https://youtu.be/QTXpbyR7mvQ

https://youtu.be/QTXpbyR7mvQ

From Order Mix-Up to Mining Mods: My Unexpected Journey with the NerdQaxe++ Hydro

I wasn’t supposed to end up with a water-cooled Bitcoin miner. But sometimes the best tech stories start with a shipping error.A few weeks ago, I ordered a NerdQX and a GT 801 from Stell Apex. Instead, they accidentally sent me the NerdQaxe ++ Hydro — the first-generation water-cooled version. Rather than making me ship it back, they offered me a fair price to keep it. For $160, I decided to take the plunge. That’s how I ended up with a barrel-jack-powered, RGB-lit, liquid-cooled ASIC miner sitting on my desk. First Impressions Right out of the box, the Qaxe ++ Hydro feels like a serious piece of hardware. It comes with a full radiator and fan on the back, solid heat sinks, and that classic barrel jack power connector. The build quality is noticeably good — clean, sturdy, and better than I expected at this price point. It also has RGB lighting, which was a fun surprise. My mining room is about to get a lot more colorful. Setup and First Results I plugged it in with the included 120W power supply and got it running on my pool. Within minutes, it stabilized at 4.73–4.8 TH/s while drawing roughly 67–75W total.

Early temperatures were excellent:

• ASIC: 43.9°C
• Voltage regulators: 53.9°C

For a compact miner, that’s very solid performance. The pump makes the usual low-level vibration noise, but nothing extreme. Still, every time I heard it, my old water-cooling trauma kicked in.

Why I’m Converting It to Air Cooling Let me be honest:

I’m not a water cooling fan. Years ago, a Cooler Master AIO leaked while running and completely killed my FX-series Bulldozer system. That experience scarred me. So even though this hydro setup looks well-made (it even has a fill port), my plan has always been to convert this miner to air cooling for better long-term reliability.I already won a custom 3D-printed stand from Ryan Blass at Karpuz Mining, and I have an air cooler on the way.

Teardown: Inside the Qaxe++ Hydro

I couldn’t resist taking it apart. The screen comes off easily, and I love that the firmware module is detachable — a huge plus for repair-ability if anything ever goes wrong. The board looks fantastic. Clean layout, high-quality components, and excellent thermal paste application from Stell Apex. The voltage regulator is a TPS53647 from Texas Instruments, located under the screen. That area gets warm, so I’m already planning 3D-printed fan shrouds to push direct airflow underneath. The water block appears to be a repurposed high-quality CPU AIO. Everything was neatly installed with solid brackets. Current Plans and Modding This miner has me excited for a new phase in my setup. Now that I have a 3D printer, I’m itching to create custom brackets, fan shrouds, and stands. I’m currently printing with PLA, but higher-temperature filament is on the way.I won’t be overclocking this unit. The Qaxe series has a reputation for blowing fuses and stressing power delivery when pushed too hard.

Final Verdict The Nerd Qaxe ++ Hydro is a strong little miner that delivers excellent hashrate and efficiency in a compact form. Build quality is solid, temps are good, and Stell Apex’s customer service was excellent — fast shipping and a fair resolution on the order mix-up. For me personally, the water cooling is temporary. I’ll feel much better once it’s running air-cooled.Would I recommend it? Yes — especially if you get it at a good price and are comfortable with liquid cooling. Just know your own risk tolerance.

Special thanks to Stell Apex for offering my readers a 15% discount on everything at shop.stellapex.com. “alex-exclusive-coupons” It’s not an affiliate link — they simply provided the code after the mix-up. If you’re into home mining or ASIC modding, drop a comment below. Have you run a water-cooled miner before? Worth it, or too risky?I’ll be back soon with the full air-cooled conversion once everything arrives. Until then, keep hashing. — Synthetic Division