\[Guide\] GPU Mining using Radeon R9 280x Sapphire Dual X OC

kojima18

Given the influx of miners I decided to write a small guide for those who are using Sapphire R9 280x Dual X OC with SDK â€" (11221-07-20G) and my setup. I only run Sapphire because they are cheap, plentiful, and can be under volt.

I use the following software to mine:

Cgminer 3.7.2 â€" Mining app, newer version doesnâ€™t support scrypt
[url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=28402.0]https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=28402.0[/url]
CGWatcher 1.3.3 â€" Monitor app, auto reboot and start
[url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=159267.0]https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=159267.0[/url]
CG Remote - 1.0.7.3 â€" Remote access to your mining rigs running CG Monitor
[url=http://manotechnology.blogspot.fr/p/cgremote.html]http://manotechnology.blogspot.fr/p/cgremote.html[/url]
Sapphire Trixx 4.6 â€" Underclock/ overclock app for Sapphire GPU cards
[url=https://www.sapphireselectclub.com/ssc/TriXX/]https://www.sapphireselectclub.com/ssc/TriXX/[/url]

I use the following hardware to mine

CPU â€" Amd Sempron 145 (around 31 Euros) - Not used for calculation so less power the better, it draws in 45w
Motherboard â€" Asrock 970 Extreme 4 (Around 85 Euros) - it has 3 x16 and 2 x1, handy on and off switch on the MB
Hard drive - 32GB SSD (Cheap) - not important just used to load OS
Ram â€" 4GB DDr 3 (Around 35 Euros) - 4 gb is enough for 2 GPU might upgrade to 8gb when I have 4 GPU
GPU â€" Sapphire R9 280x Dual X OC (around 250 Euros)
PSU â€" Enermax Platimax 1500w (around 320 Euros)

I am currently running 2 GPU and waiting for my risers to run 4 in total. Right now each GPU is pulling in around 230 watts under volted with CPU / MB pulling in 100 watts for a total of 560 watts. 4 cards + CPU / MB mean you will be pulling in 1100-1200 depending on voltage.
1500w seem overkill, you can use 1250 + but right now in Paris prices for PSU are going for around 300 euros for anything about 1200 so I decided to pay just a little more. Another good brand is Seasonic 1250W.

CG Miner Setting:

-g 2 -w 256 -I 13 --gpu-engine 1030,1030 --gpu-memclock 1500,1500 --gpu-powertune -20,-20 --thread-concurrency 8192,8192

Sapphire Trixx Setting:
Voltage 1050 â€" 1100
Force Constant Voltage = True

CG Watcher Setting:
“temp-target” : “60,65”,
“auto-fan” : true,

Results are the following:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/vBez3ND.png[/img]

GPU 0 = 715-720KH (58-62 Degree)
GPU 1 = 705-715KH (62-68 Degree)

The second GPU always runs lower for now because of heat issue until I get my risers to clear the trap hot air in-between the cards.

CGRemote and CGWatcher

Im waiting for my beta access then I will update on how to install and remote monitor your mining rigs using CGRemote. CGWatcher alone is useful because it can auto reboot CGminer or your computer in case of hardware error or cgminer crashes.

Feed the Pig :D

Donation Address: 6wLQmAVYkddCvGJpUFd3Ro2wjCK7UcRf8w

+rep - UV4Life! I’m running the same setup (gpu+mobo), except for the CPU (Athlon x2 260, Semprons were out of stock *lol)

I’d be curious about your watts + hashrate if you set Trixx [b]1.07v[/b] and [b]–gpu-engine 1000,1000 --gpu-memclock 1250,1250[/b]?
In theory this should be
With difficulty growing towards 5000 for LTC by end of the year (other altcoins will probably also seriously rise next year) power consumption will be quite a factor =)

edit4memclock fix =)

RIPPEDDRAGON

AWESOME GUIDE!!! I am working on my power optimization guide and this is going to be one of the links in it. +Rep

The more people working on optimizations for power consumption the better for all of us. I love seeing others settings and results.
@715KH/s and 225 Watts per card you are getting 3.18 KHs/watt, much better than the stock hash at all costs settings!

I am going to play a bit and see what I can come up with using some of your settings.

angloblaxon

[quote] I only run Sapphire because they are cheap, plentiful, and can be under volt.[/quote]

Where are they plentiful at? I have started to buy some of these

kojima18

[quote name=“angloblaxon” post=“43508” timestamp=“1386870650”]
[quote] I only run Sapphire because they are cheap, plentiful, and can be under volt.[/quote]

Where are they plentiful at? I have started to buy some of these
[/quote]

in France, the major online seller and in Paris if you go to the Chinese Shop

[url=http://www.rue-montgallet.com/prix/comparer,cartes-graphiques,109,1,1,1]http://www.rue-montgallet.com/prix/comparer,cartes-graphiques,109,1,1,1[/url]

[url=http://www.cdiscount.com/]http://www.cdiscount.com/[/url]

[url=http://www.rueducommerce.fr/home/index.htm]http://www.rueducommerce.fr/home/index.htm[/url]

I just bought 8 Saphire 7950 for 190 euro each :P

You need to keep the memory at 1500 or you will run into problems, modify the GPU and the Voltage only.

oops, sry - I posted the wrong memclocks. It’s 1250mhz actually :p
It’s running@
My next step is testing 1.05v starting right now and pulling ~465watts ATM.

awesome deal on the 7950’s!!! :D â‚¬190 is dirt cheap right now =)

[attachment deleted by admin]

sheepson

That’s pretty nice, i am also looking to buy some 280x cards and get an other rig up and running.
Cheers.

kojima18

[quote name=“midwaycy6” post=“43585” timestamp=“1386880795”]
Great mining guide for those who doesn’t know how to setup.

After 24hr of nonstop of mining i think those cards are so hot, personally i don’t like the way they have to evacuate the heat in a home open case.

I’m getting these results:

dates of 3 Sapphire 280x Dual-x

HashRate: Average of 725kh/s
GPUClock: 1080 totally stable with -20% of power
GPUMEM: 1500
Temps: between 65 and 77
Voltage: Stock

Which Voltage do you recommend for these cards?
[/quote]

Try 1100 and if hash doesnt change try 1050, any lower and you start to get hardware issue.
I can get 725 but I prefer to run my cards around 58-65 with lower voltage.

mirrax

[quote name=“kojima18” post=“43392” timestamp=“1386846094”]
CGRemote and CGWatcher
Im waiting for my beta access then I will update on how to install and remote monitor your mining rigs using CGRemote. CGWatcher alone is useful because it can auto reboot CGminer or your computer in case of hardware error or cgminer crashes.
[/quote]

So? Is it worth 10USD?

To keep things updated: My 1.05v test with 2 cards failed twice after about half an hour (driver crashed) :-/

Anyways, my third card arrived this week - and even tough I had to go up a notch on the volts I’m still happy with the results. I’m now running the cards@1.08v. The necessary increase in volts might have to do with the fact that my latest card has a [b]stock voltage of 1.2v[/b] whereas the other two came with [b]1.163v stock voltage[/b].

[quote]cgminer --scrypt --temp-target 70 --auto-fan --gpu-engine 1010 --gpu-memclock 1250 -g 2 -I 13 -w 256 --thread-concurrency 8192[/quote]

The results for the above settings are ~700kh/s per card. So overall not too bad =)

Total rig power consumption with 3x R9 280X = ~690 watts
resulting in a total hashrate of round about = 2100 kh/s

These will probably be my 24/7 settings for now.

btw. ignore the 2% reject rate - currently running FST for a bit. FTC/LTC reject rates are still ~0.5% with these settings =)

[attachment deleted by admin]

wrapper

Interesting read on 280’s, just looking these up. Thanks…

kojima18

[quote name=“mirrax” post=“44285” timestamp=“1387032029”]
[quote author=kojima18 link=topic=5879.msg43392#msg43392 date=1386846094]
CGRemote and CGWatcher
Im waiting for my beta access then I will update on how to install and remote monitor your mining rigs using CGRemote. CGWatcher alone is useful because it can auto reboot CGminer or your computer in case of hardware error or cgminer crashes.
[/quote]

So? Is it worth 10USD?
[/quote]

It is totally worth it, I currently have 6 machine and can auto reboot and change the profile from 1 central machine. I think whats more important is that it keep track of the heat and fan so I can monitor it.

I been using it for about 3 days now and it was worth every penny. If there are more people who are using it I can write a guide how to set it up.

I just got a batch of R9 280x Toxic in so I will start tweaking and post my result here, will aim for the holy 780+kh rate :D

ChekaZ

Hey guys!

Anyone familiar with undervolting Gigabyte 7970 & Gigabyte R9 280x ? I read I’ve to flash my BIOS. Would be great if anyone could help me ;)

Regards,
ChekaZ

Cellder

There is a small guide at the end of the first post here: [url=http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/vbe7-vbios-editor-for-radeon-hd-7000-series-cards.189089/]http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/vbe7-vbios-editor-for-radeon-hd-7000-series-cards.189089/[/url]

Additionally you can check another site with more insight into what to edit and what settings to use: [url=http://www.cryptobadger.com/2013/10/undervolting-in-linux-via-modified-bios/]http://www.cryptobadger.com/2013/10/undervolting-in-linux-via-modified-bios/[/url]

But you can use the second guide with all the software mentioned in the first one under Windows!

Hope that helps!

fUrious

Hello kojima18!

I found your post most useful, but maybe you should revise your settings - im running a single *regular* 290 card from sapphire (21227-00-40G) and I’m currently at ~760Kh/s (740-770)!

Thats above your 2x712Kh/s. I purpose the following tweeks that worked for me:

Catalyst OverDrive settings:
Power limit settings: 20%
GPU click settings: -7%
Memclock: 15%

The temperature is 77 degrees, somewhat higher then yours so it was the first pinpointer that you have more to go on. Fan speed is currently at 86% which may be a little high and quite loud.

[quote name=“fUrious” post=“46404” timestamp=“1387531184”]
…
I found your post most useful, but maybe you should revise your settings - im running a single *regular* 290 card from sapphire (21227-00-40G) and I’m currently at ~760Kh/s (740-770)!

Thats above your 2x712Kh/s. I purpose the following tweeks that worked for me:
…
[/quote]

Hi furious,

keep in mind, this is a R9 280X thread. The 290 has 25% more shader processors and slightly lower clocks (~10%). The default hashrate for a 290 should be somewhere in the 800 Kh/s area.

e.g. 280x hashrate * 1.25 (shaders) * 0.9 (engine clock) = ~800 Kh/s.

fUrious

Wow, thanks nimmneun!

I know this was a 290x thread, but I was assuming 290x > 290 and therefor thought his hashrates was a little low regarding my result. But it seems I’m the one that should do more tweeking, If I’m supposed to be around 800!

I really knew that my card was supposed to be around 800 but I’ve tried a bunch of settings but can’t get above 760. Guess I have to get back to tinkering then… good luck with the 290x, sorry for intruding :D

[quote name=“fUrious” post=“46438” timestamp=“1387540694”]
…
I know this was a 290x thread, but I was assuming 290x > 290 and therefor thought his hashrates was a little low regarding my result. But it seems I’m the one that should do more tweeking, If I’m supposed to be around 800!
…
[/quote]

=) it’s actually the other way round. Your card is the superior one. The guide is meant for 2[b]8[/b]0X cards, which is basically a revamped 7970 based on the Tahiti chip. Your card has the new Hawaii Pro chip =)

ChekaZ

Hey Guys!

I was able to flash all 4 Gigabyte cards - 2x 7970 and 2x R9 280x ! Its just awesome ;)

They dropped like 80W each.

[quote name=“ChekaZ” post=“46558” timestamp=“1387578142”]
Hey Guys!

I was able to flash all 4 Gigabyte cards - 2x 7970 and 2x R9 280x ! Its just awesome ;)

They dropped like 80W each.
[/quote]

sw33t =) could you share core+mem clocks and voltages you used pls?