Newb to both building a server rig and crypto mining: I have lots of questions..

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/3086vs4859vs5027vs6171/AMD-Ryzen-Threadripper-1900X-vs-AMD-EPYC-7K62-vs-AMD-Ryzen-9-7900X-vs-AMD-Ryzen-9-9900X

The Threadripper 1900X can only AT THE VERY BEST output a hash rate of 5.49 kH/s (according to https://xmrig.com/benchmark) and the rig you propose is $1132.57.

In comparison, a pair of EPYC 7k62 can easily blast past the 70-75 kH/s mark according to the same source and the rig I am aiming for isn't even double that price.

Your proposed rig looks good out of context but it is NEVER going to be able to pay for even a small fraction of itself in crypto-mining. Sorry.

Be very careful with Chinese RAM kits - sometimes these are fakes and sometimes these are not matched kits as required to properly perform as expected.

Reviewing the page again, I'm not sure Ali Express guarantees that I get a fully compatible product or they refund or allow sending back at the seller's buck - or other kind of guarantee against specifically the concern you raised.

What do you think of Ali Express ?

Would you say this is more trustworthy ? (https://www.ebay.ca/itm/226262389487)

These are not 3200 MHz but 2933 MHz is not far off and the price is also reasonable. Would you risk it in my shoes ?

Edited by MLG-443, 24 August 2024 - 05:12 PM.

Is 2933 compatible with the motherboard or the CPU?

You have looked at the spec sheet?

That is the first thing to look over.

Depends. How memory dependent is the mining operation?

Edited by 0lds0d, 24 August 2024 - 05:28 PM.

"Is 2933 compatible with the motherboard or the CPU?"

That's not my concern, it's explicitly stated everywhere the specs of the motherboard H11DSi are listed, 2933 MHz is always in there.

"Depends. How memory dependent is the mining operation?"

Precicely my concern, the main dilemma is the actual hashrate gained versus the risk of buying from a "possibly shady" website ? The price difference between the two options isn't much.

Edit: the main thing that bugs me is I don't know where to ask how much I will lose in hash rate by replacing 3200 MHz RAM with 2933 MHz. Who's an expert in XMRig ??? Do I have to reach the developper just for that ?

Edited by MLG-443, 24 August 2024 - 06:33 PM.

Update: You know what ? I just tediously checked every single validated benchmark score for the EPYC 7K62 CPU on XMRig and it turns out most of the top scores including the very best one were performed with RAM at 2933 MHz anyway and almost none were submitted with 3200 MHz RAM... So that settles it ! Brand new 2933 MHz on eBay for me ! 

Very nice.

I know virtually nothing about servers. 

Both Ali Express and eBay have good and bad vendors on them. I've only had one bad transaction on eBay. Of late, if I have a problem with a product, the sellers have been usually been eager to help resolve it, but I had a situation where a seller refused to respond to a minor issue (I let it slide as the product worked), and another seller refused to respond at all when I informed them that I would be moving, and this was when the package was in transit from China. I got eBay involved and was quickly refunded due to the vendor doing that.

I've never used AE but if you look at the Better Business Bureau, Trust Pilot and others, it has a lot of problems with bad vendors so you should only buy from verified ones. You'll also want to understand that when (not if) the Chinese government asks AE (and Wish, Opera, Temu, TikTok, etc) for data on their customers,  they must comply.

I hope that helps.