Newbie - Getting started w/ GPU mining - rig build in process

[smapdi]

Hiya.

Last night was the first time I did any mining. I got my rig quasi-assembled with 2 of the 4 Sapphire R9 290 boards I have. I'm waiting on powered PCI-E risers before I can get the other GPUs in.

I'm still trying to figure everything out ... much to learn! Some things that are on my short term todo list:

Ubuntu or Windows? I'm not sure if R9 290 performance under linux isn't good or if I just need to do more cgminer config optimization. (I'm currently getting about 550 kH/s out of  each card under Ubuntu)

LTC or other scrypt based coin? From what I can tell it seems much more profitable to mine other scrypt based coins but I still need to understand how reliably I could exchange these "more profitable" coins.

How to I undervolt my cards? Never tried this bit of magic. Not sure if I need to flash my Sapphire's ROM in order to be able to do this? If not I'm not sure what piece of software I need to do it (and does that software run on Windows).

Anyway, so far I'm having fun! Hope I can at least break even on my rig.

[DrG]

For the OS pick whichever you are more comfortable with.  Linux has BAMT for ease of use, Windows allows undervolting without having to flash the cards.

Don't pick coins based on profitability.  That is manipulated by people who have far more coins.  Pick based one which you believe will survive 3 months out.  Most alt currencies have come and gone.

[probeer]

Sapphire trixx should enable you to change your gpu voltage settings under windows.

And otherwise your problem of possible overheating (cause i recon that is why you want to lower the voltages) could be solved by setting max temp's / fancontrol? No idea what kind of software to use for that, but there are enough options.

And otherwise BIOS settings?

[tadillac]

I thought GPU mining died with the rise of ASIC miners. Is it still profitable?

[mstang83]

GPU mining alt coins is very profitable right now. There is a crazy increase in GPU mining again. Reminds me of earlier this year.

[Kanamatras]

hi! I'm doing this as well, same exact deal, got two r9 290's on the rig until I get risers for more. My problem is that I have a macbook pro and this rig...no moniter... how do I do a headless install of linux? I don't want to get an actual moniter... just want to get it to install automatically off a usb or something? help. If someone walks me through it i will donate LTC. This is a labor of love more than a profit machine. thanks!

Check this out:
http://www.smos-linux.org/

it's a version of the BAMT OS someone already mentioned.... you can just install it on a usb drive... plug it into your rig, start the rig, turn on usb booting in your bios, and it will boot on the OS on the USB-Drive.
You are then able to configure and monitor your rig via ssh on your macbook.... if you need more detailed help you can also write me a PM...

cheers

[tadillac]

GPU mining alt coins is very profitable right now. There is a crazy increase in GPU mining again. Reminds me of earlier this year.

Thanks! Good to know that not all hope is lost.

[krak3n]

You can find out which of the coins are most profitable to mine by heading to:  http://www.wheretomine.com/   set your hash number at the top (most single GPU PC's manage 300-600khs) and order by 'Earnings' to get a rough idea how much you could mine in a day.

They're very, very rough estimates and also coins which are profitable today can be worth very little tomorrow, this is because difficulties increase, prices of coins can vary wildly, and some coins have bonus times when you can earn a lot more coins than usual.

[biohack]

What're some newer alt coins that stand out from the rest? Quark isn't new, but I've started mining with some success. I live in a place that does not charge for utilities so I'm wondering what would be most profitable in the long run (~6 mo.)

[yasein]

You can find out which of the coins are most profitable to mine by heading to:  http://www.wheretomine.com/   set your hash number at the top (most single GPU PC's manage 300-600khs) and order by 'Earnings' to get a rough idea how much you could mine in a day.

They're very, very rough estimates and also coins which are profitable today can be worth very little tomorrow, this is because difficulties increase, prices of coins can vary wildly, and some coins have bonus times when you can earn a lot more coins than usual.

CIN/BTC

CinnamonCoin   
0.18038662
scrypt
64   0.000075799159294191   BTC   
N/A
96892.18%   $0.06498   3568.61370   
$231.89/day
$1623.22/wk
$6956.66/mo

it says  230$ per day for CIN? with 500K Scrypt Hashrate?

[roganbear]

I like coinwarz, but have just been relying on my vardiff pool to make the choice for me

http://www.coinwarz.com/

[smapdi]

My problem is that I have a macbook pro and this rig...no moniter... how do I do a headless install of linux? I don't want to get an actual moniter... just want to get it to install automatically off a usb or something? help. If someone walks me through it i will donate LTC. This is a labor of love more than a profit machine. thanks!

I'm not aware of any way to do that. I'm try to borrow a monitor in the short term and pick up something cheap/used off eBay to have around for this kind of thing.

[smapdi]

For the OS pick whichever you are more comfortable with.  Linux has BAMT for ease of use, Windows allows undervolting without having to flash the cards.

I started over with Xubuntu last night. I'm more than happy to stick with linux if I can get the supposed ~900 kH/s these cards are capable of with it.

Don't pick coins based on profitability.  That is manipulated by people who have far more coins.  Pick based one which you believe will survive 3 months out.  Most alt currencies have come and gone.

Thanks. I've been thinking the profitability shown for the alt coins couldn't be taken at face value.

[ollebolls]

Any good tips on alternating pools? I've been using multipool.us for a while but not sure if it is the right one to go with.

[smapdi]

Any good tips on alternating pools? I've been using multipool.us for a while but not sure if it is the right one to go with.

I've only seen them and middlecoin.com.

I'm still trying to figure out myself if using one of those multi-pools vs. standard pools is more profitable.

[asert]

I thought GPU mining died with the rise of ASIC miners. Is it still profitable?

it hasnt died, specially considering the rise of more currencies. Some of them dont support the ASIC miners, so only stratum with GPU/CPU

IMO it has made it more competitive, mining BTC with GPU is crazy nowadays. But forcing everyone to use it lowers the standard and investment