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Hey guys I just bought (4) 5830 from the newegg deal and I can't decide whether I should put all 4 in 1 rig, or split them up 2 in a rig and 2 in another.

How powerful of a PSU do I need for (2) 5830? how about for (4) 5830?

Also I'm having trouble finding any motherboard in stock that can fit (4) 5830 right on the motherboard...

If someone helps me I can donate 0.1 BTC

Thanks!

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 790GX/SB750

Fits 4 5830s just fine.  Great thread about a system just like this:  https://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=12804.0

New, in stock here:  http://www.aztekcomputers.com/M4A78TE-ASUS-185131.html

Can buy one for $145 here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001T0HW88/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

Or here:  http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=M4A78T-E-BO-R&cat=MBB

Or here (in store):  http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4444096&CatId=5534

My BTC address is in my sig, or PM me.  Thanks!

Rob I think you need pcie converters to fit 4 cards in that board...how about this board? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274

It's expensive at $185 though...

Yea, you do.  And?

Your board, for $200, looks like it would handle 4 cards installed on the mainboard.  However, I'd be really worried about the two middle cards and heat build-up.  Just because a board CAN have 4 installed, doesn't mean you should do it, especially for mining (which will peg all 4 cards).  You'd be better served using extenders so you can cool them properly.

Better yet, just use cheaper components and build a second rig with the other two cards.

I haven't done this yet, but I've read on mining forum that you can get cables to extend.  My plan is to have 4 cards off a board with 2xPCI-Ex1 and 2x PCI-Ex16, but the plan could crash and burn. 

google "5830 power draw"  There are good articles.  doing 2 is less per card than 1 for some reason.

I have the MSI FX890-GD70 and I would not recommend to use more than 2 GPUs inside a normally ventilated PC Case. I have 3x5830 and currently am running only two of them.

My PC is not a dedicated miner so I still wanted to maintain a "classical" setup of all the cards plugged inside the case (which is Fractal Design Define R3) and with plenty (2x front intake, 1x sidepanel, 1x inside to push air between GPUs, 2x exhaust) of 120mm Noctuas I reach approx 90°C on the GPU closest to the CPU (when every other PCI-E is populated - positions 1 & 3 & 5).

I am still scratching my head about how to utilize the 3rd and last 5830, but as I want to keep everything packed inside the case (the PC is in my "working" room), it gets tricky.

"Radeon HD 5830

    The card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 35~40 Amps available on the +12 volts rails.

Radeon HD 5830 CrossfireX

    A second card requires you to add another 170 Watts. You need a 650+ Watt power supply unit if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 45~50 Amps available on the +12 volts rails. 

For each card that you add, add another 200 Watts as a safety margin." - Guru3D.com

Options:

1 Board w/ 4 Cards - 1000W PSU
2 Boards w/ 2 Cards - 2 x 650W PSU

My mobo recommendations
http://i52.tinypic.com/qye3ic.jpg

Other recommendations
you DONT need computer cases (they will run cooler without cases and you save monies), just keep the rigs somewhere safe from static (not on your carpet or tesla coil) ie. a tabletop

Advantage definately goes to the boards with 4 PCIEx16 slots, as they require less extra equipment (mouse keyboard lcd hdd's ram etc)

Feel free to donate any amount of bitcoin :D
Also, if you need help spec-ing out a setup pm me. I do computers for a living lol.

Small update: I did a mild ghetto mod, took out the PSU from the Fractal Design Define R3 (has only 7 expansion slots, so when the GPU card is in the last slot, it collides with the PSU) and used the last slot on the mobo (FX890-GD70) for the 3rd 5830. So now I have a empty slot between each of the 3 GPU cards, temperatures are at 75/75/78 at default clocks.

So now I am looking to get new case, probably will go with LIAN LI PC-8FIB (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=479&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=62&g=f) as it has 8 expansion slots (as opposed to the Fractal Design which has only 7).

I run all this setup on Corsair AX-750 without problems:

AMD Phenom II 955 X4 Black Edition
NOCTUA NH-D14
MSI 890FX-GD70
4x Corsair 2GB 1600Mhz CL9 DDR3
3x Sapphire 5830 Xtreme
1x WD Velociraptor 300GB
2x Samsung F1 750GB 7200RPM
2x Samsung F2 1,5TB  5400RPM
6x 120mm fans

Please note this is not a dedicated mining rig, I use it for occasional gaming and also serves as home file-server.

What OS are you running?  I assume Windows if it's also a gaming rig.  Win 7?  32/64-bit?

I'm using the MSI FX890-GD70 too, with 4x5850, no extenders, in a Coolermaster HAF-X. The 3 bottom cards are overclocked to 900/300, the top one only to 820/300 because of cooling problems... But this way, they run at 74°C (top card), 70°C (2 cards in the middle) and 57°C (bottom card) doing about 1.3GHash/sec. All I did was spacing the cards using some plastic parts and installing one optional 120mm-fan inside the case, blowing directly towards the cards. Power usage is about 670W.

Win 7 64bit

Regarding cooling - we have no A/C in the PC room, so ambient temp is around 24-25°C, which might explain the high/er temperatures in my case of my case :D :D :D
It is actually a nice challenge getting a decent PC case with enough expansion slots AND HDD space...Plus it cannot be "not nice" :)

This PSU looks decent:

Thermaltake Black Widow 850w: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153106

It has 69A on a single 12v rail, and 2x 6pin, 2x6+2 pin PCI-E connections.

But cases are so nice for when you want to move the thing, or sell it without parting it out. 

And you got to watch the spacing on the PCIEx16 slots, because I got a board with 4 slots only to find out I could only fit 3 cards in it, as the card were 2 slots wide, so one slot was covered with one of the cards.

Then I have to leave one side of the case open with a fan blowing in it at all times to keep the heat down.  Hottest of the three still running at 85 C.