Cheapest mining rig with 3+ PCIE slots(2slot spacing)?[FINISHED]

[Man From The Future]

Any recommendations?

I'll send 0.25BTC to the person posting the one I deem to be "best"

Don't include the cards, cases, or PSUs.

[Lightspeed]

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD890GX 4DDR3 2PCIE2.0 RAID GLAN 3FW SATA3 USB3 ATX $152 AU

5 pci-e slots (2 16x 3 1x)


AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 255 CPU AM3 3.1GHz (65W) $63.50

Kingston 2GB DDR3-1333MHZ $22 (single stick)

with this base system you need 3x PCI-E 1x to 16x ribbon adapters

[Calibre]

Asrock 890GX-EXTREME3 is a good choice with 3 double-spaced graphics card PCIe slots (no adaptor cables needed).

Japanese caps, nice layout, BIOS-based core unlocker, and takes nice-and-cheap AMD Sempron 140s too.

Bitcoin address (if I r teh winn0r ;-): 122e6qqx9uqDuPLBGECESsmU4Pc6E1E2rw

[Lightspeed]

Asrock 890GX-EXTREME3 is a good choice with 3 double-spaced graphics card PCIe slots (no adaptor cables needed).

Japanese caps, nice layout, and takes nice-and-cheap AMD Sempron 140s too.

Bitcoin address (if I r teh winn0r ;-): 122e6qqx9uqDuPLBGECESsmU4Pc6E1E2rw

Hmmm I would probably buy this one (motherboard) instead of the one I picked... damnit! actually wait no, i'll take the 5 pci slot board, since it's dedicated mining rig i'll run linux on it instead and therefore the 5 slots is favoured instead of 4 slots; but if your running windows go with the ASROCK board Calibre selected

[Man From The Future]

I'm happy to run Linux with this - only reason I don't run Linux on my current computer while mining is that fglrx cannot be forced to use a resolution, unlike radeonhd, which is happy to ignore EDID and allows xrandr to work.

I guess I'll update it to 3+, not 3/4... sorry!

edit: Just to note, I'll try to make the decision today, and I definitely will by Sunday afternoon BST....

[Calibre]

The five slot board with Linux is fine if you're okay with risers, DIY mounts, and creative cooling solutions. It's a personal preference of couse, but I prefer self contained rigs that can be mounted with stock components and without too much fiddling - which helps maintain their re-sale value too. :-)

[Lightspeed]

AM3 Sempron 140 is cheapest cpu I can find; so yeah Calibres CPU is winner imo (i've been looking at building this same rig)

[Man From The Future]

The five slot board with Linux is fine if you're okay with risers, DIY mounts, and creative cooling solutions. It's a personal preference of couse, but I prefer self contained rigs that can be mounted with stock components and without too much fiddling - which helps maintain their re-sale value too. :-)

The reason I mentioned no case is because I plan to use a traditional DIY lego, duplo and K'Nex "case". I already use it for an old server in my cupboard, so the technique is proven...

[bitlackey]

Asrock has no real warranty, you have to deal with store for warranty.
I won't be buying another asrock anytime soon.

[alkhdaniel]

What country?

[steamboat]

MSI 890fxa-gd70: 175 usd    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274&cm_re=890fxa-gd70-_-13-130-274-_-Product

easily handles 3 cards with room to breath, 4 cards grouped tightly together, 5 cards w/ risers. very strong board.

any cheap am3 chip will work (it's also bulldozer compatible)

any cheap 2g stick of ram will work.

[Man From The Future]

Asrock 890GX-EXTREME3 is a good choice with 3 double-spaced graphics card PCIe slots (no adaptor cables needed).

Japanese caps, nice layout, BIOS-based core unlocker, and takes nice-and-cheap AMD Sempron 140s too.

Bitcoin address (if I r teh winn0r ;-): 122e6qqx9uqDuPLBGECESsmU4Pc6E1E2rw

Aww... just realised, a socket with holes! Reminds me of rebuilding old dell computers!

[Man From The Future]

lightspeed, calibre...

I like both suggestions, although I'd go with calibre's

Calibre, would you be okay if I gave you 0.15 and lightspeed 0.1?

[jackjack]

MSI 890fxa-gd70: 175 usd    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274&cm_re=890fxa-gd70-_-13-130-274-_-Product

easily handles 3 cards with room to breath, 4 cards grouped tightly together, 5 cards w/ risers. very strong board.

any cheap am3 chip will work (it's also bulldozer compatible)

any cheap 2g stick of ram will work.

Looks perfect! Any feedback?

[Man From The Future]

MSI 890fxa-gd70: 175 usd    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274&cm_re=890fxa-gd70-_-13-130-274-_-Product

easily handles 3 cards with room to breath, 4 cards grouped tightly together, 5 cards w/ risers. very strong board.

any cheap am3 chip will work (it's also bulldozer compatible)

any cheap 2g stick of ram will work.

Looks perfect! Any feedback?

175USD is quite a lot more expensive than the asrock mobo, although if the asrock mobo is unreliable/no support from manufacturer, then I don't know. Still more expensive than the two I would consider, sorry

[jackjack]

MSI 890fxa-gd70: 175 usd    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274&cm_re=890fxa-gd70-_-13-130-274-_-Product

easily handles 3 cards with room to breath, 4 cards grouped tightly together, 5 cards w/ risers. very strong board.

any cheap am3 chip will work (it's also bulldozer compatible)

any cheap 2g stick of ram will work.

Looks perfect! Any feedback?

175USD is quite a lot more expensive than the asrock mobo, although if the asrock mobo is unreliable/no support from manufacturer, then I don't know. Still more expensive than the two I would consider, sorry

If you don't want 4 gpu or don't mind buying risers, I agree

[Calibre]

I'm absolutely fine with the split. 

Some good choices here in general which should prove useful for other miners.