How much wattage per outlet?

[cvicisso]

I finally received all my mining rig parts and put most of it together last night (a few tweaks remain to get it operational apparently), but I was wondering...

I live in the U.S. and most circuits around my parts are either 15A or 20A.  How much insane hashing madness is it safe to plug into one outlet (or actually - one circuit, consisting of many electrical outlets)?  My PSU is 1250W, and I hope to run all three 6950s off of it - but have no idea how much power this will actually draw.  No HDD - I'll be running Ubuntu 11.04 off of a thumbdrive (if I can get it to work).  Haf X case with a bunch of fans - but those shouldn't matter too much. 

So anyway, assuming I get this thing working (please work, please work, please...), can I add another [similar] rig to the circuit?  And another?  Another?  How many?  Will adding a UPS to each do anything useful in mitigating the power draw? 

Thanks in advance!

[Swishercutter]

I would check the max AC current draw on the PSU.  But 1250W @ 120V is 10.4A...add a bit just to be safe...I would put it on its own breaker if you only have 15-20A breakers.  I had to run a dedicated 240V line for my rigs...when they were being setup/tested at my friends apartment we were having trouble with crashes when the power surged/browned out...not too sure he lived next to a mill...when we moved them the power issues went away.

BTW, if you run them on 240V...which most PSU's either switch to or auto switch to...then you draw half the current...keep that in mind.

[Bitonetta]

I finally received all my mining rig parts and put most of it together last night (a few tweaks remain to get it operational apparently), but I was wondering...

I live in the U.S. and most circuits around my parts are either 15A or 20A.  How much insane hashing madness is it safe to plug into one outlet (or actually - one circuit, consisting of many electrical outlets)?  My PSU is 1250W, and I hope to run all three 6950s off of it - but have no idea how much power this will actually draw.  No HDD - I'll be running Ubuntu 11.04 off of a thumbdrive (if I can get it to work).  Haf X case with a bunch of fans - but those shouldn't matter too much. 

So anyway, assuming I get this thing working (please work, please work, please...), can I add another [similar] rig to the circuit?  And another?  Another?  How many?  Will adding a UPS to each do anything useful in mitigating the power draw? 

Thanks in advance!

Math it out.  Best if you have a Kill-O-Watt meters.  20*120=2400.  Because of loss, 16*120 is usually recommended.  And there you go.  ~2kw/circuit.  Just because you have 1250w doesn't mean you're pulling the full amount from the wall.  Hence why using Kill-O-Watt is better.  Some UPS tell you the out in real time so I guess it's ok to go by that as well.  You gotta account for some loss from UPS tho and anything else that may be on that circuit.

[sharky112065]

I have the same wattage PS and 2 6970's and I pull 6.5 to 7 Amps per box.

[cvicisso]

Wow - great info everyone!  Thanks!  I'll look into getting a dedicated 240V line set up. 

Now... if I could only get this f&%^ing thing working!!!   

Can't get Ubuntu 11.04 to install/run on the rig from a thumb drive.  I know the iso on the thumb drive is 'working' because I'm using it right now on another machine (intel Atom netbook w/Win 7).  It boots and runs fine.  Is there a different 'flavor' of 11.04 for AMD machines?  Or is it because of the multiple GPUs?  I've heard/read that I need to install different drivers and such - but I can't even get it (the OS) to run at all on the machine, so how can I install drivers?

Sorry to change topic - and sorry that these are probably really basic questions.  I am a complete Linux noob - but couldn't resist the urge to use Ubuntu instead of buying another copy of Windows.

Thanks again.

[gigabytecoin]

Wow - great info everyone!  Thanks!  I'll look into getting a dedicated 240V line set up. 

Now... if I could only get this f&%^ing thing working!!!   

Can't get Ubuntu 11.04 to install/run on the rig from a thumb drive.  I know the iso on the thumb drive is 'working' because I'm using it right now on another machine (intel Atom netbook w/Win 7).  It boots and runs fine.  Is there a different 'flavor' of 11.04 for AMD machines?  Or is it because of the multiple GPUs?  I've heard/read that I need to install different drivers and such - but I can't even get it (the OS) to run at all on the machine, so how can I install drivers?

Sorry to change topic - and sorry that these are probably really basic questions.  I am a complete Linux noob - but couldn't resist the urge to use Ubuntu instead of buying another copy of Windows.

Thanks again.

Check out "linuxcoin".

[lemosax]

Wow - great info everyone!  Thanks!  I'll look into getting a dedicated 240V line set up. 

Or have them wire it as a single 30amp 120v circuit.  It's pretty much the same job for an electrician.  Personally I'd prefer to keep all the equipment running in the 110-120v world so I don't do something stupid like plug a machine intended for 120v into a 240v line.

As for the power draw, personally I suspect it will be a lot lower than you expect.  I have several systems in either the HAF-X or Antec One Hundred cases with 1 7200RPM hard drive, MSI 890FXA-GD70 motherboard, 4 5830 cards, Corsair 950TX power supply and various fans, and each machine draws between 660 and 670 watts.  The 6900 series cards may draw more power but with only three of them, I suspect you'll be in the same ballpark.

Buy a Kill-a-Watt or similar device - it's worth having around to answer these questions.

[cvicisso]

Check out "linuxcoin".

Thanks - downloading it now (at a whopping ~180KB/sec!!)   2% downloaded so far... 

[Swishercutter]

Wow - great info everyone!  Thanks!  I'll look into getting a dedicated 240V line set up. 

 Personally I'd prefer to keep all the equipment running in the 110-120v world so I don't do something stupid like plug a machine intended for 120v into a 240v line.

All of the mining power supplies that I bought (I suspect anything suitable for mining) auto switches the voltage...I wired specific 240V Plugs so it would be impossible to plug a 120V into it (such as a fan or monitor...that is without making a 120V line from the subpanel...which is no problem).

The more current you draw through your line the more line loss/heat in the wires you have...higher voltage is more efficient...which is why they transmit over long distances at extremely high voltages.  It's all about percentages...a 1V drop is less significant on a 240V line than it is on a 120V line.

[kokojie]

I finally received all my mining rig parts and put most of it together last night (a few tweaks remain to get it operational apparently), but I was wondering...

I live in the U.S. and most circuits around my parts are either 15A or 20A.  How much insane hashing madness is it safe to plug into one outlet (or actually - one circuit, consisting of many electrical outlets)?  My PSU is 1250W, and I hope to run all three 6950s off of it - but have no idea how much power this will actually draw.  No HDD - I'll be running Ubuntu 11.04 off of a thumbdrive (if I can get it to work).  Haf X case with a bunch of fans - but those shouldn't matter too much.  

So anyway, assuming I get this thing working (please work, please work, please...), can I add another [similar] rig to the circuit?  And another?  Another?  How many?  Will adding a UPS to each do anything useful in mitigating the power draw?  

Thanks in advance!

On my rig, three 6950 draws about 700 watts running at full speed mining, and that's the entire system, not just the card, plus my rig is pretty inefficient with 95W CPU and a HDD. If you have 20A, you'd be fine even if you plug three rigs into the same circuit.

[zenthor]

wow i was trying to guess the answer using a formula i learned in film school, its way off from what you guys have.  i was thinking along the lines of volts * watts= amps so v*1250= (substitute wither 15 or 20 for amps) so 83.333*1250=15amps with 120v lines you should be ok right?
thats what 26k in student debt with 1 lighting class and a rip off the bong gets ya.

[Swishercutter]

wow i was trying to guess the answer using a formula i learned in film school, its way off from what you guys have.  i was thinking along the lines of volts * watts= amps so v*1250= (substitute wither 15 or 20 for amps) so 83.333*1250=15amps with 120v lines you should be ok right?
thats what 26k in student debt with 1 lighting class and a rip off the bong gets ya.

Ohm's law...P=IV (Power equals current times voltage).  Where you were going wrong is you should have used watts/volts=amps

[cvicisso]

Thanks again, everyone.  GREAT info.  I think I'm going to get a Kill-A-Watt PS-10 (http://www.p3international.com/products/consumer/p4330.html) and just keeping plugging in rigs until things start to look dicey.

Of course... non of this really matters because I STILL CAN'T GET THE FREAKING THING TO BOOT!!!!  Seriously - I'm at wit's end.  I don't HAVE any BTCs to donate to anyone (Catch-22), but I can either promise you some (if you trust me - and yes, you can), or I can PayPal $$ to anyone who can get this damned thing up and running.  Every day that it's down is BTCs down the drain.  I am sooooo pissed. 

[kokojie]

Thanks again, everyone.  GREAT info.  I think I'm going to get a Kill-A-Watt PS-10 (http://www.p3international.com/products/consumer/p4330.html) and just keeping plugging in rigs until things start to look dicey.

Of course... non of this really matters because I STILL CAN'T GET THE FREAKING THING TO BOOT!!!!  Seriously - I'm at wit's end.  I don't HAVE any BTCs to donate to anyone (Catch-22), but I can either promise you some (if you trust me - and yes, you can), or I can PayPal $$ to anyone who can get this damned thing up and running.  Every day that it's down is BTCs down the drain.  I am sooooo pissed. 

two common mistakes I make that makes the system not booting are:
1. RAM is loose
2. mixing up 12v rails, so that one card isn't getting enough power. Just try booting with 1 video card first.

[cvicisso]

two common mistakes I make that makes the system not booting are:
1. RAM is loose
2. mixing up 12v rails, so that one card isn't getting enough power. Just try booting with 1 video card first.

I am totally trying this as soon as I get home.  Cross your fingers for me!

[cvicisso]

I'm losing it.

I reseated the DDR3 chip, removed two of the three GPUs and still get the same screen.  In fact, I went out and bought a DVD drive and installed it - just to be sure... I threw in an old hard drive on a SATA controller and tried to install Ubuntu from CD/DVD.  EXACT same screen. I'll start another thread for help, but here's what the screen looks like (looks the same whether trying to install from DVD or run from USB):



Help will be rewarded.

[Swishercutter]

I'm losing it.

I reseated the DDR3 chip, removed two of the three GPUs and still get the same screen.  In fact, I went out and bought a DVD drive and installed it - just to be sure... I threw in an old hard drive on a SATA controller and tried to install Ubuntu from CD/DVD.  EXACT same screen. I'll start another thread for help, but here's what the screen looks like (looks the same whether trying to install from DVD or run from USB):



Help will be rewarded.

K, before I comment...I am not an IT guy, I am an electronics tech...so from a hardware troubleshooting standpoint this is what I see:

1)Probably not the vid cards...unless slot 1 is damaged on the mobo.
2)Probably not the RAM...unless its in the incorrect slot.
3)Not the HDD/CD/DVD

so whats left:
1)BIOS...Did u do a full CMOS reset?
2) Processor...Bent pin?
3)Mobo...complete failure or something causing a short (or an open to some power connector)
4) PSU...Check all voltages with a multimeter under load.

Other than that you have switched out everything else, right?

[beeph]

I have the MSI FX890 chipset 70D mobo (i believe this is what u have too)
and guess what, same problem.  I cant get ubuntu to boot off the live CD, or off a thumb drive.  I have it running on 6 other boards perfectly fine.

I tried for hours to get it to work but failed.  I even posted on the MSI forums (same name at MSI)

It's a problem with the mobo itself, if you get it working please let me know, but i dont see it happening.

EXACT same error kernel thread helper after kernel panic

[kokojie]

it does look the mobo is bad, especially if you have swapped all other components already. Get a RMA for the mobo

[cvicisso]

K, before I comment...I am not an IT guy, I am an electronics tech...so from a hardware troubleshooting standpoint this is what I see:

1)Probably not the vid cards...unless slot 1 is damaged on the mobo.
2)Probably not the RAM...unless its in the incorrect slot.
3)Not the HDD/CD/DVD

so whats left:
1)BIOS...Did u do a full CMOS reset?
2) Processor...Bent pin?
3)Mobo...complete failure or something causing a short (or an open to some power connector)
4) PSU...Check all voltages with a multimeter under load.

Other than that you have switched out everything else, right?

Swishercutter - thanks.  In answer to your questions...

1) I did reset the CMOS originally, but haven't try to do it again in a while.  I'll give it a shot.  Then I'll have to reset the boot sequence, set the time, etc, right?
2) I took the CPU out and it looked fine (but I'm obviously no expert)
3) OMG.  Please - not this one!  
4) I'll try this, but this is a pretty high-end PSU (Sparkle 1250W 80+ Gold), and I unplugged all 'extra' cords and just left mobo power and two dedicated PCIe leads connected.