory, your choice of operating system will determine how much you will need. With Linux, 1 GB or 2 GB will be enough. However, if you decide to run Windows, I will recommend 4 GB. Remember that mining is memory-intensive but everything happens on your GPUs so that’s where all the emphasis should be. Thus, reduce the overall cost by avoiding expensive memory since at the end of the day much of it will be unused.
Power Supply Unit (PSU)
EVGA SuperNOVA 1200W
Another thing to pay much attention to is your power supply unit. Since your profits increases with a decrease in expenses, start reducing the electricity consumption by getting the right PSU. Remember, having efficient PSU helps keep the electricity costs low. My go-to brand when it comes to power supply units is EVGA. If you are creating a 6 GPU mining rig, I would recommend you go with 1200W because PSUs are more efficient when not running near the rated max load. On the other hand, if you will be starting with around 4 GPUs or bellow, 850W will be enough.
GPUs
8GB MSI RX 570 Cards
For Litecoin Mining rig, I will recommend either Radeon RX 570 or RX 580. Now, when it comes to performance, these two are almost similar. The difference in performance is too small. But, the RX 570 consumes less power plus its way cheaper so when choosing between the two, I’d go with RX 570.
However, the real catch is not in the price or overall performance. Rather, it is in the memory clock speed as this is the determinant of how good the card will perform. With that said, you will notice that 8GB cards have faster-clocked memory compared to 4GB cards. Thus, if the price difference between the two is not so significant, go for the fastest.
RISERS
Leboo 6-Pack PCI-E risers
You will obviously need risers to connect the GPUs to the motherboard. But, if you will prefer buying rather than building the mining frame, you might not need to buy risers since most frames come with them.
We have two types of risers: powered and unpowered. If a riser simply connects the GPU to the motherboard, it’s unpowered. Feel free to mix both types, but ensure that the unpowered type is not more than two. Also, when buying, ensure that you have extras because defects are quite common.
Boot Device
Patriot Memory Torch 2 60GB (for Windows)
This depends on whether you are running Windows or Linux. With Windows, a 60GB+SSD will be perfect. But, if you are running Linux, feel free to use anything. My recommendation is this 16GB USB stick
Power Button
Uxcell 67” Button Switch
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Desktop-Computer-Supply-Button/dp/B00HG7HO22/
If your motherboard doesn’t have a built-in power button, you will need to buy one. They are very affordable and available in plenty.
The Case
You will need a well-ventilated open-air mining frame. The cheapest option is to build yours but if that’s a huge task at the moment, you can get this one here for a 6 GPU mining rig.
Final words
Building your own mining rig is not only fun but educative. There is so much to learn about crypto mining that you simply can’t get to know unless you get your hands dirty. Also, there is so much joy and pride once your rig is up and running and when you can confidently call yourself a Litecoin miner and offer advice like a pro. The only thing I would like to remind you is to cut on unnecessary expenses when building your rig as these will eventually affect your profits. Happy mining!
