Quote from: dmurph on May 31, 2011, 01:44:09 AM

Quote from: SchizophrenicX on May 31, 2011, 01:17:57 AM

If the issue is with the insurance, try to get more GPU from the insurance and then use cash to buy the MOBO of ur choice
GD70 is what one of my rigs is using. It's got 5 PCIe slots.

Consider this option.
- GD70 (5 PCIe slot) $195
- 1000W/1200 PSU (support 5x5850) $80/$200
- CPU of your choice $270
- HDD of ur choice (If theres a need)
- Casing of ur choice $160
- RAM (1 GB + What u want to use) $12+(?)
- a few other GPU from the balance of $1,800

Piece together a dedicated mining rig using the GD70+Sempron 140 [Purchase ur own], 2 GB RAM, PSU & GPU + Ubuntu/Linux on Thumbdrive (4 GB) [For 5 GPU get 2 PCIe Extender for $9]

As for your own computer. U still have Casing, CPU of ur choice, RAM, HDD & GPU (Assuming you got 3 or more from the insurance). All you need to buy is MOBO and PSU.

You'll get at least 2.5 Ghash/s with a working computer of ur liking + dedicated rig (naked or cheap casing). (total around 5~7 GPU) With a bit more investment.

This sounds great, thanks so much for the info! Yeah this computer is completely dedicated to mining. I have a couple followup questions:

How much power might this draw? What should I do to the appt I'm in to make sure I'm not gonna blow things up?
Will 5x5850's fit in the altec 1200 case? Any tips on what will hold all of this?
Do i need to crossfire anything? or can i just specify the gpu on 5 different miners?

Quote from: grue on May 31, 2011, 01:10:33 AM

don't buy that expensive motherboard. just get a cheap one, and use risers/extenders to utilize all the pci-e x1 slots. Also, you're wasting money with your i7, just get a AMD motherboard + cheapest CPU.

Everything i said above only applies to a dedicated miner, if you're using this for gaming, this build looks decent.

Yeah good point, thanks.

Quote from: Genrobo on May 31, 2011, 01:11:51 AM

How does this insurance work?
You don't get to keep the full $1800?

From what I've read that MSI board should handle quad crossfire at x8 speeds.

Yeah, it has to be a replacement of same value (which I'm claiming at $1800), so I'm pretty sure I can't swing multiple computers. Plus I don't have that much room/power Wink

I'm not sure how much power. I think I've read somewhere when Overclock the 5850 draws around 200 W. But recently I read you could run 4 of them off a 850 W. I'm not sure how much does the MOBO+CPU draws either. So I'm going with 1000W~1200W if 5x5850.

You don't need xFire to mine. Specify different miners to each GPU just like you said.

And with regards to the casing I think it'll be better to just go with no casing if you're intending to go 5xGPU since heat is going to be a real problem. Take a look at the "Show off your mining rigs" thread somewhere, you'll get an idea about casing, placement and etc.

I took the liberty to link to (see in quote) newegg to give a rough estimate of the prices, your insurance and additional investments

1000W PSU - $195 + $80 + $270 + $160 + $12 + RAM for your gaming rig = $717 + RAM
1200W PSU - + $120 = $837 + RAM

Balance from insurance should be close to $800~$1000, enough to get 4~5 GPU example (2x6970+2x5850)-(2x320)+(2x150)=$960
All these are just from ur insurance. You'd still need to buy a Sempron 140 ($38) for your mining rig, a 2/4 GB Thumbdrive ($6)(Linux) + MOBO for your gaming rig + PSU ($70) for your gaming rig [optional + HDD + OS if you need] (If you got more than 6 GPU then get PCIe extender

(PSU and MOBO assume 2x6970 xFire, 4 RAM slots for option and Cheapest Investment ~~since if anything fails you could swap the GD70~~ for ur gaming rig)

This config gives you
1 Dedicated Mining Rig @ 4x5850 = 1.3~1.4 Ghash/s
1 Gaming/Dedicated Rig @ 2x6970 = 800 Mhash/s
Total = 2.1~2.2 Ghash/s

Insurance Cover $1,800
Additional Investment ($38+$6+$70[+HDD+OS]) = $114

This should be all you need. Just tweak a little to your liking. I forgot US still sells 1GB RAM and changed the 2GB to 1GB. Remember the PCIe Extender if you get 5 GPU from ur Insurance

EDIT: I forgot you wanted i7 in that case you can't use GD70 for ur gaming rig. Reconsider some of the config. This is to give you an idea.