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Author Topic: Building a 6990 Rig - Operating System  (Read 14835 times)
eleuthria (OP)
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April 13, 2011, 04:14:56 AM
 #1

I'm building a rig with the immediate goal of running just a single 6990, and then adding on another 6990 in a month or two.

What will give me the best results for Mhash/sec currently, Linux or Windows?  Which distro of Linux or version of Windows should I load onto it?


Building it with the following:
  Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
  Motherboard: MSI 870-G45 AMD
  CPU: AMD Sempron 140
  RAM: 2 gigs
  HD: 16 gigabyte solid state drive
  Power Supply: 1000 watt

RIP BTC Guild, April 2011 - June 2015
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grndzero
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April 13, 2011, 04:25:00 AM
 #2

I think once the nuances of drivers and SDK versions are worked out, the performances on each OS are roughly the same barring anything else. So it comes down to preference and what you intend on doing with it and what you're comfortable with.

If it's a dedicated mining machine then Linux is good for setting up and letting it go.
If it's not a dedicated machine or you want to tweak every little aspect of the card then you need x64 Windows.

Ubuntu Desktop x64 -  HD5850 Reference - 400Mh/s w/ cgminer  @ 975C/325M/1.175V - 11.6/2.1 SDK
Donate if you find this helpful: 1NimouHg2acbXNfMt5waJ7ohKs2TtYHePy
eleuthria (OP)
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April 13, 2011, 04:29:17 AM
 #3

Can you elaborate on "tweaking every little aspect"?

I know I'm definitely going to underclock the memory speed to suppress the power drain as much as possible, and play with the core speed to find a sweet spot for Mhash/W vs Mhash/sec.

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grndzero
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April 13, 2011, 04:50:00 AM
Last edit: April 13, 2011, 05:08:28 AM by grndzero
 #4

Core and mem speeds can be tweaked from Linux. If you want to change anything beyond that such as voltage you need the Windows programs that do that since they don't exist on Linux.

Ubuntu is a pretty popular distribution and quite a few people use it here so it would be easy to get help.

There is a thread here with some nice instructions for getting it set up http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3359.msg47174#msg47174

It doesn't look like the ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates repository with the update Radeon drivers is not available anymore, it gives me errors when I try to update. The radeon drivers in Ubuntu 11.04 are newer than those but 11.04 is still beta (which might not be a problem). I haven't tried upgrading yet.

EDIT: It looks like the packages can be downloaded directly here if the apt-source isn't available. https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-x-swat/+archive/x-updates/+sourcepub/1398782/+listing-archive-extra

OR possibly get the updated packages from the 11.04 version.

Ubuntu Desktop x64 -  HD5850 Reference - 400Mh/s w/ cgminer  @ 975C/325M/1.175V - 11.6/2.1 SDK
Donate if you find this helpful: 1NimouHg2acbXNfMt5waJ7ohKs2TtYHePy
Syke
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April 13, 2011, 05:46:06 AM
 #5

Linux is not an option for a 6990 rig. ATI has not released the Linux drivers yet.

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TenthReality
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April 13, 2011, 10:58:24 AM
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Linux is not an option for a 6990 rig. ATI has not released the Linux drivers yet.

Pretty damn important piece of information to know.  ATI have a timeline on the drivers?
eleuthria (OP)
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April 13, 2011, 01:38:13 PM
 #7

So since it sounds like Linux is currently out of the question (or at least not optimal), which version of Windows should I use (if it matters)?

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Syke
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April 13, 2011, 05:30:52 PM
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I threw Win7/32bit on my box and it is slow as a dog. I hope 64bit is better.

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Littleshop
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April 13, 2011, 09:45:22 PM
 #9

I have both windows 7 64 bit machines and windows xp 32 bit machines.  The 5870's do the same in both machines, 330k at 900mhz clock.  I use the latest stream as I could NOT get 2.1 to work. 

The windows 7 64 bit machines run smooth an can be used for something else, the XP machines feel doggy but produce the same hash rates.  If you are not using it other then mining it does not seem to matter.


jks007
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April 15, 2011, 08:10:16 PM
 #10

I'm running a 6990 + 2 6950(unlocked) in Ubuntu 10.04 just fine with 11.3....
yomi
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April 15, 2011, 10:31:15 PM
 #11

I'm running a 6990 + 2 6950(unlocked) in Ubuntu 10.04 just fine with 11.3....

How did you unlock the 6950? Did you do it in ubuntu or in Windows?

(I have a 5850 I would like to unlock too)

Thanks!
rezin777
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April 15, 2011, 10:33:32 PM
 #12

I'm running a 6990 + 2 6950(unlocked) in Ubuntu 10.04 just fine with 11.3....

How did you unlock the 6950? Did you do it in ubuntu or in Windows?

(I have a 5850 I would like to unlock too)

Thanks!

There are overclocking programs out there to unlock the 6950. Afterburner may be one of them (I'm not sure, I don't own a 6950). You can not unlock a 5850 to equal a 5870.
Syke
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April 16, 2011, 07:05:09 AM
 #13

I'm running a 6990 + 2 6950(unlocked) in Ubuntu 10.04 just fine with 11.3....
What's the hashrate on the 6990, and which miner?

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jks007
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April 16, 2011, 09:10:24 AM
 #14

I'm running a 6990 + 2 6950(unlocked) in Ubuntu 10.04 just fine with 11.3....

How did you unlock the 6950? Did you do it in ubuntu or in Windows?

(I have a 5850 I would like to unlock too)

Thanks!

6950 reference is pretty easy to unlock with atiwinflash + the RBE tool (takes about 5mins), I did it under windows, just get the bios image using atiwinflash, load it up with the RBE, go to the additional features tab where you then select unlock 6970 shaders, load it back on on the 6950 with atiwinflash(unlock bios if you have to) restart , done.

I assume you mean 6950, as I dont have experience with 5850.

jks007
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April 16, 2011, 09:49:10 AM
 #15

I'm running a 6990 + 2 6950(unlocked) in Ubuntu 10.04 just fine with 11.3....
What's the hashrate on the 6990, and which miner?

I'm using poclbm and getting a hash rate of 310 Mhash on the 6990 with the bios in default setting, on the unlocked 6970 I get around 320 Mhash.
I've used this guide by roulo http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3359.msg47174#msg47174
And then continuing with this guide by humble http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3356.msg47489#msg47489

I used 11.3 Catalyst (latest available) with the latest APP for linux available.
Disabled autoupdates through update manager (after finishing installation) (caused problems after an autoupdate)

in order to overclock/underclock the memory I used AMDOverdriveCtrl
http://sourceforge.net/projects/amdovdrvctrl/

launched 1 for each gpu using (AMDOverdrive ctril -i <adapter num given by the --help flag>) in the bash.

My only gripe is that on a seperate (everyday usage) rig my other 6970 gets 345 Mhash @ 900Mhz on windows where I can push it further (than 840Mhz  on linux) with MSI Afterburner, and lower mem clock lower than 725Mhz (linux).

So if I can sort out the little problems in windows or get hold of a nice alternative mining software, I'm pretty sure my hashing rate would go up.



proudhon
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April 18, 2011, 03:23:33 PM
 #16

I just discovered bitcoin via a philosophy podcast (of all places).  I love the idea of a decentralized form of money!  I happen to have a 6990 that I can employ in mining 24/7 and I'm just wondering if somebody can help me assess how many bitcoins per month this would yield.

Bitcoin Fact: the price of bitcoin will not be greater than $70k for more than 25 consecutive days at any point in the rest of recorded human history.
bitjet
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April 20, 2011, 04:09:56 AM
 #17

I just discovered bitcoin via a philosophy podcast (of all places).  I love the idea of a decentralized form of money!  I happen to have a 6990 that I can employ in mining 24/7 and I'm just wondering if somebody can help me assess how many bitcoins per month this would yield.

depends on the level of difficulty. currently you could probably expect 6-9btc per day from a single 6990 mining in a pool.
proudhon
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April 20, 2011, 05:44:56 AM
 #18

I'm getting between 450 and 500 mhash/s with my single 6990 in W7x64 with the latest Catalyst drivers and the latest AMD SDK and using poclbm-gui.  Anyone have any tips on how to improve my hashrate?  Should I have added anything to the 'Extra flags' box of poclbm-gui?

I don't know if I'm doing this right, but in poclbm-gui I have two tabs open - one for each gpu of the 6990.  Each gpu is mining with deepbit.  Is there a way to just have tab, but have that tab using both gpus?

Bitcoin Fact: the price of bitcoin will not be greater than $70k for more than 25 consecutive days at any point in the rest of recorded human history.
bitminer
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April 20, 2011, 06:22:43 AM
 #19

I don't know if I'm doing this right, but in poclbm-gui I have two tabs open - one for each gpu of the 6990.  Each gpu is mining with deepbit.  Is there a way to just have tab, but have that tab using both gpus?

No, you have to open 2 tabs.
proudhon
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April 20, 2011, 06:26:50 AM
 #20

I don't know if I'm doing this right, but in poclbm-gui I have two tabs open - one for each gpu of the 6990.  Each gpu is mining with deepbit.  Is there a way to just have tab, but have that tab using both gpus?

No, you have to open 2 tabs.

Ok, thanks.

Bitcoin Fact: the price of bitcoin will not be greater than $70k for more than 25 consecutive days at any point in the rest of recorded human history.
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