1. My mobo only have 1x pci-e x16. I learned that i can use other pci slots to connect graphic cards. can someone explain this better to me? I won't need to have a screen, will use remote access.
2. If i buy the 5970, can i couple it with the 5850 in the same board using that method of using another pci adapter?
3. As for mining, will they be independent? i mean, i thought that to use 2 cards, they would have to be the same, and be connected. Sli, Crossfire nad such... or mining as nothing to do with this?
4. If i decide to get more hardware, the 5970 or a 5870, i'll need to upgrade my PSU. I have now a 550w for the 5850. What kind of PSU can run both the 5850 and the 5970? If it's possible of course. I was thinking 850w, is this enough?
5. I will use ubuntu x86 for the rig, probably in a hdd. Is there a better distro or ubuntu does fine?
6. Is it too ambitious to estimate to get 1.1GH/s with both cards? 350MH/s with the 5850 and 750MH/s with the 5970?
7. i estimate to break even in about 4 months, at current difficulty and BTC/€ rate, if i can get >= 1Gh/s. What do you think? Is it worht it? As BFL release date for ASICs, FPGA beeing a bigger investment (as i will have free power), rewards halving by december...
I hope that this is not too much boring...
Thanks in advance.
1. Yes you can use Pci-e 4x and 1x slots, iwe seen ppl cutting some plastic ( DO AT YOUR OWN RISK ) from the end of the pci-e slot so the card fits.
But the best way is to buy a Pci-E 1x to 16x extender that way you dont need to do any permanent changes to your motherboard, check this forum or ebay for ppl that sell them.
2. Yes aslong as ther Pci-e 1x or Pci-e 4x or Pci-e 8x.
3. Yeah ther used as individual cards and the hashing power does not count as 1 so most common is that you need to start once instance of your prefered mining software per card or gpu ( 5970 got two GPU's so it's like two cards )
4. Your using the same setup as i got in one of my rigs, i bought a 80plus certified PSU since power usage is of importance for me but dont buy the cheepest psu you can find since some are only 800Watt "Peek" and that means they can deliver 800Watts but not constantly, go for one of the known brands and not a brand you never herd about.
I bought a Corsair TX850 V2 since i did not want to risk getting one that did not deliver enuff power coz then it's just waste of money.
5. Well Ubuntu is easy to start with but if you want the most easy way then check BAMT, all you need is a 2gb usb flash drive and a few minutes of your time.
Let's just say Ubuntu is a branshoff from debian, and BAMT is made with debian too so they are werry simular.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=65915.06. Without any overclocking with my 5870 and my 5970 i get 1040Mhash/s in bamt.
7. Yeah you could, since as i understand it you dont have any electricity to pay for... i do wich is around half of the bitcoins you earn goes to the power company.
FPGA's are only worth it if power usage is an factor... if you dont pay for the electrisity you use then GPU's are cheeper to get started with... while FPGA's are more long term investment
Oh and dont forget the difficulty lvl can change and the worth of 1bitcoin could change so your 4months could turn into more if your unlucky... so it's never 100%.
