Crazy mineral oil rig with eight Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards could be the future of cryptocurrency mining
Given the recent uptick in Etherium prices, we've seen a massive uptick in crypto mining, and, as a result, some egregious mining rigs that use multiple graphics cards. Mining is an energy-intensive process that pushes all the hardware associated with it to its limits. That is why it is quite common for miners to undervolt components such as graphics cards to ensure their longevity. While most mining setups use traditional cooling solutions such as the stock cooler fan, a group in Vietnam has taken things to another level.
Twitter leaker @I_Leak_VN has posted a setup that uses eight Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards submerged in mineral oil. We get to see a glimpse of some GPU tuning software (probably MSI Afterburner) on the screen, but the blurry video quality makes it hard to determine parameters such as its temperature, clock speeds, voltage, etc. One person also keeps dousing their hands in the oil repeatedly. While the actual oil is non-conductive, repeated contact with it could introduce impurities that could find their way into critical components. Mineral oil is effective but extremely cumbersome. Linus Tech Tips did an entire series on the topic and their mineral oil cooled PC worked fine for five years without any hiccups.
While the process is incredibly messy, time-consuming, and expensive, prolonged cooling with mineral oil can actually increase the lifespan of some components, which are usually not cooled in a traditional air or water-cooled setup. Therefore, it is ideal for cryptocurrency mining, at least on an enthusiast level. If anything, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards used here will be better off than their air-cooled siblings once they are relieved of their mining duties. Getting rid of the oil, however, will be a daunting task.
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