Well, I could get an old HP to mine with 3 GPU's and I have an extra PSU that can handle 3 cards that are optimized for efficieny, but certainly not 3 cards pushed for gaming OC's with no regards for efficiency.
1 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1 slots
I could swap the wireless cards between the regular PCI card on my main computer and the PCIe card on the HP. Also that regular PCI wireless card on my main computer would interfere with running SLI anyway so I would have to swap the wireless cards if I ever wanted to do 2 GPU's in my main computer
For most instances. People would be needing to get a PSU for this idea. In my case I got one old PSU to do this right now. So it would be simple as just buying 3 GPU's and powered risers. This PSU would not be able to power a dedicated 6 GPU rig. So this is one exception where the investment for the rig is nothing more than the GPU's and risers
Topic: Adapting old HP computers for mining rigs? - page 2. (Read 3092 times)
...
But I could possibly save a lot on the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and HDD by just picking up used old HP or Dell PC's which have a few PCIe slots.
Is there a specific problem with cheap motherboards and functionality? First thing I can think of is older motherboards and CPU's being limited by bus speeds when handling multiple GPU's
But I could possibly save a lot on the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and HDD by just picking up used old HP or Dell PC's which have a few PCIe slots.
Is there a specific problem with cheap motherboards and functionality? First thing I can think of is older motherboards and CPU's being limited by bus speeds when handling multiple GPU's
Old stuff is slow compared to new stuff. You'd "save" a lot, but you'd also make next to nothing.
also i highly doubt that there is something from the past that come even close to the h81 pro btc as a MB
...
But I could possibly save a lot on the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and HDD by just picking up used old HP or Dell PC's which have a few PCIe slots.
Is there a specific problem with cheap motherboards and functionality? First thing I can think of is older motherboards and CPU's being limited by bus speeds when handling multiple GPU's
But I could possibly save a lot on the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and HDD by just picking up used old HP or Dell PC's which have a few PCIe slots.
Is there a specific problem with cheap motherboards and functionality? First thing I can think of is older motherboards and CPU's being limited by bus speeds when handling multiple GPU's
Old stuff is slow compared to new stuff. You'd "save" a lot, but you'd also make next to nothing.
Don't touch those big box store computers.
The bios can be limited, required a specialized computer supply to power on and do weird things that an oem intel or other similar board won't have problems with. It might lead you to going nuts trying to figure out the problems.
What I do is buy LGA 775 Intel boards on ebay, DDR 2 ram and core 2 duos. You can find a mobo that will work with 3 gpus for about $30, cpu $5, ram ~$20 4GB, and millions of HDDS to find. I run the system headless with team viewer but I don't even bother to login as long the rig is mining. You can find some older mobo that will take 5 gpus but they are more expensive and I can basically build another system for the price difference.
Once you find a configuration that works, stick with it. Also you will be less efficient with smaller rigs as each system base will consume about 50 watts but the price to get a 3 card rig ready to rock will be very low.
The bios can be limited, required a specialized computer supply to power on and do weird things that an oem intel or other similar board won't have problems with. It might lead you to going nuts trying to figure out the problems.
What I do is buy LGA 775 Intel boards on ebay, DDR 2 ram and core 2 duos. You can find a mobo that will work with 3 gpus for about $30, cpu $5, ram ~$20 4GB, and millions of HDDS to find. I run the system headless with team viewer but I don't even bother to login as long the rig is mining. You can find some older mobo that will take 5 gpus but they are more expensive and I can basically build another system for the price difference.
Once you find a configuration that works, stick with it. Also you will be less efficient with smaller rigs as each system base will consume about 50 watts but the price to get a 3 card rig ready to rock will be very low.
You got me curious... 
I found this refurb on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883162047
You'd have to remove the motherboard from the case to fit two GPUs. It has one x16 and one x4 (both are physically x16 connectors). If you were up for a riser, you could possibly also use the x1 slot. So, three cards max.
As stated before, you'd need a different PSU.
Not a bad deal, considering you get all components, and the OS.
I found this refurb on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883162047
You'd have to remove the motherboard from the case to fit two GPUs. It has one x16 and one x4 (both are physically x16 connectors). If you were up for a riser, you could possibly also use the x1 slot. So, three cards max.
As stated before, you'd need a different PSU.
Not a bad deal, considering you get all components, and the OS.
I am wondering. To make a rig you usually need to get a motherboard, RAM, CPU, and a hard drive among a strong PSU and the GPU's and PCIe risers
But I could possibly save a lot on the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and HDD by just picking up used old HP or Dell PC's which have a few PCIe slots.
Is there a specific problem with cheap motherboards and functionality? First thing I can think of is older motherboards and CPU's being limited by bus speeds when handling multiple GPU's
But I could possibly save a lot on the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and HDD by just picking up used old HP or Dell PC's which have a few PCIe slots.
Is there a specific problem with cheap motherboards and functionality? First thing I can think of is older motherboards and CPU's being limited by bus speeds when handling multiple GPU's
I don't think you'll have problems with speed, but you may have issues with configuration. Some OEM bioses have artificial limits to create segmentation of markets (high end boards limited to be lower performing models). Also, you'll most likely have to use risers, as most OEM boards will most likely only have one x16 slot, and maybe one or two x1 slots.
It's worth a shot though. You can get fairly capable returns for $200 or less. Just make sure you swap out to a good PSU.
I am wondering. To make a rig you usually need to get a motherboard, RAM, CPU, and a hard drive among a strong PSU and the GPU's and PCIe risers
But I could possibly save a lot on the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and HDD by just picking up used old HP or Dell PC's which have a few PCIe slots.
Is there a specific problem with cheap motherboards and functionality? First thing I can think of is older motherboards and CPU's being limited by bus speeds when handling multiple GPU's
But I could possibly save a lot on the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and HDD by just picking up used old HP or Dell PC's which have a few PCIe slots.
Is there a specific problem with cheap motherboards and functionality? First thing I can think of is older motherboards and CPU's being limited by bus speeds when handling multiple GPU's
Jump to: