How to ship a mining rig or a stack of GPUs
A mining rig shipped assembled almost never arrives intact: an open frame of heavy cards on risers flexes and knocks in transit. Ship the cards, packed one by one, and the parts that matter arrive the way they left.
Take the cards out of the frame
Unplug the power and riser cables from each card, undo its bracket screw and lift it out. The frame, risers and power supplies aren’t part of our offer, so they can stay behind — and leaving them out cuts the weight and the breakage risk.
Pack each card
- Each card in its own anti-static bag.
- One to two inches of bubble wrap around each, with extra over the fans and the bracket end.
- Never stack bare cards against each other — the heatsink of one cracks the board of the next.
Box them together
Use a strong box that leaves padding between every card and on every side, and fill the gaps so nothing moves when you shake it. Two or three cards per box is easier to pack safely than one large, heavy box. We send free anti-static mailers with your prepaid label if you ask for them.
The host parts
If your offer includes the processor, memory and boot drive, pack them as you would on their own: the processor in a clamshell, the memory and drive in anti-static bags. Our guide to removing and packing a CPU covers the processor.
When to use a pallet
Past a few boxes, a pallet is safer and simpler: boxes stacked and strapped, heavy ones at the bottom, wrapped in stretch film. Lots over $5,000 get free freight pickup, with palletization arranged — see selling a mining farm. Before anything ships, test the cards.