Introduction
The power supply that you’re going to decide to purchase depends on a few factors.
“Why does the type of cryptocurrency or hashing algorithm matter?”
The cryptocurrency and or hashing algorithm will determine the type of miner you will be looking to use (https://whattomine.com/ is a great resource for which cryptocurrencies to mine). Once you’ve determined which miner you are in the market for, you can start researching the specs on those miners that will correspond to your future power supply.
Miners need a certain amount of voltage to run at different efficiencies, while power supplies can offer the minimum, maximum and excess of voltage for a miner you want to pick the power supply for the type of mining rig you want that will run at your max efficiency.
Ex. Your miner’s power consumption is approximately 1150W with a 93% PSU efficiency at 25 C. This means you need a power supply that can supplement at least one (1) miner 1150W of power on either a 220v or 110v outlet. Your main concern when starting your own mining rig is getting a power supply that will have an output rate high enough to meet the consumption of the miner.
If you’re looking to run one (1) miner on one (1) power supply then your output is the minimum consumption of that one miner. However, for those looking to build a larger mining operation the output and consumption numbers need to be revisited.
“I want to use more than one miner, how does that influence my choice of power supply?”
Power supplies have a power output range depending on which input you’re using. Typically if you want to run more than one miner on one power supply you’ll need the input to be a 220v which will maximize the power supply to have an output high enough to power more than one miner.
You also need to be mindful of how many PSU (power supply unit) power connectors a miner has as power supplies can come in a various numbered connectors.
Ex. You have two (2) miners you want to power. They both have a power consumption of 1150W with a 93% PSU efficiency at 25 C. In order to run both on one power supply you’ll need at least 2300W. The power supply is rated at 1300W with an input of 110v and 2600W with an input of 220v. Therefore, to run two (2) miners on one (1) power supply you’ll need a power supply that is rated 2300W or higher plugged in an 220v outlet with enough PSU connectors for both miners.
“I only have 110v, so what power supply do I have to get?”
Power supplies typically don’t come with a power cord and would need to be purchased separately. The reason for this is due to the output range based off of the input range. Many miners can run off of either a 110v or 220v outlet, so you’ll need to purchase the type of power cord that will match your input outlet.
If you only need to run one miner and the power supply you’ve picked has a high enough output with an input of 110v then you’ll be fine with just the 110v outlet. However, the 220v outlet will maximize the power output so that will offer other options on how you run your mining rig.