Mining noob but quick learner, 7970 Asus preferential set up

[crazyivan]

Hi guys,

just registered to this forum, a lot of great info here, all in all great bitcoin community.

I have just started mining yesterday, my old GPU died and I got myself Asus 7970.

Out of the box I was getting 540 mhash/s, original clocks were 925mhz and 1375mhz.
I have overclocked the card a bit to 1010mhz and 1450mhz and now getting 590mhash/s.

I am using the latest Asus drivers and GUI (Kiwi) miner.

If anyone would be so kind to help me out a bit since I have a few questions.

Reading these forums I see that some people are getting 650+ with this card, what should change to get this rate?
I thought of going back to ATI 12.8 drivers and SDK 2.7 since some people are getting better results with this combination. If this is the key, what is the best way to uninstall the old drivers and SDK 2.8?
Is there anything else I should pay attention to get maximum from my card.

Thx a lot guys

[robi]

check here for hw specific config:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison#AMD_.28ATI.29

[crazyivan]

Hey Robi,

thx a lot for this.

Shoud I really go to Catalyst 12.3 since this table shows the best results with this version?
This seems a bit 2 old version and I am unsure whether this is recommended due to the fact that this was the best option at the time of testing or is this actually preferable version?

I thought of going with 12.8.

Also, what would be preferable client?

Do not get me wrong, I know I ll have to test several different combinations until I get the best result in my case, however, I would like to know where to start.

Thx

[robi]

depends where you'll be mining.. and CPU vs GPU and LTC vs BTC

GUIminer cgminer/reaper is a good start in windows
cgminer is good in linux

but check again on that URL what speeds people are getting with a specific miner. as the list is slightly aged, there may be newer miners that are based on the ones listed on that list. Just make sure it's still actively developed for best results.

traditional GPU mining hw has lately been worked to mine CPU based coins too, so you can find some clients that will do both, but specialized ones work better.

[crazyivan]

Hey Robi,

once more, thx a lot for these explanations.

Will test a bit during the next few days and see what will I get.
I thought CPU mining is not so efficient, at least when talking about windows and bitcoins.  I have I7 CPU and have been getting extremely low rates when using gui miner and CPU mining. Are results better with litecoin?

I know I have been pain in the ass with these questions, sorry about that.

[robi]

As you'll learn, certain coins are only efficiently mined with certain hardware, as per their design.

BTC, and similar are geared toward GPU
LTC, NVC and other scrypt based coins are geared for CPU

trying to mine BTC with CPU will suck for speed and is really inefficient
trying to mine LTC with GPU was impossible until lately when new GPU scrypt miniers made it work, but it is still not very efficient

[Slix313]

i was looking into getting a 7970. how are you liking it so far?

[crazyivan]

Just got it yesterday, extremely stable for overclocking, pulls up about 600 mhas/s for now.
According to this info Robi has shared, should be able to get about 700 with a bit of work.

Word of caution, if you go Asus model like I did, make sure you have sufficient number of power cables. Only 1 8 pin cable comes in the box and 2 are required to power the card. If your PSU is older, like mine, consider getting additional cable. 

[decentral]

Just got it yesterday, extremely stable for overclocking, pulls up about 600 mhas/s for now.
According to this info Robi has shared, should be able to get about 700 with a bit of work.

Hi, I got one of these on order. What settings are you using to get 600 and can you keep us updated as to stability at that overclock.

[robi]

if you use GUIminer in windows, there are some GPU default settings for various cards you can use to get you started.
I had to figure out mine as it wasn't on the list, but I made my own entry too

bitcoin:1DXUW4SjAzXNd7x6mhK5S4Nmu3JrcAGCfd?amount=0.5