Building a GPU Lab Server (Work-in-Progress)

tags: +diy +gpu +hardware +homelab

In 2017, I built an etherium mining rig. Having since lost interest in cryptocurrency, I am currently converting that rig into a machine-learning lab environment. Below are a few photos of the build in-progress.

I once again used OpenBeam (now “MakerBeam”) to build a simple cradle for the GPUs:

The GPUs are locked into the cradle by lateral tension applied by the cross beams:

The GPU cradle press-fits into a Rosewill 4u server chassis. Tension is adequate to hold the GPUs securely in-place:

The chassis shipped with an internal array of three 120mm cooling fans, but it collided with the GPUs. Fortunately, I was able to trivially modify the chassis to mount the fans externally:

This machine is ultimately going to be racked in my homelab, which is likewise a work-in-progress:

All that remains is to run power cabling to the GPUs, though I’ll postpone that until after I’ve had time to create custom cables of the appropriate length. I’m striving to make this build as tidy as possible.

I’ll update this post as the project progresses.