Best Case and Power Supply for 4 x ATI 5970 Setup?

[Muhahahahaz]

Hi there!

I'm almost done planning out my first mining rig, but what case and power supply should I use?

I'm trying to go as cheap as possible, while still having enough power, space, and airflow to sustain 4 x ATI 5970 cards. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[m4rkiz]

I'm trying to go as cheap as possible, while still having enough power, space, and airflow to sustain 4 x ATI 5970 cards. Any suggestions?

use two psus, it will be much cheaper that way
you will need ~130A on 12V even with low end cpu

[Muhahahahaz]

I'm trying to go as cheap as possible, while still having enough power, space, and airflow to sustain 4 x ATI 5970 cards. Any suggestions?

use two psus, it will be much cheaper that way
you will need ~130A on 12V even with low end cpu

Yeah, I've been thinking about that... but then how would I fit both of them into the case? Or is there some better configuration for these cards? All I know is that I want 4+ cards running somewhere somehow.

[m4rkiz]

but you know that windows only support 4 and linux 8 gpus? so nothing more than 4x5970 won't work anyway

you should be able to put second psu in 5.25 bay of any big tower case with only minor modifications, 2 psu cases are quite rare, otherwise even something like antec hcp 1200 may not be enough if you plan any overclocking as it can only deliver 99A

[Muhahahahaz]

but you know that windows only support 4 and linux 8 gpus? so nothing more than 4x5970 won't work anyway

you should be able to put second psu in 5.25 bay of any big tower case with only minor modifications, 2 psu cases are quite rare, otherwise even something like antec hcp 1200 may not be enough if you plan any overclocking as it can only deliver 99A

Yeah, I'm planning on 8 x GPUs via Linux (unless I can't find a good way to fit that many into one rig). By more than 4 cards, I just mean that I will keep building out my farm if all goes well.

Oh cool, in the optical drive bay? Would I still be able to put a DVD-ROM in there as well?

[EPiSKiNG]

but you know that windows only support 4 and linux 8 gpus? so nothing more than 4x5970 won't work anyway

you should be able to put second psu in 5.25 bay of any big tower case with only minor modifications, 2 psu cases are quite rare, otherwise even something like antec hcp 1200 may not be enough if you plan any overclocking as it can only deliver 99A

Curious... , is it better to have 1 12v rail at 100amps, or 8 12v rails at 30 amps?

I'm trying to power a 6990 and 5970, and my cooler master pro gold 1000watt seems to not be cutting it... (see my recent topic post).

-EP

[m4rkiz]

even if you have 8 rails capable of 30A each combined output could be significantly lower (i.e. 99A) - vide ANTEC HCP 1200



single rail is much simpler and elegant in my opinion

[Muhahahahaz]

Hey guys, so I've decided to go with 2 x 5970s per rig after all. It turns out that I can build a minimal box for less than $200 per card that way (i.e., less than $400 total allows me to run 2 cards).

How much PSU do I need for 2 x 5970s and minimal other hardware? (Sempron 140 CPU, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, etc...)



Edit: How about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-compatible-platforms/dp/B004MYFODS

It's got 70A on a single 12V rail.

[Muhahahahaz]

*bump*

[Meni Rosenfeld]

How much PSU do I need for 2 x 5970s and minimal other hardware? (Sempron 140 CPU, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, etc...)

I have just such a system (except that I have DDR2) and so far I'm happily running it with a Seasonic X-850. Make sure you get an 80+ Gold PSU.

[Zibbo]

Hey guys, so I've decided to go with 2 x 5970s per rig after all. It turns out that I can build a minimal box for less than $200 per card that way (i.e., less than $400 total allows me to run 2 cards).

How much PSU do I need for 2 x 5970s and minimal other hardware? (Sempron 140 CPU, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, etc...)



Edit: How about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-compatible-platforms/dp/B004MYFODS

It's got 70A on a single 12V rail.

I use that exact PSU in two 2x5970 rigs (CPU is also Sempron 140). Total power drain is around 650W without OC and slightly above 700W with clocks around 850Mhz.

[Muhahahahaz]

Hey guys, so I've decided to go with 2 x 5970s per rig after all. It turns out that I can build a minimal box for less than $200 per card that way (i.e., less than $400 total allows me to run 2 cards).

How much PSU do I need for 2 x 5970s and minimal other hardware? (Sempron 140 CPU, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, etc...)



Edit: How about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-compatible-platforms/dp/B004MYFODS

It's got 70A on a single 12V rail.

I use that exact PSU in two 2x5970 rigs (CPU is also Sempron 140). Total power drain is around 650W without OC and slightly above 700W with clocks around 850Mhz.

Thanks man! Do you think it would be possible to use the 750W version then?

In any case, I'll have some new miners up and running soon!

[Meni Rosenfeld]

Thanks man! Do you think it would be possible to use the 750W version then?

No. You don't want a PSU to run 24/7 so close to full capacity.

And you should consider getting an 80 Plus Gold PSU instead, like Seasonic X-850 or Corsair AX850.

[TenthReality]

Given all the costs you need for insane case, solid cooling, then the risk you're taking of slamming all of that heat/power into such a tight space, I've found it is smarter to just build out 2x seperate machines.  Decent off the shelf cases that are sub $60 can handle 2x 5970's rather well.  The asus EVO motherboard is fairly cheap but works great.  I spend about $100 more than you would spend trying to force it all into a single setup.

Also side bonus, if for some reason the box eats it, only 1/2 your mining power is down.

[Muhahahahaz]

Thanks man! Do you think it would be possible to use the 750W version then?

No. You don't want a PSU to run 24/7 so close to full capacity.

And you should consider getting an 80 Plus Gold PSU instead, like Seasonic X-850 or Corsair AX850.

Oh yeah huh.

So going 80 Plus Gold is to save on power, right? Luckily, I won't be paying for the electricity.

[Muhahahahaz]

Given all the costs you need for insane case, solid cooling, then the risk you're taking of slamming all of that heat/power into such a tight space, I've found it is smarter to just build out 2x seperate machines.  Decent off the shelf cases that are sub $60 can handle 2x 5970's rather well.  The asus EVO motherboard is fairly cheap but works great.  I spend about $100 more than you would spend trying to force it all into a single setup.

Also side bonus, if for some reason the box eats it, only 1/2 your mining power is down.

Yep, I'm going with a 2 x 5970 per box setup. Each box will only cost me about $360 before the video cards (or more like $320 for the first two boxes, since I already have 2 extra hard drives).