Bitcoin Forum

HEya folks just wondering what the best way to increase my mhash/s rate? Im running a beast of a pc with an amd gpu.
Many thanks!

What sort of AMD gpu, and how many?  ;)

At the moment just a shitty amd 5700. Whats the best to get in the crossfire configuration? Rest of pc is good spec aswell i7,16gb ddr3 ram and 6 fans to cool it down.

There's not much point in buying cards just for mining - stick a couple of 58xx cards in there and you'll have a decent gaming setup that also mines fairly well, or if you want an awesome gaming setup go with crossfire 7970s like me  ;)

thanks for the reply mate which do.you suggest?

Depends what you can find cheap - if you can get a couple of cheap 5870s or something vaugely similar, or if your motherboard can handle 3 5830s, that's a good bet.

I am not sure WHat I have is below:

Motherboard:
Asus P8P67 pro
Processor:
i7 2600k-o/c @ 3,8mhz
RAM:
16gb ddr3 crosshair
GPU:
ATI Radeon HD 5700

Hope this paints a better picture

The board's fine for at least two cards, I think three - the major concern at that point would be your power supply - what do you have?

From what I remember its a 750wt PSU. Would my best bet then be getting another 2 5700's?

Check, post pictures etc   ;)

And no, to be honest 57xx cards aren't good miners - you could run a couple of 58xx cards in addition to your current one, maybe run ~1Gh/s?

Ok that sounds good I will post some pics in the morning of the current setup.
Many thanks

Ok so I got some pics and I found out I have a 600w power supply and an ati 5770 gpu.

Pics below:

http://imageshack.us/a/img849/4088/dscn1583zv.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/849/dscn1583zv.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://imageshack.us/a/img35/3701/dscn1584h.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/35/dscn1584h.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://imageshack.us/a/img844/8774/dscn1585i.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/dscn1585i.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://imageshack.us/a/img28/296/dscn1586n.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/28/dscn1586n.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://imageshack.us/a/img152/1553/dscn1587h.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/152/dscn1587h.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://imageshack.us/a/img708/9306/dscn1588y.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/708/dscn1588y.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

1)you don't need crossfire for mining  ;)
2)buying GPU today for mining is not exactly a good idea
3)Well, get another 58xx, since you already have the computer.

4) get a vacuum cleaner and clean out that poor thing.

^Also what this guy just said.
dust=heat
heat+mining=lots of heat
lots of heat=dead gpus.

Depends if you can get them cheap - a couple of weeks ago I picked up 3 5830s and a 5850 for ~£190 (~$300) since I already had the board, and they're sat hashing away happily at a combined 1.2Gh/s - won't take too long to pay off at that pace.

And OP - it looks like your machine can handle one more card on that PSU - get something from the 58xx range - obviously 5870s are the best miners but check out the price/performance ratio before you buy.

From were can i get cheap 5870's?

5) Don't use a vacuum cleaner.
  5a.) Vacuum cleaners can cause static electricity, burning up boards/cpu/cpu, etc.. you get the picture.  On top of that, it doesn't clean much.
  5b) Use an air compressor, that will blow air versus sucking in air.  Preferably between 80-120psi not directly at components, but more indirectly to blow the dust out.
  5c) If you used a vacuum cleaner and it fried some components send a bill to greyhawk. ;)
  5d) Send BTC to 19N5UBzoE7EfTTsQ1RZmXZyvFbN7GYFYDq if you used an air compressor. :D
   

A gas duster is really effective for cleaning! I had to buy one for someone I know to make him stop vacuuming his computers (people are really stubborn about ignoring warnings of static electricity), and now he's a fan of using them too.

Just keep it well ventilated or even consider doing it outdoors if it's really dusty. It's fine to vacuum around the computer or at the non-electric parts (like at the bottom of the case).

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=ati+5870

Google my man.  I saved you the search, so if you want you can BTC me :D


19N5UBzoE7EfTTsQ1RZmXZyvFbN7GYFYDq

Well I had a nice suprise from the tax man today and now have a $500 budget for a new card/s!

Woot.  I would get the ASIC's from BFL though, tbh. Just sayin.. ;)

Or an asic from Cablepair/Avalon at this point  ;)

Touche. LOL

What is this ASIC? From what I can make out its specificly for bitcoin and better than a GPU? Are they even for sale yet and what sort of price are they?

[Edit]
n00b moment there I will do the research next time before asking!

I wouldn't hold my breath on them being release on time.  I would continue current methods for now.  Although I did just order a BFL single out of curiosity to see how long it would take to receive (something that has been available rather than vaporware) from them - especially since technically i won't lose my investment if i get their ASIC because they offer a full credit of what I paid for the Single towards the new unit.

My general understanding from reading in the forum is that BFL products do work at projected hash rates or better, but painfully slow delivery cycles..  again - personally i will keep doing what i am doing and will shift to the asic's when they arrive (or if).

So what your saying is just get a decent gpu for now and see if/what happens after they get delivered and tested?

More or less, yes.

NIce one thanks for the advice mate!

Yup.

At least thats the way i am approaching it.  Basically hedging my bets.

If you get good GPU's (i use almost exclusively 7970's) - they hold their value very well.  so even if things change and you switch to HHR (high-hash rate) ASIC's, then you can recoup probably 60-85% of your investment into the GPU's.  do a search on ebay for radeon 7970 and look at what the used ones are going for..

No! Never vacuum electronics, at least not using direct contact (the fabric brush, or crevice device):

a) the tip could easily cause damage to surface-mounted parts, and
b) electrostatic build-up could be created or transferred, especially with the plastic brushes

A can of compressed air is a much safer bet. Vacuuming your power supply and such from outside the grille is safe, even though compressed air would probably still be more effective.  OTOH, having a vacuum cleaner nozzle nearby collecting all that airborne mess is acceptable.