3GB GRAPHICS CARD+PC -or- JUST A 4GB GRAPHICS CARD

[CheekyChappy]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Core-I7-4770K-3TB-16gb-1866Mhz-GTX-780-3gb-nVIDIA-CASE-Windows-8-Gaming-PC-/161107249825?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item2582bd8aa1

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=nvidia+Graphics+Card&_sop=16

Looking for some advice please. I want to start mining at home using GPU, currently I mine from time to on cloud droplets and it is not very good.

1) What do I look out for when getting a graphics card? Is it just the GB or something else too? Make, brand?

2) I would rather buy a PC and have it ready to go and can upgrade to a better graphics card later if necessary. I guess RAM and CPU make a lot of difference regardless of graphics card?

3) Is it wise to have several PCs at home, say an array of 3, 5, 7 or 10 cheap PCs running maybe 1GB or 2GB graphic cards with 8gb RAM each on a quad core CPU all mining simultaneously or is it better to have one powerful PC doing it instead?

4) Buying a mining rig is a possibility but not sure if it can mine ALL coins. It is expensive but I can do it. What advice would you give to look out for when buying a rig and where would I buy one from without going on a waiting list? If I had someone who could set it up for me or help me learn how to set up mining on a rig I could buy one up almost immediately to the value of around US$40,000

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance

[loader140]

If you know what you are doing build one,

1) go here and then it will let you know what hashrate each of them has, FYI the R9 280X is best value for money (the only better one is 7950 but you would have to buy preowned) https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison

2)NO, REAM AND CPU WONT MATTER, in mine I have an AMD sempron 145 ($35) and 4GB RAM with 5 R9 280Xs so, yeah buy a cheap CPU and RAM.

3)One powerful PC with 2 or 3 GPUS in each or even more, this is the most effiecent way, as you wont have to spend as much on mobos or CPUs or RAM or HDD, also you would then have to pay power of like 150W for each extra computer you have where you could just have to pay for 1 lot of it if you only have

4.Ebay or just build you own. Look out for the best cards (mainly the best value for money) that way you get best $/hash and you can earn more.

When you finally get one mine the most profitable coin to make your money back quicker, if I mined LTC it would have taken me until end or feb to make my money back, but with mining CATS, OGC, NDL coins I made it back within a few weeks.

Hope I helped

EDIT also look a good PSU, if you build your own get a good 1250W PSU that should run about 4-5 R9s no problem but get a good make, cheap PSU=FRIED COMPONENTS

[CheekyChappy]

If you know what you are doing build one,

1) go here and then it will let you know what hashrate each of them has, FYI the R9 280X is best value for money (the only better one is 7950 but you would have to buy preowned) https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison

2)NO, REAM AND CPU WONT MATTER, in mine I have an AMD sempron 145 ($35) and 4GB RAM with 5 R9 280Xs so, yeah buy a cheap CPU and RAM.

3)One powerful PC with 2 or 3 GPUS in each or even more, this is the most effiecent way, as you wont have to spend as much on mobos or CPUs or RAM or HDD, also you would then have to pay power of like 150W for each extra computer you have where you could just have to pay for 1 lot of it if you only have

4.Ebay or just build you own. Look out for the best cards (mainly the best value for money) that way you get best $/hash and you can earn more.

When you finally get one mine the most profitable coin to make your money back quicker, if I mined LTC it would have taken me until end or feb to make my money back, but with mining CATS, OGC, NDL coins I made it back within a few weeks.

Hope I helped

EDIT also look a good PSU, if you build your own get a good 1250W PSU that should run about 4-5 R9s no problem but get a good make, cheap PSU=FRIED COMPONENTS

This is a great reply... thank you for the great comments! You certainly did help bro.

I take it you built your own as you run 5 graphic cards off it but which motherboard do you need to run more than one graphics card?

I will look in to it.. I totally agree running 5 or graphic cards off 1 unit seems better as it reduces all other overheads.

The R9 280Xs you mentioned are 3GB right? Please look at the link below, some have 3x R9 280x... is that a suitable spec for mining or is that an 'over' spec for the job? How much do you think it would cost to make it rather than buy it?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=nvidia+Graphics+Card&_sop=16&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.XR9+280X&_nkw=R9+280X&_sacat=0

Can you think of any other recommendations?

Many thanks for your help

[CheekyChappy]

Just checked, there so many different types of R9 280x.. which would suffice and what differences do they make?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Other-Computing-Networking-/162/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=R9+280X&_sop=1

[loader140]

Just checked, there so many different types of R9 280x.. which would suffice and what differences do they make?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Other-Computing-Networking-/162/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=R9+280X&_sop=1

Yeah I built my own, took me about 2 hours to get it up and running.

Yes the 280xs are 3GB (there might be 4GB but I have only seen 3GB)

They are a bit overkill as they are meant for gaming (lots of RAM and really good CPU) if you were to build one with an am3 mobo, sempron 145 4 GB RAM, HDD (cheap reused one), 1200W PSU you would be looking at about $300-$500 for that then eachother GPU you add would add about $300-$400 so to make a 5 card rig with about 3.5-4M/hash would be about $2000, you could earn that back in about a month if you mine the right coins at launch i.e CATS I got about 1-1.2 BTC worth on their launch and I joined in after a few days and that paid for 2 cards right there.

The type of R9 280X you want is all on opinion, I went for MSI as I have heard great reviews about them, their gaming version is clocked higher and is in the top spaces on that comparrisson list I gave you in my earlier post and they are the same price as other cards, also I get BF4 with mine then sell BF4 for about $30 so that pays for 1/10 of the cards. Also I watercool my rigs so that is another thing to look for if you are water cooling if the cards you are buying has water blocks made for it (which MSI do)

If you have never built a computer before watch a youtube video of about 15 minutes and you should be able to do it no problem.

Also the mobo thing, if you want a proper mobo with 4 pci-e slots a maximus v4 or any other gaming mobo will do, but with air cooling that won't be any good as they will overheat. What is recommended is make an aluminium case for it (like a shelf) and use PCI-E risers (look on ebay) they are about $25 each but then you can separate them from each other  so they don't overheat, AND if you get pci 4X or pci 8X or 1X etc you can have any mobo you want to have many on one mobo, on mine I have the M4A77T it has one PCI-e slot and a few other PCI slots where I have the extenders put into plugged into the cards.

When mining the video card doesn't need the full PCI e slot to work so even if you couldn't get an extender on the PCI1 slots you could melt the back down and put it in there.

Anything else just ask, again hope I could help

[CheekyChappy]

Thanks loader140....

Seriously you have helped out a lot. I think I need to evaluate everything and then decide which is the best way forward.

I have to search for these videos on Youtube too but if it will cost around $2000 to create a machine that gives up to 4MH/s regardless of the make and model of the components, then maybe it is better to pay that little extra and get a ready made machine say for $2200 or $2300 and get the seller to show me the ropes.

BTW I found this one linked below is for CPU mining and he says it costs less in electricity than graphic card mining. It is for a staggering 4.1GH/s:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FPGA-Bitcoin-mining-rig-5x-Enterpoint-Cairnsmore1-miners-4-1GH-s-btc-miner-/281225318699?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item417a55d12b

What are the pros/cons to try and buy something like this?

As always your help is appreciated. Thanks

[SaltySpitoon]

Thanks loader140....

Seriously you have out a lot. I think I need to evaluate everything and then decide which is the best way forward.

I have to search for these videos on Youtube too but if it will cost around $2000 to create a machine that gives up to 4MH/s regardless of the make and model of the components, then maybe it is better to pay that little extra and get a ready made machine say for $2200 or $2300 and get the seller to show me the ropes.

BTW I found this one linked below is for CPU mining and he says it costs less in electricity than graphic card mining. It is for a staggering 4.1GH/s:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FPGA-Bitcoin-mining-rig-5x-Enterpoint-Cairnsmore1-miners-4-1GH-s-btc-miner-/281225318699?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item417a55d12b

What are the pros/cons to try and buy something like this?

As always your help is appreciated. Thanks

Those are FPGAs, which are for mining SHA Coins, they will not work for Scrypt coins. Your best bet is to build your rig yourself, or you will end up seriously overpaying. That $2000 rig that was proposed will probably end up being $4k+ if you tried buying it from a large retailer like Dell. If you find just a random person on Ebay selling rigs, you may end up around $3k, but thats still a huge additional cost.

As for the FPGAs, there are absolutely no pros, and only cons.

[CheekyChappy]

Those are FPGAs, which are for mining SHA Coins, they will not work for Scrypt coins. Your best bet is to build your rig yourself, or you will end up seriously overpaying. That $2000 rig that was proposed will probably end up being $4k+ if you tried buying it from a large retailer like Dell. If you find just a random person on Ebay selling rigs, you may end up around $3k, but thats still a huge additional cost.

As for the FPGAs, there are absolutely no pros, and only cons.

Thank you SaltySpitoon, it is great that people are helping out with useful comments and advice.

I think the $2000 mark is a great target to build around but my budget is much higher as that is around £1250 (GBP).

Can you please look at these and give me your views:

This has 4 R9s and is around $5700 but if I request less specs (RAM/HD) I can get it lower:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIPLE-CROSSFIRE-8-CORE-Gaming-PC-AMD-9590-5GHz-3x-R9-280x-16GB-2TB-256GB-SSD-/151152619177?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item233165eea9

This is around $3200 and has 3 R9s and again can lower the specs to get it cheaper:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QUAD-CROSSFIRE-Gaming-PC-i7-4930k-4GHz-4x-4GB-R9-290x-32GB-1TB-SSD-WATER-COOLED-/151179018980?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item2332f8c2e4

If you think they are not appropriate to buy then I will ask for specific component names/model# to make the complete super-rig and will buy each individual part, take it to a local PC shop and pay around $75 for the guy to put it all together for me.

Please let me know your views about the PCs in the eBay links above. I know they seem expensive in US$, to a degree they are expensive here too but I do not mind spending if it can bring returns. As mentioned by loader140, if I am there from the beginning of a few new coin launches I think I can get the money back within days/weeks so initial outlay is not too much of a problem for me.

Many thanks.

[GanjaFarmer23]

Buying a complete gaming PC for the sole purpose of mining is just a complete waste of your money. If you really plan to spend that amount of cash on mining rigs, educate yourself properly on how to build them(no offence).

There a small guide here that will give you an idea of how a mining rig can look like:
http://www.cryptobadger.com/build-your-own-litecoin-mining-rig/

And if you can wait Alpha-t has announced their scrypt miners. Which would be far more profitable(if they keep their promises)
https://alpha-t.net/

[CheekyChappy]

Buying a complete gaming PC for the sole purpose of mining is just a complete waste of your money. If you really plan to spend that amount of cash on mining rigs, educate yourself properly on how to build them(no offence).

There a small guide here that will give you an idea of how a mining rig can look like:
http://www.cryptobadger.com/build-your-own-litecoin-mining-rig/

And if you can wait Alpha-t has announced their scrypt miners. Which would be far more profitable(if they keep their promises)
https://alpha-t.net/

Thanks bro... both are great links.

Alpha 25MH/s for under £7000 ($11000) is no problem for me but they are out of stock and who knows when they will be back! Alpha are in the UK! I will call them tomorrow and see how big their backlog is, hopefully I can get a couple of the cheaper 5MH/s quick and lay an order or two for the 25MH
/s machines. Thank you bro, nice one.. I appreciate the advice and links.

As for the do-it-yourself link, that was very good too. Lots of information.

Thank you all... lots of good information being given and great advice too

[loader140]

Buying a complete gaming PC for the sole purpose of mining is just a complete waste of your money. If you really plan to spend that amount of cash on mining rigs, educate yourself properly on how to build them(no offence).

There a small guide here that will give you an idea of how a mining rig can look like:
http://www.cryptobadger.com/build-your-own-litecoin-mining-rig/

And if you can wait Alpha-t has announced their scrypt miners. Which would be far more profitable(if they keep their promises)
https://alpha-t.net/

Thanks bro... both are great links.

Alpha 25MH/s for under £7000 ($11000) is no problem for me but they are out of stock and who knows when they will be back!

As for the do-it-yourself link, that was very good too.

Thank you all... lots of good information being given and great advice too

Alpha tech is just preorders for now, while only £7000 you could build a machine now for about £500 more with GPUs and mine NOW and not in Q3/4 of the year. Also by the time they come out GDDR6 GPUS should be out which should be able to mine up to 2.5M/hash per card (£500 card) which you can upgrade to if you sell all of the r9 280Xs l8r in the year (and gamers will still pay (~£200 for them)

Go for the alpha t if you want but just do a bit more research as they aren't as good as they seem (they don't hold as many benefits as the SHA256 one did)

[CheekyChappy]

Buying a complete gaming PC for the sole purpose of mining is just a complete waste of your money. If you really plan to spend that amount of cash on mining rigs, educate yourself properly on how to build them(no offence).

There a small guide here that will give you an idea of how a mining rig can look like:
http://www.cryptobadger.com/build-your-own-litecoin-mining-rig/

And if you can wait Alpha-t has announced their scrypt miners. Which would be far more profitable(if they keep their promises)
https://alpha-t.net/

Thanks bro... both are great links.

Alpha 25MH/s for under £7000 ($11000) is no problem for me but they are out of stock and who knows when they will be back!

As for the do-it-yourself link, that was very good too.

Thank you all... lots of good information being given and great advice too

Alpha tech is just preorders for now, while only £7000 you could build a machine now for about £500 more with GPUs and mine NOW and not in Q3/4 of the year. Also by the time they come out GDDR6 GPUS should be out which should be able to mine up to 2.5M/hash per card (£500 card) which you can upgrade to if you sell all of the r9 280Xs l8r in the year (and gamers will still pay (~£200 for them)

Go for the alpha t if you want but just do a bit more research as they aren't as good as they seem (they don't hold as many benefits as the SHA256 one did)

Thanks.. as you said, I can start mining now if I build myself.

Just a quick question about how to add 4 or 5 graphic cards to one motherboard? Which motherboard is needed for that?

[CheekyChappy]

Whoops! It is in the DIY link at CryptoBadger

Thanks

[CheekyChappy]

I am on the Amazon site now... I am about to order the components for my rig... can someone please confirm the items listed in the link/guide are current. Many thanks in advance http://www.cryptobadger.com/2013/04/build-a-litecoin-mining-rig-hardware/

I want to have a minimum 4x GPU preferably up to 6 or 8GPU but these are hard to get from Amazon at a cheap rate: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 (Twin Frozr)

[nhytfdsa]

Everyone says get a cheap CPU but why not get a good one and mine a CPU-only coin?

[mangodream]

Lol who on earth could trust alpha-tech shit...

Be honest, please, read their specs and watch their video...

[Wipeout2097]

Everyone says get a cheap CPU but why not get a good one and mine a CPU-only coin?

This is a very good point. I don't use 35€ single-core Sempron 145 on the rigs in the first place. It's either a dual-core Sempron 190 for 40€ or an FX-6100 for 100€

The Sempron 145 vs the dual-core 190 for the sake of $5 is a bad recomendation. Either due to teamviewer/vnc, or because people fail to start cgminer in realtime or because the new sgminer allows intensity > 20 (which uses CPU), etc...