New rig, need input: 2x Radeon R9 270X, more to be added

[AndrewWilliams]

I have two R9 270x GPU's (looking for more, but everyone seems to be sold out!)
Paid $250 each.

I will be buying:

Motherboard:
?
Need recommendations.

Processor:
AMD FX -4130 3.8Ghz Processor FD4130FRGUBOX, Black Edition
$101.99.

PSU:
Not sure yet; but I will be going for a 1250 watter so I can support 3-4 cards total.

Os
I would like to use Linux, since I do not have extra copies of Windows 7 lying around. Can anyone recommend an easy to handle USB bootable version fit for mining and compatible with most mining softwares?

Case:
I reaaaaally want to get those cool looking stick aluminum build yourself cases that I keep seeing on here, but every place I go, no one knows about them.
I only have Best Buys and Fry's Electronics near me.
On here, the only supplier for them I can see is in Australia.


Also, I do not have access to a spare monitor to the new rig, only a laptop. Would I be able to plug a vga cable from the new rig to a laptop and control the rig that way?


Thanks for putting up with my noob questions

I will post pics of my rig here as soon as it is done.

[Jama]

I'm not sure about the mobo or cpu.

PSU:
Try to get the best quality psu you can afford with high efficiency.
A good brand name psu will outlast you and still have a good re-sale value afterwards.
A high efficiency will also help reduce your overall power consumption.

For the OS you should take a look at BAMT Litecoin 1.2
It is a small bootable linux os with all the latest card drivers and cgminer 3.7.2
It takes no time to get up and running.
You can remote desktop in from windows using the included client.
It also hosts a webpage which you can access from withing your network showing speed temp etc.....

Case.
You can buy these, however people are mainly just making the from aluminium angle and rivets which you should be able to buy from any hardware store. There is no kit as such.
You but the aluminum in long lengths (generally 3m) then just build around what equipment you have

Hope this is some help.

[RickJamesBTC]

Shouldn't have paid $250 ea for the cards, they are no more than $200 days ago.

Get the celeron g1610 processor for $50

lots of motherboards, make sure you get one with enough ports. The msi zza gd45 board is fine.

Use the BAMT linux usb bootable to run it.
Simple!  You can buy the case you want at  openrigs.com

[AndrewWilliams]

RickJamesBTC, I paid $220 for each one, with tax it came to $245-250, so I was rounding up.

I was really going for the R9 280s or 290s, or 7950s, but all the hardware stores around here are sold out of that good stuff. It took a real journey to hunt down the two R9 270x's I did get...

Thanks for the tip about the BAMT Linux USB, I just downloaded it and will be booting it by tomorrow.


Jama, PSU is definitely a priority. I went for a 1200 watt as you can see below, looks decent enough.

BAMT, check.

Good tip about the aluminum case parts at hardware stores. I will check out Ace Hardware tomorrow.




Day 2:

OK, so I went with the MSI Z87-G45 motherboard on advice of two great Fry's Electronics employees who are Bitcoin/Litecoin miners too, LOL!

We spent a long time talking about their own setups and hardware strategy. Basically I have put a large order in for R9 280x's which should be coming in a week or two.

For PSU, I went with the Raidmax RX1200 GOLD. (1200 Watts). It was the only PSU they had that was over 1000 watts in stock. It came in a very nice case BTW.

I was only going to get 4 GB RAM since I saw someone elses rig and that's all they used, but Fry's guy said you should have 2 GB Ram per card, and my intention is to have 4 cards running on this rig.

Also got a crap load of black cable ties (enough to last me a life time!).

Recap:


Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45,              $159.99
PSU: Raidmax 1200 Watt Gold,        $178.99
RAM: Patriot DDR3 8 GB 1600 MhZ  $79.99
CPU: Intel G3220                             $67.99

Total: $486.96



Things I'm trying to work out:
I do not have a spare monitor lying around, so I will need to purchase an HMDI cable to hook up my rig to my TV.

For internet I bought a $16 TP Link wireless adapter to be able to connect to the internet. Also got some extra CAT5 cable incase there is an issue with the adapter.

I am at a loss on how to actually turn on my rig, being that there is no power button (no case being used, right now it's sitting in a milk crate, LOL). I will head back to Fry's tomorrow to get the power switch thing.

Questions
Is there such a thing as BAMT that integrates a CryptoSwitch feature to mine the most profitable coin at the moment?

Is there any kind of software "alarm" that will notify me if my rig goes down or if the internet goes down (happens sometimes since it is a community internet you have to log into ever so often).

Did my CPU come pre-applied with thermal paste or do I need to apply some? I Googled this and there are varying opinions. The instructions that came with the CPU mention nothing about applying thermal paste in the step by step instructions, so I am leaning towards it was pre-applied. It came with it's own heatsink.

[Jama]

Good progress.

If you are using cgminer you shouldn't need that much ram, I had 4gb on a previous rig running 5 cards.

You should not need a monitor after you set up the bios (Power on after AC loss and boot from usb).
You can view the 'screen' from your normal pc, if you are using windows 7 you can just use remote desktop connection from the start menu to do all the configuring.

To power on initially don't worry about a button, just short the two pins on the header with a screwdriver, after this set the bios to power on after ac loss. This means whenever you turn i on at the wall it will automatically turn on. Or if there is a power cut as soon as there is power you are back up and running.

Bamt will just mine to any where you tell it, if you want an auto switching feature look at pools that offer it such as hashcows.

As for the alarm, most decent mining pools will have that function withing your account settings, sending you an email after no activity is detected.

The cpu will probably not have paste on, but the heatsink might. take a look at the bottom if it just metal you have no paste, if there is a square of paste you are golden.

Any more questions feel free to ask.

[AndrewWilliams]

Good progress.

If you are using cgminer you shouldn't need that much ram, I had 4gb on a previous rig running 5 cards.

You should not need a monitor after you set up the bios (Power on after AC loss and boot from usb).
You can view the 'screen' from your normal pc, if you are using windows 7 you can just use remote desktop connection from the start menu to do all the configuring.

To power on initially don't worry about a button, just short the two pins on the header with a screwdriver, after this set the bios to power on after ac loss. This means whenever you turn i on at the wall it will automatically turn on. Or if there is a power cut as soon as there is power you are back up and running.

Bamt will just mine to any where you tell it, if you want an auto switching feature look at pools that offer it such as hashcows.

As for the alarm, most decent mining pools will have that function withing your account settings, sending you an email after no activity is detected.

The cpu will probably not have paste on, but the heatsink might. take a look at the bottom if it just metal you have no paste, if there is a square of paste you are golden.

Any more questions feel free to ask.

That's what I thought about the RAM... looks like the Frys guy try to oversell me LOL.

For turning it on without a power button, where is the header on the board? Near CPU?

Thanks for the rest of the tips, they really fill in the gaps!

EDIT: Figured out the power button thing,