GPU suggestions?

[warbdan]

I've been looking around at GPU's to try and mine coins faster. I've been using the card that came in my pc, an Nvidia 9600 GS. Don't laugh, lol. I wanted to get an ATI HD 5830 or 5870 ( 300 Mh/s is better than the 9 Mh/s I have now), but I don't think it will fit in my pc. My computer is an HP Pavillion Elite m9000t. It has a small card in the slot above the PCI- E slot that seems to run the led's on the front of the PC. I could unplug it and do without the HDD light, but even still would the HD 5830 fit? I know it says it is 2.1 x 16 PCI- E.  If not do any of you have any suggestions for something a little better than the 9600 GS that will fit?

Thanks in advance,
Warren

[Mobius]

if you haven't bought the card yet - dont!  buy a bASIC from http://www.bitcoinasic.com/ for BTC mining.

[warbdan]

I'm trying to stay around $100. It's a little too close to Halfsies Day for me to be plunking down $1k on a rig. I'm more or less piddling with mining. I just want to do a little faster than 9Mh/s.

[Stephen Gornick]

I'm trying to stay around $100. It's a little too close to Halfsies Day for me to be plunking down $1k on a rig. I'm more or less piddling with mining. I just want to do a little faster than 9Mh/s.

Your dilemma can be resolved with a simple bit of math.  How much do you pay for electricity?

[warbdan]

7 cents/ kwh.

[Stephen Gornick]

7 cents/ kwh.

Oh, nice.

Mine on, my friend, mine on!

[Mobius]

You can get a used card on ebay, the closer to the block halving and the release of asics, the cheaper they will be, people will be selling them, as the difficulty will be going up and the yield will be as much as your current 9Mh/s.

You can get into a small 27Gh/s that should be delivered in Dec for about 600. http://www.btcfpga.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=59
I'm just pointing out that the ROI on a GPU card will be/is very poor.

Best wishes in your endeavors

[goxed]

I've been looking around at GPU's to try and mine coins faster. I've been using the card that came in my pc, an Nvidia 9600 GS. Don't laugh, lol. I wanted to get an ATI HD 5830 or 5870 ( 300 Mh/s is better than the 9 Mh/s I have now), but I don't think it will fit in my pc. My computer is an HP Pavillion Elite m9000t. It has a small card in the slot above the PCI- E slot that seems to run the led's on the front of the PC. I could unplug it and do without the HDD light, but even still would the HD 5830 fit? I know it says it is 2.1 x 16 PCI- E.  If not do any of you have any suggestions for something a little better than the 9600 GS that will fit?

Thanks in advance,
Warren

Get a 7750, you would not be disappointed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600286767%20600298541&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%207750

[warbdan]

That just might work. Can anyone clarify for me. What's the difference in PCI-E X16, PCI-E 2.0 X 16, 2.1 X 16, and 3.0 X 16, and are they backwards compatible? I've googled around, but I'm not finding much explanation on the difference. My pc is pci-e X 16. Can I still use the 2.1, 2.0, or 3.0 x 16 cards? I haven't messed with GPU's much as you can tell.

[kwoody]

PCI-E bus speeds do not matter for purposes of mining; you will get the same hashrates if the card is an 16x 3.0 compliant slot, or a simple 4x 1.0 slot. However an important matter to take into considering is the rated power of your computer's power supply. The 5830 card you want for example requires 175 watts of power at full load, and needs 2 separate 6-pin power connectors coming off your power supply to function. To compare raw mining speed between cards, without taking into considering power requirements and amount of space inside your case, you need to look primarily at 2 things.

1)  Number of VLIW5 shading processors on the card.
2)  GPU Core clock frequency. Memory(vram) frequency is irrelevant.

A previous post suggested the 7750 at the ~$100 price range. It is an excellent card if you have limitations. It's available in low-profile meaning it will fit inside almost any chassis you put it in, and it's gentle on your power supply, as it only draws about 60watts TDP. However, if power constraints aren't an issue, it's a poor choice. It only has 512 shading cores. The 6770 is a cheaper card, and has 800 shading cores. The math is simple.

edit: It appears that your system comes with a 350watt power supply. Perhaps I should give the previous poster more merit, as a 7750 with its low power draw may actually be the most powerful card your system can handle without changing out the power supply.

yet another edit: More research leads me to conclude the 7750 is indeed the most powerful card your system can handle reliably. Your GeForce 9600 draws 66.1 watts, and the Radeon 7750 draws 62.4 watts. Almost a perfect match.

Best of luck.

[warbdan]

LOL, I just sniped a 5830 on ebay for $72. Now I'm hunting a power supply. Thanks guys.

[kwoody]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031&Tpk=coolermaster%20500w

this will do the trick. best of luck.

[warbdan]

Shouldn't I need this one for the 2- 6 pin connectors? The one you posted only has 1- 6 pin connector. I don't want to order the wrong thing. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028

Edit: The card I bought comes with cross fire connectors.

Edit 2: What I read on AMD's website requires 500w and 2 - 6 pin pci e connectors. Crossfire won't be used for single card. Is this correct?

[Graet]

Shouldn't I need this one for the 2- 6 pin connectors? The one you posted only has 1- 6 pin connector. I don't want to order the wrong thing. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028

Edit: The card I bought comes with cross fire connectors.

Edit 2: What I read on AMD's website requires 500w and 2 - 6 pin pci e connectors. Crossfire won't be used for single card. Is this correct?

crossfire is only used for mulitple GPUs
I use 2 x molex -> 6pin connectors when I run out of 6 pins from the PSU works just fine

[bbb8]

Graet does the crossfire have any advantages for mining? I'm running 4 5850 without

[Graet]

no advantage to crossfire for mining and a performance disadvantage if using crossfire under linux
mining software sees the gpus and knows nothing of crossfire

[warbdan]

So, I would need the PSU with 2 connectors. Thanks for clearing that up, or are you saying it will work with 1 connector using an adapter to split? I'm still unsure. I'd prefer the PSU with 2 connectors, but it's a little on the big side for my HP case. I could probably still make it work, but the one another member suggested would fit better even though it's a 1 - 6 pin connector PSU. LOL, this shouldn't be this confusing.

[mikesheadroom]

If you have space restrictions in your case, I can suggest an HD 5770.  They are smaller than the 58xx cards.  I have a Sapphire 5770 that does 200 Mh/s.

[warbdan]

I already jumped on a 5830 on Ebay. I think the Raidmax will be the way to go. It has 2 connectors and is about the same size as what's in my PC now. I just thought maybe the Cooler Master was a better PSU since it was suggested.

[warbdan]

Wow! Newegg is fast, the PSU is already here.