New PC - rough budget $1500

[marinkvasina]

Solved.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Why do you need 2x GPUs but a weak CPU and little RAM? Even if you were doing graphic intensive tasks like Photoshop or running CFD simulations, you will still need large amounts of RAM and a good CPU.

 

[St1ckM4n]

He's making a bitcoin miner.

OP, just get an i5 3470, H77 mobo, 850W good-quality PSU, 2x 4GB RAM sticks, and a case with good cooling and fan options.

This way you have a decent rig for gaming and general use also.

Alternatively, you can just shove the GPU's into any old rig that'll support them.

 

[Jad Chaar]

I seriously dont get what Bitcoin mining is. 1) Why do people do it? What is the point of it. 2) Is it only viable via GPU computing?

 

[St1ckM4n]

They do it for 'free' money. But you kinda have to make enough to pay for the electricity used, hardware purchased (or hardware wear-n-tear). Today, it's actually kinda hard to make money with OP's rig, if you pay for electricity.

There is no known point. You computer 'hashes', and get coins sometimes. It's like the folding@home initiative, only there is no known cause that you're helping...

GPU's are way better at floating point operations than CPU's. The brute-force hashing calculations required for bitcoins make GPU's the better choice for mining.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Interesting. Is it kind of like donating your computer to science by running programs that help out a central computer? You still have control of your PC, but when you arent using it, it helps with research and stuff lol. I never got that stuff.

 

[St1ckM4n]

Yeah pretty much. Folding@home breaks up a massive project, that is normally run on supercomputers, into small pieces that are run on personal computers (while idle). Your results then get sent back and combined with everyone else's results.

Bitcoin mining is kinda like that.. only.. you're just calculating random hashes and randomly getting coins for it.

 

[slh28]

The Asus DCUII takes up 3 slots and you need to be careful to choose a mobo which will accomodate 2 of them and give you sufficient bandwidth on the second slot.

I think you're better off just getting a normal dual slot card, they will all OC to pretty much the same levels (even the reference designs albeit they run a bit hot).

 

[Jad Chaar]

The Asus DCUII takes up 3 slots and you need to be careful to choose a mobo which will accomodate 2 of them and give you sufficient bandwidth on the second slot.

I think you're better off just getting a normal dual slot card, they will all OC to pretty much the same levels (even the reference designs albeit they run a bit hot).

He is making a bitcoin miner though, the more GPUs the better. OCing wont help much for that I dont think. marinkvasina I am not sure there are many H77 and B75 boards that support crossfire at x8 on each slot. I think you need a Z77, the ASUS P8Z77V-LK isnt much more expensive.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Whatever is the cheapest out of those I guess. I think the asrock is the cheapest. The Sabertooth and V Gene arent neccessary since you arent gaming really. The MPower may be another good option. The pro is also a good option but is a bit pricier than the Asrock. The Extreme 4 has the bandwidth to suit your needs so if that is the cheapest, go for that. Well, if you have an i5 2400, then you can get a Z68 motherboard and save yourself a few bucks. The CPU you have is an older generation. The Z77 supports it, but it cant take advantage of the new tech in it, so if you can find a Z68 motherboard available in your area, get that.

 

[St1ckM4n]

You planning on adding a third card to the mix? If not, a good 850W will do you.

 

[Jad Chaar]

No I won't be adding another one due to the price, and adding something weaker into 3way Crossfire is just gonna harm performance I assume.

You cant get 3 way SLI with the Z77s you chose.