# Mining on external graphics card?

**URL:** <https://forum.grin.mw/t/mining-on-external-graphics-card/1196>\
**Category:** Mining\
**Created:** [November 12, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/mining-on-external-graphics-card/1196 "2018-11-12T18:18:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![freddydunningkruger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@freddydunningkruger](https://forum.grin.mw/u/freddydunningkruger)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/mining-on-external-graphics-card/1196/1 "2018-11-12T18:18:42Z")

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I assume this is a dumb question, but if I wanted to try mining for the first time with Grin, running an HP z2 Mini Ubuntu 18.04, could I connect something like this external graphics box and have it work like an integrated card in a desktop? Or would there be a ton more work involved?

Here’s the external card: [https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-AORUS-Gaming-Graphic-GV-N1070IXEB-8GD/dp/B073PYMG3G/ref=sr\_1\_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542046579&sr=8-3&keywords=nvidia+external+graphics+card](https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-AORUS-Gaming-Graphic-GV-N1070IXEB-8GD/dp/B073PYMG3G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542046579&sr=8-3&keywords=nvidia+external+graphics+card)

Or would I be better off just buying a new desktop? Current machine is i5, 8gb, 1Tb. I know we’re still on testnet, just want to be ready for main.

Thank you for the help!

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**Author:** ![amamam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@amamam](https://forum.grin.mw/u/amamam)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/mining-on-external-graphics-card/1196/2 "2018-11-13T16:23:00Z")

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It should work but it increases costs (per card) by a lot. You’d probably be better off buying a desktop computer and putting 2 cards into it.

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**Author:** ![keno](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/forum.grin.mw/keno/32/26_2.png) [@keno](https://forum.grin.mw/u/keno)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/mining-on-external-graphics-card/1196/3 "2018-11-13T18:55:40Z")

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I had some problems with egpu on linux in the past. It might be Arch Linux causing the problem.

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**Author:** ![fjahr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/forum.grin.mw/fjahr/32/648_2.png) [@fjahr](https://forum.grin.mw/u/fjahr)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/mining-on-external-graphics-card/1196/4 "2018-11-14T15:34:09Z")

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Could you elaborate why that would increase costs a lot? Do you mean that he will have to invest in something like a case, additional wiring etc.?

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**Author:** ![keno](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/forum.grin.mw/keno/32/26_2.png) [@keno](https://forum.grin.mw/u/keno)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/mining-on-external-graphics-card/1196/5 "2018-11-14T22:27:48Z")

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eGPUs are still quite expensive.

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**Author:** ![amamam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@amamam](https://forum.grin.mw/u/amamam)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/mining-on-external-graphics-card/1196/6 "2018-11-16T04:16:56Z")

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You won’t have to buy anything else, but the case is a niche product with a corresponding (high) pricing. In other words, it doesn’t scale beyond a GPU or two. If you don’t want to scale, it shouldn’t be a problem. Go for a quality case with high bandwidth !