New Rig- now put together and operational!!! *updated with final parts and cost

[superdork]

Will any of these cases work without a mod?

I have the HAF XM Mid tower at home now ($199) . I could return it for the HAF XB LAN Box and Test Bench ($99), which is in stock.


PS-  I got a corsair H100i hydro cooler with some of the cash I saved on the returns. Good idea, bad idea? My reasoning was that heat seems to be the main factor I am concerned with here, so a really good cooler should help that, right?

[Marrs]

I'm putting together something similar, and strongly considering this case, which has good reviews for cooling:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

[KJaneway]

@ superdork:
You can bring your Watercooler back right away. This would cool a CPU, But as you don't use your CPU for mining, it won't produce any heat. All the heat is coming from the GPUs. It is very expensive to buy new coolers for them, as you would need a very big Watercooling Station for that. You just don't want to even consider it. Building a own watercooling system is highly complicated for someone who wants to build his first PC (which is indeed easy) Just use the Boxed Cooler that comes with your CPU. Nothing else. If you want to invest money in cooling, and i strongly advise doing so, then buy some fans AFTER you chose your case.

If you want a case without mods, then buy one with at least 8 Slots for expansion cards at its back. http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/attachments/542846d1335644093-tagebuch-grosses-update-sharp-system-7700-endstufe-als-neues-gehaeuse-20120427_174249.jpg. When you look at this picture, you see seven small Slots, two covered with a sort of mesh. Just beware that your case have 8 of it.

Good cases would be:

Corsair Carbide Series 500R
Cooler Master HAF XM
Rosewill THOR V2 (a shame that I cannot buy this case here in germany. It looks shiny)

Both are ready to install a big (200mm) Fan in the Side directly above the GPUs. They also are ready for many more Fans which would blow in fresh air from the bottom and the lower frontside, and blow out the warm air on top and on the upper backside. For Sure there are other good, maybe better options than these. The suggested Rosewill THOR V2 looks pretty nice with its 3 preinstalled 230mm Fans. Take it.

[superdork]

Ok, cooling fan going back...

I'll stick with the Coolermaster HAF XM which I already have at home (and the thor is not available at the store here)

So according to the website for the HAF XM "It supports up to four 200mm fans to keep constant cooling while housing high-end components"

Since you mentioned adding fans, how do I do that?  I suppose fan "directly above the gpus" would be a good place to start. Do I need any special type of fan? Just regular 200mm? Maybe a corny question, but do the instructions with the tower tell me how to install these 4 additional fans?

[KJaneway]

Just to be curious: Do you have the HAF X or the HAF XM? 199$ seems a bit to expensive for the XM. But I don't know prices in US. In germany I would pay around 90€ which is around 120$. Also the HAF XM supports only 3 200mm Fans, whereas the HAF X (its big brother) supports up to four.  But it doesn't matter.

Four 200mm fans are good. I think 3 of the fans are provided with your case. So you need one other: Look Here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007998%20600035599&IsNodeId=1&name=200mm And choose one with a High Airflow Value. E.G.
NZXT FN-200RB 200mm Case cooler - 166CFM
BitFenix Spectre Pro LED Red 200mm Case Fan  - 149CFM


The installation is quite easy: The fan is provided with 4 screws. Just Use them to install it at the sidepanel of your case. Only thing that matters is the direction in which the cooler blows: I would suggest taht it should blow into the case directly on the hot grapic cards. I don't know exactly how to explain it: Each fan has one side which is rotating and one side which holds the motor. This side has 3 or 4 small Bridges(??) going from the middle to the outside. That is the side where the air comes out. Install it in a way that this side is orientated to your graphic cards.
The electric installation is also quite easy: The Fan has a plug which can be connected to a HDD powercable from the Power supply. Just plug it together.   Perhaps you can also plug a different connector from the fan onto the mainboard: You don't need to if you can plug it directly to the PSU (Powersupplyunit).
BUT BEWARE: NEVER EVER PLUG IN MORE THAN ONE CONNECTOR FROM THE SAME FAN into ANYWHERE!
 

[ar9]

I notice a lot of talk about cases... I feel compelled to chime in with a suggestion.

I've bought 3 Fractal XL cases, all of them are fantastic with easy to manage cabling guides, huge fan up top, lots of fans on the front/side/back... and it's just huge.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=78225&promoid=1360

Might be something to consider.

[superdork]

Thanks for all the help so far.

Probably going to try my hand at putting this BTCeast together tomorrow, wish me luck!!

[ar9]

What case did you go with, BTW?

[KJaneway]

what i don't find good about the fractal Design is the only 120mm Fan on the side panel. 200mm or bigger would be good there.

[lakeluke]

Very helpful, especially for persons wanting to try out mining for Altcoins.

If I was to install a 4th 7950-GPU on the following m/b

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514&Tpk=990fx%20ud3&IsVirtualParent=1

via the PCI Express x1

(and the other three naturally on the PCI Express 2.0 x16)

can someone pls recommend a Riser card for that; a URL would be great.

And which PSU could power this system?

[superdork]

I'm going with the cooler master half xm

Plan is to put it together today. I have a 2 year old and a 1 year old that complicate that plan slightly, but the Half XM box is huge so if I let them play with that it may buy me some time...

[superdork]

Seeking advice on good tutorial videos, I am digging around, but maybe someone knows better than me where to look....

The part I am most concerned with is plugging everything in correctly, I really don't want to plug in a power cord to the wrong place and fry a $300+ graphics card.

I have 1 7950 here and two are being sent from another store which I will get today or tomorrow. Can I put the others in later? It seems like that wont be that big of a deal.

[KJaneway]

Rule of thumb: All cables just fit in there where they belong. Yo you can't really make mistakes if don't use excessive force.
The cables for the grapic cards are also labeled as PCIE, if i remember right.

It is absoluteley possible to add the other cards later. Just switch of the PC and disconnect it from the power

[superdork]

I have 1 7950 in there, 2 more should be arriving in the store tomorrow.

Which slots do I put them in and how do I connect them all.

What does crossfire mean and do I want to do that or not?

[superdork]

WOOOOOOOEEEEEEEE!!!!   


Up and running!   Really glad I built it myself.  I enjoyed the process and now feel a stronger bond with my machine as well as a newfound sense of comfort and accomplishment in an area that was previously quite mysterious to me.

It's 4:20 am, so bedtime for me, tomorrow I'll install windows and start mining.  Thanks everyone for the help!


A few questions-

There are only two slots on the power supply that are the right size for the 7950, should I daisy chain the next two cards? That seems problematic to me.

 Is crossfire the way to go with the 7950s? Does that just mean that I plug them into the mobo and power just like the one that is in there and then I hook up that little crossfire link dealy? Is there something more to that?



Once I am up and running (windows installed etc), any advice on checking to see that everything is running optimally? Where can I find out the mhash/s that my rig is producing?

(sorry for all the newbie questions... and apologies if some of this has been discussed here already. I am reading and researching like mad and getting my hands dirty and all that, so hopefully soon I'll be answering the questions and I won't need to ask so many.)

[middlemarkal]

WOOOOOOOEEEEEEEE!!!!  


Up and running!   Really glad I built it myself.  I enjoyed the process and now feel a stronger bond with my machine as well as a newfound sense of comfort and accomplishment in an area that was previously quite mysterious to me.

It's 4:20 am, so bedtime for me, tomorrow I'll install windows and start mining.  Thanks everyone for the help!


A few questions-

There are only two slots on the power supply that are the right size for the 7950, should I daisy chain the next two cards? That seems problematic to me. no problemo

 Is crossfire the way to go with the 7950s? Does that just mean that I plug them into the mobo and power just like the one that is in there and then I hook up that little crossfire link dealy? Is there something more to that? no don't use the little crossfire connector not needed to mine just to play games.



Once I am up and running (windows installed etc), any advice on checking to see that everything is running optimally? Where can I find out the mhash/s that my rig is producing? download msi afterburner software and install it, the best to overclock or undervolt your cards  ==> also check the temperatue YOU SHOULD RUN BELOW 85c, my friend says that his 3 7950 run at 100c wich is too much he's just runing 2 and waiting for riser cables

(sorry for all the newbie questions... and apologies if some of this has been discussed here already. I am reading and researching like mad and getting my hands dirty and all that, so hopefully soon I'll be answering the questions and I won't need to ask so many.)

[superdork]

Thanks middlemarkal

Those were two big questions I was wondering about.