Author

Topic: Mining Gear. (Read 1571 times)

newbie
Activity: 46
Merit: 0
June 13, 2011, 09:26:21 PM
#7
Thank you guys, i went for a more expensive HD 5870, which runs 24/7 now at 430 mhash/s
the temps are 70-83:)

only the middle card is not doing very well.
it get's 85 degrees with only 230mhash/s.
it's not the airflow (Antec twelve hundred with 2 extra fans)
so i'm thinking i'll change the thermal paste soon, i've got some artic cooling laying around Smiley
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
June 13, 2011, 09:09:01 PM
#6
I have this 5850 Twin Frozr.

Right now my limit is 396 Mhash/s.
Running at 1010 mhz core clock @ 1.3 Volt @ 89°C Max, (i dont use it 24/7)
Im thinking of buying a second one of these, but the prices went up too much.
around 2 months ago when i bought mine it was around 140€, now its atleast 170€.
hero member
Activity: 602
Merit: 500
June 01, 2011, 11:40:51 PM
#5
Crossfire can cause some problems with mining, but it's usually not detrimental. It has the upside of not forcing you to create dummy plugs for slave cards though which is a plus.

Non-reference cooler performance varies as much as the coolers themselves. I have a dual fan cooler that essentially blocks the next slot down (the cards are literally touching), but it still cools well if I jam a card in with it (I'm a little worried about physical damage but c'est la vie). I have another non-reference cooler that has no clearance issues but if the fan is not given enough space / fresh air it literally chokes. Jumps to 100% fan speed >90C temps and starts to thermally throttle. I have a lot of reference coolers that aren't spectacular either, basically multi-card setups are a huge hassle.

I'd go with a 5870 personally, cooling does not ensure overclocking, there are very few (I don't know of any) 5850s that can hit 400MHash/sec. Most 5870s can hit at least 420Mhash/sec without volt mod on reference cooling. It's hard for me to think in GBP though, so YMMV in terms of returns.
newbie
Activity: 46
Merit: 0
June 01, 2011, 11:23:38 PM
#4
thanks for the replies.

i think the 5850 is a better deal, when it was only about 1 card.
But as you say, it may get a little too hot in the case with 3 of them.
Does anyone here have some experience with multiple non-reference coolers for mining?


another question: i want to still be able to play games on the cards, so i'll want to put them in crossfire.
Is crossfire a good combination with mining?
full member
Activity: 518
Merit: 100
June 01, 2011, 10:43:38 PM
#3
I'd be a bit careful with the non-reference coolers. Many of them work very well in single card configurations, but not so well in multi-gpu setups since the card below will block airflow to top-mounted fans. They also blow more heat into the case, which can cause additional cooling problems.
hero member
Activity: 927
Merit: 1000
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June 01, 2011, 10:23:51 PM
#2
5850, you should be able to get near on 400mhs with that cooler and a decent overclock.
newbie
Activity: 46
Merit: 0
June 01, 2011, 10:21:47 PM
#1
Hey guys,

I am planning on buying some mining equipment.
Here in the netherlands i have 2 graphic card options:
The MSI R5850 Twin Frozr II, for €148.90
And the XFX Radeon HD 5870 for€162.35

I want to buy 2 or 3 of them.

I don't know which one to choose, because i know the 5850 is slower, but that one has got a good enchanted cooler.
I finds that important, since i've heard many people here complaining about high temperatures on the cards,
and i don't want to be forced to lower the clock speeds to have a normal temperature.
And maybe the 5850 could be overclocked so it will generate about as much while producing less noise......

I just don't know.  Huh

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance Smiley
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