Topic: 5870 = free beer - page 2. (Read 4629 times)

his info is helpful, but

Overclocking depends on manufacturer

Risk is low- know your limits. dont herp derp and max out everything. keep it simple, a fairly big percentage of people are able to hit 9xx core on the 5870 on air. so go for that and make sure u increase fan speed. You should do that by default anyways. I keep my 5870 at a 44% fan speed. Oc to 973 core and max is around 75c.

Overclocking is worth it. It's not THAT dangerous. if it was detrimental to warranty, a LOT less people would do it. just remember what i said, dont herp derp and increase the oc to insane amounts.


At this point in time, the 5850/5870 or 6950/6970 are your best bets at single gpu setups. The 5970 and 6990 are also viable options if space is limited.

I wouldnt waste time and money on any other cards.

the 6950 can be had open boxed at newegg for 220
5870's used can run from 150 to 180
5850s, even lower.

A simple system is good. as long as it has enough pcie slots to accommodate your needs. dont expect it to be quiet if you have 4 gpus next to each other.

i have a simple 775 platform. anything that has enough slots would work. just do NOT skimp on the psu. it's pretty damn important. you need the power for the gpus. you dont really need the cpu power, so any old thign would work. like it said, it's pretty dependent on your needs

1. 32bit is windows or linux better? (xp/vista/7/ubuntu/centos/other?)

As far as I know I use a windows 7 ultimate, but I disabled almost 85% of my "visuals" so it uses less memory and is much quicker. I left a few options on like where i can drag things to the right or left and it aligns. Anyways, enough of my talk. I would go with XP. But correct me if I am wrong if unix (centos/ubuntu) is quicker.

2. What is currently the best miner. Electricity is free so we are looking for the fastest miner.

[ATI 5870] 200 to 300 [300 to 400 MH/S ] (~2.1 BTC)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=ati+5870&x=0&y=0

**5970 OVERPRICED**

[ATI 6870] 180 to 250 [200 to 300 MH/S] (~2.4 BTC)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&Description=6870&bop=And&Order=REVIEWS&PageSize=20

[ATI 6990] 700 to 750 (some people having issues with 2 gpu) [700 to 800 MH/S] (~1.9 BTC this data doesnt make sense... but it comes from https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=ati+6990&x=0&y=0
SDK 2.1 not supported on 69xx.


Get a pc that costs around $500 to $700 to build but has 3 pci-e x16 slots and put 3x 5870's. It honestly is price optimized and performance optimized. If your a rich mofo, go for the 6870s if you can afford it.

3. What are the best setting for it.

 
-v -w 128 -f 1 // if you want it to just sit there
-v -w 128 -f 30 // if you are using the pc


4. Is it worth overclocking? How big is the risk of damaging the card? Does it invalidate warranty?

-overclocking invalidates warranty.
-risk is somewhat higher, but thats why you turn up the fan speed...
-i guess its worth it, but check what others say about oc the card you want to get and see what OTHERS have said

if you use linux, with hashkill, you get get 20% more than phoenix, or at least that's what i heard.

1. Linux is better, but I use Windows because I'm a linux noob.  It makes a ~5% performance difference, IIRC.
2. No idea, but poclbm is pretty good.  I hear varying reports about phoenix, though it is supposedly a faster miner.
3. -v -w 128 -f 1   (or -f 60 if you plan to use the machine every so often)
4. Absolutely!  Mine overclocked to 925mhz without a problem, resulting in an extra 32MH/s.

My friend and I were enjoying beer when suddenly it dawned on us - we could have beer for free every day for the rest of our lives. So we bought this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-147-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1711

Anyways, my questions are:

1. 32bit is windows or linux better? (xp/vista/7/ubuntu/centos/other?)
2. What is currently the best miner. Electricity is free so we are looking for the fastest miner.
3. What are the best setting for it. edit: it's going to be a dedicated miner
4. Is it worth overclocking? How big is the risk of damaging the card? Does it invalidate warranty?

I tried searching for answers but there are millions of post contradicting each other and I know that miners get updated frequently so they probably out of date too, hence this thread.

If you could post what speed you're getting with what settings, that be cool too.

Thanks