Topic: Building a Mining Rig (Read 53092 times)

Updated with some of the more recent threads/discussions, added here since those are focused on builds. Also hoping for some help request from my previous post.

Just an update. I have all my cards running now and am getting around 2 Ghash/s on LinuxCoin v2.0a with Poclbm Stably for 2 days now

OC'd with AMDOverdriveCtrl
I have 2 5970 running @ 850, 300 getting around 2x(350+350) Mhash/s (75 degree Celsius)
A red Sapphire 5850 getting only 280 Mhash/s @ 765, 300 (Max OC 775 -.- 75 degree Celsius)
A blue Sapphire 5850 getting 350 Mhash/s @ 900, 300 (Max, 62 degree Celsius)

I have had problems with my working computer as the MOBO and HDD died on me, just got sort of a more stable one up and running.

A little deviation from my initial plan since I don't know how to hook up 2 PSU together, I ended up with a GD70 (5 slots, 3 used) on 850W PSU and my 'new' computer is M4A88TD-V Evo/USB3 (2 slots 1 used) on another 850W PSU.

I'd like to optimized the rigs more in terms of hardware and at the same time the overclocking, OS used, miner (kernel?) and such. However, I'm not sure where to head to now.

If you have any advice please do let me know. The rigs are running on USB, I've read another thread recently on using Ubuntu, Pheonix and proper OC'ing. however these are not my forte and I'd like some help in direction right now. (especially on the 5850 which seems to have a lot of potential for OC'in right now)

I'm also trying to source for investment to build another rig. I'd like to ask if any knows running 4/5x5850 what kind of Power Supply would I need. And I have been struggling with the 100% CPU usage on Windows (Poclbm) problem at the same time. Apparently this hasn't been solved it.

Please suggest some MOBO that might drop the cost, I'm intending to get more rigs and now cost has become a focus on my list of todo.

I intend to get another rig up with 5850.

The lows hovered around 600~650, used ones were under $550, I picked up two 

Blah I found my problem. *Slaps Head* I'm looking at the wrong places.

Anyway I got them running at 350 Mhash/s each by clocking to 850 Mhash/s on Windows. However, the poclbm is taking up all the resources and sometimes crashes windows. I couldn't use the computer while it is running. This should not happen and I really need help on this.

I've finally got my desktop back up running (sort of), still having trouble installing x64 Windows 7. Anyway I've got both my 5970 running on this desktop and I'm kind of having trouble hitting the 340 MHash/s that is reported on Hardware comparison. I need some help.

When I head over to ATI CCC - Overdrive. I OC'd the first card to 850 MHz and set the Fan Control to 100%. However, I can't find the Fan Control on the 2nd Card's Tab and thus left it at it's original clock speed of 725 Mhz. I'm getting these Speeds.

D0: 290 Mhash/s
D1: 280 Mhash/s
D2: 340 Mhash/s
D3: 290 Mash/s
Total: 1.2 GHash/s

Far from my expected 1.4 GHash/s. Also I have a monitor plugged into each card (Don't have dummy plugs yet), I'm in need of some help here.

For the 2x5850 that I have, they are running on LinuxCoin but I was not about to get ATIOverDriveCtrl to select different cards to Overclock, So I have 1 running @ 340 Mhash/s while the other is doing around 280 MHash/s. I'm trying to get Ubuntu to install the right drivers and every now.

Can someone please advice?

I got 'em from a friend though I'm still learning a little about Linux to get things going however my own desktop died on me yesterday and fortunately I had USBLiveCD linux on me hahaha

:/ missed out on that lol. Though the 6990's are on back order. Newegg's sold out and Amazon says 1-2 months wait. By then who knows what the mining scene will look like by then...

SchizophrenicX get me on msn, Ill guide you, you will be up and running in no time if you use win 7, and get a hash rate of 400-460 depending on how you tweak it.

maxinmontreal at hotmail dot com

for $700 you can find OC-ed 6990.
5970 was under $550 for months and nobody wanted it :/
before BTC mining madness start.

Where are you finding 5970's for $488? They seem to be in the $700's.

Yea that is what I'm doing. I have like 3 GPU up although I have a total of 6 and the Ubuntu live thing I can't really understand. You think you can help? I've been having a really hard time getting it down. Been doing this for >20 hours

If I were you, I would get as much as possible up and running by booting from a Ubuntu desktop CD in order to produce while doing additional research.

I Bought everything I needed but I don't know how to daisy chain 2 PSUs and somehow LinuxCoin isn't working properly. I think it doesn't have the driver for 5970?

I'm not sure but can some one please help me get my rig started -.- I've been looking to install ubuntu on USB but theres just so many sites out there and none of them have a working solution I've tried...

I have been checking how much coins I get daily compared to how much I should get with my hash power + pool luck. I have been getting more(~10%) on avg than I should.

I think this is because I manage to get share done faster than other people on avg. I have 2x 6950 clocked to 880 = 340Mhash/s each. I presume this is more than avg per gpu of all of the people mining.

So someone with higher performance GPU actually gets more chance to get shares done for those small quick rounds. Leaving someone with lots of lower powered gpus gain little less. You won't see this difference for long rounds, but when pool gets very big (Deepbit)...

Wondering if you could combine the haspower of multi gpu's into one. Maybe with hashkill? Would like to see results of that kind of mining software, when ever it gets stable and optimized :)

Yes, you can mix and match GPU's. The ATI driver package should have drivers for all those cards in it. If you are on windows you can put them in crossfire mode, but it will impact the performance. If you want full performance from all cards you do not put them in crossfire mode and put a dummy plug on each card (search forums for dummy plug and how to use it). If you are using linux you don't have to worry about cossfire or dummy plugs.

this probably isn't the best spot for this, but fits with a build thread.

can you mix and match gpus? i.e get a 5770, 5850 and 5870 and put them all in as long as you have free pcie slots? they don't need to be in crossfire mode right?

I found and added the link to pcie adapters and extenders in this thread to my first post. I'll be looking in my local stores to see if they sell them. And also the OS I'll probably be using. LinuxCoin or Ubuntu.

I still need help on how to hook up 2 PSU for 1 machine and also the choice of MOBO as someone confirmed that PCIex1 can be use with adapters. I'm just wondering if the cost of these extenders and adapters add up would justify themselves against the cheaper MOBO. Suggestions for MOBOs are still welcome.

Hi all,

I've just read this thread and saw this awesome build. I am probably changing over to this set up. Would anyone mind sharing any forethought before I go ahead and buy these stuff. Like any foresee-able problems I might have and stuff like that. Please share because in 6 hours time I'll be buying this set of items.

GPU1: ATI Radeon HD 5970 - $488- 350 W
GPU2: ATI Radeon HD 5970 - $488 - 350 W
GPU3: ATI Radeon HD 5850 - $162 -200 W
GPU4: ATI Radeon HD 5850 - $162 -200 W
GPU5: ATI Radeon HD 5850 - $162 -200 W
MOBO: GA-890GPA-UD3H + CPU: AMD255 - $219 (It says 1x16 1x8 3x1 PCIe slots if I'm not wrong plz clarify)
PSU: 2 x Seasonic 850 AT80+ - $126  x 2 = $252
RAM: 2GB = $23 (10 W)

I might need to get some extenders and I hope I can find them in my local PC Hardware stores. I'm not sure about how much power I'll need... the power supplies and how to hook them up... I hope you guys help me out here. Thx

(I'm still looking for 5 slot PCIe Mobos that are cheaper and also available in my area. Please suggest any cheaper ones that you know so I can check if my local store holds them. And also 6 slots are welcome too

Thanks for the verification grndzero. I'll be building these 2 rigs within these few days and update on how they are doing. I'm still worried if I could get them running Linux on thumbdrives/usb-HDDs since I have no prior experience using linux or OS on thumbdrives. This has already be very rewarding learning these new stuff

Also, after crunching a few numbers. I'm willing to bet that bitcoin will stay strong and is planning to, when these 2 rigs start to payout, expand my mining. (Subject to figures at that time)

Thus I'll keep this tread alive serving as a simple rig-building guide for others. I'll be looking into how to build a more cost-efficient rigs like you're doing, however. Instead of just going for as low cost as possible, I'll be looking into how to strike a balance between being cost-effective but also provide upgrading option when if GPU-Mining were to be phased out so that these rigs will still be able to be upgraded into mid-high end PCs worth owning.

I hope you guys can continue to contribute to this tread like you have thanks a lot. I'll be back to update on how the rig is looking. Thanks again

The PCI slot cooler is not even worth it with multiple video cards. I can't find anything that shows the layout of the inside of that case. From the picture on the website it doesn't look like it has any cooling from the side and doesn't look like it has more than 1 input fan in front and probably 1 output fan in back. With that case you can almost certainly plan on having to leave the side panel off to get enough airflow to the cards if that is in fact the layout.

Hi all, just checking back after I went to my local store. I can't find anything in my list from newegg -.-||| So I have to go for similar stuff. This is what I have right now. Choice of Mobo is so that I could upgrade to 1100T Chip if Bitcoin doesn't work out PSU just course the prices are so close and there ain't 1 GB rams around anymore -.-|||

GPU1: ATI Radeon HD 5970 - $488 - (350 W)
GPU2: ATI Radeon HD 5850 - $162 (200 W)
MOBO: Biostar TA890FEX + CPU: Athelon II X2 - $202 (150 W + 255  - 65 W | 1100T - 125 W = 215 W | 375 W)
PSU: Seasonic 850 AT80+ - $126
RAM: 2 GB DDR3 1333 Mhz - $23 (10 W)

Basic: $351 + GFX: $650
Per Rig: $1001

650 Mhash/s + 350 Mhash/s= 1 Ghash/s

2 Rigs Statistic
2 Ghash/s | $2002 | (502 W~775 W) x 2 = 1004 W ~ 1550 W

$1.001s/Mhash | 1.992~1.29 Mhash/J

Current Difficulty
2^32*244139 = 1,048,569,020,678,144 hash

Mining Solo
@ 2Ghash/s -> 524284.51 seconds - 145.6346 hours - 6.06811 days
30 days/6 days (per Block) => 5 Blocks * 50 BTC = 250 BTC * 6.2949 USD = SGD $1,573.725 /mth (SGD $ 52.4575/day)

Lower Limit
Power Consumption: 1.004 kW * $0.20/kWh * 24 * 30 = $144.576/mth ($4.8192/day)
Profit $52.4575 - $4.8192 = $47.6383 /day
Days to breakeven = 42 days

Upper Limit
Power Consumption: 1.550 kW * $0.20/kWh * 24 * 30 = $223.20/mth ($7.44/day)
Profit $52.4575 - $7.44 = $45.0175 /day
Days to breakeven = 45 days

Mining Pool (Slush)
Current 70 Mhash/s ~ 0.3 BTC/day ~ $1.88847/day
@2 Ghash/s ~ 8.57143 BTC/day ~ $53.96/day

Days to Breakeven
Lower: $2002/[$53.96 - $4.8192] = 41 days
Upper: $2002/[$53.96 - $7.44] = 43 days

~43 Days

Can someone verify that I'm doing the right way of calculating and stuff. Because I'm very new and am just picking stuff up from the forum. I'm not sure if I'm doing the right calculations. Thanks and do comment on my rigs.

P.S Oh I forgot to factor in the PSU efficiency sorry so assuming it's 80+ Ready @ 80% minimum theres a x1.25 factor to the figures I'm using for both upper ($9.30/day) and lower limit ($6.024/day). Theres a +1~2 Days difference so I'm sitting on 45 Days till breakeven.

P.P.S The price for 5970 is low because I've got a deal from someone I know. I'm getting 2x this rig so instead of putting both of them in 1, I decided to separate the power distribution. Please advice on this too

cool thanks alot. now i need to convince some of my friends to chip in with the investment . i dunno if it will help cooling the gpu but i did order 1 PCI slot fan to put as extra air just in case i might play with overclocking a bit ( nothing extreme though.

Check out the MSI 870U-G55 it's cheaper than your Gigabyte and has 2PCI-e (x16+x16) instead of (x16+x4) on Giga but on 770 chipset

The 4850 deal I'm getting should be PCI-E (one) ? Gotta make sure of it.


Ya I know but I'm getting it at $837.50 ea.

This is just a thought. I'm really open to suggestions though. and reading alot on rig building. If you have any suggestions do share it with us thx

Anyway, the basic build is the same
MOBO: Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 - $45 - 140 W (?)
CPU: Sempron 140 - $39 - 45 W (65 W Unlocked)
PSU: RAIDMAX RX-850AE - $120
RAM: Kingston 1 GB DDR3 1333 MHz - $14 - 10 W
HDD: None/USB ($0)
CASE: None/Cheapassjunk (~$20)
OS: Linux Ubuntu ($0)

[2 GPU PCIex16] + $45 + $39 + $120 + $14 + $20 = $238 + Cost of GPU

What do you think of this? Is this an ok build? Cheap enough build? I don't know the benchmark of the cheap builds around. Theres a lot of information to take in. I'm still looking around about how to get them up and running over USB/Ubuntu

Your motherboard only has 2 slots to fit those 3 video cards, unless you want to use extender cables.

2900$ for the mhash you get out of this is really bad bang for the buck

GPU1: ATI Radeon HD 5970 - $909 - 350 W
GPU2: ATI Radeon HD 5850 - $155 -200 W
GPU3: ATI Radeon HD 4850 - $110 - 100 W
MOBO: Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 - $45 - 140 W (?)
CPU: Sempron 140 - $39 - 45 W (65 W Unlocked)
PSU: RAIDMAX RX-850AE - $120
RAM: Kingston 1 GB DDR3 1333 MHz - $14 - 10 W
HDD: None/USB ($0)
CASE: None/Cheapassjunk (~$20)
OS: Linux Ubuntu ($0)

Just an idea, Power consumption 845 W, @ 85% efficiency = 994 W (Before CPU unlock & OC and RAM OC if ever needed, however if setting provision for such 850 PSU is not enough)

Total Cost : $909 + $155 + $110 + $45 + $39 + $120 + $14 + $20 = $1412
Total Mining Power : 75 + 360 + 665 = 1.1 Ghash/s
Efficiency - $1.2836/(Mhash/s) | 1.107~1.301 Mhash/J [85%~100% eff. PSU]

I'm probably getting 2 of this rig : 2 x $1412 = $2824
The choice of GPU was because I'm getting a deal on both 2x5970 (@$808) and 2x4850 (@$81) essentially I'm paying $1149 less.
which is $1675 for 2 rig ($837.50 ea.) which gives me $0.7614/(Mhash/s) instead.

MOBO: Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 - $45 - 140 W (?)

Does anyone know how much power does the MOBO consume? And if an 80+Gold certified meant that it will at least provide 87% at full load. What does the full 'Load' mean? Does mining does full load?. Actually during mining CPU is at idle right?

I just want to provide enough power at the supply's lowest efficiency so the machine doesn't blow. Can someone shed some light on this issue please.

As it is looking. seems like I need to get a power supply a lot higher than the expected 850 W -.- and those cost a lot more.

a decent 750w unit is sufficient for two cards.
i am running three 5870 off an 800w superflower amazon, it works very well.
it is more important to get a decent brand of psu, i had 750w cheapo ones die on 2 cards in contrast to the brand 800w working 3 cards at ease.

So since the Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 that I initially looked at actually works with Sempron (although newegg didn't list it) I'm taking a second look right now. But hopefully this will work and if so. It's looking pretty good for the amount of money I'm putting in. I would probably change the PSU to something much more expandable and reputable. I'm going over to newegg now and look around more. Gonna be hanging around for the next few hours people

GPU: 2x 5970 ($808)
MOBO: Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 ($45)
CPU: Sempron 140 ($39)
PSU: Diablotek PHD ($70)
RAM: 1 GB Lying Around ($0)
HDD: None/USB ($0)
CASE: None/Cheapassjunk (~$20)
OS: Linux Ubuntu ($0)

And yea, grndzero. Thank you so much for your input and corrections wouldn't even get this far without you. I'll be heading down to my local stores to take a look at the prices, but I've heard that it's cheaper to ship internationally some of the stuff since our local stores are like tyrants and ripes people off -.- (5870 for $380 wtf)

so after few hours of going through the various options and prices i had i came up with this build for my 1st mining experience!, 2 5870 Gpus, with 1000W SPU, and cheapest motherboard with 2 16x slots. case was the cheapest i found. Total money for it is about 1000$ and expected hash power is 750m/s, now got 2 questions

1. is my list compatible ? and if yes do i need to order some special pins,cables,etc ?
2. is the 1k$ price is fare price comparing your local prices ?

Thanks a lot in advance


בקניית מחשב חדש בלבד - SAPPHIRE RADEON 5870 1GB DDR5 - RETAIL
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=14371
AMD AM3 dual-core Athlon II X2 220 2MB Cache 2.8GHz - Tray
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=15540{23}47
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 - ATX
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=13569
HEC COUGAR 1000W ACTIVE PFC Cable management - ספק כח
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=12101
2GB TRANCEND DDR 3 - 1333 - TRANCEND Original
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=8971
COMPUCASE CI-6920 ATX (Black & Blue) - NO PSU
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=418
Seagate Barrcuda7200 250GB 8MB 7200RPM S-ATA II
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5108
TP-LINK Wireless 54Mbps 11g + 4dbi ANT - USB
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=9629
Thermaltake PCI slot FAN (A2426) BLUE LED
http://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5924

The gesture is appreciated. Every little bit helps to getting me back to profitable after reinvesting my earning so far. I spend all kinds of time on Newegg and the net looking for ways to make all different types of miners, the least expensive, the fully loaded, the modular, the best upgradeable. Now if I had enough money to buy any of them it would be even better. lol

grndzero : i just donated the free 4 Bcents i got 2 days ago when registering to you cause u sir are wonderfull . been cracking my head with the same issues with the thread starter and u came to my rescue . Thanks alot again for your great help.

I know the 0.04 are not much but i hope u can see the gesture

Yes

Yup I just saw his tread and in fact I'm pretty interested in his idea of starting a business revolving around Bitcoin in the region. I'm very close to Malaysia . Thanks for the reply. I was quite knocked out yesterday haha.

Anyway. the Foxconn MOBO would be the first I saw? The $45 one that I first mentioned?

You should talk to the person on this thread also. http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=9194.0 He says he's in Malaysia and seems to know about the computer parts market in that area.

Yes, he said the Foxconn board will support Sempron processors.

A more expensive board and better power supply up front will always be less expensive than another board, cpu, ram, power supply, and possibly another case to build another rig later.

hmm which MOBO are u guys talking about? The cheapass one? Cuz I'm trying to drive down the investment for the rig. other than the gfx card. which I already planned on investing in the first place. The rest of the stuff I wanna get as cheap as possible.

My question now is how many PCIe should I try to get cuz I could expand with maybe 5850s for the rig. but is it worth the increase cost of the MOBO and PSU or is it just cheaper to get another cheapass rig

he's shoulld be okay with sempron, but im suggest[only $9 more expensive Athlon II 220 or 210/230(for similar prices], cause single-core cpu can behave erratically in modern OS'es and/or become bottleneck[for IO overhead mainly ;]. imagine OS failure because lack of CPU horsepower for APCI routing
clearly its not Crossfire[suitable only for gaming], but OpenCL computing PC.
OpenCL not supported by games[as Crossfire did], but thats only disadvantage for gaming. and thats games creators problem, not topicstarter.
CPU load usually under 1%, with short 3%-5% spikes for seconds.

Newegg only list Phenom as supported processor, I thought it was kind of weird but ok.

Total waste of money to buy an i7, UNLESS your going to use it to game.

Sempron 140 is fine.  I'd say get 2GB of RAM though, as when I was shopping it was like $20 for 1GB and $25 for 2GB.


Yes it DOES support the sempron.  I run a Sempron 140 in mine, no problems... I have that same Foxconn board.

Performance Miner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233 - $59.99 - COOLER MASTER HAF 912
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050 - $129.99 - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-900 900W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290 - $74.99 - MSI 870-G45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871 - $99.99 - AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148149 - $21.99 x2 - Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066

Quad Core Athlon, 4G RAM, 900 W PSU - $408.94
   

Remember guys, he's trying to build a new desktop for COMPUTING, not exclusively for mining.

OP, try this:

Intel i5 - 2400 (or INtel i3-2100 for cheaper) (or Intel i5-2500k if you really want to splurge and want a high performance CPU for NOT mining purposes)
$150 (or $100 if you get the i3) (or $180 if you get the 2500k) from Microcenter
Mobo: Gigabyte P67 UD3
$120 from Microcenter
RAM: Cheapest RAM you can get, 4GB will do ya
Probably around $35 to $40
Case: Something with lotsa fans?
$50?
Power Supply: Don't skimp on this. Everything could die if this thing fails. And if you're going to run two cards that each require 2 6pin or 8pin slots, ideally find a power supply with FOUR of those slots.
$60-$100

Graphics cards: Cheapest bang for your buck at the moment is probably the 5850 for ~$150 each. Should get you around 300 MHash/s each.

This computer will be good at mining, and GREAT at gaming, whatever else you need it for in the future.

X16, x8, and x4 are speeds of the PCI Express slot. That doesn't matter for mining.

That board would work, but it puts the cards right next to each other and doesn't allow much room for airflow. Something you should avoid with 5970's especially.

You should also ask friends, family, and co workers what computer part sites are available in your region. Upwards of 90% of computer parts in the US come from the Asian continent. There has to be someplace in your region that you can get stuff from, possibly at cheaper prices. Depending on what currency you are using, you may get better exchange rates buying in Euros or Australian Dollars. You would very likely get better shipping from Australia than the US.

What does it mean when it says this
PCI Express 2.0 x16: 2 (x16, x4)
is this alright? Cuz if it then would this mobo work too? Looks very much the same but cheaper.

And this PSU have great reviews too though it's not Gold but it's 80 Ready which actually I don't really know what's the difference -.-

Yes I'm trying to skim course USD is a larger currency than mine, every 10 bux difference helps.

Would you be kind enough to tell me if those work too? and if so, what's the difference? For 1 GB DDR3 probably someone I know would have one lying around haha. Everyone's been going 4~8 GB I'm sure there are plenty of 1 GBs around

Mobo doesn't support Sempon: I would recommend this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290
PSU has really bad reviews: I would recommend this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152043
Memory needs to be at least DDR3 1033. You probably don't have they laying around if your computer is 9 years old. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148147

Buying the cheapest parts invites trouble. Spend as little as possible but make sure you're buying quality parts.

So if I go for minimal cost no future expansion it'll look something like this

GPU: 2x 5970 ($808)
MOBO: Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 ($45)
CPU: Sempron 140 ($39)
PSU: Diablotek PHD ($70)
RAM: 1 GB Lying Around ($0)
HDD: None/USB ($0)
CASE: None/Cheapassjunk (~$20)
OS: Linux Ubuntu ($0)

$982 for ~1.3 Ghash/s [1.324 Mhash/$]
Not sure about the power consumption but it cost $0.20/kWh

So if I wanna go for more GPU then I'll need more PCIe2.0x16 slots? or what other slots? The PSU and MOBO with >3 of these slots are much more expensive though I wonder if it's more cost effective to just build another similar machine.

P.S 140.285714 BTC to breakeven. Can someone tell me how long it takes to get this amount of BTC I already have a 140 MHash/s so total is around 1.5 Ghash/s if I build this. And if I should continue to mine in pool and at which point should I start mining solo? Hmm

Alright, the more reading I do the more confused I get.

I've got around 2k that I'm willing to invest into building a new computer/mining rig.

I've got a dual core 3Ghz 2GB RAM 4850 doing 75 Mhash/s (No idea what MOBO) and as my main computer. and another MBP 320M doing like 6 MHash/s as my mobile computer.

I don't know how many GPU can a motherboard/OS support and stuff like that so I really need help... I'm not sure if I should build with plans for future expansion. I might have another deal for 2x4850 for really cheap but these only does another 150 Mhash/s. I don't want to overcommit myself to mining yet and the idea pop since initially I've had plans for a new desktop.

I've got a deal for 2x5970 @ $808
I don't know and can't find any site where I can learn or play around with to see what works and what doesn't.

Apparently a lot of people goes to newegg, I don't know how to navigate that site but since every cheap rig uses Sempron 140 I'll assume it's best. I also don't know if I can find these parts around here or if they ship to my country yet. Will read on that later.

GPU: 2x 5970 ($808)
MOBO: Still having problems
CPU: Sempron 140 ($39)
PSU: At least 850 W (Recommended) Should need more factoring OC
RAM: 1 GB Lying Around ($0)
HDD: None/USB ($0)
CASE: None/Cheapassjunk (~$20)
OS: Linux Ubuntu ($0)

Optional GPU: HD5850 @ $160 ea.

$867 + MOBO + PSU + ($160x#) for ~1.3 Ghash/s + (#x300Mhash/s)

I've got around $1133 left, is it better to get better (& costlier) MOBO+PSU and get a few 5850 or get minimum required for 2x5790 and save the $ for building another rig? (Considering having more GPU on one machine is going to have major heat issues)

Plz give me a hand on this. Thanks a lot.

P.S Yea, I saw the mining_rig wiki just yesterday but it's been updated. Those are quite costly aren't they?

EDITED: 2 New post while writing this. Thanks for the replies grndzero & jspielberg

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_rig
This link used to be pretty good.

Looks like it was recently updated for the 6900 class Radeon hardware.  The older version I think was more what you were looking for as it was specifically listing 5970's. (No luck finding it on the way back internet machine though... sorry).

2 x 5970 is 4 GPU's, yes.

As long as the motherboard has the slots for it, it will support as many video cards as you put in it. There are many people running 6 processors on 1 board (3 x 5970 or 6990 cards) and a thread http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=8847.0 of someone reporting running 4 x 6990 (8 gpus) on 1 system. The OS is the limiting factor. Windows will only support up to 4 GPU's, Linux will handle up to 8.

You should go for the best quality (reviewed) for the price, not the absolutely cheapest.

1. Wish I had them. Looks good.
2. Should be good to run a system with 2 x 5970's. Won't allow for an expansion to 3 though.
3. AM3 compatible board, rest is correct.
4. Sempron 140 or 145 is fine.
5. I went with 2 G of ram just because it was worth buying for the price. You probably want 2G if you go with Windows, 1G is good for Linux
6. It's personal choice. I like having a case and leave the side panel off.
7. Another personal choice. I like Linux better and think it's better for dedicated mining machines. If you decide to go Linux, Ubuntu is the most popular and well supported here, I recommend that one. http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=7514.0 The dedicated one still has some work to be done on it to make it easier from what I've read.
8. I haven't tried it yet (but I will soon). Ubuntu can probably be run from a USB stick or USB hard drive without much trouble. You need at least 8G. I don't know of any specific threads. You would have to plug them in and install it to the USB device. Windows will require a hard drive or SSD.

I've not thought of future expansion and was only thinking of getting my first rig up and running before anything else. This is mainly due to my availability of capital for investment toward bitcoin right now.

I already have a deal for 2x5970 which averages 650 Mhash/s ea. according to hardware comparison chart, this puts me nicely into 1.3 Ghash/s and the build considerations starts from there.

SO I'm pretty sure I could only manage this much (2x5970, 1 rig) right now, but thanks to your reminder and the treads. I realized that I might need to consider better MOBO+PSU for expanding more GPU in the soon future.

However, before that I need to ask, isn't 2x5970=4GPU and I'm not sure but does MOBO usually support more than that? And PSU that can support future expansion? Can I find a value-for-money configuration for such a consideration to exist. If not, shouldn't I just go for the cheapest config I can get starting from a 2x5970 point?

If such case, now it's looking like

1. GPU - 2x5970 ($810)
2. Power Supply - Seasonic X-850 ?? 80+ Gold PSU ?? (Not sure what's 80+Gold but should be around 850 Watts OC?)
3. Mobo -  Dual PCIe2.x16x AM-Compatible MOBO
4. Processor - Cheap Sempron (Not sure which)
5. RAM - 1 GB
6. Casing - As cheap as possible, open aired or might not even get one.

Still need to find out
7. OS - I read there are readily scripted ubuntu/linux distro for mining. Please point me to the right thread plz
8. HDD - I also read that I may be able to just run (7.) off a USB stick/ext. HDD (Which I own) Plz clarify and point me to the right thread

But if it's possible to get more GPU on 1 machine after 2x5970 I'd appreciate it if you point me to the right thread so I may look at the possibility of future expansion.

I don't know what retailers and online computer shops you have available to you in southeast asia, so I can't really link anything for you directly.

The best motherboards and CPU's for the price for mining purposes specifically are AMD motherboards and Sempron processors. The CPU socket type (pin configuration of the CPU) is called AM3. Basically you need a motherboard that will support the number of cards that you want to mine with. You also should think about future expansion. Motherboards with 2 video card slots are pretty common.

The best entry level cards for mining right now are the HD 5830, HD 5850, and HD 5870 but that depends on the availability and pricing in your area.

You will need a good power supply to run them. It would not be a good idea to pick the cheapest on on any list from any store, you need to look at reviews. Depending on what cards you get and how many you get you will be looking for a power supply in the range of 750-1000 watts.

Here are some threads you should read through to get a better idea what people are planning to put together for mining rigs.

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=8546.0
http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=8169.0
http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=8506.0

Thanks, I guess I've been reading the right stuff. I don't know what is an AM3 compatible board. But I think you've at least taken a read at my long-winded post which I'm grateful for. So I'm really confused about the whole motherboard thing as I'm reading on DIY computers right now.

The Athlon or Phenom I assume are processors that I may upgrade to later on, I'm worried about the bottlenecking issue that I'm reading on 2x5970. But I think this is a problem for later, I need to complete this mining build first so I can get mining.

Care to shed some light on 'bare minimum' (for mining) and around how much they'd cost? Better yet, link me the URL. I'm situated in South-east Asia and I'm not sure about the whole DIY scene.

Yes, he is serious. It hardly takes any CPU power to mine. Buy a AM3 compatible board and put a sempron in it for mining. When he's done mining he can pull out the sempron and put an Athlon or Phenom in it. That way he's not wasting money and power up from on an Intel setup.

Right... So, I have no idea what you've just mentioned. I'm sorry.

Quad crossfire 5970's with a Sempron 140 and 1gb of RAM?

Are you serious?

At least put an i7 in that system. Go with Sandy Bridge even or wait for Ivy.

Hi everyone,

This thread started out with me trying to ask for help building my own mining rig, since mining is a highly specialized deal. I was not able to find off-the-shelf PC that is cost-efficient (I did find some) and neither did the wiki page help much.

Reasons I felt being some of them weren't within my budget or that in the age of GPU-Mining, CPU/RAM Power and other apparels are of less importance, the cost of these could go into more GPU power or simply lessen the burden of the investment by having a lower return of investment.

I also found a few other similar threads that eventually help me decide on what I'll be building in a few days from now. Many thanks to grndzero and many others who have been nothing but a great help to such a DIY-PC newbie like me to actually putting together one by myself.

I've found myself thinking of building more rigs with a focus of balancing cost-effective with future upgrade option and thus will continue to keep this tread alive with my findings and possibly discussions with many experts from this forum. I also intend to consolidate the different guides/treads/builds that are around into this one tread so that it'll be a lot easier for everyone who'd need this info.

Hopefully this tread will be of help to new people like myself in this massively confusing and technical world and also serve as an updated guide between the same fast-paced PC world and Bitcoin Mining world.

This is not yet complete but I intend for it to. Let me know what you think about it and give me suggestions and feedbacks. I gotta go get some sleep now and do some other stuff.

1. Before you start
You have to ask youself where is your balance for this machine, is this a
 - Dedicated Mining Rig
 - Mining/Gaming Rig
 - Entry/Trial Mining Rig
Head over to here and see some of the rigs that people are showing off and discussing to have a better idea of what I meant by balance.

2. Budget
After you've decided, you'll want to have a rough gauge of the amount of budget you'd want to throw into building this rig. The general guide is that don't spend over $1 per Mhash/s for your rig or it might not even be profitable enough to cover it's own cost in future [subjective] ($0.75/(Mhash/s) for best but hard to achieve)

3. Picking out the stuff
After budgeting you can have a general idea of how much Mhash/s will you be generating from this rig, with that we can start off with the Graphics Card (GPU) which is the core of generating Bitcoins, there isn't really much to say here as the Hardware Comparison Chart shows all the hashing rates for most of the modern cards.

The rest of the components are discussed but subject to availability in your local store, I agree to the general consensus of not accepting backorders as the difficulty adjustments recently are going all over the place and it is becoming very difficult to grasp the situation and make any predictions. The calculations that you've made would be best carried out as soon as possible.

  - 3.1 Graphics Card
    - Hardware Comparison Chart
    - 5830 @ 320 Mhash/s
    - 5850 @ 340 Mhash/s
    - Best GPU for price
  - 3.2 Motherboard
  - 3.3 Processor
  - 3.4 PSU
    - Best PSU to buy?
  - 3.5 Other Stuff
    - RAM
    - HDD
    - OS
      - Windows
      - Mac
      - Linux
         - LinuxCoin
         - Ubuntu 11.04 Natty 64bit Headless Bitcoin mining with ATI 11.5 binary driver
         - Ubuntu Natty Narwhal 11.04 Mining Guide / HOWTO
    - MISC

4. Build Treads
building a mining rig with $1800
Building a 4x GPU setup. Need some advice
What I Learned from Building 3x5850 Rigs; May 2011
Building first time under $1000 rig
Best bang for the buck? Whole rig
Best Coin/Buck rig V2
4x Radeon HD 6990
Problem running 4x 5830, please help!

5. References & Others
Windows Sidebar Gadget Supports (Deepbit/Slush/Eligius/BTCMine/BTCGuild)
FOR SALE: PCIe 1x & 16x Extender Cables, Mining Chassis & GPU Dummy Plugs
PCI-e 1x Extender not work in 16x connector
Auto Run Miners, Run Miners in Background/as Service?
run your miners invisibly with different arg when pc idle and pc used (Download)
run your miners invisibly only when pc idle (Download here)
How To Open 6 Terminals, Set GPU Clocks, And Start POCLBM On Ubuntu Startup???
Whitepixel breaks 28.6 billion password/sec
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5850 Xtreme 1 GB Review

P.S If you found my post helpful, feel free to send me a tip | 13kHaYGkF9W5xNjF2Ck5hTgVR9MNjr8c3U |

P.P.S I realized I've quickly transited from a rig-building consolidation to looking more like a simple newbies guide so I've started this tread instead so I may continue updating here with my rig-building stuff.

EDIT: I've been pretty busy learning more stuff and updating the Beginner's Thread and have been lacking in this thread. However, I've added many links here regarding builds as I try to optimize my build and future builds.

Original Post
Hi everyone,

I'm in this weird position and need some help.

Where I stand,
1. I'm in need of a new desktop (mine's 'bout 9 years old), albeit not desperately
2. I intend to build a least 1 mining rig
3. I don't have that much cash to burn
4. Worried about Bitcoin's collapse (thus breaking even)

So I this is what I think, I get a basic comp jam some GPU hashing power in there and get it mining (2.). If (4.) were to ever happen I'll rip  the GPU out and build my 'new' desktop (1.), while the basic comp will be fitted with some basic GPU and be given away to my relative. In my mind this essentially utilize whatever 'cash' I have to play around with (3.)

Let me know if this makes sense to you and share some perspective

However, right now I'm presented with the problem of acquiring the mining rig, I've usually just bought desktops off the shelf and is not technically inclined to build my own desktop (which I know is cheaper [3.]). Seems like mining is highly specialized and there isn't much choice of readily available systems out there

I've read that GPU is the main focus on OpenCL mining and the subsidiary problems would be supplying it with power, cooling and the motherboard. What is less of a concern are the processor, RAM, OS and HDD.

So I came across a 2x5970 (Used) for $810 (good deal?) and would probably go for it. But I don't have any idea what other components to purchase for. Can you guys please help me make the most of my money, I'm not sure of how to complete the rig other than the GPU (From the comparison chart).

1. GPU - 2x5970 ($810)
2. Power Supply - Seasonic X-850 ?? 80+ Gold PSU ??
3. Mobo - 2xPCIe16x ?2.0/2.1/3??? This I totally have no idea
4. Processor - Sempron 140 ??
5. RAM - 1 GB ?? DDR2 or DDR3 ??
6. OS - I read there are readily scripted ubuntu/linux distro for mining. Please point me to the right thread plz
7. HDD - I also read that I may be able to just run (6.) off a USB stick/ext. HDD (Which I own) Plz clarify and point me to the right thread
8. Casing - I don't wish to go for good cooling casing, I might just leave the case open with my huge-ass fan on it

The stuff I have up here are from reading the forum. Please advice on the build and really, where can I get the stuff. Thanks in advance