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My friend and I were enjoying beer when suddenly it dawned on us - we could have beer for free every day for the rest of our lives. So we bought this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-147-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1711 (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-147-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1711)

Anyways, my questions are:

1. 32bit is windows or linux better? (xp/vista/7/ubuntu/centos/other?)
2. What is currently the best miner. Electricity is free so we are looking for the fastest miner.
3. What are the best setting for it. edit: it's going to be a dedicated miner
4. Is it worth overclocking? How big is the risk of damaging the card? Does it invalidate warranty?

I tried searching for answers but there are millions of post contradicting each other and I know that miners get updated frequently so they probably out of date too, hence this thread.

If you could post what speed you're getting with what settings, that be cool too.

Thanks

1. Linux is better, but I use Windows because I'm a linux noob.  It makes a ~5% performance difference, IIRC.
2. No idea, but poclbm is pretty good.  I hear varying reports about phoenix, though it is supposedly a faster miner.
3. -v -w 128 -f 1   (or -f 60 if you plan to use the machine every so often)
4. Absolutely!  Mine overclocked to 925mhz without a problem, resulting in an extra 32MH/s.

if you use linux, with hashkill, you get get 20% more than phoenix, or at least that's what i heard.

1. 32bit is windows or linux better? (xp/vista/7/ubuntu/centos/other?)

As far as I know I use a windows 7 ultimate, but I disabled almost 85% of my "visuals" so it uses less memory and is much quicker. I left a few options on like where i can drag things to the right or left and it aligns. Anyways, enough of my talk. I would go with XP. But correct me if I am wrong if unix (centos/ubuntu) is quicker.

2. What is currently the best miner. Electricity is free so we are looking for the fastest miner.

[ATI 5870] 200 to 300 [300 to 400 MH/S ] (~2.1 BTC)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=ati+5870&x=0&y=0

**5970 OVERPRICED**

[ATI 6870] 180 to 250 [200 to 300 MH/S] (~2.4 BTC)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&Description=6870&bop=And&Order=REVIEWS&PageSize=20

[ATI 6990] 700 to 750 (some people having issues with 2 gpu) [700 to 800 MH/S] (~1.9 BTC this data doesnt make sense... but it comes from https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison))
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=ati+6990&x=0&y=0
SDK 2.1 not supported on 69xx.


Get a pc that costs around $500 to $700 to build but has 3 pci-e x16 slots and put 3x 5870's. It honestly is price optimized and performance optimized. If your a rich mofo, go for the 6870s if you can afford it.

3. What are the best setting for it.

 
-v -w 128 -f 1 // if you want it to just sit there
-v -w 128 -f 30 // if you are using the pc


4. Is it worth overclocking? How big is the risk of damaging the card? Does it invalidate warranty?

-overclocking invalidates warranty.
-risk is somewhat higher, but thats why you turn up the fan speed...
-i guess its worth it, but check what others say about oc the card you want to get and see what OTHERS have said

his info is helpful, but

Overclocking depends on manufacturer

Risk is low- know your limits. dont herp derp and max out everything. keep it simple, a fairly big percentage of people are able to hit 9xx core on the 5870 on air. so go for that and make sure u increase fan speed. You should do that by default anyways. I keep my 5870 at a 44% fan speed. Oc to 973 core and max is around 75c.

Overclocking is worth it. It's not THAT dangerous. if it was detrimental to warranty, a LOT less people would do it. just remember what i said, dont herp derp and increase the oc to insane amounts.


At this point in time, the 5850/5870 or 6950/6970 are your best bets at single gpu setups. The 5970 and 6990 are also viable options if space is limited.

I wouldnt waste time and money on any other cards.

the 6950 can be had open boxed at newegg for 220
5870's used can run from 150 to 180
5850s, even lower.

A simple system is good. as long as it has enough pcie slots to accommodate your needs. dont expect it to be quiet if you have 4 gpus next to each other.

i have a simple 775 platform. anything that has enough slots would work. just do NOT skimp on the psu. it's pretty damn important. you need the power for the gpus. you dont really need the cpu power, so any old thign would work. like it said, it's pretty dependent on your needs

If my friend and I were only going to live ~40 days I'd hope we could find something better to drink than beer!

best MH/$ card is 5850. GET IT.

How is electricity free?

Thanks for the answers guys.

What I meant buy the best miner was the software. We already bought 5870 and it should be with me tomorrow.

gmaxwell, our logic that evening might have been a little flawed - I admit  ;D Nevertheless, it's a start to my new society (https://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=6297.msg100801#msg100801)

bitcoin2cash, I am renting an apartment and paying a fixed price all bills included.

his dad is paying that bill ;)

That would be impossible unless you compare it to an older version that does not support BFI_INT. Should be no more than 3-4% and there are systems on which the opencl compiler generates underperforming code on hashkill that is slower. Most GPU miners are very well optimized and there isn't much that you can do to improve speed.

I have a doubt with that, the parameter "-f 60" is based in the "refresh rate"?
For example if you have a 75Hz or 120Hz LCD monitor, or a 85Hz CRT monitor you should use 75/120/85 respectably?

This thread needs more discussion of what beer is best for drinking while mining.

So, you'll be paying for it with higher rent when your lease is up or by having to move?

I'm a fan of Corona myself. Also a micro brewery called Troegs makes some fine beer, HopBack specifically.

Hello fellow miners.

So today I received my 5870 and tried several miners.
Currently I am running on win7 32bit. The only one that doesn't crash my computer is Diablo miner and I'm getting ~300MHash/s. I assume the problem is with my power supply, so I ordered a new, more powerful, one. With other miners at stock card setting except increased fan speed, I get 350-370. I'm a bit reluctant overclocking. Well we'll see. If all goes well, I think I'll be getting few more cards  :)

Already got 0.05 BTC  ;D It used to take me around 12 hours with my other 4 computers using CPUs.

bitcoin2cash I run a small company fixing computers from home and the owner of the place knows that I have to run 5-10 computers everyday. As a matter of fact I just had a glance at my watt meter and the change in readings barely changed  :)

I like any beer  ;D

"While" mining? Single malt whisky  ;)

What PSU?  I'm having trouble mining on a 5850 on a Dynex 400w PSU... yeah, need something better than that piece of junk.  :P

Running a 1000 watt power supply 24/7 will cost $50 a month or more depending on where you live. Most people are going to notice an extra $600 a year but maybe the guy isn't too bright.

watch the wording there.... a 1KW PSU doesn't mean 1KW of power usage!

1 5870 and a minimal PC should consume max 300W, even considering an OC to the GPU (but also considering a mem downclock). 300W, 23 hours a day for 30 days = 207KW, at 10 cents that would be 21$, so 20~30$ depending on electricity prices, maybe 250$ a year.

pffft.  elitist.

i like my mining brew like my GPU card - overvolted and bubbly.

http://www.brewdog.com/sink_the_bismark

 :o

Since power supplies aren't 100% efficient, it actually means more than that if it's maxed out 24/7 which is what I was assuming. That's also irrelevant to my point.

Whether it's $500 a year or $250 a year, if you aren't paying for it, someone else is.

yes but the landlord won't notice it that much

and 300W at 80% efficiency is still like 375W, not 1KW!

You're the one that's talking about a 300W power supply. I'm talking about 1000W power supply. I have no idea what he's actually using. It was just an example. Calm down.

I'll throw in my 2 cents and say that I originally had my cards set up with linux (6990s on Ubuntu 11.3 with newest Stream + SDK) but ran into too many issues in getting OpenCL and the cards working.

I had to roll back to roll back to a earlier version of Ubuntu and an earlier SDK, and was getting about 200-300 mhps per core.  It varied widely though and stopping one core caused the other to rise.. very shotty support.

I reluctantly threw win7 on another hard drive and loaded the newest drivers, etc, and am now pulling 335 mhps per core, very steadily.  So, in my experience, windows has been more stable.  Presumably due to better driver support...