Quad HD 7970 Bitcoin Miner - PSU Req.?

[QuiveringGibbage]

Hi,

I'm building a Bitcoin miner and plan to add 3 more graphics cards once I get it up and running. So that's 4 x 7970 GHz Edition cards and I don't think the 1000W PSU I picked out is going to be enough. What say you?

$482.00 Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 – 3GB GDDR5 – (1100MHz, 6000MHz) Ghz Edition GV-R797TO-3GD
$339.00 Intel Core i7 3770K Quad Core CPU
$312.00 Antec 1000W HCP Platinum Series PSU
$207.00 ASUS P8Z77-V Mainboard
$163.00 Fractal Design Define R4 USB3.0 Mid Tower Case Titanium
$107.00 Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 LP Vengeance Unbuffered
$84.00 Intel 330s/60GB/SATA3/R 500MBs,W 450MBs/25nm/3.5"Kit

Total $1,694.00 (plus 3 x $482.00 Radeon HD 7970 in future). No current plans to over clock, but might do I future. My alternative was to put a Corsair 1200W AX-1200i $395... Better to be safe??

Note: Prices are in Australian $.

Kind regards,
QG
P.S: I know I might be a little late with the GPU mining, but I'm not doing this for the money. More for fun and research. Might use the PC for a gaming PC after a year or two.

[SAC]

Hi,

I'm building a Bitcoin miner and plan to add 3 more graphics cards once I get it up and running. So that's 4 x 7970 GHz Edition cards and I don't think the 1000W PSU I picked out is going to be enough. What say you?

$482.00 Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 – 3GB GDDR5 – (1100MHz, 6000MHz) Ghz Edition GV-R797TO-3GD
$339.00 Intel Core i7 3770K Quad Core CPU
$312.00 Antec 1000W HCP Platinum Series PSU
$207.00 ASUS P8Z77-V Mainboard
$163.00 Fractal Design Define R4 USB3.0 Mid Tower Case Titanium
$107.00 Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 LP Vengeance Unbuffered
$84.00 Intel 330s/60GB/SATA3/R 500MBs,W 450MBs/25nm/3.5"Kit

Total $1,694.00 (plus 3 x $482.00 Radeon HD 7970 in future). No current plans to over clock, but might do I future. My alternative was to put a Corsair 1200W AX-1200i $395... Better to be safe??

Note: Prices are in Australian $.

Kind regards,
QG
P.S: I know I might be a little late with the GPU mining, but I'm not doing this for the money. More for fun and research. Might use the PC for a gaming PC after a year or two.

You  may want to PM the maintainer of the cgminer software ckovalis he had/has a 4x 7970 rig running so should be able to tell you the power needs also seen mention he was thinking of selling it off, he is fellow aussie so you may be able to work out deal with him and save some cash.

[-ck]

My 4x7970 rig had a 1250W OCZ Gold PSU. It uses ~1150 at the wall when maxed out hot fans high overclocked and no real power saving option is in use. Bear in mind it had a couple of hard drives and the case has lots of fans too.

[QuiveringGibbage]

Cheers for the info!! I'm going to get the AX1200i. Rock solid reviews and should do the job.

Someone on another forum also pointed out the ASUS P8Z77-V MB I picked out can't fit 4 7970s on it physically and the Fractal R4 case only has 7 slots. 4 x 7970s will need 8 slots. Silly me!!

Back to the drawing board...
QG.

[bowen151]

Do you really need a case? Just buy a test bench if your starting from scratch (also will mean less airflow problems if you go for an open air solutionn:

http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TopDeckXL

If you do want a box try the coolermaster haf x, its giant and should have enough slots for what you want.

If you're set on using the p8z77 you could try and use a few risers to fit everything in, but that would mean zipties or another method like that for secureing the cards.

try searching for quad SLI or quad xfire motherboards to see if you find any you like:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gigabyte-GA-Z77X-UP7-1-0-motherboard-extended-ATX-LGA1155-Socket-Z77-/380568028024?pt=UK_Computing_LaptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item589b9f4378&_uhb=1

There's  lots of them out there and if you need any more help jsut ask in here, theres loads of people to draw info from

If my post helped you at all feel free to donate to my BTC address below

[QuiveringGibbage]

So here are my new specs:

$475.00 #Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 - 3GB GDDR5 - (1100MHz, 6000MHz) Ghz Edition GV-R797TO-3GD
$390.00 #Corsair 1200W AX-1200i
$345.00 #Intel Core i7 3770K Quad Core CPU
$288.00 #Asrock Z77 Extreme9 Motherboard
$107.00 #Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 LP Vengeance Unbuffered DIMM Memory with XMP 1.3 for AMD and Intel platforms.
$170.00 #Corsair Obsidian 550D Black Mid-Tower Case
$138.00 #Kingston 120GB HyperX 3K SSD, SandForce2, SATA3, 25nm, TRIM, Bracket
Total: $1,913.00    

I'm quite happy with it and can't wait to order. Unless someone can point out any flaws in it. Apart from the price, $300 too much I think but should get good use out of it.

Do you really need a case?
...
If you do want a box try the coolermaster haf x, its giant and should have enough slots for what you want.

If you're set on using the p8z77 you could try and use a few risers to fit everything in, but that would mean zipties or another method like that for secureing the cards.
...

I have considered the Test Bench type and it's just not for me. I need a box to keep dust off and I'd like it to be neat and tidy. I need something with resell value, or so I can give to my nephews to use as a gaming PC in the future. The Corsair Obsidian 550D case I picked out a simple and slick. Call me old school but the Coolermaster HAF X is a little too gamer/hardcore for me.

The Giabyte UP7 MB is nice but pricey and over sized. E-ATX is too big.

Cheers,
QG

[Slackware1995]

So here are my new specs:

$475.00 #Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 - 3GB GDDR5 - (1100MHz, 6000MHz) Ghz Edition GV-R797TO-3GD
$390.00 #Corsair 1200W AX-1200i
$345.00 #Intel Core i7 3770K Quad Core CPU
$288.00 #Asrock Z77 Extreme9 Motherboard
$107.00 #Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 LP Vengeance Unbuffered DIMM Memory with XMP 1.3 for AMD and Intel platforms.
$170.00 #Corsair Obsidian 550D Black Mid-Tower Case
$138.00 #Kingston 120GB HyperX 3K SSD, SandForce2, SATA3, 25nm, TRIM, Bracket
Total: $1,913.00    

I think that you should go with a lower end cpu, perferably a low power cpu. For a mining rig, you only need 1 core. When/if you decide to pass on the machine, buy a cpu then, it'll be cheaper and probably perform better. Meanwhile you save power (needing a lower wattage ps) and that means saving electrical costs. You also absolutely do not need 16gb ram. I'd bet that 4gb would be more than enough, again saving power.

As an example, an Intel Intel® Celeron® Processor G540 (2M Cache, 2.50 GHz) has a max TDP of 65W and costs about USD 43. Between the savings in cpu and ram, you might be able to afford a second Radeon 7970 now.

Also, don't forget to budget quality fans!

[QuiveringGibbage]

you might be able to afford a second Radeon 7970 now.

Almost, I saved $300. I wonder how much electricity I'll save over a month...

$475 #Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 – 3GB GDDR5 Ghz Edition
$288 #Asrock Z77 Extreme9 Motherboard
$390 #Corsair 1200W AX-1200i PSU
$46 #Intel CELERON G540/2.50GHz/2CORE,2THREADS/2MB CACHE/LGA1155
$59 #Corsair 8GB (1x8GB) Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz CL9 DIMM
$170 #Corsair Obsidian 550D Black Mid-Tower Case
$138 #Kingston 120GB HyperX 3K SSD

Total: $1,566.00 under budget!! just... Picking up tomorrow.

QG

[Ditto]

I wonder how much electricity I'll save over a month...

The max TDPs are not far apart, so I'd say you won't save much.

[deathcode]

This is a little off-topic but have you taken into consideration that you might not make that much with that rig after ASIC is "fully" deployed?
Meaning you're spending almost $2000 in a system that will give you about 8 BTC a month with current difficulty, therefore you'll be making about U$S240 gross profit (deduct power consumption) and that profit will be declining as ASIC improves the difficulty, not to mention the fact that BTC can go down in price also and your ROI will be longer than a year, if not more...
You might be better off buying $2000 worth of BTC and hoping they go up.
Just saying...

[dwaynep]

Did you get it set up, what is your hash rate, I am thinking about doing the same thing.  Hope it is working well.

D

[BruceWayne]

Do you really need a case? Just buy a test bench if your starting from scratch (also will mean less airflow problems if you go for an open air solutionn:

http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TopDeckXL

If you do want a box try the coolermaster haf x, its giant and should have enough slots for what you want.

If you're set on using the p8z77 you could try and use a few risers to fit everything in, but that would mean zipties or another method like that for secureing the cards.

try searching for quad SLI or quad xfire motherboards to see if you find any you like:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gigabyte-GA-Z77X-UP7-1-0-motherboard-extended-ATX-LGA1155-Socket-Z77-/380568028024?pt=UK_Computing_LaptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item589b9f4378&_uhb=1

There's  lots of them out there and if you need any more help jsut ask in here, theres loads of people to draw info from

If my post helped you at all feel free to donate to my BTC address below

Sounds good

[QuiveringGibbage]

W00T! W00T! IT'S ALIVE!!!

Picked up parts on Friday night. Built PC Saturday. Spent Sunday setting up Ubuntu, drivers and cgMiner. Monday night started mining!!

I'm pulling an avg. of 597.1Mh/s on the single card. Was above 600 initially so I gotta figure out what's going on...

According to OzCoin I've already collected (in about 3 hrs):
Pending Payout (confirmed): 0.00456259 BTC

At this rate it'll take me a month to produce 1 BTC (AUD$33) which is a target of mine where I'll re-evaluate my plans on Bitcoins and what to do next.

This is a little off-topic but have you taken into consideration that you might not make that much with that rig after ASIC is "fully" deployed?
...
You might be better off buying $2000 worth of BTC and hoping they go up.
Just saying...

As I've mentioned:

P.S: I know I might be a little late with the GPU mining, but I'm not doing this for the money. More for fun and research. Might use the PC for a gaming PC after a year or two.

But the foremost reason I'm getting into Bitcoins/mining is it's revolutionary concept which I felt drawn to. but this is an another subject and I shall not digress

At this point I don't know if I'll get 3 additional 7970 cards to put in. As soon as I started cgMiner, the Fans and Heat started pumping. Which I expected but don't know how long I'll live with it in the same room, especially in summer (garage might be the go). and the $1500 can be better spent on single ASIC miner as deathcode pointed out. I'll see how I go, but the ASIC miners don't sound fun. They just plug and play run...

QG

[mickeykool]

This is a little off-topic but have you taken into consideration that you might not make that much with that rig after ASIC is "fully" deployed?
Meaning you're spending almost $2000 in a system that will give you about 8 BTC a month with current difficulty, therefore you'll be making about U$S240 gross profit (deduct power consumption) and that profit will be declining as ASIC improves the difficulty, not to mention the fact that BTC can go down in price also and your ROI will be longer than a year, if not more...
You might be better off buying $2000 worth of BTC and hoping they go up.
Just saying...

I agree!!  Buy BTC instead..   

[bowen151]

People still want to learn aout the whole mining aspect of bitcoins. If they want to learn the ins and outs at a cost then why should we say otherwise?

Im sure there's still goldminers out there looking for plots, not to mention the newer miners who want to learn so they can try to dethrone the oldguard

[QuiveringGibbage]

People still want to learn aout the whole mining aspect of bitcoins. If they want to learn the ins and outs at a cost then why should we say otherwise?

Im sure there's still goldminers out there looking for plots, not to mention the newer miners who want to learn so they can try to dethrone the oldguard

My sentiments exactly. I just want to learn about the whole aspects of Bitcoins, in the hope I can put the knowledge into good use later in future.

"dethrone the oldguard"?? Hahah that's a good one..

Just ordered a Steplight power meter and I'll be monitoring my power consumption. It'll be good to work out inexactly how much power I'm consuming at the wall.

QG

[QuiveringGibbage]

So I bought a Steplight Power Meter to monitor the power being drawn from the wall. This result is only with 1 x 7970 card. Haven't bought additional 3 yet, Monday...

I worked out from our last Energy Australia bill that I pay an average rate of 27 cents / kWh.

Data -
Total Time Running:   1728mins
Total Watts Used:       5227W
Average Cost / kWh:   $0.27
Average Hash Rate:    520MHs

Calculator Estimates - from http://blockchained.com/profit/index.php?hashrate=520&cost=1&electricity=0.27&power=181&months=1.0000&decline=0.63&blockcoins=0
At the current Difficulty of 4367876, currently paying 25BTC / Block and current BTC value is at AUD$43.43, the calculator estimate I should get back (excludes capital cost):

After 1 month: AUD$40.94 (or approx. 1BTC)
After 1 week:   AUD$10      (approx. 0.25BTC)

Results so far -
After only 6 days and nights of mining with, several hours of down time (server upgrades and my own mucking around), lets say a week for simplicity, I have:

Pending Payout (confirmed):    0.22547869 BTC (which if sold at current price is AUD$9.79)

According to my calculations it will cost me around $35/month for electricity. Which means I'll probably break even on running cost... I can live with that!!!

Anyone care to check my numbers??

Cheers,
QG

[QuiveringGibbage]

Holy crap 0.27 per kWh? dammmnn... I pay .06

You in the States? Nuke power? We mainly use coal. Australian's have a phobia on Nuclear power. Sad really... 

[Aahzman]

Hi,

I'm building a Bitcoin miner and plan to add 3 more graphics cards once I get it up and running. So that's 4 x 7970 GHz Edition cards and I don't think the 1000W PSU I picked out is going to be enough. What say you?

$482.00 Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 – 3GB GDDR5 – (1100MHz, 6000MHz) Ghz Edition GV-R797TO-3GD
$339.00 Intel Core i7 3770K Quad Core CPU
$312.00 Antec 1000W HCP Platinum Series PSU
$207.00 ASUS P8Z77-V Mainboard
$163.00 Fractal Design Define R4 USB3.0 Mid Tower Case Titanium
$107.00 Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 LP Vengeance Unbuffered
$84.00 Intel 330s/60GB/SATA3/R 500MBs,W 450MBs/25nm/3.5"Kit

Total $1,694.00 (plus 3 x $482.00 Radeon HD 7970 in future). No current plans to over clock, but might do I future. My alternative was to put a Corsair 1200W AX-1200i $395... Better to be safe??

Note: Prices are in Australian $.

Kind regards,
QG
P.S: I know I might be a little late with the GPU mining, but I'm not doing this for the money. More for fun and research. Might use the PC for a gaming PC after a year or two.

Roughly 3GHash/sec for a mere $1700AUD? Where do I sign up to buy one of those??

[QuiveringGibbage]

Update on my little adventure so far... If anyone cares to read.

It's HOT HOT HOT. I'm averaging 30 degrees in my room, 25 c outside. I now have dual 7970 hashing an average of 1.09Gh/s. Chewing up 775.8KWh at its peak. Costing me about $5 a day to run ($150/m).

Last 24h Earnings:
0.09250669 BTC = AUD$4.16 (@ $45/BTC)

Yeah, running a little under par.

Downtime is my worst enemy!! Trying my best to keep running cost down and efficiency up. My calculations have been based on 24/7 mining. While that's not expected, I didn't think I'd have so much downtime. Adding a 2nd card took longer than expected (+12hrs). Bitcoin block chain forked (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=152030.0) while I was at work. Then Bigpond Cable had maintenance 2 days in a row. All in the same week!

My other problem is HEAT. My cards are running HOT, up to 99 degrees C. I don't think they'll be mining very long at this rate. I'd like to know if anyone else has run them that hot and seen how long they last. I don't really have any reference as to how hot I can run them. There's been no OCing here, stock settings.

Wednesday awaits!! I should be getting 2 more 7970s. More POWER!! )

QG