Following reports of GPU shortages because cryptocurrency miners are buying up all the stock to help them earn more than ever before as currencies like Ethereum explode in value, companies are now looking to build multiple graphics card number crunching systems where you can plug in just about any GPU you want to speed up the mining process.
A leaked GPU Mining System was spotted by VideoCardz and shows a custom motherboard layout with Intel Celeron mobile CPU, 4GB of DDR3 memory and eight PCIExpress 16x ports for the introduction of up to eight high-end graphics cards. Each card features is own dedicated slot, dual eight-pin power source and dual in and out cooling fans. The whole system comes with an optional 1,600w PSU, so there is plenty of space in there for top-end graphics cards, though we wouldn't suggest trying to run GTX 1080s on that.
The benefits of such a system are multitudinous. They offer much more graphical and therefore processing power, within a much smaller form factor than a traditional PC - even at the high-end they could only handle four graphics cards at once. They're also lower power and therefore more efficient. More importantly for the big mining farms though, is that these rigs will save a lot of space. When you're trying to stack hundreds of graphics cards together to crunch out digital currency, cutting back on floor space is hugely important.
The enclosures are also designed to be sturdy, feature strong ventilation and restrict dust flow, cutting back on the need for regular cleaning.
There's no word yet on what such a mining rig set up would cost, but if you factor in all the graphics cards too, it's likely to cost at least a few thousand dollars.
Image source: Videocardz
