What is the best video card to buy, AMD 7970, NVIDA etc?

tuppydog

tuppydog

Active member
Just trying to get some generalized opinions on what you guys think the best overall GPU card is. Also, if you could comment on how easy it is to setup, that would also be very helpful. I just ordered a used AMD 7970, and I would like to purchase a lot more if I can get my rigs up and running properly. I had heard that there were Chinese "knockoff's" under different brand names, anyone hear of this before? Anyway, thanks for any answers.
 
I like the AMD Cards... They are solid and perform well, plus they are easy to setup and tweak. You can also find a lot of support for them through software like PIMP and others.

I am especially fond of the older AMD Sapphire 7950/7970 cards. These cards have established themselves as great GPU's for crypto currency mining. I myself use them on several rigs that I own and all I can say is that they perform and never have any issues. I have several rigs that I originally built for litecoin that I re-purposed and switched to darkcoin rigs several months ago (10 months now).

My recommendation is to watch ebay or other auction sites and pick up used GPU's. You can save a lot of money that way, then use the money you saved to build out stand alone mining rigs (CPU, MB, RAM, GPU, etc...). Then install PIMP and you'll be up and running in no time. Put the rig in the corner and forget about it, You'll be amazed how many coins these rigs can mine for you over time!

As you can afford it, add GPU's to existing rigs or build out new rigs. Eventually you'll have your own little mining farm!

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You can't go wrong following this path... GPU's, with the right software can mine any and all crypto currencies that come along. Don't get enticed to mine faster with ASIC machines. They are expensive and you'll loose more than you will ever make on them.

Just my opinion... Goood luck!
 
ourlink, what is the motherboard you are using there, is this an MSI? Also, what is your mining software for this?
 
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First post.

I've been running 4 non OC 750ti's for pretty close to a year seems like. Had to change out a power supply a few months back, but that can be expected.

I've had it on several different algos over that time. Had alot of fun 'back in the day' jumping on ninja launches. Now it just sits on x11. I never touch it unless there's an update. Other than that, it...just...runs. Heat and sound are nil.

I don't really compare others hashrates much anymore. My 4 cards are currently running @ 11.9 and +/- 290W.
 
Cool, I'm still waiting for all my parts to come in. I've just tested out on my pitiful laptop vid card, everything works good, sort of a learning curve for me for this whole process (mining), but it's a lot of fun I think...
 
Mining is alot of fun. If you go into it with that mindset you'll have a blast. Keep in mind you'll probably not see much of a return on your investment, but you're keeping things alive and helping to hold the system together. There's some pride that comes with this that many seem to miss.

Keep an eye out for some miners that may be selling their rigs and parts in your own locale. Sometimes you can find some deals and some really interesting configurations.

Soon you'll be able to hop pools and algos literately within seconds if the need is there. The geniuses behind the scenes are always improving the hashability and power consumption. I'd have to think and look back at some notes but I'd bet that since I first got my rig going the updates have increased my hash probably 100 -150% or better.

I finally ordered my 5th card which is something I should have done long ago. I look forward to throwing that one in. Ya. Fun stuff.
 
I hear you man, I just got two different types of rigs going, one was an "economical setup" and one was an expensive one (expensive board, bad mistake). I only have one GPU card per machine;, one different type in each rig), and they both hash about the same, but just on one pool right now. Waiting on 8 GPUs now, itching to get those in the rigs, It is total addiction, I was thinking that the pay off could come if you hold onto the shares, and potentially if the stock goes up sell half, keep the rest ...etc... Learning curves on ubuntu was/is tough for me too, as i'm more of an electrical guy, want to keep it simple...
 
I've seen discussions on bitcointalk.org regarding efficiency of X11 mining and I remember conclusion was that there was no significant difference in efficiency between Nvidia Ti cards and AMD Tahiti/Hawaii cards: kH/J numbers on both sides were about 40-44.

But there is one significant difference in that AMD cards can deliver much higher hash rate than NVidia therefore improve the overall efficiency of the rig. According to my tests it's possible to deliver 55-58 MH/s in one rig with 3x AMD 295X2 and NVidia does not come close to that.

The other thing is that, as OP suggested, there are ex LTC rigs on the market which are sold at very low prices, and in that case kH/$ number for AMD may be quite larger than NVidia.

Having said all that I think making decent ROI whatever option you take will still be a challenge. Especially if your power is not extremely low in price.
 
I know it, that is the real kicker. The design of the system as a whole, using the most efficient power supply is one key. The hardest part is deciding on whether to use a faster type GPU power hog, vs. a lower hasher GPU with lower wattage. I believe that eventually, GPU manufacturers will come out more hashing capability and lower power requirements, kind of what brainape was saying, so I think it's great to just keep hashing away even though i'm loosing cash, but learning a lot. I have been looking into the http://www.parallella.org/ site, keeping tabs on some of these 'mini' computers, and there was another manufacturer I'll have to dig up i've been doing research on, that (mostly FPGA type processors). My ideal rig would just be small, simple, low power, everyone's dream LOL. But until then, I'll be buying used junk off ebay, and try to improve on every new system I'm making.....
 
Tuppydog, lower power usage and higher speeds follow Moore's law exactly (double every 18-24 months), hence the hash rate in 18 months at current price levels can be predicted with some level of accuracy. If computing power doubles every 18 months then expect the hash rate to also double, and predict your yield per (now) 18 month old card will be half what it is currently.
Atomic scale physics is coming into play and may bend the straight line prediction, although some have been predicting the end of Moores law for a number of years now,
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/427891/moores-law-over-supercomputing-in-triage-says-expert/
new technologies seem to keep coming along in order to support it perfectly such as multi core pocessors.
 
Interesting, I have been following some of what Ray Kurzweil has stated over the years about technology/bio advancements, and the "Singularity" that could come once the speed of technology gets to an exponential rate, and so far Moores law seems to be on track in not only electronics/robotics, but bio advancements. Sorry I know this is deep LOL....
 
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