April 18th, 2013 
CryptoBadger 
One of my finished plastic-crate mining rigs.
So you’re interested in mining cryptocurrency, but you’re not sure where to start? No problem, this guide is all you need to set up your own headless litecoin mining rig—even if you have absolutely no experience with this sort of thing.
First, let’s get the obvious question out of the way: why litecoins? After all, bitcoins are worth more, right? The simple answer is that at the time of this writing, litecoins are currently the most profitable cryptocurrency to mine when you take into account how much each coin is worth, and the time required to mine one. Rest assured that if the situation changes, and another cryptocurrency suddenly surpasses litecoin as the best mining option, the rig outlined in the guide should have no problem switching over to a new coin.
This guide will be broken into several parts, each focusing on a different aspect of building your first mining rig. First, let’s take a look at what you’ll need in terms of hardware to put a respectable miner together.
Build your own Litecoin Mining Rig, part 1: Hardware
4/06/2017: This guide is roughly three years old. Please don’t attempt to buy any of the hardware recommended here—it’s quite obsolete! If you’re looking for information about modern GPU mining, please click here for my updated 2017 guide on mining Ethereum.
Here is the list of hardware that I recommend:
| Motherboard | ASRock 970 Extreme4 |
$98 |
| Processor | AMD Sempron 145 |
$38 |
| Memory | 4GB G.SKILL DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB) |
$46 |
| Power Supply | Seasonic 860w Platinum PSU |
$199 |
| GPUs | 3 x MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 (Twin Frozr) |
$319 each |
| (optional) | 3 x PCI-E riser cable | $5 each |
| (for dummy plugs) | 68 ohm 1/2 watt resistors | $3 |
Update 11/26/2013: The Radeon 7950 video cards are sold out pretty much everywhere. They’re still the best option for mining if you can find them, but if you can’t, then the new Radeon R9 280X cards are likely your best option. They do consume a fair bit more power though, so you”ll want to upgrade your power supply as well (this 1250w Seasonic should support three 280X GPUs without problems). As for brands, I recommend these Sapphire, Gigabyte, and MSI 280X cards for now. I’ll be updating the rest of my guide at some point in the near future with optimal settings for the 280X, so stay tuned.
Update 12/01/2013: If you’re trying to put a rig together, you’ve probably noticed that the above video cards have become nearly impossible to find. I’ve received a few messages from folks that are having some good results using the R9 290 cards, although they’re a fair bit more expensive than the 280X. If you’re itching to build a rig ASAP and can’t find a 7950 or 280X, then you might consider the 290. It looks like all of the current 290 cards are using AMD’s reference cooling design at the moment, so brand probably doesn’t matter too much. Although given a choice, you usually can’t go wrong with Sapphire, Gigabyte, and MSI. Again, remember to pick up a fairly powerful PSU if you’re going to run 3 of these in a rig.
You will also need a USB stick (8GB or larger, this one is fine) if you’re using Linux as your OS, or a harddrive (a cheap SATA drive of any size will do) if you’re using Windows. I will cover setup on both Linux and Windows in the next sections of this guide, as well as the pros and cons of each.
The video cards may be difficult to find, as they’re popular and often sell out. You can substitute nearly any 7950-based GPU, but if you have a choice, go for the MSI or Sapphire cards. They’re not voltage-locked and will save you some electricity in the long run. I have the MSI card that I recommended in all of my rigs, but I’m told that this (and also this) Sapphire card is also a good choice.
The motherboard, CPU, and RAM are all relatively unimportant. The motherboard simply needs to have enough PCI-E slots to host your three GPUs (if the recommended board isn’t available, here is another, or if you can’t find either ASRock, this Gigabyte board is a good alternative). The CPU will essentially sit idle, as all of the actual mining is done by the GPUs. The Sempron 145 is an excellent choice here because it’s cheap and draws very little power (if the Sempron is unavailable, this one is also a fine choice). If you’re going with Linux, you can get away with even less than 4GB of RAM, but I’d stick to that as a realistic minimum on Windows.
The power supply is important, and you don’t want to skimp on it. The Seasonic that I’ve recommended is extremely solid and 93% efficient, which will help keep power consumption to a minimum. It’s also modular, which is really nice if you’re putting this together in a plastic crate like I recommend.
The PCI-E risers aren’t strictly necessary, as all 3 GPUs will fit on the motherboard without them. However, airflow will be extremely limited due to the close proximity of the cards, and I really don’t recommend setting them up that way long-term. The riser cables allow you to position the GPUs off of the motherboard in a more spaced-out fashion. I dropped the temperature of my GPUs by nearly 10 degrees Celcius by simply using risers to separate them. Availability and pricing on Amazon is constantly changing, so check eBay if you can’t find them.
Important: you may also need to create dummy plugs for each of your GPUs. Some operating systems will idle video cards that do not have an active monitor connection, which will obviously kill your mining performance. Dummy plugs “trick” your OS into thinking a monitor is connected, thus preventing attached GPUs from being idled. You just need a few resistors ($1-2 at Radio Shack if they’re not available at Amazon) and these instructions to create your own plugs.
So you’ve got nearly $1400 worth of hardware, but no place to put it, as I haven’t mentioned a case. I highly recommend against trying to cram 3 GPUs into a conventional PC case. A plastic crate or two works far better due to the tremendous heat that the video cards will give off. Added bonus: they’re cheap!
Here is what you’ll need to create a simple DIY plastic crate housing for your miner:
Plastic Crate (get 2 if you want a place for your PSU) |
$5 each |
| Plastic stand-offs | $4 |
| 6 x #4 3/8″ wood or metal screws | $1 |
| Brace to rest GPUs on (I used two of these) | $4 |
| a few cable ties (8″ or so) | $2 |
| power switch & LED (optional) | $6 |
You can get plastic crates in most home improvement stores if you don’t want to ship it from Amazon. I picked mine up at Lowe’s for under $5 each. You should be able to get everything else on the list at Lowe’s if you happen to have one near you, too. As far as tools go, you’ll need a drill and a knife capable of cutting into whatever plastic crate you buy.
Assembly Steps:
First, attach your CPU & heatsink/fan to your motherboard, and place your RAM into the memory slot(s). Then follow the general steps below to mount everything into your plastic crate.
Click the images for a close-up look at each step.
Place plastic standoffs on the bottom of your plastic crate, and rest your motherboard on top of them. Make sure that all of the essential ports are accessible (SATA, USB, keyboard, mouse, etc). Use your knife to cut away pieces of the crate if necessary so that all ports you plan to use are exposed. Then plug your riser cables into the PCI-E slots of your motherboard.
Place your brace (either the plastic guards that I recommended, or a cut yardstick, or whatever you have that works) so that it is sitting above the motherboard, high enough for your GPUs to rest on. Cut the brace so that an inch or two sticks out on either end of the crate.
Drill holes in your brace so that you can secure it with cable ties (see image). Do not simply rest the brace on the crate! An accidental bump can cause it to fall into the crate, along with ~$1000 worth of GPUs if you do that!
Connect each GPU to it’s corresponding riser cable, resting the bracket end on the lip of the crate and the other end on your brace.
Screw each GPU down into the lip of the crate. If you drill small pilot holes ahead of time (mark where to drill with a sharpie), this is much easier.
If you have a power switch and LED, mount them into one of the crate’s corners. I was pretty sloppy with mine, but it’s functional.
You’re done! Simply connect everything to your power supply and you should be ready to power your rig on for the first time. If you have a second crate, you can put your power supply in there (along with your harddrive if you’re using Windows), and stack it under your main crate to save some space.
In the next part of this guide, I’ll show you everything you need to do to start mining under Linux (and Windows will follow shortly after)!
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Can anyone tell me if the 7970 is any good?
Maybe a noob question, but when I plug in more than one GPU, I don’t get a signal to my monitor, I’ve tried all of the ports on all three cards… nothing. Any ideas?
i had a rig once that wouldn’t output through the video card because it lacked the required drivers. i had to hook my monitor up to the onboard card (most mobos have at least one VGA output), then downloaded the drivers associated with the card i was using, and THEN i rebooted and was able to actually use my GPU.
Dude, this rig would take you way too long to mine just one litecoin to be be worth the costs. NPV = -0 guys.
… you didn’t actually do any research before deciding to comment, did you? At the current mining difficulty and coin price, one of these rigs makes about $35 a day, after electricity costs:
http://dustcoin.com/mining
You’ll make the cost of the rig back in about a month, assuming you can get your hands on the video cards, which are pretty much all sold out now.
do i have to have 3 GPU’s? what if i just get one and throw it in a case? i know i’ll make less per day/month, but i just don’t have 1500 to throw down right now.
Many people start with 1 and eventually increase in numbers. I am building one soon. if interested, I will post pictures of every step and post up.
after some consideration i’ll probably throw in two cards. i looked and there’s really not a lot of cards available, so might as well get two if i can find a couple. i guess it will still cost me a grand at least to build it, if i can make that money back in two months i’m ok with that. i’ve been building gaming rigs for the last 15 years, just new to this whole mining business so wasn’t sure how that would work.
by the way, do you know if that would burn out my circuit breaker box under the load of two 290x’s? i’m no electrician, but if i have my AC running and a bunch of other stuff in the house, how would i find out if i’m good or not? any ideas? thanks!
I am not an electrician either but if you are in US, home building code requires separation of circuit breakers for each room. So if you connect the miner in a room with less electric load, it should be fine. On top of that, 2 GPUs are not going to be much at all in terms of electric load. I have gaming computer with 2 GPUs and I run fine with all lights and AC during summer.
cool, i wasn’t sure if the load goes per house or per room and whatnot. i have a rig with two cards (6870’s) but i obviously don’t run it at full load 24/7. i didn’t know what impact two 280x’s will have at full load running like that and if my main breaker would even handle that. thanks.
may be a noob question, but what sort of interface options do i have in terms of an operating system… Do i plug this into a monitor? straight into a laptop? if not into an existing computer, do i have to buy an operating system for it?
You don’t have to purchase operating system if you use Linux. I guess you can use “pirate version” of windows if you have to. =p
What do you think about the 7850 cards, pretty cheap. Specifically the PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 2GB. I can buy 3 of those right now, quick and easy. Thanks in advance for you reply.
a 7850 will get you around 350KH/s (https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison) which is half what a R9 280X will get you. I’d try looking for a R9 280x if you can’t find a 7950.
Yeah I’ve seen the hardware comparison website 1000 times. I have done all of the research and I know what components are available and what are not. I guess I should rephrase my question. Does anyone have personal xp with the 7850’s?
I am currently running a few 7850’s, specifically the gigabyte 2gb version. I get the 350KH/s out of all three of them… While the 280x that Rob recommends gets double the hash rate it is nearly triple the cost… Does not really compute when ROI is the bottom line.
Also, with the recent price hike on everything. Unless you can find yourself a 7950 for less than $300 the 7850 has the shortest break even time.
I think we are on the same level.
If you are only trying to make even with your equipment investment that yes lower cost GPUs are the way to go but to pump out more coins in same given time, you will need higher hashing. I put my system with 3 of R9 280X and it would take bit over a month to make even. After that! $$$ >=]
But then that’s my personal opinion. Happy mining!
Delso,
Do you have any watt power numbers for your rig, please mate?
I might be going for 3 of those as well but don’t think my Seasonic platinum 860W will handle it.
I’m still waiting for the other 2 risers to arrive. It will be here on Monday and by evening, I will post up on my blog. I just got the “Watt-O-Meter” thingy. I will plug that in and see how much power it consumes. I heard many saying that 860W isn’t going to be enough for running 3 of R9 280X. Probably, GPUs will take up most of power during start up… Well. Will see on Monday.
Here is my blog by the way.
http://delsol7.wordpress.com/
I’m using a 7850 right now. Even running at an intensity where I can still use my PC just fine (14), I’m getting at least 275KH/s while in-use, (cgminer reports 284, pool reports 319, right now) and possibly more like 350KH/s when I’m away. I just got into Litecoins a few days ago. I already had my hardware as it’s my personal computer. At the current exchange rate, I could buy a second 7850 in just over a month. (Google shows only ~$150) Also, while I’m not actually paying for electricity where I am, there would be very minimal losses to electric bills. Looking at cgminer, my GPU is at 73C and 33% fan speed. I could run it cooler and still get okay rates if I lower the intensity. Intensity 14 is about the max I can do without causing any noticeable impact in non-gaming use of my PC. (higher intensities offer diminishing increase in hashrate anyways)
*Profitability subject to change; you can be sure the exchange rate will be quite different by the end of the month, for better or worse.
For some of us its all about minimal risk, that was the name of the game for me.
I’m ready to get the criticism. But I am going to being running pretty cut rate either way. I believe I am going to be running at least at a small profit margin. So as soon as I get those cards I am going hard core with it. I’m going to at least pay off the hardware. Thanks!
Greetings!
I can get 3 of the powercolor hd7950 crypto mentioned and else would be the same as in this guide. Would the Seasonic psu 860w be enough for three of those, you think?
I bought all the stuff already for a setup with 3 cards which means I got psu for the recommended setup in this guide but if I go with 280x or 290x I can probably only have two cards and I would be better of trying to return the psu and get stronger one.
According to Cryptobadger, 7950s are fine with 850W.
For my set up, which is 3 of R9 280X, I did get 1250W PSU.
Thanks a lot, Delso.
which motherboard did you get for those? and ram? would a 160gb ssd be enough? thanks.
I have ASRock Extreme 4 and ram is just cheapest possible 4GB (2 x 2GB) ram. For me it happened to be Corsair from eBay for $27.
http://delsol7.wordpress.com/
More details there.
ah nice. thank you for that info. it also seems that all the gpu’s are pretty much out of stock everywhere. where did you find yours?
GPUs from newegg. They were restocked twice in last 2 days and went out of stock in matter of minutes. lol.
By the way, you don’t need to have SSD. LTC mining requires nothing but basic HD that will run OS. I am planning to use 40GB HD to run Win7.
the reason i asked about ssd is because i have one that i’m not currently using and don’t want to buy anything else. but i might just get like an 80gb hd since i might use the ssd eventually.
Well, if that’s the case. ^^d
In this great guide says:
Important: you may also need to create dummy plugs for each of your GPUs. Some operating systems will idle video cards that do not have an active monitor connection
When I use the following setup:
– ASRock 970 Extreme4
– 3x R9 290 Sapphire (2 x DVI)
– Windows 7 64x
Do I need dummy plugs?
If yes, do I need a dummy plus for each DVI connection?
Thank you.
From my understanding, you need a dummy plug for a GPU, not each plug.
I used the same setup as him, Vapor-X graphics cards and I needed dummy plugs for Xubuntu.
Just 1 dummy plug per card.
right now i have 1 monitor plugged into one card and 1 dummy plug into the other.
you can buy the 68 or 75 ohm resistors from parts express, buy extra.
Thank you for your quick reponse 🙂
Sapphire R9 290
Outputs:
– 2x DVD-D
– 1x HDMI
– 1x Displayport
So only 1 dummy for each GPU?
Another question, because it’s DVI-D I can’t find any adapters from DVI-D to VGA, can somebody help me?
Or are there other solutions, I don’t have 3 monitors with a DVI connection 🙁
Thank you
Each GPU should come with a DVI-to-VGA adapter. You only need the resistors.
Here is the link to DVI-D to VGA.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=dvi+to+vga+adapter&_sop=15&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR3.TRC2.A0.Xdvi-d+to+vga+adapter&_nkw=dvi-d+to+vga+adapter&_sacat=0
I’m waiting for hardware update on this tutorial. 😉
Just ordered some new parts for a new rig. Parts list:
– ASUS M5A99FX PRO
– Kingston 4GB DDR3 1600 (1 x 4GB)
– ADATA Value-Driven S102 Pro Effortless Upgrade 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive
– 2 x SAPPHIRE 100362BF4SR (R9 290)
– EVGA SuperNOVA 1300W PSU
– A used Athlon II CPU
This mobo should allow up to 5 cards to be run on it, using risers. I just bought two cards now due to budget constraints. I eventually intend on buying more cards. The 1300W PSU should handle up to 3 290’s + other devices. If I decide to upgrade to 5 cards on this rig in the future, I can just buy a smaller PSU for the two remaining cards. (i.e. Other parts + 3 cards on 1300W PSU and 2 cards on a smaller PSU) An add2psu should be able to make this idea work.
So far, this rig cost just under $1600. It appears that others with this card have been able to achieve upwards of 800kh/s. (Not really sure about this, seeing lots of different results) Does anyone have a better idea of what I can expect from these cards?
Just wanted to share my rig with everyone and see what you guys think of my parts selection.
I got Gigabyte R9 280X. I will update as soon as my Mobo arrives. Let’s match the numbers and compare.
Hi there quick question. Do i need to use similar cards for mining. i could get 2 7950 here right away, if id like to upgrade later on could i fit a 280x or something similar in the system? should be fine right?
These GPU’s are really hard to find!!
How about this one?
http://www.powercolor.com/global/products_features.asp?id=423
It’s the same chipset as the MSI HD Radeon 7990 I commented about previously, but I have found someone who has stock of these. I don’t see why it’d be any different to the MSI one tbh…
Thoughts?
From the hardware comparison list, 7990s pull above 1 MG/s. It looks like it will be quite expensive. I saw one of the 7990s and it costs close to $1000/GPU. If you got the cash to invest, I say why not. It would be good to know other models for comparison. Keep us updated if you decide to go.
Hi guys. What kind of hash can I expect out of this? I looked at the hardware comparison list, but still not sure.. I will be using win7, and 1 active monitor, do I still need the dummy plugs??
Thanks in advance.. Sorry guys I’m a noob.
Showing Quote Reference 622684
Case STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU) AMD A6-6400K Dual Core APU (4.1GHz) & Radeon™ HD 8470D Graphics
Motherboard ASUS® A88XM-PLUS: (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM) 4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card 3GB AMD RADEON™ HD7950 – DVI,HDMI,2 mDP – DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
2nd Graphics Card 3GB AMD RADEON™ HD7950 – DVI,HDMI,2 mDP – DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory – 1st Hard Disk 500GB 3.5″ SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk NONE
3rd Hard Disk NONE
4th Hard Disk NONE
RAID NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Somewhere around 1mhz-1.5mhz.
I have a 3 card setup with one active monitor. Windows & x64 only detected 2 cards. I made dummy plugs for both cards without monitors and then all 3 were detected. One thing I found out last night is if you are mining on a pool, you need to have the cards setup (cgminer or whatever config) correctly or your pool hashrate will be lower then what cgminer hashrate is because you submitting shares with incorrect values, which are rejected by the pool. In my case cgminer said 2oookhz and givemecoins said 100khz. I used some config values that someone posted and my pool hashrate is now equal to my cgminer hashrate – and I’m getting paid for all the shares I submit. Look for ‘HW’ in cgminer display. That is the number of hardware errors when hashing. You should have as little as possible. My HW went from over 4000 total to 0 when I started cgminer with correct config.
Thanks for the reply..
But If I only have 2 7950 then I will not need the dummy plug? Right?
It will take another 2 weeks at least for it to arrive. Will update as soon I get my hands on it. And start having loads of questions.. 😉
And for backup pool what the best now?
Any takes on p2pool?
What is everyone mining now? FTC, IFC, LTC?
Any suggestions?
I will be using 2 dummy plugs on 2 of GPUs out of 3. So, if are going to run more than 1 GPU, you will need dummy plug.
For the mining pool, I think it’s personal preference.
I am currently not mining but the equipment that I ordered are for LTC and BTC. Build process will be posted on my blog as soon as all the parts arrive.
http://delsol7.wordpress.com/
Hi there,
I must say, Thanks for the guide. I have a question for you and I hope you can answer this. I’m trying to buy 3 Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 I’m just wondering if this a good start. I am more than like to pick them up for 200 to 300 bucks for 3 used ones. Please let me know what you think. I am trying to go under 1000 bucks for my rig when I build them. Please and thank you.
According to https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison your GPU gets about 200~400 Kh/s depending on which GPU it is. All of us are on their own budget. So, there is no right GPU for every one. =]
Great guide. Excited to start in this new hobby.
I have 3 Gigabyte R9 290 GDDR5-4GB on the way.
However, the I ordered the PSU mentioned in the 12/1/2013 update above, but it is now back-ordered and I’m getting a refund. Now, I need to locate a PSU.
When I checked the specs on these GPUs it said that they draw 600W max. If I have 3, don’t I need 1800W PSU?
I’ve just now ordered a Corsair Professional Series AX 1200 Watt Digital ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS, but am wondering if this is enough. In anticipation of this problem, I also ordered this (http://www.add2psu.com/) that will allow me to add a 2nd PSU (I have a 400W lying around).
— Scott
Hi guys,
I have a question that probably applies to many folks.
Can I use my Windows 8 laptop monitor and keyboard to do an install for a MB w/ 3 R9 290s? I was planning on having the rig run on Linux via the Sandisk 8GB flashdrives. Is this even possible?
I guess I am wondering if I have to buy a monitor and keyboard to get my rig going vs. tapping into my laptop to view and send the commands.
Finally, is it recommended to have a monitor and keyboard always connected?
Thanks guys!
Iron
Author of this post wrote specific instruction about Linux running off of USB drive. Check it out.
This guide, if you read thoroughly, is intended to have rigs running remotely without monitors connected.
ahhhh, gotcha!!!! yes you are right, now I made the connection with the instructions…though I read them twice 🙁
Thank you for pointing out the obvious, but indeed it was helpful. Looking forward to this new hobby.
Thanks again.
Sure thing. Keep us updated with your progress. =]
Your monitor and keyboard will work fine on a linux rig. You can even test it by booting up the live CD to see if it detects you monitor and keyboard.
You can boot and run Linux from a SD card or USB stick, setup is pretty much the same, just google it for a guide.
You do not have to keep you monitor or keyboard connected all the time, assuming your keyboard is USB you can simple plug and unplug it at will. As for the monitor, unplugging might, as CB mentioned, cause your OS to idle down your video card once you unplug it so I would make a dummy connector following CB’s instructions.
You can ssh into your linux rig once you have it up and going to monitoring it or fire off commands.
I wouldn’t buy extras as long as you have the ability to plug/unplug them into your linux rig in case you needed to. Once you are more comfrontable with linux and ssh you will feel less dependent on the KB and monitor.
Wow! Thanks so much for the details
Your monitor and keyboard will work fine on a linux rig. You can even test it by booting up the live CD to see if it detects you monitor and keyboard.
You can boot and run Linux from a SD card or USB stick, setup is pretty much the same, just google it for a guide.
You do not have to keep you monitor or keyboard connected all the time, assuming your keyboard is USB you can simple plug and unplug it at will. As for the monitor, unplugging might, as CB mentioned, cause your OS to idle down your video card once you unplug it so I would make a dummy connector following CB’s instructions.
You can ssh into your linux rig once you have it up and going to monitoring it or fire off commands.
I wouldn’t buy extras as long as you have the ability to plug/unplug them into your linux rig in case you needed to. Once you are more comfrontable with linux and ssh you will feel less dependent on the KB and monitor.
Hi
If we have for example 2000kH/s in Litecoin mining, do we have 2000kH/s on mining others coin like FST (FastCoin) or others coin using scrypt?
Thanks
Yes,
but difficulty changes so mining at 2000kH/s for feathercoins will get you about 58FTC/day, however at 2000kH/s you would only mine .035BTC/day.
Does anyone know if this card is useable?
3GB AMD Radeon HD 7950 GDDR5 PCI Express x16 Graphics Card
Can I mix the 16X and 1X PCIE slots… I want to use 4 video cards all the same type and I was going to use powered 1X to 16X riser for 2 of the cards and 16X to 16X risers for 2 of them. Does this seem like a good idea?
Yes you can mix x1 with x16 and run more than 1 GPUs with risers.
Being an electrician I can answer some of the questions on how much power can be used on the circuits.
Here in the UK a standard 13A socket can take 3KW of power. We usually have the power circuits wired on ring mains fed from a 32A MCB. Or more likely in the US a radial circuit fed from a 16A/20A breaker.
So as long as you dont overload the circuit breaker you will be fine. You can work out the maximum power load using W(watts)=V(volts)xA(Amps)
So it doesn’t matter if i put a pcie 3.0 card in a 2.0 slot?
There seems to be such a split in opinion between “you hardly need any RAM” and “you need tons of RAM”. I’m all about mining scrypt, and have never seen a need for tons of RAM. Your (excellent) article would tend to agree…But I’m curious if you know why so many people seem to think you need loads?
In your opinion, is 4GB RAM still enough to run with 3xr9 290 (non X) reference cards, mainly for litecoin?
Thanks.
People get it mixed up, the video card does need a lot of Ram, like most 7950s have.
Start mining and look how much actual RAM your computer is using up – barely any.
Yep, that’s exactly what I’ve done before, and as you say, it hardly increases RAM usage at all….You may be correct that people are getting confused, but it was comments like “you must have 1GB of RAM for each TOTAL GB of VRAM you have” that’s always made me wonder whether there was any truth in it.
4gb is what I have, and is plenty.
if you plan on using it for anything other than mining, go for more
I’ve got all the gear now _except_ the PCI extenders, which I do want so that my MSI 7950’s don’t overheat.
Since this one is sold out:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B008BZBFTG/cptbr-20
What is a good alternative? I see lots of varieties of this around the web but I want to make sure it’s the same thing.
Tons of them on eBay sellers from China to US.
Would this be the same thing?
http://www.ameri-rack.com/ARC1-PEVX16A2-Cx_m.html