Which PSU & Motherboard?

[Splirow]

Hi everyone,

I just bought 4 5970's.

-Which motherboard should i buy?

-which PSU?

-Is it worth it to get ATI APU rather then sempron?

-Should I have all four 5970's on one motherboard or is it more economical to use 2 plus 2 5850 on a motherboard?

thanks

[Reckman]

Imo get a cheap MOBO, with pcie x1 to x16 with molex power, then get two power supplies like a 1000w and a 750w

[Transisto]

any board will do, make sure you give ample of air to your GPUs by spreading them with 1x extender

Wonder how you managed to get 2000$ worth of gpu but don't have a 50$ board yet

[Splirow]

any board will do, make sure you give ample of air to your GPUs by spreading them with 1x extender

Wonder how you managed to get 2000$ worth of gpu but don't have a 50$ board yet

It was on sale ; )


How big of a PSU do i need?

[Transisto]

any board will do, make sure you give ample of air to your GPUs by spreading them with 1x extender

Wonder how you managed to get 2000$ worth of gpu but don't have a 50$ board yet

It was on sale ; )


How big of a PSU do i need?

I'd say ~180w per gpu to be safe , you have 8

[Splirow]

any board will do, make sure you give ample of air to your GPUs by spreading them with 1x extender

Wonder how you managed to get 2000$ worth of gpu but don't have a 50$ board yet

It was on sale ; )


How big of a PSU do i need?

I'd say ~180w per gpu to be safe , you have 8

180w for each 5970's? even if they get over clocked?

[Reckman]

He's saying per gpu, each 5970 has 2

[deslok]

keep in mind that wattage is all on the 12v rail (180*8/12) you need a 120amp (1440w) 12 volt rail you're going to need multiple psu's or to find a 1500w+ power supply somewhere

[Splirow]

keep in mind that wattage is all on the 12v rail (180*8/12) you need a 120amp (1440w) 12 volt rail you're going to need multiple psu's or to find a 1500w+ power supply somewhere

So at the end of the day i am best suited with using 3 5970 on 1 motherboard. If so, which is the most economical MO i can find?

[Transisto]

keep in mind that wattage is all on the 12v rail (180*8/12) you need a 120amp (1440w) 12 volt rail you're going to need multiple psu's or to find a 1500w+ power supply somewhere

So at the end of the day i am best suited with using 3 5970 on 1 motherboard. If so, which is the most economical MO i can find?

Not to be rude, but I have found mobo with 3 slot in the trashes and use them for mining.

how much did you get your 5970 for ?

PS: next time, post such to "Hardware" sub topic

[Splirow]

keep in mind that wattage is all on the 12v rail (180*8/12) you need a 120amp (1440w) 12 volt rail you're going to need multiple psu's or to find a 1500w+ power supply somewhere

So at the end of the day i am best suited with using 3 5970 on 1 motherboard. If so, which is the most economical MO i can find?

Not to be rude, but I have found mobo with 3 slot in the trashes and use them for mining.

how much did you get your 5970 for ?

PS: next time, post such to "Hardware" sub topic

4 for 2k

[deslok]

Actually since that already forces you to build 2 seperate computers your ideal setup would be 2 identical rigs with 2 cards per board, a board like this one would allow for a little extra space
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186168
and a good 800+w single rail psu would put you in buisness(with requisite cpu ect)

[bcpokey]

"Any mobo" is not really a great suggestion. Remember that a 5970 is more or less just 2x 5870s slapped on a single PCB. That means 4x 5970s is the equivalent of 8 5870s, except that they're drawing power through only 4 PCI-E slots. This is a LOT of juice to run through a single mobo (will probably exceed the 75W per slot alotted to PCIE standard and already is 300Watts), and can potentially melt/burn/blow a mobo not designed for high current.

I know it may sound like a waste of money but I'd recommend 2 lower end mobos, or else save up for a super high end mobo.

For PSU, your options are very limited, Silverstone Strider 1500 and ThermalTake ToughPower 1500 are the only two 1500W PSUs I know off the top of my head that are any good, and I'm not totally sure that they'd cut the mustard (probably, but it'd be close). Another reason to potentially break it into 2 comps, instead of dropping $350 on one PSU that might or might not do the job, 2 $150 Gold Rated PSUs will be cheaper, do the job better and save you on your electric bill.

[Splirow]

"Any mobo" is not really a great suggestion. Remember that a 5970 is more or less just 2x 5870s slapped on a single PCB. That means 4x 5970s is the equivalent of 8 5870s, except that they're drawing power through only 4 PCI-E slots. This is a LOT of juice to run through a single mobo (will probably exceed the 75W per slot alotted to PCIE standard and already is 300Watts), and can potentially melt/burn/blow a mobo not designed for high current.

I know it may sound like a waste of money but I'd recommend 2 lower end mobos, or else save up for a super high end mobo.

For PSU, your options are very limited, Silverstone Strider 1500 and ThermalTake ToughPower 1500 are the only two 1500W PSUs I know off the top of my head that are any good, and I'm not totally sure that they'd cut the mustard (probably, but it'd be close). Another reason to potentially break it into 2 comps, instead of dropping $350 on one PSU that might or might not do the job, 2 $150 Gold Rated PSUs will be cheaper, do the job better and save you on your electric bill.

what about 3 in 1 Mobo?

Or can I also do 2 & 2 and add 2 lower cards (5830-5850) on each mobo for a total of 4 on each rig?

[deslok]

That's going to push you back to larger power supplies but as long as it's vented fine won't be an issue

[Reckman]

One rig should be fine...

Buy 4x pciex1 to x16 with molex power http://cablesaurus.com/
Get two power supplies and wire them together to save some money, if your not comfortable get a 1500+ watt.