Best mining rigs and mining PCs for Bitcoin, Ethereum and more

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Crypto mining
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Yevhen Vitte)

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There’s been a massive demand for the best mining rigs and mining PCs thanks to the value of Bitcoin, Ethereum and various other altcoins skyrocketing. So, if you’re in the market for one, you might want to set your expectations low and your budget high. 

The good news is, if you're wary of spending money on something that can only mine, then buying the best mining desktop PC might save you a bit of cash. These desktop computers can also be used for other day-to-day tasks, such as working on and gaming, which means that you're also getting a top PC to do other things with as well as mining.

If you do have some extra cash lying around and are willing to spend money on a dedicated mining rig, which are specially designed for one purpose only: to efficiently and effectively mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The best mining rigs are designed to eke out the maximum workload-specific performance. Just bear in mind that you won't be able to use it for other tasks.

Here are our top picks of the best mining rigs and mining PCs below. They might be a bit trickier to get at the moment, but with a little luck, we’ll help you get the ideal one for you. Meanwhile, if you want to build your own mining rig or PC, check out our guides on the best mining GPUs, best mining CPU, best mining motherboards and best mining SSDs to help you get started.

Alienware Aurora R11

(Image credit: Future)

1. Alienware Aurora R11 Gaming Desktop

Top-notch power comes at a cost

Specifications

CPU: Intel i7-10700KF
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDDR6
RAM: 16GB DDR4 XMP
Storage: 512GB SSD + 1TB SATA HDD

Reasons to buy

+
So much space for activities
+
Great benchmark results

Reasons to avoid

-
Massive size
-
Expensive

The Alienware Aurora R11 Gaming Desktop is an excellent choice for a gaming desktop PC, and it's also one of the best mining PCs money can buy, thanks to the powerful components inside, including Intel’s i7-10700KF processor, which offers 8 cores with 16 threads for multitasking. Crucially, it also has an NVidia GPU installed as well. There's loads of space in the eye-catching chassis for upgrading when you need to, though with all Alienware products, it's pretty expensive.

Bitmain S17 Pro

(Image credit: Bitmain)
High specs and efficiency

Specifications

Graphics cards: N/A
Warranty: N/A

Reasons to buy

+
Good profit rates
+
Multiple modes
+
Efficiency

Reasons to avoid

-
Currently out of stock
-
Expensive

The Bitmain Antminer S17 Pro has some of the best advertised performance specifications, and comes with three different modes for advanced mining: normal mode, low power mode, and turbo. While the ASIC comes with a top hashrate of 56 TH/s, you will need to run it in the lower modes at times to help prevent overheating. Even still, the S17 Pro is one of the more efficient ASIC miners out there, with a Power Efficiency of 93.88±10%. However, because of its high specs, it is currently out of stock, and we await for Bitmain to restock the model and advertise a new price.

Antminer D3

(Image credit: Antminer D3)
ASIC miner

Specifications

Graphics cards: N/A
Warranty: Contact MineShop for details

Reasons to buy

+
Compact
+
More affordable

Reasons to avoid

-
Steep learning curve for new miners and ASIC mining rigs
-
Power consumption

Application-specific integrated circuit chips (ASICs) differ from other mining rigs as they don't utilize GPUs to do the mining, which means price and power consumption is reduced. They can also solve Bitcoin blocks faster, which means they are definitely worth looking into. The Antminer D3 is an ASIC miner from Mineshop.eu is a good mid-range miner that has a hash rate of 19.3 GH/s (Variation of ±5% is expected). While the power consumption is high at 1200 W, it does claim a 93% efficiency rating, making it definitely one to consider if space is at a premium.

MSI MPG Trident AS 10SC-1208US

(Image credit: MSI)

4. MSI MPG Trident AS 10SC-1208US SFF Gaming Desktop

A great mining PC for mining 24/7

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i7-10700F
Graphics: GeForce RTX 2060 Super
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB SSD

Reasons to buy

+
Very powerful system
+
Whisper quiet fans

Reasons to avoid

-
Variety of ports can be confusing
-
High specs mean high price tag

This is another fantastic gaming PC that also doubles as a versatile mining PC. Thanks to its powerful components, you'll be getting some good returns when you put it to mining, and the excellent cooling system of this PC means it can run for long periods of time without overheating - or getting too noisy. It's another expensive outlay, but one that could quickly pay off if you mine wisely.

Whatsminer M21S

(Image credit: Amazon)

5. Whatsminer M21S

A great mining rig for professional miners

Specifications

Graphics cards: N/A
Warranty: 180 days

Reasons to buy

+
Great build quality
+
Powerful

Reasons to avoid

-
Expensive

Whatsminer has another entry in this list of best mining rigs, this time with its Whatsminer M21S mining rig. This is an ASIC miner, with 52TH/s (+/- 5%) of cryptocurrency processing power. This model includes a built-in web management portal for ease of use. While it is an expensive rig, the build quality and potential profit makes it a very tempting choice if you're serious about mining.

Dell G5 Gaming Desktop

(Image credit: Dell)

6. Dell G5 Gaming Desktop

An excellent miner

Specifications

CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10700F
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 1 TB SSD
Warranty: 108 days

Reasons to buy

+
Quite powerful
+
Great built quality

Reasons to avoid

-
Expensive
-
Cooling could be improved

The Dell G5 Gaming Desktop is a brilliantly put together PC that's on the compact side for a gaming PC, and attractive, while also being excellent at making profits when mining for cryptocurrencies. However, it is expensive, and some reviews mention cooling issues. On the GPU side, it features an RTX 2060 Super.

Corsair One i160

(Image credit: Corsair)

7. Corsair One i160

A brilliant modern gaming PC for mining

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i9-9900K
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
RAM: 16GB – 32GB
Storage: 480GB M.2 SSD + 2TB HDD

Reasons to buy

+
Extremely powerful 
+
Beautiful design 

Reasons to avoid

-
Very expensive 

The Corsair One has been among the best gaming PCs ever since it came on the scene a few years ago, and the Corsair One i160 only takes things to the next level with Nvidia Turing graphics and Intel Coffee Lake Refresh processors. If you have the budget, then this is a brilliant mining PC, as it combines some of the latest, and most powerful, gaming tech, which in turn gives you phenomenal mining performance. If you also like to game, then this is a brilliant, but expensive, purchase.

Read the full review: Corsair One i160 

Brian Turner

Brian has over 30 years publishing experience as a writer and editor across a range of computing, technology, and marketing titles. He has been interviewed multiple times for the BBC and been a speaker at international conferences. His specialty on techradar is Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, covering everything from office suites to IT service tools. He is also a science fiction and fantasy author, published as Brian G Turner.