Other tips that may also help others just starting out:
When I first started mining I had a tiny bit of trouble getting out of the starting gate. Here the 1st tip addresses that issue:
So what does the following line really mean for all the rookies just starting out?
stratum+tcp://pool1.us.multipool.us:3336
Cryptogenic Bullion (CGB) = the name of the crypto-currency, of course.
stratum+tcp://pool1.us.multipool.us:3336 = well 1st off just sort of forget the "stratum+tcp://" - it just means that this is the same "HOST" code for both STRATUM settings and CGMINER HOST settings. It means nothing else. But isn't explained well hardly anywhere. So if your trying to sort all this mining stuff out there's that. And much more below too!
So all one has to know is that stratum+tcp:// - equals the settings for both the cgminer & stratum proxy too.
So install the following in your cgminer(s) HOST fields and your stratum proxy HOST fields too, and your off to mine CGB like I been doing since August after you also of course input the correct port setting which in this case is 3336 for both the cgminers and the stratum proxy.
So put the following in cgminer(s) in the field titled HOST: pool1.us.multipool.us
And as well in the Stratum Proxy miner in the field titled HOST: pool1.us.multipool.us
for the port setting for both the above use: 3336
That's all there is to that!
https://www.multipool.us/ I enjoy multipool.us and yes it's a great set of pools, offering great value to miners and well it's just a great miners paradise as far as I am concerned. Been mining there since it was a little, bitty pool and I have watched it grow and grow like gang busters. Multipool offers us all a great miners paradise just in case you are not already aware of that. No, I am not connected to multipool in any way, nor are they paying me to say this. Sure there are other pools i also use some too. Right this minute I am on another pool in fact. But from almost day #1 I have used and always returned to multipool. So instead of yet more donations to them I will tip them here in a round about way, and you too, in case you didn't know about multipool just yet. Enjoy!
While I suppose a few pools require the https:// or the http:// (which ever is the case) too in the stratum+tcp://pool1.us.multipool.us:3336 , the fact is most pools don't requirehttps:// or the http:// (which ever is the case). Nor do the STRATUM Proxies either.
But I do try to avoid the pools that are not https because their much harder to hack, and well my coins are going to be safer there than on mere http pools sites for a host of reasons!!!
Same for hacking one's account and password too. On everyday http connections those pools are transmitting (and you too) in plain, ordinary text, back and forth, to each other. AND any packet sniffing software can read that text, all of it, including user names and passwords as plain as day. So if they don't also at least offer a way to lock your wallets addresses so that a hacker cannot easily change the deposit wallets address then you can easily be ripped off. It's happened. Many times, many places. Fair warning. No, I never had this happen anywhere. So far. But I am careful too.
Not so with https pools, which use secure communications so that no one, not even your ISP knows what your typing in while visiting any https site, or what their sending back to you. Same for the mining process too. https is far superior in every way.
So above all else don't use the same password for different mining pools!!! Nor the same user name either!!!
And if your really wanting to keep anyone from following you back home to where your wallets are then use a secure VPN service too. One that secures all your internet communications. I will leave this Secure VPN topic for good because I wont share what I use, nor where I get it. It's just foolish to do so here, or anywhere. It's personal. Private. SECURE. Please respect that. Don't ask. But do be SMART.
And as for simply using cgminer instead of GUIMiner-scrypt, well one would have to be dedicated to dealing with arcane interfacing, and dealing with a bit too much typing everytime one changes pools, or even changes to another currency or type of mining at the very same pool.
Too much bother when GUIMiner-Scrypt does such a wonderful, stable, and fine job. At least version v0.03 because I had a bit of trouble with the new version and quickly reverted back to GUIMiner-Scrypt v0.03 to get back that superb stability. Just remember to copy and save your poclbm folder elsewhere so you can restore all your saved mining pools for GUIMiner-Scrypt in a hurry in case anything goes terribly wrong.
For rookies and those with too little time to deal with every last thing I suggest and recommend GUIMiner-Scrypt, and fall back to v0.03 if v0.04 gives one any troubles what so ever.
Now: MORE TIPS:
I use AMD Catalyst Software Suite 13.4 to this very day. Inside DEVICE MANAGER the AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series Drivers are labeled as 12.104.0.0 and as long as I don't toss them a too big a curve ball per say they are super stable and great. But having tossed a few mean curves over the course of many months now I have had to re-install them a couple of times to fix things that arise. I learned to just install right over the existing install if in a hurry, hey, it worked. Or use AMD Catalyst Un-install Utility 1.2.1.0 to first uninstall the existing software, and then install it right back again, and that's the much more proper way of doing that btw. At any rate why change what works flawlessly unless I mess it up? I will let others try out and report back on the latest versions of AMD's software and maybe update later as I see a real need to, if ever.
Now for some Tips on cgminer settings inside GUIMiner-scrypt:
For AMD 7950's - on most pools the optimum Thread concurrency is usually 24000 , or at least that's been my own experience with quite of bit of testing and experimenting.
Intensity up to 20, but back off to 19 or 18 if you get too many stales. At or a bit over 3% is a bit too many stales imo, but okay still. But anything over say 7% is just too much wasted time, energy and effort so reduce intensity to lower stale rate. Also as an alternative try maybe reducing overall stress by setting Thread concurrency a bit lower at 21760 or 21056 if stales are still a problem at 19 or especially at 18 intensity.
For 7950's:
============
Worksize = 256
Vectors = 1
GPU threads = 1
Aim for 70c to 75c temps. Download HWMonitor 32bit or 64bit to monitor GPU and CPU/APU temperatures. Over 76c gets me a bit nervous. and anything over 78c is just too darn hot for 24/7/365 reliability issues. Many 7950s run at very high temps. Not so with the Asus 7950s but three closer together such as in a full size pc case are going be very likely be serious heat issue. Motherboard builders thinking it's okay to mount 3 or more video cards so close together are just flat out silly. Sure for limited usage that may be okay but for hours on end of gaming or mining it's not acceptable! Hence open pc racks, or crates for other alternative builds. In my case with three 7950's I have two on the motherboard, and the center one on a 9 inch riser fastened to the 2nd level of the wire rack it's built upon.
Higher heat equals stress and wear to electronics. Use plenty of fans, and watch those temps or you may even cause the rare but possible fire. To minimize risks use only Gold or Platinum Certified Power Supplies. The 850 watt Gold Corsair (HX850) being the best of breed as I recall. Same for motherboards, don't bother with unstable boards, or boards without higher quality components onboard. Read the reviews, spend a bit of time researching or you may really wish you had.
Absolutely no less that 850 watts for 3 AMD 7950's per PC, and much higher if not Gold certified!
That particular Corsair APU (HX850) that I utilize is also about the highest rated power supply on newegg.com from what I recall. It's been fine for three 7950's, with a 65watt quad core AMD APU - A8, and hardly even spins up the fan much except when room temp is a bit too high. It rests on the 2nd level of a 3 tier wire rack that cost $20 at Target.
Mount the motherboard down at the first level of the rack on a poly kitchen cutting board. Drill the holes in it for the standoff mounts. Use zip ties to strap EVERYTHING down to to the rack though. Be smart. Be safe. Or do it in a fire safe location!!! If children or pets are around set up a wire fence around the miner rig so that nothing can mess with it or get injured. Like I said: BE SMART. Be SAFE.
High intensity settings equals higher heat. Same for overclocking which I found is best done with MSI Afterburner v2.3.1
For 7950's up to Core Clock (MHz) of 1050 with Memory (MHz) @ 1500 being about the safest higher settings.
But if your away from your rig a lot I strongly suggest a much lower overclock of say 950/1350 being as high as I am comfortable with being gone for longer stretches of time.
If away for weeks then all the way down to 910/1298 makes for good waves with much lower heat, if a bit less coins. Still it's safer and of course less likely to have any stability issues even for weeks on end without any attention, at least in my own experiences.
Just be certain to disable screensavers, and disable video off settings to ALWAYS ON. Take all the load off the system, and the hardware that can be taken off. Same for the PC, configure for ALWAYS ON, except for on Battery UPS, and better get at least a 1000 watt UPS for battery backup as the 850 watt range units are only good for at most a minute until overwhelmed with such a load on them. Even the 1000 watt UPS may not be enough either. tough call there. Set it to sleep in 1 minute or watch with awe when you return to see it OFF, not merely in hibernate/sleep should the power go off for more than 59 seconds. The idea here is to save your expensive rig from getting zapped by brown-outs, power-surges, and of course the momentary power outages. In my experience as of late it may prove wise to stay away from APC products unless you get the very pricey commercial grade units! Read the reviews!!!
Most efficient mining Thread concurrency settings for 7950's from my own experiences:
24000 - or 21760 or 21056 , and with the highest setting for 7950's being 24576 as I recall, but 24576 is a bit overtaxing.
====
For slower cards experiment with:
10496 8192 7104 6912 6976
I forget the rules for the above settings but the idea is they all divide by 64, or at least their suppose to!!!
For AMD APU/GPU's (quad cores) such as the AMD A8 APU's (with on-chip GPU's named" Devastator") and the A10 too:
Thread concurrency of 5248 or 4096 and with intensity max at about 11 or even down to 10 if you want to have an easy time dealing with adjusting your mining rig, or use it for other tasks, or just want to maintain a very stable miner. Anything over 12 intensity on the AMD quad core APU A8 65 watt really sucks as far as stability and APU temps go unless you hang a large cooler. I strongly suggest you do that for any cpu mining anyway. But just realize your stability may be reduced in return for merely a few more coins.
I suggest the 65 watt APU's to lower overall energy costs with any quad core mining rig. I suggest the cheaper AMD A8 65 watt APU. Later that chip will work great for almost any pc for a long time to come and in the mean time you can grind out a few extra coins using it as a fourth miner in the above example if desired. I did that with two 7950's but after the 3rd 7950 I skipped mining with the APU too. Just realize that stability issues may arise if one taxes their CPU/APU too much in their mining rigs. (such as with the newest CPU mined coins...). Watch, monitor those Temperatures.
Lastly, whenever I learn how to set the "fallback" (backup) pool settings I will share that too, but so far I never bothered to deal with that issue as there is always something else grabbing my full attention away so far! But in the case of a fallback for multipool.us it would of course be - stratum+tcp://pool1.eu.multipool.us:3336 - and of course the correct coding I believe would be placed in EXTRA FLAGS: but to date I am not sure how to configure that. We will leave that for another time, or a different person to help with.
forgive any typo's...too little time to review this yet again!
caveat empore
