First-time running 4x7970s need help tweaking settings

[jordan.dev]

Need a little help getting the most out of my 7970's

4x 7970s
AX1200
MSI-990 w/ AMD Sempron 145
4GB DDR3-1366
Xubuntu 12.04.2 LTS
CGMiner 2.11.3
AMD Driver 12.10

Getting stuck at around 145Mh/s...
./cgminer -o http://mint.bitminter.com:8332 -u *** -p *** -g 2 -I 6,6,6,6 --gpu-engine 1000,1000,1000,1000 --gpu-memclock 850,850,850,850 --auto-fan

Update

Ok, tried some new settings last night, had better results. but still not where I think I can be yet.

./cgminer -o http://mint.bitminter.com:8332 -u *** -p *** -g 2 -I 13 --gpu-engine 1125 --gpu-memclock 1100 --shaders 2048 00gpu-vddc 1.17 --auto-fan

Update 2

UP to about ~2.2Mh/s to ~2.3Mh/s ! Want to overvolt to try to push out to this target ~700Kh/s, but I seem to be limited to v1.17 in Linux

Code:

./cgminer -o http://litecoinpool.org:9332 -u jebhome.2 -p 2 --scrypt --shaders 2048 -I 13 -v 4 -g 6 --gpu-engine 1130 --gpu-memclock 1620 --auto-fan --temp-target 75 --thread-concurrency 7300 --gpu-powertune 5

Also:
I should be watching the 5 second decay indicator in cgminer right?
Should the cards be take a bit to get to their "maximum mh/s" they seem to progress and get faster as time goes on?

[jordan.dev]

bump. tweaked a bit more up around ~250 now not where I want to be yet though...

[-ck]

Use an older driver/sdk combination, and don't go above intensity 11.

[jordan.dev]

Use an older driver/sdk combination, and don't go above intensity 11.

Ok I'm assuming OpenGL is just the latest (I think that's 1.2 that comes with 12.10) so maybe downgrade until I find one that works a bit better? Use the opencl that come with each driver?

Or do I have to install the SDK separately?

[jordan.dev]

Use an older driver/sdk combination, and don't go above intensity 11.

Mad props! Downgraded to 12.8 and worked like a charm!

Much much better rates on both BTC and LTC ...! Thanks

[-ck]

Use an older driver/sdk combination, and don't go above intensity 11.

Mad props! Downgraded to 12.8 and worked like a charm!

Much much better rates on both BTC and LTC ...! Thanks

I wrote the program, I should know 

[jordan.dev]

ah ... very nice!

Ok, so I've updated my settings, and I'm pretty stable. I'm thinking I need to overvolt the GPUs to get up to around 700kh/s, however, using --gpu-vddc 1.2 doesn't affect the voltage (seems that there is a maximum over 1.17)

Am I misunderstanding? Do I need to overvolt the cards elsewhere in Linux?

Thanks again!

[-ck]

Nope, voltage changes are ignored by the driver on linux. Don't overvolt anyway, it's the only dangerous form of overclocking and the increase in power consumption is far greater than any increase in hashrate.

[jordan.dev]

Nope, voltage changes are ignored by the driver on linux. Don't overvolt anyway, it's the only dangerous form of overclocking and the increase in power consumption is far greater than any increase in hashrate.

understood. ok. I'll continue to tweak my settings to try to squeeze out that last few Kh/s

[BTCLuke]

Hey Jordan,

I've got a similar rig to yours but only 2x MSI r7970 cards... I don't suppose you can point me to the instructions for installation that you used, could you?

Would Ubuntu 12.10 work the same? What's the big difference between Xubuntu and Ubuntu?

And do I have this right? You now have loaded:

Xubuntu 12.04.2 LTS
CGMiner 2.11.3
AMD Driver 12.8 with NO SDK

Thanks in advance!
-Luke

[jordan.dev]

Hi Luke,

Xubuntu and Ubuntu are essentially the same (except Xubuntu is based on X.org UI versus Ubuntu which is based on Unity, which I managed to break attempting to install the propriety AMD drivers).

I believe your correct, the AMD Driver should have the OpenCL SDK embedded in it if you download it from their website - I followed the directions located here: http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Precise_Installation_Guide#Installing_Catalyst_Manually_.28from_AMD.2FATI.27s_site.29, obviously changing the version you download URL from 12.10 -> 12.8

Also, remember to uninstall any previously install drivers and to run the initial setup commands to get the video cards all recognized by the drivers.

Hey Jordan,

I've got a similar rig to yours but only 2x MSI r7970 cards... I don't suppose you can point me to the instructions for installation that you used, could you?

Would Ubuntu 12.10 work the same? What's the big difference between Xubuntu and Ubuntu?

And do I have this right? You now have loaded:

Xubuntu 12.04.2 LTS
CGMiner 2.11.3
AMD Driver 12.8 with NO SDK

Thanks in advance!
-Luke

[BTCLuke]

Awesome Jordan, that's just what I was looking for, thanks.

After many dozens of searches I'd never come across that set of install instructions, somehow. They really need to mop these up into a subsection here and organize/categorize this stuff better.

Thanks again!
Luke

[jordan.dev]

Awesome Jordan, that's just what I was looking for, thanks.

After many dozens of searches I'd never come across that set of install instructions, somehow. They really need to mop these up into a subsection here and organize/categorize this stuff better.

Thanks again!
Luke

yeah I fought with getting AMD Drivers up and running on Linux for days (the big issue for me really was that I was using a persistent pendrive) that broke every-time I updated the kernel. I finally installed XUbuntu to HDD and everything was real smooth after that.

[jordan.dev]

Hello,
Does the Mhash/s change between windows 764bits and a linux environement on cgminer ?
So, 1200w is enought for 4x7970 ?
The Mhash/s change between PCI 16x 3.0 and PCI 16x2.0 ?

Thank you

No Linux vs. Windows is roughly the same hash-rate. Although looks like your working with BTC (Mh/s) versus LTC (Kh/s)

Also, I don't believe the version of the PCI-E protocol affects your hashing throughput. However, I could be wrong.

[jordan.dev]

What is the brand and model of your 7970 ?

4x7970 = 1000w aproximativly, rest 200w for the rest,
Is 200w suffisant for :
2x8go ram DDR3 1800, 1 HDD WDBLACK, 1AMD FX6300 and the mobo is Asus sabertooth 990x 2.0 ?
How I can calculate ?
Thank you

MSI 7970's http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127645

Not sure on the usage for the rest of your items. Best bet would be to get an outlet voltage meter (they're pretty inexpensive) and do some testing.

I haven't had any issues I could contribute to voltage and I've done my longest sustained run without rebooting at about 2 2/1 weeks of constant turn.

I also plugged in a 6" case fan, and another CPU intercooler fan to push some cooler air into the card intakes. While that's not a lot of wattage, just something to consider, and still haven't had any issues. Don't know where I'm at as far as a safety margin goes below my 1200 W limit?