Quick Clarifications In Regards To Builds
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looks good so far. there are so many different ways to build these things.
http://imgur.com/a/Axl4L#0 7950 crate 1.8 M/h
http://imgur.com/a/bEUNg#0 5850 crate 1.1 M/h
enjoy 8)
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RAM doesn’t matter on your computer itself.
What matters is your GPU’s RAM.
I have rigs that have 4 GPUs, but only 4 gigs of RAM. They run just fine.
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Motherboard ram does not matter, you need enough to run your os and other programs on your machine.
Processor does not matter either unless you want to use it for mining. This is not power efficient unless you do a cpu mined scrypt-jane based coin.Now for the build…That PSU scares the crap out of me. It is not a large name brand PSU and I cannot speak to the quality of it which does matter. If you have a low quality psu that blows up down the road when you add cards you could easily destroy your equipment. I bet you cant run 3x 7970s on that PSU without killing your rig.
Way too much spent on memory for this build as you don’t need that much.
I would go with a good 850w psu and 3x 7950s and drop the ram to 4 or 2 gigs. Remember to get powered risers as well because that low quality mobo will have trouble running multiple cards on unpowered risers.
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Okay, I used this post as a kind of scratch sheet to hammer out hunting around and your guys’ input. My current list is at the bottom of the post.
[quote name=“deroekeloze” post=“18094” timestamp=“1372350539”]
looks good so far. there are so many different ways to build these things.http://imgur.com/a/Axl4L#0 7950 crate 1.8 M/h
http://imgur.com/a/bEUNg#0 5850 crate 1.1 M/h
enjoy 8)
[/quote]
So you’ve been satisfied with the 7950? Considering I can pull one for 242 used:[url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0074CCDTS/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used]used 7950[/url]
I presume the performance difference is proportional to the cost trade off? Just going off the litecoin chart, anyway.
NVM: I’ve seen the light:
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202026]New, $20 mail in rebate, game package, $270[/url] SOLD.
[quote author=Benny link=topic=2323.msg18095#msg18095 date=1372351508]
RAM doesn’t matter on your computer itself.What matters is your GPU’s RAM.
I have rigs that have 4 GPUs, but only 4 gigs of RAM. They run just fine.
[/quote]I figured as much for GPU RAM, but I guess I was misled in regards to RAM. This is good to know, saves more than a few bucks for sure, [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UY3MUQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1E1TCZVT95LGV]cuts me down 75% from my initial pick. May hold out for some Crucial instead of whatever crap this is, though[/url].
[quote author=RIPPEDDRAGON link=topic=2323.msg18100#msg18100 date=1372354004]
Motherboard ram does not matter, you need enough to run your os and other programs on your machine.
Processor does not matter either unless you want to use it for mining. This is not power efficient unless you do a cpu mined scrypt-jane based coin.[/quote]I may have the processor do something since the machine is on anyway (power cost is no object), but yeah, I won’t be co-dependent on it or have any expectation on it.
Thanks for the input on RAM, as I mentioned above, I was misled as to the role of motherboard RAM in scrypt based mining. I’m downing my count. Considering I’ll be running Ubuntu, I presume 2GB would be more than enough then, yes?
[quote]Now for the build…That PSU scares the crap out of me. It is not a large name brand PSU and I cannot speak to the quality of it which does matter. If you have a low quality psu that blows up down the road when you add cards you could easily destroy your equipment. I bet you cant run 3x 7970s on that PSU without killing your rig.[/quote]
I agree, I just browsed through for cheapest PSU at acceptable wattage. Please let me know what you recommend. Based on the seriousness of a bad PSU killing the rest of the rig, I’m willing to dump the money into an mid-high expensive one.
Would a XFX 1050 do nicely?
[url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0066AH46G/ref=sr_1_4_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1372356626&sr=8-4&keywords=xfx+power+supply&condition=used]It’s used, but even if it’s been ran by a miner previously as long as it’s not been in an abusive environment it’d be worth a shot, yeah?[/url]
Or do they have some sort of warranty that would make buying new worth it. [url=http://www.amazon.com/XFX-PRO1050W-Compatible-Certified-P11050BEFX/dp/B0066AH46G/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372356769&sr=1-1&keywords=XFX+PRO1050W+Black+Edition]190[/url].
EDIT AGAIN: NVM, totally going for the new one, has a $30 mail in rebate putting it right at the same price point as used.
[quote]Way too much spent on memory for this build as you don’t need that much.
I would go with a good 850w psu and 3x 7950s and drop the ram to 4 or 2 gigs. Remember to get powered risers as well because that low quality mobo will have trouble running multiple cards on unpowered risers.
[/quote]So definitely 7950s over 7970s? Excellent. Saves a lot.
Any place you recommend I can get powered risers with cash/credit/paypal? I see them on Bitmit and the FTC marketplace and the like, but that puts me in a catch-22 situation.
Okay, reading the other threads I found this:
http://cablesaurus.com/PCIe-x16-Extender-Cable-w-Molex-Connector
Which is fine for one slot but not the 1xs. I’ll keep looking.
[b]RIDICUEDIT:[/b]
After further hunting down, spec/price comparisons, I wound back up at NewEgg since the rebates and game bundles are speaking to me over the immediate savings of used equipment:
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182239]Rosewill PSU[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145252]Corsair RAM[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186214]Foxconn board[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116889]Celeron dual core[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202026]Sapphire 7950[/url]And I gather you all are saying to not run the cards directly plugged into the board, even for the 16x slot, so get these:
[url=http://cablesaurus.com/PCIe-x16-Extender-Cable-w-Molex-Connector]16x[/url] x1
[url=http://cablesaurus.com/PCIe-x1–%3E-x16-Adapter-Extender-Cable-w-Molex-Connector]1x adapter[/url] x2Buying ahead of time for when I need it.
May even up the 7950 to two since locally I know I can move those PC games at a reasonable cost.
Thanks again for any input you guys have, it’s greatly appreciated.
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There are 2 mentalities when it comes to mining, cheap and cheerful or expensive and reliable so sit back and think where you want to be in 6 months time…
Are you:-
a. Still gonna be running 1 card wishing you never spent the money in the first place
or
b. Running 4+ cards with 2MHs+ and selling kidneys to raise more cash?
If the answer is “a” Then simply get as cheap and cheerful as poss. You pretty much there.
If however the answer is “B” then invest as much in the supporting hardware as possible. Buy cheap, buy twice. There’s enough miners around here that can vouch for that.
So if it’s “B”…
My personal favourite PSU is the Seasoninc X1250 - I have these bad boys pulling 1450+ watts (24/7) from the wall and still rock steady. That’s enough for 5 7950s! It’s also one of the only supplies that actually has 8x pci connectors for running 4x GPUs natively. That may be expensive but with a 5 year warranty and rock steady reliabilty, you’ll still be using it in years to come. Most cheap PSUs that claim crazy power outputs can only deliver at 40c and below (even then they struggle to do it 24/7) which is NOT realistic for mining especially if it’s enclosed in a case.
Motherboards - For gaming Intel all the way. For mining AMD. Also, i’m not entirely convinced that that board will support multiple GPUs. Just because it has slots doesn’t mean it will run them. Again my personal fave is the GA-990FXA-UD3 paired with a 4100 CPU and the cheap run of the mill 4GB RAM. These boards have been running 4x 7970s without powered risers for months and not a single hiccup.
Finally the GPU’s. I think it’s best to stick with either gigabyte or sapphires so the one you’ve picked should server you well.
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[quote name=“Nutnut” post=“18127” timestamp=“1372360222”]
There are 2 mentalities when it comes to mining, cheap and cheerful or expensive and reliable so sit back and think where you want to be in 6 months time…Are you:-
a. Still gonna be running 1 card wishing you never spent the money in the first place
or
b. Running 4+ cards with 2MHs+ and selling kidneys to raise more cash?
If the answer is “a” Then simply get as cheap and cheerful as poss. You pretty much there.
If however the answer is “B” then invest as much in the supporting hardware as possible. Buy cheap, buy twice. There’s enough miners around here that can vouch for that.
So if it’s “B”…
My personal favourite PSU is the Seasoninc X1250 - I have these bad boys pulling 1450+ watts (24/7) from the wall and still rock steady. That’s enough for 5 7950s! It’s also one of the only supplies that actually has 8x pci connectors for running 4x GPUs natively. That may be expensive but with a 5 year warranty and rock steady reliabilty, you’ll still be using it in years to come. Most cheap PSUs that claim crazy power outputs can only deliver at 40c and below (even then they struggle to do it 24/7) which is NOT realistic for mining especially if it’s enclosed in a case.[/quote]
Hehe, I looked up that beast and at NewEgg it ships with a carrying bag. Funny.
Since at most all I can afford is a couple of GPUs and the place I’m at won’t have my free power 24/7 (at most at the moment I’m looking at running it 9 hours a day, 5 days a week until I can secure office space that suits my needs), do you think that goofy looking Rosewill I picked out would be suitable for 2-3 7950s, then? What unit of measurement are you referring to with “40c” - what am I needing to check in specs for that?
I’ll be operating open air on a rack. I have these retail Blockbuster video racks that I’m going measure to make sure, but I think I’m going to remove some of the shelving and mount whatever I can vertically and face out.
[quote]Motherboards - For gaming Intel all the way. For mining AMD. Also, i’m not entirely convinced that that board will support multiple GPUs. Just because it has slots doesn’t mean it will run them.[/quote]
Oh, okay. I just grabbed it because someone else around here was using it (oh, the first one, now that I think of it. Not that Foxconn)
[quote] Again my personal fave is the GA-990FXA-UD3 paired with a 4100 CPU and the cheap run of the mill 4GB RAM. These boards have been running 4x 7970s without powered risers for months and not a single hiccup.[/quote]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514&Tpk=GIGABYTE%20GA-990FXA-UD3&IsVirtualParent=1]So, this then.[/url] Alright.
But geebus are those AM3+ processors expensive. Is there any chance that board can run an [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103888]AM3 Sempron[/url]? I don’t know the difference since I’ve never worked with AMD chips and boards before. I mean, if processor speed isn’t immediately important to the process, it just seems like something to cut back on.
[quote]Finally the GPU’s. I think it’s best to stick with either gigabyte or sapphires so the one you’ve picked should server you well.
[/quote]
Excellent.Thanks for the input!
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I just googled rosewell psu quality and oh, boy, it aint good! 40c is the ambient (the intake temp) so if it’s in a case you’re in trouble. You’re open air though so you should be fine. Still wouldn’t go cheap on the PSU though.
Yep - that mobo support semprons ([url=http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3894]http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3894[/url]). I only chose the 4100 for resale value and the fact that i’ll likely re purpose the rigs at some point. The extra few quid seemed like a drop in the ocean. Semprons will do though.
Shout if you have any more questions.
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If someone told me I’d be dumping a grand on some graphics cards today, I would’ve laughed at them.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/H9k2omk.png[/img]
Took everyone’s suggestions. Oh, I suppose I need to reload all those back into my cart so that I can get the mail in rebates for those effected.
Let the hashing begin.
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PMSL!!! 8)
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heeeee
For the past year I’ve wanted to do [i]something[/i] in regards to crypto currency. I missed the boat on Bitcoin, toyed with getting together with people to buy an ASIC and it’s like… blah. Ground floor it with ftc.
Next step is to get my entire store itemized into the ftc marketplace. Jack some value into these things so that people will spend 'em back and forth.
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Do you need PCI-E risers?
I run BuyAHash.com - We have the powered models in stock, ready to ship, and half the price of Cablesaurus. I used to buy from him until he lied about a few things. We can ship them next day, and accept PayPal.
Also, about the PSU - I reccomend OCZ, Seasonic, and Rosewill (the gold rated ones, not the Bronze). I’ve also used AZZA 1000w Bronze PSUs on some of my smaller rigs… That is about the cheapest I’d go.
The big thing about bigger/better/more expensive PSUs is that they are designed to be more efficient in regards to electricity. You may pay $50 more upfront on a PSU, but you will get that back in a few months due to electric bills. If you want to save a little bit, I would look into buying 2 cheaper PSUs (at least bronze rated), and get a dual PSU cable. We sell those too for $10. I’m starting to use them on my own rigs. You can save about 20-30% on a rig by buying 2 smaller PSUs from the same vendor. Of course, this mostly goes with 4+ card rigs.
If you have any questions, I will try to help… I own BuyAHash.com and have about 12 rigs deployed + have built another 4-6 for sale to people. I don’t know everything, but I know a good bit on building a cheap, effective Scrypt rig. Overall, everything looks like its coming together for you. The Seasonic 1250W is a beast of a PSU - probably the best on the market. Great for a 4x7950 rig.
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build it!
welcome to the addiction 8)
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[quote name=“Benny” post=“18166” timestamp=“1372369842”]
Do you need PCI-E risers?I run BuyAHash.com - We have the powered models in stock, ready to ship, and half the price of Cablesaurus. I used to buy from him until he lied about a few things. We can ship them next day, and accept PayPal.
Also, about the PSU - I reccomend OCZ, Seasonic, and Rosewill (the gold rated ones, not the Bronze). I’ve also used AZZA 1000w Bronze PSUs on some of my smaller rigs… That is about the cheapest I’d go.
The big thing about bigger/better/more expensive PSUs is that they are designed to be more efficient in regards to electricity. You may pay $50 more upfront on a PSU, but you will get that back in a few months due to electric bills. If you want to save a little bit, I would look into buying 2 cheaper PSUs (at least bronze rated), and get a dual PSU cable. We sell those too for $10. I’m starting to use them on my own rigs. You can save about 20-30% on a rig by buying 2 smaller PSUs from the same vendor. Of course, this mostly goes with 4+ card rigs.
If you have any questions, I will try to help… I own BuyAHash.com and have about 12 rigs deployed + have built another 4-6 for sale to people. I don’t know everything, but I know a good bit on building a cheap, effective Scrypt rig. Overall, everything looks like its coming together for you. The Seasonic 1250W is a beast of a PSU - probably the best on the market. Great for a 4x7950 rig.
[/quote]hey, was there a coupon code for your site for that half the price of cablesaurus deal you mentioned? Because you’re both $9 that i see. Since my other stuff is shipping, I’m going to be ordering from you as soon as that’s confirmed. Thanks! -
[quote name=“HopeStillFlies” post=“18244” timestamp=“1372386053”]
[quote author=Benny link=topic=2323.msg18166#msg18166 date=1372369842]
Do you need PCI-E risers?I run BuyAHash.com - We have the powered models in stock, ready to ship, and half the price of Cablesaurus. I used to buy from him until he lied about a few things. We can ship them next day, and accept PayPal.
Also, about the PSU - I reccomend OCZ, Seasonic, and Rosewill (the gold rated ones, not the Bronze). I’ve also used AZZA 1000w Bronze PSUs on some of my smaller rigs… That is about the cheapest I’d go.
The big thing about bigger/better/more expensive PSUs is that they are designed to be more efficient in regards to electricity. You may pay $50 more upfront on a PSU, but you will get that back in a few months due to electric bills. If you want to save a little bit, I would look into buying 2 cheaper PSUs (at least bronze rated), and get a dual PSU cable. We sell those too for $10. I’m starting to use them on my own rigs. You can save about 20-30% on a rig by buying 2 smaller PSUs from the same vendor. Of course, this mostly goes with 4+ card rigs.
If you have any questions, I will try to help… I own BuyAHash.com and have about 12 rigs deployed + have built another 4-6 for sale to people. I don’t know everything, but I know a good bit on building a cheap, effective Scrypt rig. Overall, everything looks like its coming together for you. The Seasonic 1250W is a beast of a PSU - probably the best on the market. Great for a 4x7950 rig.
[/quote]hey, was there a coupon code for your site for that half the price of cablesaurus deal you mentioned? Because you’re both $9 that i see. Since my other stuff is shipping, I’m going to be ordering from you as soon as that’s confirmed. Thanks!
[/quote]Cablesaurus is $17.50 for a powered riser. Mine are $9.00, so essentially half off.
His Prices: [url=http://www.cablesaurus.com/]http://www.cablesaurus.com/[/url]
Mine: [url=http://buyahash.com/products-2/#category=risers&search=]http://buyahash.com/products-2/#category=risers&search=[/url] -
Yup, I figured it out after I’d written you about it, sorry. Looking at so many pages and products yesterday I got my crud muddled and thought they were offering them at $9, too, thus my confusion.
Ordered from you just now.
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Got my parts in just as I left home, so no assembly for me for another 3 hours, no mining until tomorrow.
I pulled this case out of a salvage pallet:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133215
I know we were talking about no cases, but what would it take to make it happen without there being heat issues? Fans crammed into every nook? Liquid cooling?
Am I better off milk crating and point this at it since I have it handy?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Vornado-733B-Whole-Room-Air-Circulator/13423126
Or am I, and I am seriously not wanting to be tongue-in-cheek about this but it crossed my mind so I figured I should bring it up, risking having a fan so powerful that it [i]slows[/i] the fans on the GPUs?
When I get home I’ll have a better idea about that case, but I do know it has at least a couple of fans and I have a PS3 one I can add right off the bat if I need to.
Meh, you know what, I ordered those risers so even if I raise the cards off the board since it’s such a big deal to have them side-by-side, there’ll really be nowhere to put them in that case. Maybe I should just go for a crate.
Or combo a crate with that case so that I have something solid holding the motherboard, powersupply, media, set it on it’s side with the open face out and a crate with the cards sitting on top.
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To make it work in that case you’d need an angle grinder as there’s only 7 expansion slots and you’s need 8 for those cards. :P
Additionally you’d need a serious water cooling setup. All told your looking at around ~1.1KW of heat going in that case so it’s like sticking a fan heater in a box. It ain’t gonna end well.
Practically every 4 card rig i’ve seen is open air. Whether that’s a crate or a custom build frame work like mine it’ll be easier/cheaper/better than an enclosed jobby.
Here’s 1 of mine…
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[quote name=“Nutnut” post=“19355” timestamp=“1372795839”]
To make it work in that case you’d need an angle grinder as there’s only 7 expansion slots and you’s need 8 for those cards. :PAdditionally you’d need a serious water cooling setup. All told your looking at around ~1.1KW of heat going in that case so it’s like sticking a fan heater in a box. It ain’t gonna end well.
Practically every 4 card rig i’ve seen is open air. Whether that’s a crate or a custom build frame work like mine it’ll be easier/cheaper/better than an enclosed jobby.
Here’s 1 of mine…
[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img7/4227/p1000305fv.jpg[/img]
[/quote]Once I get up to 4 in one case ill post pics or a vid…been too busy with my move from ME to NH. I am using a Fractal Design XL…the key is that I have 2x 252 cfm Deltas and 2x 50w Rheostats sitting in my extra parts bin from my old ultimate air cooled rig. I don’t think ill run into any problems at all. Just need enough CFM and proper fan locations and it is totally viable.
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With all the deltas in the world it doesn’t change the fact that you need 8 expansion slots in the case but you only have 7. ;)
Also the issue you’ll have is that all 4 cards will be bunched up (back of one card will be practically touching the front of the next) so cool air can’t get in. In fact the hot air gets sucked in instead and it compounds up. In the end the top card (cpu side) runs 20 to 30c hotter than the bottom. My open air rigs make use of multple 4000cfm air movers and still struggle to stay below 80c in the summer. Granted they are oc’d but nonetheless…
If you succeed without water cooling I’d patent the design. Believe me I’ve tried in a haf-x and failed. That case now has a single gtx580 in it. :'(
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[quote name=“Nutnut” post=“19391” timestamp=“1372805225”]
With all the deltas in the world it doesn’t change the fact that you need 8 expansion slots in the case but you only have 7. ;)Also the issue you’ll have is that all 4 cards will be bunched up (back of one card will be practically touching the front of the next) so cool air can’t get in. In fact the hot air gets sucked in instead and it compounds up. In the end the top card (cpu side) runs 20 to 30c hotter than the bottom. My open air rigs make use of multple 4000cfm air movers and still struggle to stay below 80c in the summer. Granted they are oc’d but nonetheless…
If you succeed without water cooling I’d patent the design. Believe me I’ve tried in a haf-x and failed. That case now has a single gtx580 in it. :'(
[/quote]The Fractal I have has 9 expansion slots and i got it for like $80. You can cool anything with proper voltages and static pressure. This is also going to be used to replace my aging gaming rig which will be turned into a mining only one. Ill have pics in about 3 weeks after my move is finished and I have time to work on machines again. I am working on building a custom made fan bracket that will come from the bottom of the case up behind the butt of the cards and hold 2 120mm fans. The trick is eliminating heat pockets on your cards while they are close together.