Suggestions on what to do next on my mining rig?

[kirby9058]

Hey, I'm just looking for some advice finally upgrading my mining rig. I'm currently running one XFX Radeon HD 5830 with 8GB of DDR3 2000, and an unlocked Phenom II X3, got an 850W PSU. Power consumption isn't a HUGE worry for me, as power is included in the cost of my rent, but I don't want the police knocking at my door thinking I'm growing pot in here.

My motherboard right now can't run both PCI-E slots in 16x mode, so that's my first step. Then I want to get a little more GPU power in the rig.

My questions to you guys:
Can anyone recommend a good mobo with an AMD chipset, AM3 socket, 4x 240pin DDR3 slots, and at least 2 PCI-E slots @ 16x?

Should I just grab a 2nd 5830 since they're pretty cheap now? Will my 850w PSU be okay with both mining? And should I get another XFX model ($99 on TD) or the Sapphire ($109.99 on Newegg)?

Sorry if these are beginner questions, I am still quite new at this.

[1714051115]

1714051115

[1714051115]

1714051115

[1714051115]

1714051115

[FreeJAC]

You probably want to match the cards. If anything for resale value if selling them together. Have you tried over clocking? I have a 5770 and went from 174 Mhash/s up to 194 by using Trixx.

[tito13kfm]

The bandwidth required for mining is slim to none.  You don't need both slots running at x16... You don't even need them both running at x4.  A standard PCI slot has enough bandwidth in theory for a mining card.

[kirby9058]

You probably want to match the cards. If anything for resale value if selling them together. Have you tried over clocking? I have a 5770 and went from 174 Mhash/s up to 194 by using Trixx.

Yeah. I have my memory underclocked to 275, GPU up to 925. Running stable and cool, and got a 50 mhash/s gain out of it. Underclocking the mem seems to have done well for power consumption, as well. I'll take your advice on matching the cards, too. Thanks.

The bandwidth required for mining is slim to none.  You don't need both slots running at x16... You don't even need them both running at x4.  A standard PCI slot has enough bandwidth in theory for a mining card.

Thanks for clearing this up for me! I do also use this PC for gaming, and would like to be able to use both cards in CrossFireX if/when I feel like it. Would you recommend still getting dual 16x, or would I be fine with maybe a dual 8x mobo? Sorry if that's a little off base, just trying to make sure I don't spend my money on something that's not going to work for me.

[RyNinDaCleM]

When it comes to gaming, 8x has very little if any noticeable difference. You aren't benching after all.

[tito13kfm]

When it comes to gaming, 8x has very little if any noticeable difference. You aren't benching after all.

Yeah, even on the highest end cards the difference between x8 and x16 is about 5% in frame rates.

[kirby9058]

Thanks a lot guys, you just saved me from spending more money than I needed to! I'm not running an uber-high resolution or anything, so it seems like an 8x/8x setup will do me just fine. Going to order my 2nd 5830 right now and run it in 4x until I can buy a new mobo You guys have been incredibly helpful. The Internet needs more people like you.