Mining is highly popular lately (again) thanks to Ethereum and besides suitable GPUs you will also need the proper power supply (PSU) for the job. The PSU has to be highly efficient, in order to keep the electricity cost as low as possible, and reliable as well since it will have to operate 24/7 under highly stressful conditions. For mining purposes, the PSU's noise isn't among the top priorities since most crypto-currency farming facilities operate in dedicated spaces where the operators don't have to stay long; even home miners should install their mining systems in isolated rooms, where noise won't be a problem. As a matter of fact, in PSUs used for mining purposes the fan is expected to operate close to its full speed most of the time, given the high load output, effectively cooling down sensitive components. This way the PSU's reliability is dramatically improved.

Our purpose for this program isn't to torture test each and every PSU that a manufacturer sends for certification since we already do this in our 10-110% load tests (part of the ETA Certification) during which we overload the PSU with the ambient temperature exceeding 45°C, but mostly to examine closely its components in order to find out whether it will survive on the (very) long run. For example, a PSU with a bulk cap which is rated at 85°C will have a significantly shorter lifetime compared to a PSU with a 105°C rated bulk cap under hard operating conditions. The same applies to the filtering capacitors on the secondary side. A PSU that uses low quality filtering capacitors with 1-3,000 hours lifetime under 105°C won't last as long as a PSU that uses 6-10,000 hours caps rated at the same temperature. Another important factor is the cooling fan, since if the fan breaks down then the PSU will most likely follow immediately, especially if it doesn't have Over Temperature Protection.

In order to provide a Mining Ready certification, we expect a PSU to meet all of the demands listed below.

• 750W or higher capacity.
• ETA-B and higher efficiency certification.
• Lower than 50mV ripple at +12V under full load at increased operating temperatures (>45°C).
• Quality Fan (sleeve-bearing and rifle-bearing fans are automatically excluded).
• Two EPS connectors.
• At least four 6+2 pin PCIe connectors on dedicated cables. In case a cable hosts two PCIe connectors, it needs to have 16AWG gauges up to the first connector for the six out of the eight pins at least. For PSUs with over 1kW capacity the number of minimum PCIe connectors is eight and for PSUs with over 1.4kW capacity the minimum is ten.
• At least four 4-pin Molex connectors on more than two cables in 1kW and stronger PSUs and six 4-pin Molex connectors in three cables for 1.4kW and higher wattage PSUs.
• All peripheral cables should use 18AWG wires minimum.
• AC power cord with up to 14AWG wires and C19 coupler for 1.4kW and stronger PSUs. For all the rest 16AWG is required.
• The essential protection features (SCP, OPP) including Over Temperature Protection.
• Over 18ms hold-up time and an accurate power ok signal.
• Complete EMI filtering stage (minimum components: 4x Y caps, 2x X caps, two CM chokes, an MOV) along with inrush current protection (thermistor and bypass relay).
• Impeccable build quality including quality MOSFETs, high quality bulk and filtering capacitors (105°C and the majority of filtering caps on the secondary side much have higher than 4,000 hours lifetime). The extended use of polymer caps on the secondary side is preferred.

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