Mining Rig Help :D --> Pentium Dual Core System + 7870 or higher.

[big_blob_bobby_boop]

Hi everyone.

I am new to real mining situations and mining rig builds, and would love some guidance. I have a few old systems:

1. Pentium dual core system.

2. 2x Pentium D (I think 820) systems.

I believe the dual core is the best one I have. They have old PSUs and probably need new HDDs.

All I would like to know at the moment is: Will they work with AMD 7870 + GPUs?

Thanks!

 

[stevenwiner]

Probably not. You need PCIe slots for the GPU's. I am sure those old systems still used AGP for the graphics and (subject to correction if anyone is wiser on this topic than me) I am pretty sure you need at least PCIe X4 if you are using a full length PCIe slot for your GPU. I would recommend at least a genuine 500Watt power supply for a rig running a single 7870. The 7870 draws 200 Watts on its own and when mining you are running the power supply hard 24/7. You also need a chassis with very good airflow unless you are planning on an open-air setup.
You may also have issues with such old systems with the BIOS and support for newer GPU drivers.
As for the harddrives, those actually matter the least for a mining rig, so anything big enough to run your OS is fine.
You mention GPUs in your post. Of course if you are planning on running multiple GPUs, the power supply needs to be at least an extra 200W genuine continuous power per extra GPU and the motherboard must support the extra GPUs.

If you let us know what the exact model number and revision of the motherboards and CPUs plus what RAM you are running, plus what make and model of PSU (although if they are as old as the rest of the system you should get new ones anyway), maybe we can help you.

 

[big_blob_bobby_boop]

Probably not. You need PCIe slots for the GPU's. I am sure those old systems still used AGP for the graphics and (subject to correction if anyone is wiser on this topic than me) I am pretty sure you need at least PCIe X4 if you are using a full length PCIe slot for your GPU. I would recommend at least a genuine 500Watt power supply for a rig running a single 7870. The 7870 draws 200 Watts on its own and when mining you are running the power supply hard 24/7. You also need a chassis with very good airflow unless you are planning on an open-air setup.
You may also have issues with such old systems with the BIOS and support for newer GPU drivers.
As for the harddrives, those actually matter the least for a mining rig, so anything big enough to run your OS is fine.
You mention GPUs in your post. Of course if you are planning on running multiple GPUs, the power supply needs to be at least an extra 200W genuine continuous power per extra GPU and the motherboard must support the extra GPUs.

If you let us know what the exact model number and revision of the motherboards and CPUs plus what RAM you are running, plus what make and model of PSU (although if they are as old as the rest of the system you should get new ones anyway), maybe we can help you.

Thanks for the reply. I will check on the exact models of the parts. I do believe the board has a PCI-E gen 2 (Not sure what "X" it is)? I will be investing in some new parts, maybe a new rig. What cheap parts do you recommend for pure mining (With options to add GPUs)?

 

[stevenwiner]

The CPU and harddrive are the least important. You can mine with a Celeron CPU and whatever harddrive is big enough to run the operating system. You don't even need a harddrive of you run Linux, you can run it off a USB flash drive.
Memory is recommended to be bigger than the size of your harddrive memory.
The most important parts are the GPU/GPUs, the motherboard must be able to support the number of GPUs you plan on running and the Power Supply must be more than what you think you need.

A good place to start would be a Celeron or Core 2 Duo based 775 system with 2 MB of RAM and a PCIe slot.
A GPU like a 6850, 6950, 6970, R9-270 are all available second hand for under R2000 if you know where to look.
I have seen a decent Core 2 Duo motherboard, CPU and 2 MB RAM with a single PCI-e slot for R800 on Carbonite, and I have picked up a good quality 600W power supply for R400 recently.
I bought a 250GB harddrive here for R200 a couple months ago.
A couple of 120mm fans in a basic generic chassis and you have a mining rig for under R3000.

A HD6950 will get 430 kh/s which I bought recently for R1500 on Carbonite and that would be good for a profit after electricity of around R600 at today's rates.

Good luck

 

[big_blob_bobby_boop]

The CPU and harddrive are the least important. You can mine with a Celeron CPU and whatever harddrive is big enough to run the operating system. You don't even need a harddrive of you run Linux, you can run it off a USB flash drive.
Memory is recommended to be bigger than the size of your harddrive memory.
The most important parts are the GPU/GPUs, the motherboard must be able to support the number of GPUs you plan on running and the Power Supply must be more than what you think you need.

A good place to start would be a Celeron or Core 2 Duo based 775 system with 2 MB of RAM and a PCIe slot.
A GPU like a 6850, 6950, 6970, R9-270 are all available second hand for under R2000 if you know where to look.
I have seen a decent Core 2 Duo motherboard, CPU and 2 MB RAM with a single PCI-e slot for R800 on Carbonite, and I have picked up a good quality 600W power supply for R400 recently.
I bought a 250GB harddrive here for R200 a couple months ago.
A couple of 120mm fans in a basic generic chassis and you have a mining rig for under R3000.

A HD6950 will get 430 kh/s which I bought recently for R1500 on Carbonite and that would be good for a profit after electricity of around R600 at today's rates.

Good luck

Thanks so much for the help. Can I ask R600 by when . Lucky me! I have a pentium dual core LGA 775 system, with 2GB RAM. I'll wipe my HDD (Unless it is too slow, then I'll use a flash drive). Im getting one of those GPUs already. Probably 78** or 2x 5870s. Then all I need is a PSU. Does that sound about right?

Sent like a Rootworm baus (Using Tapatalk)

 

[stevenwiner]

Oh, sorry, my bad. That would be around R600 per month. for a HD 6950.
It will be much more profit for a 78** or 2x 5870. I assume your motherboard supports 2x 5870s.
A 600W PSU would be fine for a 78**, but I would recommend a 700W or higher for 2x 5870s. Each one draws around 190Watts.
2x 5870's would get you around 800Kh/s and that would be worth around R1000 per month profit after electricity cost.
Please remember that 2x 5870's need much more cooling than just a single card when mining.

 

[stevenwiner]

I'll wipe my HDD (Unless it is too slow, then I'll use a flash drive)

Hard drive speed has no impact on mining at all.
Using a flash drive with Linux will help your system cost a bit less, and keep a bit cooler.

 

[big_blob_bobby_boop]

Hard drive speed has no impact on mining at all.
Using a flash drive with Linux will help your system cost a bit less, and keep a bit cooler.

I suppose I might use it as a lan PC. Can you mine on steam OS(Can't put steam OS on non 64bit CPU). I'll give some more information once I have the parts.

Sent like a Rootworm baus (Using Tapatalk)

 

[big_blob_bobby_boop]

I am pleasantly pleased to say I have it running. I have Windows 8 and Ubuntu dual booting from an old 80GB Seagate. The motherboard has a PCI-E 16x and 1x. This is great as I can run two cards I believe ( with a riser). It also has 2 PCI slots. Check the motherboard model for more information.

Specs:
CPU :Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200
MTB: Gigabyte G31M-S2L
RAM: 2x1 GB
PSU: Gigabyte 300W @ Continuous and 360 @ Peak.

Anything else?


Sent like a Rootworm baus (Using Tapatalk)

 

[Pansyfaust]

I am pleasantly pleased to say I have it running. I have Windows 8 and Ubuntu dual booting from an old 80GB Seagate. The motherboard has a PCI-E 16x and 1x. This is great as I can run two cards I believe ( with a riser). It also has 2 PCI slots. Check the motherboard model for more information.

Specs:
CPU :Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200
MTB: Gigabyte G31M-S2L
RAM: 2x1 GB
PSU: Gigabyte 300W @ Continuous and 360 @ Peak.

Anything else?


Sent like a Rootworm baus (Using Tapatalk)

Seems like you are asking for that PSU to commit suicide and take the rest of your PC with it. 300w will not be sufficient for mining with a 7870 bud.

 

[big_blob_bobby_boop]

Seems like you are asking for that PSU to commit suicide and take the rest of your PC with it. 300w will not be sufficient for mining with a 7870 bud.

No lol. I said I'm going to replace it . I'm also going to be running 2x 6870s. Does anyone know where I can get a 1x to 16x riser?

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