Hello Farmers,
I’m a non-techie and have an old node that I bought in 2019 (plug and play).
I have an SN2 Soho Node Server - 16 core - 32 GB RAM - 0.5 TB SSD - 12 TB HDD and upgraded it last year by adding 3 Seagate HDD NAS 3.5" 12TB.
However, I’ve been told that my motherboard cannot handle this on the new grid.
Any simple ideas to upgrade my node?
Hi @sweden
In terms of optimizing farming rewards, you could aim for the ratio:
So if you have 16 physical cores, you would have 32 virtual cores, then you would need 32 * 100 GB of SSD = 3.2 TB of SSD to maximize the rewards.
But concernant your motherboard, could you share with us more details on your 3node?
Here are the general requirements for a DIY 3node:
This should help.
NB: If your 3node has an Intel or AMD processor, it should be able to farm.
Let us know.
If I am not mistaken, it should work. It is an AMD processor.
But then what do you mean:
“I’ve been told that my motherboard cannot handle this on the new grid”
Can you show a picture of your CPU/processor? Where it is stated 16 cores or else.
It might help to understand the situation. Thanks!
The node is too compact to actually see it unless I rip it apart…
The node is farming as it was a node bought from Better Token but the rewards on the new grid are very low due to the missing RAM I’m told
Oh I meant a picture of the written specs just like you did on a previous reply. I wasn’t clear enough.
But yes you could get more farmimlng rewards if you aim at those ratios: 100 GB SSD and 8GB RAM per thread (or virtual core)
If you could share all the written specs of your node, we could see if it is possible to upgrade it in a way as to maximize farming rewards.
So far example, with 16 physical cores, you have 32 virtual cores.
Then you could go up to 32 * 8 = 256 GB of RAM.
Then you’d need 3.2 TB of SSD (32 * 100 = 3200 GB = 3.2 TB).
This would optimize farming rewards. But it doesn’t mean your actual server can go with those specs.
Sometimes it can be more efficient to simply build another 3node. It’s also good to have different kind of 3nodes in one farm, as it offers more possibilities to Grid users.
Note: if it’s 16 virtual cores, it would be 128 GB of RAM and 1.6 TB of SSD.
I’ve asked better token where I ordered it back than.
Maybe you have a suggestion of a pc that I buy where I can optimise the 4 hard drives I currently have?
Unfortunately your HDD won’t generate a lot of TFT so swapping the PC for the HDD (that’s what I understood is your plan) doesn’t make sense.
By adding more RAM and SSD in your existing node you could significantly increase your rewards.
There is no room on the motherboard and no room in the Threefold node to add RAM
You could check the section List of Common DIY 3nodes here.
Just scroll down the post to the mentioned section. This might give you ideas.
A good deal always depends on the price you pay where you are living so it’s more of a case-by-case scenario.
For example, something like the DELL OptiPlex 7020 doesn’t require any upgrade and it has a good price/farming rewards ratio.
Rack servers such as the R720 also are great, and they could have a good GPU when this gets implemented.
Also, you could buy a certified 3node here.
It’s OK to start with one 3node and then build another 3node with better specs.
Many farmers start with one 3node and then they see ways to improve the rewards or the performance and then they go on and build other nodes.
It’s a learning curve in a way.
Hey @sweden, that’s a nice classic certified node you have there! Indeed, something that maybe hasn’t been considered enough is how the transition to Grid 3 affects these nodes and what we should recommend.
While there might not be any free RAM slots available on the mainboard, it definitely can take more RAM by replacing the existing sticks. If there are currently 2x16gb, then 2x32gb would be the natural next step. The X570 says it can accept:
- Dual Channel ECC/ Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 2 DIMMs
And the highlighted part of your screenshot above says 32gb per module, if the translator can be trusted 
For a total of 64gb RAM, you’d also want at least 1tb of SSD to fill out the CUs.
I know, it was plug and play but when I put more HDD in the node it started to complain.
I will try your suggestion as I need to get it back online and otherwise have someone build a new node for me 
I did a little digging, and I found a spec sheet for the SN2. This should help ensure any upgrades are compatible, but the only complication is that the mainboard listed is not the X570 I Aorus Pro Wifi. When I look up photos of this model mainboard from Gigabyte, the look of it also doesn’t seem to exactly match your photos (there’s no red for the RAM slots).
We can feel reasonably confident that the CPU is a Ryzen 2700 as listed in the specs. The recommendations below will assume that we have both the mainboard and CPU correct. RAM compatibility would relate mainly to the CPU. My main concern with the mainboard is whether there’s another available M.2 slot, and which varieties of M.2 drives are supported. The X570 I Aorus Pro Wifi should have a second available slot and is compatible with drives from the list below.
I might be able to verify the mainboard info from the node while it’s running, if you can provide the node id or farm id.
Here are some compatible modules that comes in 32GB capacity (pulled from this list):
Corsair
ADATA
Crucial
Samsung M378A4G43MB1-CTD
An M.2 SSD from this list, or any SATA SSD. Assuming you are adding to the existing SSD, at least 500GB would be sufficient. In the case of replacing the existing SSD, at least 1TB.
