Super efficient mining rig build.

M

master noran

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
2,825
Hey, here I stand again before you awesome gen[H]ard guru's looking to build another system(s). I plan to use the system(s) for mining bitcoins so I want to be as efficient as possible wattage wise. I plan to use 4 unlocked 6950's, the rest of the hardware does not have to be high end at all. I'm talking about 1Gb ram, single core proc's and etc. I also plan to use ubuntu and a couple of programs so I barely need and HD space ( I heard some people run ubuntu off a usb stick)





1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
bitcoin mining, thats it.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
like $500 not including gpu's.
3) Where do you live?
Canada
4)What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Cpu, possibly ram depending on the type (ddr2 or ddr3?) MB, possibly psu, no case, some sort of storage device like a HD or something.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Possibly some ddr3 2gb 1600mhz sticks. Possibly a BFG SL-1200 if it can handle 4 6950's
6) Will you be overclocking?
I will be underclocking the cpu.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
No monitor.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Lots of pci-e 16x slots for the cards, I would also like some onboard buttons since it will probably be caseless.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Probably be using ubuntu.




Let me know if this is too vague and you need more information. I plan to use 4 6950's with downlocked memory, highly overclocked cores, unlocked shaders and all of that. I've also not looked into it much but I could get pcie extension wires so the cards would not actually have to be on the motherboard so the way the slots are set up on the MB they would not have to accommodate 4 dual slot 6950's.


edit: also this will be running at full gpu load 24/7
 
I'm no hippy.. but I refuse to chime in on this one.
 
there are cheaper, but they have less pci-e slots. it just depends on how many gpus you want to use.
 
master noran said:
I took a look at this board earlier, I'm sure there is something cheaper out there that I could use instead.
Click to expand...

There really isn't. You're basically looking at used hardware at that point. That MSI mobo is pretty much as cheap as you're going to get without going into used hardware. At that point, you're on your own.

Remember that you're planning on using four GPUs. Which means at least four PCI-E x16 slots are needed. In addition, those four PCI-E slots have to be spaced out to where there's a slot between each PCI-E x16 slot. That MSI mobo is pretty much the cheapest new mobo that fits that criteria.
 
Danny Bui said:
There really isn't. You're basically looking at used hardware at that point. That MSI mobo is pretty much as cheap as you're going to get without going into used hardware. At that point, you're on your own.

Remember that you're planning on using four GPUs. Which means at least four PCI-E x16 slots are needed. In addition, those four PCI-E slots have to be spaced out to where there's a slot between each PCI-E x16 slot. That MSI mobo is pretty much the cheapest new mobo that fits that criteria.
Click to expand...

Doesn't that MB only have two 16x, with the other three being 8x/8x/4x. I'm also considering getting pcie extenders (they look like ide cables and let you have cards connected via these wires and not directly on to the motherboard) Is there a cheaper board with different pcie placement? Also what should I be looking for cpu wise? I see a lot of info saying single cores are fine and some info saying you need at least a core for each gpu. I think I can settle on a nice efficient dual core and see if it does the trick. Also how would my bfg sl-1200 handle 4 very highly overclocked 6950's at 99% load 24/7?
 
Danny Bui said:
There really isn't. You're basically looking at used hardware at that point. That MSI mobo is pretty much as cheap as you're going to get without going into used hardware. At that point, you're on your own.

Remember that you're planning on using four GPUs. Which means at least four PCI-E x16 slots are needed. In addition, those four PCI-E slots have to be spaced out to where there's a slot between each PCI-E x16 slot. That MSI mobo is pretty much the cheapest new mobo that fits that criteria.
Click to expand...

Actually your wrong here Danny.. He is using 4x GPU's, but some will be on extension cables (as pointed out in OP) & from what I understand for mining 1x slots are sufficient. So Ideally the cheapest full ATX board with 0 or 1 pci slot would be best so that additional GPU's could be used.
 
master noran said:
Doesn't that MB only have two 16x, with the other three being 8x/8x/4x.
Click to expand...
Yes. And? It's been shown that's theres virtually no difference between x4 and x16 speeds in real world performance. If you want x16 for all four slots for whatever illogical reason, you're gonna have to spend a lot more cash.

master noran said:
Is there a cheaper board with different pcie placement?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I don't understand: Why do you have a different PCI-E placement? The placement of those five PCI-E x16 slots on that MSI mobo allows you to fit four dual-slot video cards just fine. There's really no way to improve upon that. Any other mobo that's gonna fit your requirements has to have a similiar PCI-E x16 layout. Again read what I wrote earlier:
those four PCI-E slots have to be spaced out to where there's a slot between each PCI-E x16 slot.

If you want a cheaper motherboard, then you're gonna have to drop the four GPU requirement or get a used motherboard with four PCI-E x16 slots spaced out.

master noran said:
Also what should I be looking for cpu wise? I see a lot of info saying single cores are fine and some info saying you need at least a core for each gpu. I think I can settle on a nice efficient dual core and see if it does the trick.
Click to expand...
AMD Athlon II X2 250 CPU
master noran said:
Also how would my bfg sl-1200 handle 4 very highly overclocked 6950's at 99% load 24/7?
Click to expand...
Should be fine

bastage said:
Actually your wrong here Danny.. He is using 4x GPU's, but some will be on extension cables (as pointed out in OP) & from what I understand for mining 1x slots are sufficient. So Ideally the cheapest full ATX board with 0 or 1 pci slot would be best so that additional GPU's could be used.
Click to expand...
Ahhh that makes sense now. Totally missed that. In that case, these mobos should be ok:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138318
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130565
 
Last edited:
bastage said:
You would need 2 of "PCIe x1 Extender Cable".. Leave 2 cards in the native x16 & x4 slots & then the other 2 cards out of the 1x slots off of the board
Click to expand...

Alright what about the extenders with the molex connectors keeping the pcie slots from burning up, how many should I get with the molex?
 
master noran said:
Alright what about the extenders with the molex connectors keeping the pcie slots from burning up, how many should I get with the molex?
Click to expand...


Anybody have any idea? Still plan to run 4 cards of a MB, how many extenders should I get with the additional molex input to keep the MB from burning up?
 
You dont need additional molex input for the extenders, just the PCI-E power the cards themselves use.
 
Monkey God said:
You dont need additional molex input for the extenders, just the PCI-E power the cards themselves use.
Click to expand...

Really? I mean don't 4 way sli or cf setups run the risk of burning a MB's 24 pin if there is not a molex input on the board? All of the high end boards have them if I'm not mistaken. The extender with the molex connector is essentially the same thing except I don't know if it only works on that pcie slot with the extender on it or all the of the slots.
 
Its only going to work on that slot. I run a 4x 5830 miner rig based on a MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3, using two extenders. I have never heard of people burning stuff up from using their PCI-E slots.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top