Is it a bad idea to have a rig that doubles as a gaming computer?

[trader59]

There are two types of computers I want, a gaming rig and a mining rig. So I thought, what if had both of them together? I was thinking of building a gaming rig of an i7, 8GB RAM, and 2x 7950's that would double as awesome gaming cards and mining cards. I just don't see anyone talking about gaming on their rig, so maybe I'm missing something. Is it a bad idea to do this?

[limbaugh]

It's a bad idea to spend money on mining gear. Investing will bring many more returns.

[atp1916]

It's a bad idea to spend money on mining gear. Investing will bring many more returns.

 

Investing in mining gear = hedging your risk.  If BTC goes south, you can always sell your hardware off and recoup at least something.

Investing in coins via fiat = going in nekkid.  If BTC goes south, you're completely screwed and out the whole bit with no recourse.

[trader59]

It's a bad idea to spend money on mining gear. Investing will bring many more returns.

 

Investing in mining gear = hedging your risk.  If BTC goes south, you can always sell your hardware off and recoup at least something.

Investing in coins via fiat = going in nekkid.  If BTC goes south, you're completely screwed and out the whole bit with no recourse.

What about my main question? Making a gaming computer (which I want) that doubles as a mining rig.

[atp1916]

It's a bad idea to spend money on mining gear. Investing will bring many more returns.

 

Investing in mining gear = hedging your risk.  If BTC goes south, you can always sell your hardware off and recoup at least something.

Investing in coins via fiat = going in nekkid.  If BTC goes south, you're completely screwed and out the whole bit with no recourse.

What about my main question? Making a gaming computer (which I want) that doubles as a mining rig.

Sorry, got off track by the FUD.  My appologies 

If you mean, mining while gaming...then no.

If you mean mining while not gaming, sure.  Even during daily non-gaming use, you could set your intensity low and when not using you could set your intensity high.

[Wipeout2097]

Yes, of course you can use a gaming rig for mining. You should use mining best practices though.

Please undervolt and move the cards as far as you can. Watch out for Gpu-z "Sensors" while mining.

You can even get more cards, long PCI-e risers with USB cabling, remove the case side or back panel and place those extra cards out of the gaming rig. With a core i7 4770k, you can also mine some CPU only coins.

Wait for the incoming R9-280's, basically rebranded 7950's.

[linuxbman]

There are two types of computers I want, a gaming rig and a mining rig. So I thought, what if had both of them together? I was thinking of building a gaming rig of an i7, 8GB RAM, and 2x 7950's that would double as awesome gaming cards and mining cards. I just don't see anyone talking about gaming on their rig, so maybe I'm missing something. Is it a bad idea to do this?

That's what I do.  I turned my gaming rig into a miner.  I figure the computer is always on anyway, since it's also my media server, might as well have it mining when I am not actively using it. 

I recommend having different OC profiles, in whatever software you use to control the video cards memclock, voltage, etc.  One for gaming, and one for mining.  Also don't forget to disable SLI/Crossfire when you are done gaming, as it messes with mining.

[trader59]

There are two types of computers I want, a gaming rig and a mining rig. So I thought, what if had both of them together? I was thinking of building a gaming rig of an i7, 8GB RAM, and 2x 7950's that would double as awesome gaming cards and mining cards. I just don't see anyone talking about gaming on their rig, so maybe I'm missing something. Is it a bad idea to do this?

That's what I do.  I turned my gaming rig into a miner.  I figure the computer is always on anyway, since it's also my media server, might as well have it mining when I am not actively using it. 

I recommend having different OC profiles, in whatever software you use to control the video cards memclock, voltage, etc.  One for gaming, and one for mining.  Also don't forget to disable SLI/Crossfire when you are done gaming, as it messes with mining.

Is there somewhere that I can find out how to and how much to undervolt? I've never undervolted a computer before.

[massiver]

I undervolt using Sapphire TRIXX.

I have a 4 gpu setup, two 280x, two 7950, that I use for simultaneous gaming and mining. I just stop mining with one of the cards (the 280x that drives my display), reset the clock speeds, then load up the game. I still average above 50 fps ultra high settings in bf4 while the other three cards are mining full steam.

[TheSmo]

You can mine with a gaming PC, but you can't play well with a mining rig. So check what's your main preference and then live with a not-optimal experience for the othe rpart.

I mined for a year with my Gaming PC. It's ok to play around, but of course it's not the same as a mining rig for 1.5k.