Topic: Why does everyone use AMD when using 2+ cards? (Read 1939 times)
It's a cost thing unless you go with a used 775 set up.
That CPU is 1155. More upgradeable than AMD unless you get an AM3+ motherboard (which at low end, i dont think they are).
Most dedicated rigs dont even use a case or will use a custom made one.
Board works fine, if you really are worried about power get a riser cable and mod it (I didnt mod my 4 and it works fine). Not that 16x gives out any more power than 1x: http://pinouts.ru/Slots/pci_express_pinout.shtml, extra power is drawn from the 6 and 8 pin connectors. These slots are PCI-E compliant.
I dont think any motherboard can space the cards properly with 4 cards.
Which one? I couldnt find one readily available and that could fit 4 cards, riser or not.
Most dedicated rigs dont even use a case or will use a custom made one.
Board works fine, if you really are worried about power get a riser cable and mod it (I didnt mod my 4 and it works fine). Not that 16x gives out any more power than 1x: http://pinouts.ru/Slots/pci_express_pinout.shtml, extra power is drawn from the 6 and 8 pin connectors. These slots are PCI-E compliant.
I dont think any motherboard can space the cards properly with 4 cards.
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Maybe because for the price of just the processor/MB you posted I can get an AMD sempron, a full size ATX MB, 2GB ram AND a PSU?
Which one? I couldnt find one readily available and that could fit 4 cards, riser or not.
That board can only house one GPU.
If you want to use more you will have to spend on 3 riser cables and a chassis that can lift-mount the GPU's because they wont be able to function next to each other. There isn't even a guarantee the mobo can supply power to 4 GPU's, it's only specified for one.
X1 lanes on cheap boards are primarily for sound cards, ethernet cards etc. that take next to no wattage at all. Drawing 225W 24/7 will probably kill them.
If you want to use more you will have to spend on 3 riser cables and a chassis that can lift-mount the GPU's because they wont be able to function next to each other. There isn't even a guarantee the mobo can supply power to 4 GPU's, it's only specified for one.
X1 lanes on cheap boards are primarily for sound cards, ethernet cards etc. that take next to no wattage at all. Drawing 225W 24/7 will probably kill them.
Maybe because for the price of just the processor/MB you posted I can get an AMD sempron, a full size ATX MB, 2GB ram AND a PSU?
Intel treats it's process engineers like shit. Don't buy from them if you can avoid it.
The question of AMD or Intel platforms basically doesn't matter. But AMD almost always comes out a few bucks cheaper, and Bitcoin miners are tightwads, so that's one reason they favor it :-)
Also, the cheapest AMD processors ($38 Sempron 140, or half the price of your Intel G620) can be used in both entry-level motherboards with x1 slots (for someone who wants to connect his GPUs with PCIe extenders) as well as high-end motherboards with 4 or more x16 slots (for someone who doesn't want to mess with extenders). On the other hand, Intel artificially segment the market: the cheap motherboards typically take LGA775 processors, whereas high-end ones require more expensive processors. AMD's more flexible upgrade path is definitely one more aspect favored by miners who frequently rebuild/upgrade their GPU farms, as they can re-use the same processors and RAM.
Also, the cheapest AMD processors ($38 Sempron 140, or half the price of your Intel G620) can be used in both entry-level motherboards with x1 slots (for someone who wants to connect his GPUs with PCIe extenders) as well as high-end motherboards with 4 or more x16 slots (for someone who doesn't want to mess with extenders). On the other hand, Intel artificially segment the market: the cheap motherboards typically take LGA775 processors, whereas high-end ones require more expensive processors. AMD's more flexible upgrade path is definitely one more aspect favored by miners who frequently rebuild/upgrade their GPU farms, as they can re-use the same processors and RAM.
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Not bashing AMD. Purely discussing cost effective parts. CPU (Intel G620) is the same price as a cheap AMD (X2 260). Mobo can fit 4 cards for 2-3x less than a high end AMD board.
Everything else is the same (DDR3, Sata HDD or USB Flash etc).
1x slot has no effect on the cards performance.
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