MB suggestions?

[CyberPhunk]

Hello again.

I was hoping to get some suggestions from those with a bit more experience than I for a cheap/stable MB/processor combo to use with a pair of 5850 cards?

This rig will most likely be setup either in an old case I have laying around, or totally caseless. I plan on going without HD or optical drive, just boot from a usb thumbdrive.

Preferably I would like to be able to control it completely remotely from my main rig, say Damn Small Linux with persistence accessed via ssh/vpn.

I have some old DDR2 ram laying around from older rigs, so DDR2 on the MB would cut some initial cost. I can also scare up a 550w power supply, though I'll probly have to use molex to PCIe converters to power the cards.

Thanks for your time.

[1715014286]

1715014286

[fascistmuffin]

Usually people go for AM3 boards, since you can get some cheap Sempron processors. As far as the decisions from there, find a cheap one with two or more PCIE slots. You might have to get DDR3 RAM, but that's not too bad since you can get 2GB sticks for ~$10.

[CyberPhunk]

So. something like this then?

MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Processor SDX140HBGQBOX

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory w/ Green LEDs Model BL2KIT12864TG1337

Total cost is $135.30 including shipping

Should I just get a newer 550w+ PSu or use the one I have?

[shakaru]

Personally, I would say get your self a MSI890-FXA-GD70
5 16x
1 1x
Am 3 board
Board runs $200, 140 sempron runs under $40 with fan. toss in some cheap ddr3 ($20) and Ill let you figure out your card/psu combo, but for that I just listed, $260 gets you 6 slots instead of $140 for 2.

[cicada]

This has been beat to death over and over, but get a good PSU if you plan to mine for any real length of time.  

Generally plan for 200W / card + 100W for system, and you'll have a figure to shoot for under worst-case scenarios.  Keep in mind that most PSUs won't push their full rated power output, or at least not for very long without burning out.  Research the measured power usage for the cards you plan to use, and if you think you may ever upgrade, ensure you have the capacity to support higher-end or more cards.  6990s will use ~375W each, for example.

Spend the extra to get something that's at least 80+ and 100W more than you need, and you'll likely never have a problem with it.  In the case of PSUs, the more you spend, the more you save over time.  A $100 80+ Gold supply is going to waste far less power at the wall than a $20 generic PSU; in the long run the cheap PSU is going to cost you more in utilities.

As for the other components, go as cheap as you wish long as they're well rated, and remember to leave yourself room to upgrade.  

[edit] I realize I totally glossed over the initial MB question, IMO get something that will fit you at least 4 cards, either in x16 or x1 slots, but beyond that point it becomes cumbersome to supply power to all your cards in a single system reliably!

[CyberPhunk]

Hmmm, that MSI 890-FXA-GD70 board looks nice. I might have to go with that one. ;-)

Thanks.

[CYPER]

Check my rig - http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=7216.msg324521#msg324521

I think it is quite cost-effective