Building a Scrypt rig

[Dawes]

I recently built a gaming PC in November when my R9 280x was only $310. However, I'd like to build a cheap PC to mine my 280x full time and game on a different card. Is there a guide somewhere that details the nuances of a multi-GPU setup? I figure I could save money if I skipped the case and opt for cheap CPU and RAM, but how slow can your CPU be before it cuts into your hashrate? Also, is there any disadvantage to putting my R9 280x into a PCIe 2.0 slot instead my current PCIe 3.0 slot? 

My current system:
630W PSU
MSI R9 280x
i5 3570k @ 4.4 GHz
8 GB DDR3 1600

If my 630W PSU could support a second card, I may be able to game and mine from the same case. Would sharing the same CPU, RAM, and north bridge bandwidth cut into either's performance? Thanks in advance for your helpful and informed replies 

[Flashman]

With cgminer and bfgminer using the poclbm engine, you can have very low CPU speed and RAM requirement is slender, with the reaper miner, CPU speed/load and RAM size affects it a lot.

A 630W may run 2 GPUs but it won't run 2 GPUs and an overclocked i5 that well, similarly having them in the same box is creating heat worries.

For mining, PCIe speed allllmost doesn't matter, it's possible to run some cards off a PCIe 1x slot with an adapter. Basically it's a small amount of data that creates a huge amount of work, then outputs another small amount of data

[openagain]

CPU / RAM does very little to affect the performance of GPU mining.

[neurocis]

If this is going to be a dedicated rig I would recommend BAMT ... Use a good quality USB 3 stick, I have had excellent luck with Lexar sticks personally. Instructions for running BAMT here:

https://litecointalk.org/index.php?topic=2924.0

Are you out for profit / fun / both ? Basically do you want to commit to a coin or play the ponies and have some fun on an exchange?

Cheers!

[Dawes]

I'm not looking to get rich or go all-in, but I made about $20 in my first week on cgminer pools. I guess my next step is to put together a 2 GPU 1Mh/s miner using the 280x and buy a 770 lol. Learning to build a decent miner is also fun for a PC gamer.

As for heat, I have a decent airflow and aftermarket CPU fan. The GPU runs 82 C at 30% fan speed, but the CPU never goes above 65 under load. That may have been a bit too hot, though, because I get occasional crashes when gaming. At least it gets 720 kh/s stable 

Thanks for the help!

[infinitybo]

@OP Everything is about performance anyways you should use the "mining" section if you wanna some advice.

[princecash]

All this terms are quite strange is there any straight language for the lay man like me instead of this tech stuffs

[Nullu]

hey, i am fresh here

I think your spambot is on the frits.

[Flashman]

Best guide, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=117221.0

I recommend getting your head round how to set up for litecoin first, most altcoins are just variations, and pools such as wemineltc are trustworthy and stable, so you can test your setup... whereas on newer less supported coins you may be chasing your tail due to bad info, flaky pools, forked blockchains and any number of other issues...