My Rig

[NextBigThing987]

I'm working on building a rig from scratch

here is what I think i want/need so far.... obviously missing parts (ive never built a computer but know computer baisics)




AMD Athlon II X4 3 GHz Processor $75

4x 5850

PSU 1000-1200 watts

some kind of open air case to put this shit in

[TeraPool]

I'm working on building a rig from scratch

here is what I think i want/need so far.... obviously missing parts (ive never built a computer but know computer baisics)




AMD Athlon II X4 3 GHz Processor $75

4x 5850

PSU 1000-1200 watts

some kind of open air case to put this shit in

Forget the case. It will only cost you extra money and prevent you from cooling as much as you need to.

Also you could make do with a $20 1Ghz processor if you are only using it for mining.

Go as large as you can afford with the PSU.

[Morebitcoinsplease]

I'm working on building a rig from scratch

here is what I think i want/need so far.... obviously missing parts (ive never built a computer but know computer baisics)




AMD Athlon II X4 3 GHz Processor $75

4x 5850

PSU 1000-1200 watts

some kind of open air case to put this shit in

Forget the case. It will only cost you extra money and prevent you from cooling as much as you need to.

Also you could make do with a $20 1Ghz processor if you are only using it for mining.

Go as large as you can afford with the PSU.

+1

[NextBigThing987]

I'm working on building a rig from scratch

here is what I think i want/need so far.... obviously missing parts (ive never built a computer but know computer baisics)




AMD Athlon II X4 3 GHz Processor $75

4x 5850

PSU 1000-1200 watts

some kind of open air case to put this shit in

Forget the case. It will only cost you extra money and prevent you from cooling as much as you need to.

Also you could make do with a $20 1Ghz processor if you are only using it for mining.

Go as large as you can afford with the PSU.

ya this would be strictly for mining. can the 1ghz handle 4x5850s? why are people buying that model if they dont need to?

i'll def forget the case




also what else is needed?
- processor
- GPUs
-PSU
-?
-?
-?
-?

[NextBigThing987]

it doesn't seem spending 200 on 4 5850s plus the other junk (maybe $1200 bucks if im lucky?) is a good idea if I'm only making 120 bucks a month.... it'll take the entire year to pay off (not including electric bill or issues that arise)

[Dargo]

It will still take a long time to pay off, but your system is overbuilt. You can get by with an 850w PSU, Sempron processor for $40, cheap (~$70) mobo with two PCIe x1 slots (you will have to get risers), run it on linux from usb, etc.

[NextBigThing987]

I'll be bringing in like 50 dollars a month then... would that even pay for the electric bill increase?

[Dargo]

I'll be bringing in like 50 dollars a month then... would that even pay for the electric bill increase?

Not sure what you mean. I'm still talking about running 4x5850s. I have 2x5850s that pull 400 watts from the wall. 2 more would probably pull around 700 watts. A good 850w PSU will handle that no problem. And you can get 4 cards on a cheap mobo that has two x16 slots plus two more x1 slots. But you will need extenders for the x1 slots to work. I have a Biostar A870U3 ($65 Newegg) that will run 4 cards this way. It will still take a long time to pay off, but you will bring in just as much per month as you originally calculated (assuming that calculation was realistic).

[NextBigThing987]

oh I see.. i didnt know u meant downgrade the processor... i thgouth u meant less gpus


so whats the bare minimum in parts i need to build a rig....


1. processor
2. PSU
3. GPU
4. linuxcoin off usb (how do i get one of these on the usb? dl on other cpu and put on a usb stick than transfer to dedicated rig?)
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?

[lunano]

can the 1ghz handle 4x5850s?

For a dedicated rig, you want the cheapest processor to maximize your return. As someone
already mentioned, semprons are fine. Mining is entirely GPU-bottlenecked. Even a 1GHz
will idle > 99% of the time, only problem being that they don't manufacture them any more
for the current slate of mining-effective mobos.

[Dargo]

oh I see.. i didnt know u meant downgrade the processor... i thgouth u meant less gpus


so whats the bare minimum in parts i need to build a rig....


1. processor
2. PSU
3. GPU
4. linuxcoin off usb (how do i get one of these on the usb? dl on other cpu and put on a usb stick than transfer to dedicated rig?)
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?

1. processor AMD Sempron (or Athlon II x2 if you want a little more power)
2. PSU A good 850w unit. Corsair or Seasonic are good, and the prices are reasonable. The Corsair HX850 is great.
3. GPU I thought you had already settled on 4x5850. Keep in mind that 5850s are pretty efficient. If you go with 6950s instead, you probably do want a more powerful PSU, though I wouldn't be surprised if the Corsair HX850 could handle them. According to hardwaresecrets.com, that PSU is better than many 1000w units.
4. linuxcoin off usb (how do i get one of these on the usb? dl on other cpu and put on a usb stick than transfer to dedicated rig?) Do a forum search for linuxcoin and you will find instructions. Another option for a dedicated rig is BAMT, which might be easier to get started with (again forum search bamt).
5. Any mobo that has 4x pcie 2.1 or 2.0 slots. The cheapest way to go here is with a mobo that has two standard slots (typically 1 will be x16 bandwidth and the other x4 or x8). The other two slots will be x1 bandwidth and you won't be able to plug the card directly into it. Instead you will need ribbon cable extenders. You should just get ribbon cable extenders for all the cards so you can spread them out above the board for good airflow. As I said, the Biostar A870u3 is one option here, but I think there is also a cheap gigabyte board that will work too.
6. 4x extender cables. Cablesaurus on ebay sells these I think. I haven't actually done this, just know it can be done, so you will have to track down the relevant info. You will need two to fit the x1 slots on the board, and 2 to fit the normal slots.
7. USB stick (obviously)
8. Cheap house box fan to blow across the rig
9. A power switch? If you search for "test bench power switch," that should get you to what you need. But you can actually just short the power leads on the mobo with a small screwdriver to start the rig (all the switch does is short the leads anyway). See the link below, which has some pics of caseless rigs, and I think there is a discussion of what to do to power on further down in the thread:

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=27496.0

10. I think that's it, but I might be forgetting something. Obviously this route will take more research on your part than a standard build, but you can save $ this way. Beyond the GPUs, you can probably get everything else for $250 or so.

[NextBigThing987]

nice... that does seem relatively easy....

how would I compute the cost of running 850 watts 24/7 all month?


I think I pay 10 cents a kilowatthour


i could pull maybe 200 bucks a month with this set up after electricity costs... I think?




in that case I could pay the rig off in 6 months possibly... if all stays the same

I have a feeling that bitcoins may even incease again.... they were 30 bucks a piece before that scare..... really all depends if we can get more retailers/places to accept them....



my idea is to all get together and lobby VISA. if VISA would come out with a card that used bitcoins than you could use your bitcoins ANYWHERE VISA WAS ACCEPTED... thusly making bitcoins universal and sky rocketing there value as a "medium of exchange".....



that is all currency is. A medium of exchange.



guy A makes chairs. Guy A wants a turkey from guy B the turkey guy. Guy B doesn't want a chair he wants a duck. Guy A must find Guy C the duck guy and hope that guy C wants a chair. Once guy A and guy C trade Guy A can finally get back to Guy B and trade for the turkey he wants..... instead of this we have dollar bills....  so Guy A gives Guy B dollar bills and guy B gives guy A the turkey.... this only works if guy B is confident that whoever is selling what he wants will except this currency in exchange..... AKA THE MORE PLACES THAT ACCEPT BITCOINS THE BETTER OFF FOR THE BITCOIN... AKA LETS GET A LOBBYING GROUP TOGETHER TO LOBBY PEEPS

[Dargo]

850x24x30/1000=612 kwh/month. But for 4x5850s you won't be pulling 850 - more like 700 give or take a bit. Personally, I have a more boom-or-bust attitude about mining, and am waiting for a higher price to sell bitcoins (like $50), but either way, you can't really estimate your income very well because you don't know where price will be by the time you get some coins. One thing you should realize about mining is that it is partly a decision to be *trading* bitcoins, and that brings an extra layer of uncertainty. It is not just a game of producing x units a month at a fixed profit per unit. I think some miners on this board tend to lose sight of this fact. In the second pic down of the first post in the link I gave above, I'm pretty sure that's the Biostar board I have. BTW, I noticed circuitsnthings.com has 5850s for $191 (free shipping, no tax). That's not the best price (got mine for $150), but about the best you can do right now. I think 5850s are better than 6950s for mining, so if I wanted to build a rig today, I would be willing to pay up to the best available price for 6950s if I could get 5850s instead. By that measure $190 is a good price. Not sure about that retailer, though, but they are probably OK. Finally, I didn't cover parts you need to build a frame for the rig, but that link I gave does have a parts list.

[NextBigThing987]

ya i agree its tough to estimate your income because your income is dependent on the market price each coin will fetch but assuming that in the next year it is above 13 dollars still... then you should be ok.... but any estimate is predicated on some sort of assumption



I think bitcoins could someday be $50 dollars a piece... I believe theyll stay above 13 dollars a piece for some time.... or will at least be above 13 dollars a piece by the time i sell... so thats what I'd be comfortable doing calculations with

[Dargo]

Yes, $13 is fine for calculating with. But I can tell you that a few weeks ago everyone was using $15 for calculating since that was the current price and people were saying it would stay there for a long time. I think the price could easily fall well below $13 in the near future, but so long as you mine through that and don't sell, the price would probably recover. Since as a miner you are in the business of selling coins only, you need to hold when prices are low and sell when they are high. A good rule of thumb is to gauge the emotional level of others. When everyone is glum and saying you'd better sell right away before bitcoins become worthless, you hold. When everyone is excited and talking about how bitcoin is going to 1000+ for sure, you sell. Right now, we are somewhere in between these extremes. Maybe we are in a time when everyone thinks the price will stay relatively constant, which probably means it won't. It's funny, but right now when so many are glum and saying that you can't possibly make a profit from mining, this actually makes me think it maybe isn't such a bad time to start. When everyone is super positive about mining and saying it is easy guaranteed money, that is when I might consider selling my rig (since I could get a good price for it in the midst of this overdone euphoria). I don't know if that will happen again though. And I think the attitude about mining could get a lot more glum to the point where you could pick up nice cards very cheaply. 

[NextBigThing987]

ya i think this may be a good time to start.....



as long as there are no "sticky" variables the market should always even its self out.... when its good to mine there will be an influx.... when it loses profitability people will stop.... and eventually equilibrium comes along and it becomes profitable again....


its more dependent on the usability of the currency i think... or any advantages it has over other currency... or if we get VISA accepts bitcoins.... I'm telling you guys.... if we can get visa to accept bitcoins were good....