Sapphire INCA CS-14 Compute System Review – £5.5K Mining Rig

1. Introduction2. Sapphire INCA CS-143. Sapphire INCA CS-14: Setup and Testing4. Sapphire INCA CS-14: Profitability, Power and Noise5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

The Sapphire INCA CS-14 is a very focused piece of hardware, and what it's meant to do, it does extremely well. Compared to a regular self-built PC, it's in a different league in terms of cryptocurrency hashing power. The chassis is well designed for the purpose, so it doesn't waste Watts on components that aren't contributing to the cause. It's a sturdy build, with dependable levels of cooling and the potential for power supply redundancy.

On a domestic power contract, the numbers obviously don't quite add up in terms of cryptocurrency mining profit. But you can get business supplies with night-time rates lower than 11p per kW hour, which would bump up daily profit to between £3 and £4, allowing over £1,000 a year in income after power expenses. If the cryptocurrency exchange rates rise again, this could go up considerably too.

Overall, if you're after a turnkey cryptocurrency mining rig, the Sapphire INCA CS-14 makes a lot more sense than struggling with your own PC rig, or trying to cobble together a multi-GPU system using an open frame and consumer-grade graphics cards. You will probably spend more on the latter than the £5,400 inc VAT being asked for the Sapphire offering, too.

The INCA CS-14 is also more flexible than ASICs that are aimed at specific cryptocurrency coins, so can rapidly become obsolete if the algorithm is changed to cut them out of the picture. It's a very specialised piece of hardware, but for its intended task it packs a lot of hashing power into one box for a reasonable price.

Price for this system (at the time of writing): £5,400 (inc. VAT) and for inquiries contact [email protected]

Pros:

• Huge amounts of cryptocurrency hashing power in one box.
• 19in 4U configuration allows multiple installations in standard machine room rack.
• Preloaded with Linux and Claymore mining software.
• Redundant power option.
• Sturdy, well ventilated chassis.
• GPUs can be optimised for different hashing algorithms.
• Flexible range of cryptocurrency mining software options.

Cons:

• Heavy overall power draw.
• Only meant for mining.
• Noisier than a jet aircraft.

KitGuru says: The Sapphire INCA CS-14 is a potent mining rig capable of immense hashing rates, although it's best suited to a machine room or co-location facility.

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