Author

Topic: Recommend me a card $300 range (Read 1809 times)

sr. member
Activity: 303
Merit: 250
March 10, 2013, 10:33:58 PM
#18
On my 7970, I've found the CGMiner defaults of -v 1 -w 64 -I 7 to be the best. You really have better luck with -w 256 ?

So far.  I may give -w 64 another try. 
legendary
Activity: 952
Merit: 1000
March 10, 2013, 04:38:57 PM
#17
How are you guys getting 600MH\s+ on your 7950's. What miner? I am using GUIminer...wondering if there are any flags...

CGMiner → diablo kernel

worksize: 256
vectors: 1
intensity: 7

I've been mining on 7xxx cards ever since they came out early last year.  This is by far the best combination I've found that yields the greatest MH/s with little to no stales.

On my 7970, I've found the CGMiner defaults of -v 1 -w 64 -I 7 to be the best. You really have better luck with -w 256 ?
sr. member
Activity: 303
Merit: 250
March 10, 2013, 03:37:46 PM
#16
How are you guys getting 600MH\s+ on your 7950's. What miner? I am using GUIminer...wondering if there are any flags...

CGMiner → diablo kernel

worksize: 256
vectors: 1
intensity: 7

I've been mining on 7xxx cards ever since they came out early last year.  This is by far the best combination I've found that yields the greatest MH/s with little to no stales.
full member
Activity: 196
Merit: 100
March 10, 2013, 11:22:42 AM
#15
I would recommend a 7950..easy 550 MH\s+ for $275ish. My Powercolor AX7950 runs at 1175mhz at 1.275v at 82c underload. I have had it running upwards of 1230mhz at 1.3v   

How are you guys getting 600MH\s+ on your 7950's. What miner? I am using GUIminer...wondering if there are any flags...


zif
sr. member
Activity: 378
Merit: 250
March 08, 2013, 10:35:57 PM
#14
I'd definitely recommend the MSI R7950.  I have 2 of these and 2 of the gigabyte 7950s.  the MSIs blow the Gigabytes away.  

625MH/s stable at 1175 core

I'm lucky to keep the gigabytes running steady at 1110 doing 580MH/s

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127667&Tpk=msi%207950

Edit: Be forewarned though - the MSI's have fans that run at much higher RPMs and are quite a bit louder.  On the cosmetic side, the MSIs have a nice brushed aluminum shell vs plastic on the gigabyte.  Finally, the MSIs run on two 6pin connectors vs 6pin+8pin for gigabyte.
sr. member
Activity: 329
Merit: 250
Bitcoin may be the TCP/IP of money.
March 08, 2013, 10:03:49 PM
#13
go for a 7950, with the current AMD promo, you can get your game download coupon, and you can sell that on ebay.
legendary
Activity: 1582
Merit: 1002
HODL for life.
March 06, 2013, 11:58:04 AM
#12
The Gigabyte 7950 is pretty good.  I bought one to mine with, and it gets decent hash rates.  It's a 7.9 in windows performance index, and plays everything I throw at it at high-ultra settings, depending on resolution.  Best thing is that at 99% load and overclocked to 1100-1150 on the core, it rarely gets above 66 degrees with the fan at ~70%.  At idle it's 33 degrees.  Best thing about it is it is quiet as all hell.  At 70% fan it's what my crappy 8800gtx used to sound like at 50% load.

define "decent hash rates" im thinking about buying one


Around 575-590MH/s @1120 w/ 70%fan at 66 degrees on 50btc.com.  I've seen it spike up to 610-620 on the charts at those settings, but I've never tinkered with getting to run consistently at those speeds.  I've recently moved over to Litecoin, where I'm getting about 540KH/s, but haven't been able to go higher because of the rest of the system bottleneck.  The card is the newest thing in my rig for the last 4-5 years, so a complete CPU/MB/Ram upgrade might get me a little higher.

I love the card, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking at that price point.
member
Activity: 74
Merit: 10
March 05, 2013, 08:55:19 PM
#11
At the $300 price range you are probably not going to beat the efficiency curve and you will be losing money.

Also, if you are considering a 7970, make sure your CPU has enough PCIe lanes to support that level of device, or you will be wasting a gigantic GPU.
legendary
Activity: 1632
Merit: 1010
March 05, 2013, 08:43:21 PM
#10
The Gigabyte 7950 is pretty good.  I bought one to mine with, and it gets decent hash rates.  It's a 7.9 in windows performance index, and plays everything I throw at it at high-ultra settings, depending on resolution.  Best thing is that at 99% load and overclocked to 1100-1150 on the core, it rarely gets above 66 degrees with the fan at ~70%.  At idle it's 33 degrees.  Best thing about it is it is quiet as all hell.  At 70% fan it's what my crappy 8800gtx used to sound like at 50% load.

define "decent hash rates" im thinking about buying one
legendary
Activity: 1582
Merit: 1002
HODL for life.
March 05, 2013, 05:16:04 PM
#9
The Gigabyte 7950 is pretty good.  I bought one to mine with, and it gets decent hash rates.  It's a 7.9 in windows performance index, and plays everything I throw at it at high-ultra settings, depending on resolution.  Best thing is that at 99% load and overclocked to 1100-1150 on the core, it rarely gets above 66 degrees with the fan at ~70%.  At idle it's 33 degrees.  Best thing about it is it is quiet as all hell.  At 70% fan it's what my crappy 8800gtx used to sound like at 50% load.
legendary
Activity: 952
Merit: 1000
March 04, 2013, 10:26:13 PM
#8
I thought that said 7970 and about died.  Still a pretty good deal.
I love my 7970, but it was bought as a splurge (paid for with BTC, to game and mine BTC). It's not worth the extra $100 over the 7950, as the performance differences are only minimal.
hero member
Activity: 816
Merit: 1000
March 03, 2013, 11:32:48 PM
#7
I thought that said 7970 and about died.  Still a pretty good deal.
DrG
legendary
Activity: 2086
Merit: 1035
March 03, 2013, 04:28:30 PM
#5
OK thanks, seeing as though BTC GPU mining will be worthless soon, its mostly for LTC mining. Which has the edge in that department, the 5970 or the 7970? I think either will be overkill for gaming  Grin

5970 hashes more for LTC purposes.  7970 if you're looking at resale value and gaming ability.
hero member
Activity: 1036
Merit: 500
March 03, 2013, 05:25:21 AM
#4
OK thanks, seeing as though BTC GPU mining will be worthless soon, its mostly for LTC mining. Which has the edge in that department, the 5970 or the 7970? I think either will be overkill for gaming  Grin
DrG
legendary
Activity: 2086
Merit: 1035
March 02, 2013, 10:29:02 AM
#3
Basically do you want to LTC mine for a year or BTC mine for a month.  BTC mining via GPU will be dead in a month.  If you're just going to go straight for LTC then get a 5970.

If you're gaming the 7970 is a no brainer compared to 5970.  5970 will be worth $50-$100 next year while a 7970 will still be at least $150.
hero member
Activity: 658
Merit: 500
Caveat Emptor
March 02, 2013, 10:26:59 AM
#2
You could try and find a refurbed 7970, that would be around your upper levels of the budget though.
hero member
Activity: 1036
Merit: 500
March 02, 2013, 10:19:46 AM
#1
I was planning on buying a 5970 used for gaming and some BTC (and soon LTC) mining, but are there better options?

My budget isnt big, around $300, if I can keep it under that all the better.

5970 looks like I can get in the $250-280 range. Id say $330 would be absolute max shipped I would spend on a card.

Recommendations?
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