critique my mining rig order

[chiropteran]

SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$84.99
 
(2) SAPPHIRE 100297L Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity
$219.98
($109.99 ea)

MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
$74.99

AMD Athlon II X2 255 Regor 3.1GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX255OCGMBOX
$57.99

Subtotal   $437.95
UPS 3 DAYS   $12.45
Order Total   $450.40


No case.  I bought a $44 open enclosure type case from amazon, but I might not even use it, depending on how this works just resting on a cardboard box.  I spent a little extra on the CPU over a cheap sempron thinking this CPU might be more useful to resell later, if I stop mining after a few month.  I have plenty of old small hard drives and I can install/setup entirely from usb so no need for CD or DVD drive.

I'd have paid a little more if the $150 radeon 5850s were still available, but they seem to be sold out everywhere so I went with the cheaper 5830s.

Any suggestions on areas I could have saved a little more or places where paying a little more would have led to significantly better MHash/sec?

[1715016483]

1715016483

[1715016483]

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[1715016483]

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[Genrobo]

Buyer's remorse leads to anger
Anger leads to hate
Hate leads to...
The dark side.

[SomeoneWeird]

Buyer's remorse leads to anger
Anger leads to hate
Hate leads to...
The dark side.

Then you get milk and cookies.

[chiropteran]

Buyer's remorse leads to anger
Anger leads to hate
Hate leads to...
The dark side.

After the bitcoin USD value increases the last 2 days buyers remorse is about the furthest thing from my mind.  I'm just thinking about setting up a few more of the same, so trying to make sure this is a good setup.

[Maxxx]

SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$84.99
  
(2) SAPPHIRE 100297L Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity
$219.98
($109.99 ea)

MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
$74.99

AMD Athlon II X2 255 Regor 3.1GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX255OCGMBOX
$57.99

Subtotal   $437.95
UPS 3 DAYS   $12.45
Order Total   $450.40


No case.  I bought a $44 open enclosure type case from amazon, but I might not even use it, depending on how this works just resting on a cardboard box.  I spent a little extra on the CPU over a cheap sempron thinking this CPU might be more useful to resell later, if I stop mining after a few month.  I have plenty of old small hard drives and I can install/setup entirely from usb so no need for CD or DVD drive.

I'd have paid a little more if the $150 radeon 5850s were still available, but they seem to be sold out everywhere so I went with the cheaper 5830s.

Any suggestions on areas I could have saved a little more or places where paying a little more would have led to significantly better MHash/sec?

I think it looks good, cheap. If you got the open enclosure that's in my sig, use that mofo. It's worth it, as your components will be screwed down tight and you can move it around quickly with the handle on the side.

I agree about the 5850's. I got all mine at that price but now it's hard to find them under $200.

Also, there is a cheaper mobo than the one you got that will work for about $40 (I can't find it atm) but the PCI express slots are next to eachother. So you can fit in two 2 slot cards, but you need to split them a little and pump lots of air in-between them. Your mobo looks like you'll have at least one full slot between.

[um0rion]

Looks pretty good to me... Id do the same thing with downgrading the cpu to a sempron 140... Its only $38. Plus, its got a hidden core that is possible to unlock. I didnt on mine, but its there and it could be if I wanted. But, the lower the power the better, so I left it alone.

[bcpokey]

RAM?

Also, that board is pretty awful. I'm not sure if VRMs will be a problem with a low power CPU and multiple GPUs, but be aware that that series of motherboards are known for their low quality mosfets. I personally wold try to find something that can support 3 GPUs, as you want as many GPUs running as possible to recoup cost on other components. I'm not at all a fan of the ASRock extreme4, I hate it, but it's only $50 more, has 3 double spaced x16 slots, and if you later need it an x1 slot you can run an extender off. Or potentially the best would be the 870FXA, 5 x16 slots (4 double spaced) and an x1 slot if you ever decide to go really crazy. It's twice the price, but you can immediately get twice the videocards (which will require a bigger PSU obviously).

If heat and noise are a concern I suppose it's fine, but remember that it will take a little longer to recoup investment (assuming you can recoup heh)

[Maxxx]

... its got a hidden core that is possible to unlock.

Ha, sweet. I'll have to look into that sometime.

[chiropteran]

RAM?

Also, that board is pretty awful. I'm not sure if VRMs will be a problem with a low power CPU and multiple GPUs, but be aware that that series of motherboards are known for their low quality mosfets. I personally wold try to find something that can support 3 GPUs, as you want as many GPUs running as possible to recoup cost on other components. I'm not at all a fan of the ASRock extreme4, I hate it, but it's only $50 more, has 3 double spaced x16 slots, and if you later need it an x1 slot you can run an extender off. Or potentially the best would be the 870FXA, 5 x16 slots (4 double spaced) and an x1 slot if you ever decide to go really crazy. It's twice the price, but you can immediately get twice the videocards (which will require a bigger PSU obviously).

If heat and noise are a concern I suppose it's fine, but remember that it will take a little longer to recoup investment (assuming you can recoup heh)

Heh RAM, oops.  I have a few old sticks around at work I can probably use, but I should think about that cost in the future since it won't always be an option.

As far as the motherboard I deliberated over several alternatives before settling and placing the order.  I did look at some 3 & 4 PCIE x16 slot boards before deciding that 2 was enough, mainly because I though sticking cards too close together would cause heat issues.  As well, trying to support a 3rd GPU would require a more expensive power supply in addition to a better board, I was thinking I'd be better off just buying multiple rigs.  I actually did look extensively at the asrock extreme 4, but since I decided to cut my costs a bit and go with 2 cards instead of 3 I decided against it.

If you got the open enclosure that's in my sig, use that mofo. It's worth it, as your components will be screwed down tight and you can move it around quickly with the handle on the side.

Yep, the one I got was exactly the one in your sig.  It looks nice and worth using.  I'm going to try and see how it works but I am also going to look at how viable it is to run without an enclosure.

[Maxxx]

Yep, the one I got was exactly the one in your sig.  It looks nice and worth using.  I'm going to try and see how it works but I am also going to look at how viable it is to run without an enclosure.

Here are the pics I posted of this case. It's actually one version behind their stackable one. It's the same case only it doesn't have the longer side/feet pieces to make it stackable.

I'm sure setting it on a cardboard box will be fine too though

[bcpokey]

RAM?

Also, that board is pretty awful. I'm not sure if VRMs will be a problem with a low power CPU and multiple GPUs, but be aware that that series of motherboards are known for their low quality mosfets. I personally wold try to find something that can support 3 GPUs, as you want as many GPUs running as possible to recoup cost on other components. I'm not at all a fan of the ASRock extreme4, I hate it, but it's only $50 more, has 3 double spaced x16 slots, and if you later need it an x1 slot you can run an extender off. Or potentially the best would be the 870FXA, 5 x16 slots (4 double spaced) and an x1 slot if you ever decide to go really crazy. It's twice the price, but you can immediately get twice the videocards (which will require a bigger PSU obviously).

If heat and noise are a concern I suppose it's fine, but remember that it will take a little longer to recoup investment (assuming you can recoup heh)

Heh RAM, oops.  I have a few old sticks around at work I can probably use, but I should think about that cost in the future since it won't always be an option.

As far as the motherboard I deliberated over several alternatives before settling and placing the order.  I did look at some 3 & 4 PCIE x16 slot boards before deciding that 2 was enough, mainly because I though sticking cards too close together would cause heat issues.  As well, trying to support a 3rd GPU would require a more expensive power supply in addition to a better board, I was thinking I'd be better off just buying multiple rigs.  I actually did look extensively at the asrock extreme 4, but since I decided to cut my costs a bit and go with 2 cards instead of 3 I decided against it.

If you got the open enclosure that's in my sig, use that mofo. It's worth it, as your components will be screwed down tight and you can move it around quickly with the handle on the side.

Yep, the one I got was exactly the one in your sig.  It looks nice and worth using.  I'm going to try and see how it works but I am also going to look at how viable it is to run without an enclosure.

I respect your decisions, but I'll put in one last plug for my thinking:

Heat issues -- 5830s run pretty cool, I currently have 4 5870s smushed together and that's hot, but they're all surviving happily. A small piece of plastic to space cards and a fan helps a bit.
Cost issues -- For a single rig, obviously your build is fine, but if you are planning on expanding consider the following:

$75 for mobo $85 for PSU $40 for CPU $220 for 2x cards (lets say ram is free for you and no case) vs. say $160 for mobo $150 for PSU $440 for 4x cards.

So 420 for 2x gpus * 2 = 840 for 4xgpus vs 750 for 4gpus. More heat, less space.

The more you expand the more you save. Just throwin it out there of course.

[grndzero]

Buyer's remorse leads to anger
Anger leads to hate
Hate leads to...
The dark side.

Which can apparently be had on the Silk Road site, and apparently now everyone know about it. Oh yeah, and bitcoin munchies. All of which can be purchased from mining bitcoins.

[chiropteran]

Parts arrived.  Initial construction complete:


Going to let it mine like this for a day or two to make sure things are stable, and then move it into the open enclosure.