Ethereum GPU mining?

[EightySix Four]

Looking to hop in the mining game (wish I wouldn't have sold my 290x now!), what's my best bang for the buck for a single card?

I've got the following cards in stock nearby:
ASUS 380 Strix - $179
Gigabyte 390 G1 - $275
MSI 390X - $339
Fury Nano - $509

Any thoughts? Tips for getting started - I notice a lot of undervolting, is the goal to lower the voltage and keep the stock clocks?

 

[3DVagabond]

I'm guessing that a lot of people are still trying to feel out whether or not this is a short term pump and dump before deciding to throw a bunch of hardware/cash at mining Ethereum. I suppose back in the early litecoin craze there were endless alt coins that popped up all the time that you could mine but right now investing in mining hardware might be risky since you only have a short period (between now and the summer) to mine Ethereum and make use of it.

GPU mining has always been like this. The risk/investment is fairly small though when you look at the possible reward. Especially since you can always sell your mining gear and get a good chunk of your investment back, worse case.

 

[Hitman928]

Looking to hop in the mining game (wish I wouldn't have sold my 290x now!), what's my best bang for the buck for a single card?

I've got the following cards in stock nearby:
ASUS 380 Strix - $179
Gigabyte 390 G1 - $275
MSI 390X - $339
Fury Nano - $509

Any thoughts? Tips for getting started - I notice a lot of undervolting, is the goal to lower the voltage and keep the stock clocks?

Nano will give you the highest hashrate but is obviously also the most expensive. I'd say the 390 is probably your best hash/$ card.

 

[Madpacket]

+1 for the 390.

 

[Madpacket]

FYI I kinda suck with Linux so I couldn't figure out how to get my 970 running optimally. Anyways I figured out something better (for now).

Windows 10 and I'm hitting good speeds without making any tweaks. I just had to install and older driver.

Driver version 3.47.52 http://imgur.com/ZM9EkXg

Woot this should put me well over 100 for now.

 

[metalliax]

Looking to hop in the mining game (wish I wouldn't have sold my 290x now!), what's my best bang for the buck for a single card?

I've got the following cards in stock nearby:
ASUS 380 Strix - $179
Gigabyte 390 G1 - $275
MSI 390X - $339
Fury Nano - $509

Any thoughts? Tips for getting started - I notice a lot of undervolting, is the goal to lower the voltage and keep the stock clocks?

If you're also going to use the GPU for gaming, I'd go 390 or Fury Nano. I bought a Fury Nano for mining, and when I'm not playing games, I have it undervolted, consuming less than 110W, and mining at > 20Mh/sec.

The 390 undervolted will consume around 175-185W and give you ~22Mh/sec.

I'm not sure about the other cards.

 

[hawtdawg]

FYI I kinda suck with Linux so I couldn't figure out how to get my 970 running optimally. Anyways I figured out something better (for now).

Windows 10 and I'm hitting good speeds without making any tweaks. I just had to install and older driver.

Driver version 3.47.52 http://imgur.com/ZM9EkXg

Woot this should put me well over 100 for now.

So this did the trick? I've been too lazy to switch to Linux. What version of the miner software are you running?

 

[Madpacket]

So this did the trick? I've been too lazy to switch to Linux. What version of the miner software are you running?

Yes it works fine except Windows update for some reason keeps updating the damn driver even after explicitly turning off updates. Gotta figure out how to stop it and then all should be fine.

I'm using Etherium 0.9.41 release.

 

[Madpacket]

If you're also going to use the GPU for gaming, I'd go 390 or Fury Nano. I bought a Fury Nano for mining, and when I'm not playing games, I have it undervolted, consuming less than 110W, and mining at > 20Mh/sec.

The 390 undervolted will consume around 175-185W and give you ~22Mh/sec.

I'm not sure about the other cards.

Not sure about other 390's but mine undervolted and slightly overclocked to 1100Mhz gives me ~30Mh and outperforms my Fury X from a power to performance perspective. I imagine this will change if the mining software is optimised for Fury/HBM though.

 

[MrTeal]

Nano will give you the highest hashrate but is obviously also the most expensive. I'd say the 390 is probably your best hash/$ card.

Or just buy used. The hashes don't care how new your card is.

 

[metalliax]

Not sure about other 390's but mine undervolted and slightly overclocked to 1100Mhz gives me ~30Mh and outperforms my Fury X from a power to performance perspective. I imagine this will change if the mining software is optimised for Fury/HBM though.

I'm sorry I was referring to undrevolted, underclocked, and power limit set at ~ - 45-50%. This in order to get the most efficient mining (especially in California where electricity costs > 30c/kwh)

 

[EightySix Four]

I'm sorry I was referring to undrevolted, underclocked, and power limit set at ~ - 45-50%. This in order to get the most efficient mining (especially in California where electricity costs > 30c/kwh)

Wow, I'm paying ~2c/kwh.

 

[hawtdawg]

Yes it works fine except Windows update for some reason keeps updating the damn driver even after explicitly turning off updates. Gotta figure out how to stop it and then all should be fine.

I'm using Etherium 0.9.41 release.

I used this method. Though I have W10 Pro, so it might not work for you.

 

[thilanliyan]

If you're also going to use the GPU for gaming, I'd go 390 or Fury Nano. I bought a Fury Nano for mining, and when I'm not playing games, I have it undervolted, consuming less than 110W, and mining at > 20Mh/sec.

What are you using to undervolt? How are you measuring the wattage?

 

[metalliax]

What are you using to undervolt? How are you measuring the wattage?

I am using MSI Afterburner - to enable undervolting, a checkbox in the Settings needs to be enabled.

As for power usage, I am using a Kill-A-Watt for my main system. It draws about 330w (35w for idle and no gpu installed, 185w for 290x, 110w for Nano)

 

[thilanliyan]

^Thanks.

 

[ItsAlive]

I'm having an issue that just popped up today. I'm gettin a JSON-RPC error probably couldn't connect. I tried recreating the dag files and still gettin the error. I'm using ethminer 1.1.4 with windows 7. This system was running perfectly for the last 3 days without issue. I tried switching to nanopool and ethpool with errors there too.

 

[Despoiler]

I'm having an issue that just popped up today. I'm gettin a JSON-RPC error probably couldn't connect. I tried recreating the dag files and still gettin the error. I'm using ethminer 1.1.4 with windows 7. This system was running perfectly for the last 3 days without issue. I tried switching to nanopool and ethpool with errors there too.

The only time I've gotten that is when I entered a global or local work value that was invalid for my card which corrupted the DAG. Gotta delete the existing DAGs and relaunch with valid work values.

 

[ItsAlive]

The only time I've gotten that is when I entered a global or local work value that was invalid for my card which corrupted the DAG. Gotta delete the existing DAGs and relaunch with valid work values.

I was using the values you posted earlier in this thread. Are you still using these?
--cl-global-work 16384
--cl-local-work 256

EDIT: I recreated the DAGs with only the -G command, no work values specified, and it seems to be running on ethpool error free, although slightly less hashrate. Thanks for the help!

 

[metalliax]

I was using the values you posted earlier in this thread. Are you still using these?
--cl-global-work 16384
--cl-local-work 256

EDIT: I recreated the DAGs with only the -G command, no work values specified, and it seems to be running on ethpool error free, although slightly less hashrate. Thanks for the help!

Funny thing about those 2 cl options is that they caused my mouse movement to not be fluid... if you notice this symptom, remove those options, lose 10% hashrate and not go batty with rage wondering why the mouse is skipping.

Recreating the dag is pretty simple, just go to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Ethash and remove the files in there and then load ethminer again. You may want to regularly clean out the oldest files from time to time (only the most recent 2 are needed or so i've heard)

 

[Madpacket]

So some good news and bad news on my 380 purchase tonight. Ended up grabbing the Sapphire 380 for 279 CAD locally. I could have ordered the Gigabyte for $30 less from NCIX but would have had to wait a week or so to get it and figured a week's worth of waiting isn't worth the missing ETH.

Anyways the gamble paid off I think. The Sapphire has dual 100mm ball bearing fans and a decent backplate. It looks much better built than the Gigabyte. Using Sapphire Trixx I'm able to undervolt it significantly at stock GPU speeds to -80mv and I haven't reached the limit yet. Unfortunately I lost the memory game (or did I?) and ended up with Elpedia instead of Hynix however I'm stable at a 1750Mhz (300Mhz) overclock so far with some room left. So either Elpedia memory has improved or I got lucky. I haven't pushed the card to crash yet but I'm averaging approx 20.5-21.5Mh at these speeds (default is 18.5 or so).

Oh and to add icing I found a $20.00 generic rebate that I should be able to use for the card.

I haven't measured the watts yet at the wall but the card is sipping power (I'll confirm exact wattage later) where the fans are only spinning up to 900 RPM and is dead silent from a few feet away on an open bench.

So pretty happy with my purchase. Still mad I didn't get Hynix but can't complain with a 300Mhz memory overclock so far.

I also ordered from NewEgg another MSI 390 Gaming card as my current one is doing so well.

Fun times. Now it'll be a battle of tweaking all the cards for the best power consumption for 12 cents per KW

Two Fury X's
Two 390's
1 380
1 970

I should be around +-~150Mh all said and done.

Oh and here's a link the Sapphire card if anyone was wondering which model.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202166

 

[MrTeal]

So some good news and bad news on my 380 purchase tonight. Ended up grabbing the Sapphire 380 for 279 CAD locally. I could have ordered the Gigabyte for $30 less from NCIX but would have had to wait a week or so to get it and figured a week's worth of waiting isn't worth the missing ETH.

Anyways the gamble paid off I think. The Sapphire has dual 100mm ball bearing fans and a decent backplate. It looks much better built than the Gigabyte. Using Sapphire Trixx I'm able to undervolt it significantly at stock GPU speeds to -80mv and I haven't reached the limit yet. Unfortunately I lost the memory game (or did I?) and ended up with Elpedia instead of Hynix however I'm stable at a 1750Mhz (300Mhz) overclock so far with some room left. So either Elpedia memory has improved or I got lucky. I haven't pushed the card to crash yet but I'm averaging approx 20.5-21.5Mh at these speeds (default is 18.5 or so).

Oh and to add icing I found a $20.00 generic rebate that I should be able to use for the card.

I haven't measured the watts yet at the wall but the card is sipping power (I'll confirm exact wattage later) where the fans are only spinning up to 900 RPM and is dead silent from a few feet away on an open bench.

So pretty happy with my purchase. Still mad I didn't get Hynix but can't complain with a 300Mhz memory overclock so far.

I also ordered from NewEgg another MSI 390 Gaming card as my current one is doing so well.

Fun times. Now it'll be a battle of tweaking all the cards for the best power consumption for 12 cents per KW

Two Fury X's
Two 390's
1 380
1 970

I should be around +-~150Mh all said and done.

Oh and here's a link the Sapphire card if anyone was wondering which model.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202166

Was that $280 price all in with taxes? I've thought about starting up a couple GPU rigs again, but I'm not sure I'm bullish enough on Eth to go down that route. I picked up a used 7990 from Kijiji last night, but I don't think that will depreciate enough for me to lose anything even if I do end up stopping mining. It's at least a little safer that way.

 

[Despoiler]

I was using the values you posted earlier in this thread. Are you still using these?
--cl-global-work 16384
--cl-local-work 256

EDIT: I recreated the DAGs with only the -G command, no work values specified, and it seems to be running on ethpool error free, although slightly less hashrate. Thanks for the help!

I'm using 8192 and 256 atm.

Download the below tool. Go to the OpenCL tab. It will tell you the maximum values your card supports. 2D image size is the global work size. Work group size is the local work size.

http://www.ozone3d.net/gpu_caps_viewer/

Funny thing about those 2 cl options is that they caused my mouse movement to not be fluid... if you notice this symptom, remove those options, lose 10% hashrate and not go batty with rage wondering why the mouse is skipping.

Recreating the dag is pretty simple, just go to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Ethash and remove the files in there and then load ethminer again. You may want to regularly clean out the oldest files from time to time (only the most recent 2 are needed or so i've heard)

You can think of the works values like intensity from Bitcoin. My computer shows no adverse effects with any combination of work values.

 

[UaVaj]

Well to give you an estimate, a 7950 that costs $120 would take roughly 34 days to break even. And a $150 280x would also take about 34 days to pay for itself.

have quad 290x collecting dust in one pc. have 280x in 3 other pc.


well bf4 did become stable again since the past few days.
so the 290x x4 does get used ~1-2hours a day now.

 

[Madpacket]

Was that $280 price all in with taxes? I've thought about starting up a couple GPU rigs again, but I'm not sure I'm bullish enough on Eth to go down that route. I picked up a used 7990 from Kijiji last night, but I don't think that will depreciate enough for me to lose anything even if I do end up stopping mining. It's at least a little safer that way.

Altogether around 290 after Ontario taxes and rebate. Buying used is the way to go but buying new has advantages as well. Having a warranty is great as well as being able to exchange a card if defective immediately after purchase. These newer 4GB 380 and 8GB 390's will have higher resale value so yes even though I'm spending more I'll be able to recoup costs down the road easier and knowing how a card was treated from the start is important as well.