looking for some help with a rig

[cartmen180]

Hey there,

I am interested in setting up around 50 rigs.
Now i have a good friend who is really into mining himself and has a couple of machines running aswell.
Unfortunately he has no knowledge of linux and i was planning to run the maximum amount of gpus on one machine as possible, to maximize profits
The gpus i am thinking about are the 7970, they are easy to get and have a decent ratio.
But to get back on topic, i don't have linux knowledge either. Is it hard to set up a rig with 6+ gpus without prior knowledge of linux?

Lets get to the hardware aspect. I was thinking about an open frame. That can hold 6+ gpus (and since it are 7970's i would need two 1200 watt power supplies? or would 2x 1000 watt also suffice?)
Further I will need components that are easy to obtain (making it uniform makes it lots easier to maintain). I have seen motherboards with 6 or 7 pci-e 16 slots, but i noticed all pci-e slots can be used?
So, anyone knows a motherboard with 6+ pci-e slots thats easy to obtain and of good quality? (maybe even 8 slots?)

also which 7970 would you guys advice? i was thinking about the one from sapphire, but maybe you people know something better?

thxn for the help

edit:
I just noticed there are FPGAs that run on very little electricity but deliver great Mhash. Is it better to get those?

[Lethos]

If you looking to do a huge investment. There comes huge benefits from going with FPGA's.

Yes the primary benefit is of course tiny electrical costs in comparison to a full system.
For many this could mean 10-20x lower electricity bills or more, when you take into account the system it self and cooling.
Also it be a huge space saver as well, also heat and noise.

I know if I was considered a huge rig deployment it would be FPGA's.
The options right now are a bit limited, and usually they are all custom ordered with a long wait period but it's worth it by all those use them.

Concerning power supplies, I'm more bothered by their efficiency rating. Usually a 1200W will be better.
Having designed and a built a few servers in my time, It's best to go big here.

Concerning Linux, it is scary to the inexperienced but, their is pre-built linux setups like BAMT, which are completely designed for nothing else but as a bit mining OS with all you needing to do is input the final details.

[duukat]

If you were looking to profit from Bitcoin and have a lot of faith in the strength of bitcoin, get BFL singles. 
http://www.butterflylabs.com/product-details/
However, if Bitcoin's value disappears, you are stuck with a bunch of useless tiny boxes.  If you go with the 7970s, you could still sell them to gamers. 

[btcnode]

If you looking to do a huge investment. There comes huge benefits from going with FPGA's.

Yes the primary benefit is of course tiny electrical costs in comparison to a full system.
For many this could mean 10-20x lower electricity bills or more, when you take into account the system it self and cooling.
Also it be a huge space saver as well, also heat and noise.

I know if I was considered a huge rig deployment it would be FPGA's.
The options right now are a bit limited, and usually they are all custom ordered with a long wait period but it's worth it by all those use them.

Concerning power supplies, I'm more bothered by their efficiency rating. Usually a 1200W will be better.
Having designed and a built a few servers in my time, It's best to go big here.

Concerning Linux, it is scary to the inexperienced but, their is pre-built linux setups like BAMT, which are completely designed for nothing else but as a bit mining OS with all you needing to do is input the final details.

Where are you located? I'd love to chat more about this with you.