Rig stats and pics
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[quote name=“Nutnut” post=“9561” timestamp=“1370422189”]
PSU is practically a legend IMHO. I use 3 of them (would be 5 but stock at the time prevented it) and they run 4* 7970’s overclocked (happily pulls 1350w from the wall when hot) so they’ll be fine with 7950s.As for the Mobo i really cant comment except to say i use these, bit more expensive but i know they work so i’ll stick with them… http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GA-990FXA-UD3-990FX-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B0055QYKQO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1370421880&sr=1-1&keywords=990fxa-ud3
[/quote]Agreed (so much research on these)
As for the processor, I’m thinking:
RAM, I’m thinking:
HD, I’m thinking:
(or if I can find some old ones from spare parts)
If anyone sees something wrong with this, please let me know. I’m sure once I get past my first rig, life will be easier. ;)
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That should all be fine.
Personally however i’d drop the RAM to 4GB and not bother with high-end sticks. Cheap and cheerful is the way to go if you want bang for buck!
HDD - (Contradicting the above) I would go for an SSD such as http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Solid-State-Drive-SATA-2-5-Inch/dp/B007P71IM0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1370426105&sr=1-1&keywords=intel+ssd+330 Totally not necessary but they run cold, use next to no power and are fast as… When your rebooting the rigs and installing software etc it’s sooooo much nicer than waiting for your spinners! Oh, and they’re not that much dearer.
CPU - i went for the FX4100 mainly for resale value and the fact that my rigs will likely get repurposed at some stage and the semprons aren’t great IMHO. Fine for mining though.
All exciting stuff!!
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[quote name=“Nutnut” post=“9586” timestamp=“1370426722”]
That should all be fine.Personally however i’d drop the RAM to 4GB and not bother with high-end sticks. Cheap and cheerful is the way to go if you want bang for buck!
HDD - (Contradicting the above) I would go for an SSD such as http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Solid-State-Drive-SATA-2-5-Inch/dp/B007P71IM0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1370426105&sr=1-1&keywords=intel+ssd+330 Totally not necessary but they run cold, use next to no power and are fast as… When your rebooting the rigs and installing software etc it’s sooooo much nicer than waiting for your spinners! Oh, and they’re not that much dearer.
CPU - i went for the FX4100 mainly for resale value and the fact that my rigs will likely get repurposed at some stage and the semprons aren’t great IMHO. Fine for mining though.
All exciting stuff!!
[/quote]Again, thanks for your help! I think the one piece I’m now missing are extenders. I saw this in my 4k rig post
“1x risers (i get mine from bitmit with btc) $3 - $27”
With that motherboard and 4 cards per board… does that mean I need to order 4 risers per board? I’ll be honest, I’ve never used these before.
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I’d go for 4* 1x-16x extenders. If you go for 1x to 1x extenders you have to cut a notch out of the back end of the slot so the 16x connector of the card can fit. Electrically they are the same but physically the 1x-16x are easier. I managed to break 2 of the 1x risers whilst “notching” them.
If you were UK based i have a few spare but you are US based are you not?
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That’s nice of you… however, I’m in the US.
Here’s the link:
If that’s golden, I’m ready to order the remaining pieces. Can’t wait!
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They’re perfect!
As an additional note, whichever mobo you go for, make sure that you don’t need the “presence detect” as some boards you need to “hotwire” some pins on the PCIe slots so they recognise the video cards. The Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 is fine though.
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GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 is in the cart! Ordering now… awesome, appreciate it immensely!
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Not a problem!
Shout if you have any issues/questions.
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[quote name=“Nutnut” post=“9603” timestamp=“1370428695”]
Not a problem!Shout if you have any issues/questions.
[/quote]I’m having Wesphily experiment with one of my cards, Taybrien with the other. He’s getting the hash up to 600, however, getting some nasty heat issues. If anyone has a chance to skim this thread, I’d sincerely appreciate it.
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TightVNC is your friend. ;)
i also use an APC AP8953 to remotely control the power in case of a hard hang.
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Nutnut, do you use powered risers?
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Nope, never had an issue.
I do only stick to 4 cards per board though and being 7970s they have an 8pin connector that allows more power than the 6 pins on the 7950’s. It seems that the PCIe power sockets are limited in current and any shortfall is drawn from the boards. As you’ve seen, Svennand had just melted his 24 connector (first i’ve seen from a reliable source) but he was running 6 cards on 1 board. :o
They’re dead easy to make though. Just cut through 2 wires on 1 side and 3 on the other, strip them, twist them all together, solder a molex, job done. If you do find you need to make some, make sure you CUT the wires else you’ll allow the current back through the track on the mobo and potentially burn the tracks. The bought ones aren’t cut.
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my 7950’s use 8 pins also, cheers for tips.
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Ah. Good to know. Didn’t realise some of the 7950s were 8 pin.
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My Sapphire 7970 Dual X OC can run stable at 1015/1250, 1.068 V, drawing about 230W, giving 715 KH/s
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[quote name=“Nutnut” post=“14421” timestamp=“1371167381”]
Nope, never had an issue.I do only stick to 4 cards per board though and being 7970s they have an 8pin connector that allows more power than the 6 pins on the 7950’s. It seems that the PCIe power sockets are limited in current and any shortfall is drawn from the boards. As you’ve seen, Svennand had just melted his 24 connector (first i’ve seen from a reliable source) but he was running 6 cards on 1 board. :o
They’re dead easy to make though. Just cut through 2 wires on 1 side and 3 on the other, strip them, twist them all together, solder a molex, job done. If you do find you need to make some, make sure you CUT the wires else you’ll allow the current back through the track on the mobo and potentially burn the tracks. The bought ones aren’t cut.
[/quote]Wops i did it again… fried two boards overnight…!
7950 is a NONO with 4 cards without powered extenders! (sapphire has 2x6pins connectors on their 7950)
http://forum.feathercoin.com/index.php?topic=2169.msg17209#msg17209 -
[quote name=“svennand” post=“17217” timestamp=“1372011783”]
[quote author=Nutnut link=topic=264.msg14421#msg14421 date=1371167381]
Nope, never had an issue.I do only stick to 4 cards per board though and being 7970s they have an 8pin connector that allows more power than the 6 pins on the 7950’s. It seems that the PCIe power sockets are limited in current and any shortfall is drawn from the boards. As you’ve seen, Svennand had just melted his 24 connector (first i’ve seen from a reliable source) but he was running 6 cards on 1 board. :o
They’re dead easy to make though. Just cut through 2 wires on 1 side and 3 on the other, strip them, twist them all together, solder a molex, job done. If you do find you need to make some, make sure you CUT the wires else you’ll allow the current back through the track on the mobo and potentially burn the tracks. The bought ones aren’t cut.
[/quote]Wops i did it again… fried two boards overnight…!
7950 is a NONO with 4 cards without powered extenders! (sapphire has 2x6pins connectors on their 7950)
http://forum.feathercoin.com/index.php?topic=2169.msg17209#msg17209
[/quote]Gigabyte 7950’s have a 6pin and a 8pin.
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[quote name=“Pyxis” post=“18910” timestamp=“1372612927”]
[quote author=svennand link=topic=264.msg17217#msg17217 date=1372011783]
[quote author=Nutnut link=topic=264.msg14421#msg14421 date=1371167381]
Nope, never had an issue.I do only stick to 4 cards per board though and being 7970s they have an 8pin connector that allows more power than the 6 pins on the 7950’s. It seems that the PCIe power sockets are limited in current and any shortfall is drawn from the boards. As you’ve seen, Svennand had just melted his 24 connector (first i’ve seen from a reliable source) but he was running 6 cards on 1 board. :o
They’re dead easy to make though. Just cut through 2 wires on 1 side and 3 on the other, strip them, twist them all together, solder a molex, job done. If you do find you need to make some, make sure you CUT the wires else you’ll allow the current back through the track on the mobo and potentially burn the tracks. The bought ones aren’t cut.
[/quote]Wops i did it again… fried two boards overnight…!
7950 is a NONO with 4 cards without powered extenders! (sapphire has 2x6pins connectors on their 7950)
http://forum.feathercoin.com/index.php?topic=2169.msg17209#msg17209
[/quote]Gigabyte 7950’s have a 6pin and a 8pin.
[/quote]Still think you need powered extenders if your going to mine 4 cards=P. i’ve fried ALOT=P
Also with 4x7970 all having 2x8pins -
[quote name=“svennand” post=“18913” timestamp=“1372613266”]
[quote author=Pyxis link=topic=264.msg18910#msg18910 date=1372612927]
[quote author=svennand link=topic=264.msg17217#msg17217 date=1372011783]
[quote author=Nutnut link=topic=264.msg14421#msg14421 date=1371167381]
Nope, never had an issue.I do only stick to 4 cards per board though and being 7970s they have an 8pin connector that allows more power than the 6 pins on the 7950’s. It seems that the PCIe power sockets are limited in current and any shortfall is drawn from the boards. As you’ve seen, Svennand had just melted his 24 connector (first i’ve seen from a reliable source) but he was running 6 cards on 1 board. :o
They’re dead easy to make though. Just cut through 2 wires on 1 side and 3 on the other, strip them, twist them all together, solder a molex, job done. If you do find you need to make some, make sure you CUT the wires else you’ll allow the current back through the track on the mobo and potentially burn the tracks. The bought ones aren’t cut.
[/quote]Wops i did it again… fried two boards overnight…!
7950 is a NONO with 4 cards without powered extenders! (sapphire has 2x6pins connectors on their 7950)
http://forum.feathercoin.com/index.php?topic=2169.msg17209#msg17209
[/quote]Gigabyte 7950’s have a 6pin and a 8pin.
[/quote]Still think you need powered extenders if your going to mine 4 cards=P. i’ve fried ALOT=P
Also with 4x7970 all having 2x8pins
[/quote]You really have shitty luck mate, my current rig has been running a few months without powered risers, my rig before that used the same card setup with no powered risers since xmas.
Saying all that, I keep the rig in the shed in case it explodes, if it does I will call it the svennand curse :D
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[quote name=“Pyxis” post=“18915” timestamp=“1372613450”]
[quote author=svennand link=topic=264.msg18913#msg18913 date=1372613266]
[quote author=Pyxis link=topic=264.msg18910#msg18910 date=1372612927]
[quote author=svennand link=topic=264.msg17217#msg17217 date=1372011783]
[quote author=Nutnut link=topic=264.msg14421#msg14421 date=1371167381]
Nope, never had an issue.I do only stick to 4 cards per board though and being 7970s they have an 8pin connector that allows more power than the 6 pins on the 7950’s. It seems that the PCIe power sockets are limited in current and any shortfall is drawn from the boards. As you’ve seen, Svennand had just melted his 24 connector (first i’ve seen from a reliable source) but he was running 6 cards on 1 board. :o
They’re dead easy to make though. Just cut through 2 wires on 1 side and 3 on the other, strip them, twist them all together, solder a molex, job done. If you do find you need to make some, make sure you CUT the wires else you’ll allow the current back through the track on the mobo and potentially burn the tracks. The bought ones aren’t cut.
[/quote]Wops i did it again… fried two boards overnight…!
7950 is a NONO with 4 cards without powered extenders! (sapphire has 2x6pins connectors on their 7950)
http://forum.feathercoin.com/index.php?topic=2169.msg17209#msg17209
[/quote]Gigabyte 7950’s have a 6pin and a 8pin.
[/quote]Still think you need powered extenders if your going to mine 4 cards=P. i’ve fried ALOT=P
Also with 4x7970 all having 2x8pins
[/quote]You really have shitty luck mate, my current rig has been running a few months without powered risers, my rig before that used the same card setup with no powered risers since xmas.
Saying all that, I keep the rig in the shed in case it explodes, if it does I will call it the svennand curse :D
[/quote]hehe love it :P