Gigabyte 7970 Ghz Edition is bad - What's good?

[MisterMelancholy]

I left a review on NewEgg saying I would never recommend this card to anybody, and I'm here to take that a step further as well as ask what manufacturer has the best 7970 for BItCoins mining. My electricity is cheap, so power consumption is not an issue.

Anyway, this particular Gigabyte card is terrible:
 - Two of them in one case runs so hot that I need to let in cold, Alaskan air from outside to keep them cool. Crash at above 90C within 3 minutes at stock clocks.
 - Run stable at 1180/110 and 1180/1100, but not stable at 1190/110 or 1190/1100. All of these combinations have the same power draw and temperature, by the way.
 - I haven't tried water cooling, but based on how fast the temperature increases, I'm not convinced that'll keep them very cool.

Now the other question:
Which card has the highest hash rates? I sold off the Bitcoins I bought when the prices were low, and have just over $425 to put towards a 3rd card for my rig.
I've got an extra 550 watts on my PSU, so I don't think I have any real limitations other than temperature or money.

[DrG]

You're getting 2 7970s inside a case to run at 1180 and you're complaining?

Be happy.  I have 2 of those same Gigabyte 7970s running at 1110/125 in an open rig running 85C/79C directly on the motherboard (ambient 80F-90F)

Open your case up and maybe put the miner in the garage if you have one, or build a cover and let it mine outside.

Unless you add a lot more core voltage you're not going above 1180 on most 7970s.

[HeRetiK]

Why not try 7950s? Although they have slightly lower Hashrates they're still quite cheaper than the 7970s.

[szita2000]

Why not try 7950s? Although they have slightly lower Hashrates they're still quite cheaper than the 7970s.

Yes 7950s are a viable choice. Here in europe I compared the price and you getting excactly the same hashrate for your buck than with the 7970s.
I would definately open the case up, or put one of your case fans (if you have spare, like the ones on the top, or at hdd bay) to blow air right on to the cards.

[MisterMelancholy]

Open your case up and maybe put the miner in the garage if you have one, or build a cover and let it mine outside.

Sadly, I'm in a small apartment right now. The lease is up in October, so when that happens I'll see about getting a place with a "server room". Letting it mine outside is also not a good idea because the weather in Alaska is crazy. Sunny to 80MPH winds and snow/rain after 20 minutes isn't surprising, even around this time of year.

You're getting 2 7970s inside a case to run at 1180 and you're complaining?

I didn't realize 1180 was so good, even with the temps. My main reason for complaining is that under-clocking the memory, even to less than 10% of the stock clock, does absolutely nothing for the power usage and temperature. It's very frustrating, and I'm sure that other 7970s don't do this, while still getting the same hash rates.

Yes 7950s are a viable choice. Here in europe I compared the price and you getting excactly the same hashrate for your buck than with the 7970s.

At a first glance, it looks like the money/hash rate ratio is about the same, but I'd prefer higher hash rates regardless of price. More hash rate per cards means less machines, which means less money goes into cases, CPUs, RAM, PSU, Motherboard, and shipping and more goes into GPUs. The idea is viable, I'm just very persnickety and like to take things to the extreme.

[szita2000]

At a first glance, it looks like the money/hash rate ratio is about the same, but I'd prefer higher hash rates regardless of price. More hash rate per cards means less machines, which means less money goes into cases, CPUs, RAM, PSU, Motherboard, and shipping and more goes into GPUs. The idea is viable, I'm just very persnickety and like to take things to the extreme.

Then the sky is the limit. Or? maybe just get a few 7990 

[Amph]

you talk about windforcce 3?

[Warhawk24]

You need a new case.  I've got 2x of the same cards mining LTC (granted at like 1022 core 1244 mem for optimum khash) but have no issues keeping them below 80C and rock solid.

[chungenhung]

Are you sure temp is the issue causing the crash?
I highly doubt 90C would crash any GPU. I've got one running at 101C today, rock solid.

[MisterMelancholy]

Then the sky is the limit. Or? maybe just get a few 7990 

I should have. I didn't do enough research before I bought these, so I didn't know it was basically 2 7970s put together. Maybe I'll just save up and get a 7990 instead of another 7970. My only concern is that the only 7990 I can find also has a locked voltage (which I think is source of my pain with the 7970s).

you talk about windforcce 3?

Yes.

You need a new case.  I've got 2x of the same cards mining LTC (granted at like 1022 core 1244 mem for optimum khash) but have no issues keeping them below 80C and rock solid.

That I do not. I have the cards running in this beast: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147157

[FloridaBear]

Depending on the manufacturer, you may be able to load different firmware on the card. My Gigabyte Windforce GHz edition 7970 came with a stock voltage of 1.25V; with their "standard" firmware (instead of "GHz"), that went down to 1.17V which has helped with temps and actually gets me better hash rate since I use auto core clock control in cgminer to maintain constant temp.

Oh, and try Florida if you think you are struggling with temps ;-)

[QuiveringGibbage]

I have 4 of them. http://imgur.com/a/mRbMZ#y6zZ4pi

Unfortunately I cannot undervolt them to save on electricity. Stuck at 1.256V once I go over 1000Mhz Engine.

QG

Edit: updated picture url

[notaek]

Yeah I can either run at 1.170mv or 1.256mv but I cant undervolt 

[Amph]

I have 4 of them. http://imgur.com/a/mRbMZ#y6zZ4pi

Unfortunately I cannot undervolt them to save on electricity. Stuck at 1.256V once I go over 1000Mhz Engine.

QG

Edit: updated picture url

how much your watt consumation, with those?

you talk about windforcce 3?

Yes.

really strange, i know for fact that the windforce 3 is very good in temp

[Bitsaurus]

Windforce is only cool if it can get fresh air

[FloridaBear]

Power consumption from my Kill-A-Watt:

Idle: 167 W
SHA-256 hashing@1140/990, 1.17V: 417 W (~250W net), ~680 MH=2.72 MH/J
scrypt hashing@1080/1500, 1.17V: 438 W (~270W net), ~690KH=2.56 KH/J

Of course, YMMV.

[MisterMelancholy]

Depending on the manufacturer, you may be able to load different firmware on the card. My Gigabyte Windforce GHz edition 7970 came with a stock voltage of 1.25V; with their "standard" firmware (instead of "GHz"), that went down to 1.17V which has helped with temps and actually gets me better hash rate since I use auto core clock control in cgminer to maintain constant temp.

Oh, and try Florida if you think you are struggling with temps ;-)

This is a grand idea. I'll do some research and see how this is done on Linux. I'll post back later with my results.

[GuiltySpark343]

Well if you don't care about price, then buy this:
http://www.asus.com/ROG/ARES26GD5/

Dual 7970 GPU with hybrid air/liquid cooling. You can directly funnel the heat out of the case. Wicked expensive. But hey, you said "regardless of price" right?

And since you're persnickity:

Acclaimed DIGI+ VRM joins superior quality 20-phase Super Alloy Power for precise digital control, enhanced performance, reliability, and card longevity

GPU Tweak: modify clock speeds, voltages, fan performance and more, all via an intuitive interface

[MisterMelancholy]

Well if you don't care about price, then buy this:
http://www.asus.com/ROG/ARES26GD5/

Dual 7970 GPU with hybrid air/liquid cooling. You can directly funnel the heat out of the case. Wicked expensive. But hey, you said "regardless of price" right?

Heheheh... If I ever have that kind of money laying around... Looks like it'd OC a little more than a 7990. Assuming I could fit 3 on my board...

And since you're persnickity:

Acclaimed DIGI+ VRM joins superior quality 20-phase Super Alloy Power for precise digital control, enhanced performance, reliability, and card longevity

GPU Tweak: modify clock speeds, voltages, fan performance and more, all via an intuitive interface

Flashing my GPU BIOS is proving impossible without Windows. It'd be a shame as I've gone 2 years and 6 months without needing it. I'll look into the DIGI+ VRM and see what I can do. I have a good feeling about this.

UPDATE: after repositioning my fans and adding a few more, It seems it's stable at about 87C for top card and 78C  for middle card after about 30 minutes without outside air. This is still too high for my personal liking, but the system's not crashing, which is a start. I'll leave this running for about another 15-30 minutes while I research DIGI+ VRM and see if these current temps stay stable. If the DIGI+ VRM thing doesn't work, It'll be stuck at these temps for a while.

[grue]

you do realize that for bitcoin mining, you're supposed to downclock memory A LOT, right? not sure how it is with 7000 series but I can downclock my 5850 from 1000 to 300 with hash rate increase!