It can be done a lot cheaper than, for the rest of the parts, than what Unacceptable is saying. A 1000 watt psu is all you'll really need with an AMD sempron 145 and a MSI GD70 (just in case you want to expand later) and 1g of ram. Buy Used!
The PSU is going to be your largest investment, besides the GPU(s) and will run around $200 +/- $50 depending upon what you want, maybe less now. I know RandyFolds had a 1350W for sale a bit ago.
I have a GD70 with a seated sargas 145 and 1g of ram I'll sell you for 150 + s/h if you'd like as well.
I do recommend PCIe extensions because 5970's get very hot! Cablesaurus will get you there, don't buy used ones.
Everything after that is fairly plug in and go, especially if you go dedicated rig with a persistent LinuxCoin or BAMT USB. I'd recommend BAMT, it's much faster and easier to set up a rig that turns on and goes.
If you have anymore questions or need some help send me a pm.
Topic: I have 3 5970s on the way; now what? - page 3. (Read 4520 times)
Run an open-air rig. No case. Those 5970s get way hot when they're sitting right next to each other in a case. Plus it's cheaper to go caseless 
Build em yourself.You got a copy of XP or Win7??? You can even use a flash drive instead of a hardrive if you can figure out Linux(I have no clue about Linux myself 
).
You can either build 3 small rigs for about $140 each,dual core AMD cpu($50),mini atx mobo($30),no less than a 600watt powersupply($40)for single 5970,1 gig DDR3 ram($20),use an old hardrive you got laying around.
Or 1 large rig for about $600,1500 watt powersupply for 3 5970's($275 or so),3 slot PCIE 16x mobo($250),same cpu & ram.
I have crossfire 6970's & they along with my AMD965 quad core & 8 gigs of ram & 3 extra fans for cooling the vid cards uses 740 watts.Always have an extra 200 watts over what you may need & you can't go wrong.
I'm sure some folks will recommend specific mobos in later posts.
).You can either build 3 small rigs for about $140 each,dual core AMD cpu($50),mini atx mobo($30),no less than a 600watt powersupply($40)for single 5970,1 gig DDR3 ram($20),use an old hardrive you got laying around.
Or 1 large rig for about $600,1500 watt powersupply for 3 5970's($275 or so),3 slot PCIE 16x mobo($250),same cpu & ram.
I have crossfire 6970's & they along with my AMD965 quad core & 8 gigs of ram & 3 extra fans for cooling the vid cards uses 740 watts.Always have an extra 200 watts over what you may need & you can't go wrong.
I'm sure some folks will recommend specific mobos in later posts.
I've ordered three ATI HD 5970s.
I do software, especially low-level optimization; hardware, not so much. I'm in this project for the software thrills.
I've spent a lot of time in these Forums in the past five or six days. I was influenced in my 5970s buy by DeathAndTaxes's discussion of the GPU and rigs.
Any kind soul(s) want to suggest the next focus of my attention? Motherboard? Case? Would it be feasible to assemble a partial parts list (motherboard, PSU, ...) and then call a custom systems builder to supply a rig?
I do software, especially low-level optimization; hardware, not so much. I'm in this project for the software thrills.
I've spent a lot of time in these Forums in the past five or six days. I was influenced in my 5970s buy by DeathAndTaxes's discussion of the GPU and rigs.
Any kind soul(s) want to suggest the next focus of my attention? Motherboard? Case? Would it be feasible to assemble a partial parts list (motherboard, PSU, ...) and then call a custom systems builder to supply a rig?
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