Parts list for new build

[kmsalex]

I'm looking at ordering the parts for my first pc build. I'm setting this up with the intent to mine bitcoin, and was wondering if anyone would look over the parts list and see if i've made any noob mistakes, and what other cable and stuff i still need. I'm working on a very tight budget and want to put this together as cheap as possible (rember its just going to sit there and mine, not a gaming rig or anything).

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815005

HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136591

MOB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595

Graphics card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161379

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817342039

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
(realy over kill, if you know of some cheap high perfomrmace 1gb or 2gb please mention.)

I know there's no optical, do plan on installing one, pulse i have extra old ones lieing around here.


This will be my first build, after 2-3 years of watching so many put together and reading about how they work i feel relatively confident, but still if you have something obvious for me mention it.

[jeffathehutt]

What processor are you going to put in it?

[kmsalex]

I'm sorry, totally for got the cpu info. edited above.

[jeffathehutt]

One thing I noticed is that you have a motherboard that supports DDR2 ram, but the ram you have listed is DDR3. Other than that, at a quick glance everything looks good.

[kmsalex]

One thing I noticed is that you have a motherboard that supports DDR2 ram, but the ram you have listed is DDR3. Other than that, at a quick glance everything looks good.

Thank You! Never even thought to check, just asummed...

I'm looking at this instead
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146524&cm_re=2_ddr2_ram-_-20-146-524-_-Product

[jeffathehutt]

Looks good to me, but I haven't done a thorough check to make sure everything is compatible (don't take my word for it :p). I assume you already have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor.;)

[kmsalex]

scratch that, thinking this instead
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178296&cm_re=ddr2_ram-_-20-178-296-_-Product&RandomID=58898683419122320110618115032

Think the only cables i'll need are the sata's for the hdd and should be good, hopefully ordering today!


these should do
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812719003&cm_re=sata_cable-_-12-719-003-_-Product

[doorknob60]

(hopefully you didn't already order yet. If so, oh well, no big deal)

Your motherboard comes with a SATA cable, so assuming you only need one for your HD, you don't need to buy a separate one.

Also, I would get some faster RAM than 667 mhz, just me. I never buy less than 800 mhz, so I would probably get at least that, it's not much more than 667 mhz anyways, about the same price. Assuming you want 4 GB (that's a good number nowadays, don't know why you're stuck on 1 GB, get more! well at least get 2...), I would go for something like this if you want the cheaper end, but still good: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134730 (that's cheaper than buying 4 of the other ones you listed anyways, and it's better quality RAM)

Also, I bet you're aware of this, but the graphics card you have is an ATI, which may or may not have some issues on Linux. It will probably work fine for most things, but you'll likely run into some quirks every once in a while. Nvidia is still a safer choice, so you might want to look into that as well.

[HermanAB]

Uhhh... everything is fine, except for the part about bitcoin.

Maybe you didn't get the memo about bitcoin being broken? The early adopters may have made some real money from bitcoin. Joining at this stage is just a fool's errand.

[juancarlospaco]

You missed an important component, an Ubuntu Sticker ^‿^

[3Miro]

I don't think 667 for the RAM would be enough to get the full power out of the 4 cores. I would recommend 800 minimum. Getting a slightly better PSU might be a good idea. 500W should be enough, but getting a more "prestigious" brand might also be a good idea.

Other than that: I own several Gigabyte motherboards, they are no worse than the Asus and usually cheaper. Also, I don't think there is much of a difference in performance in Radoen 5xxx series vs 6xxx, depending on the model you may get a better/cheaper deal.

Final note: for the case, it is good, but all cases from Newegg have the problem that the shipping is a significant part of the cost. I either look for a "free shipping" deal or I go to craigslist.org. If a GPU was used in hot conditions, then it may die on you shortly after you buy it, but a case is just as good today as it was five years ago. You may be able to get a better deal on the case form Craigslist. For example, I got this one for only $60.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=HAF-_-11-119-197-_-Product

[kmsalex]

At doorknob60

I haven't ordered yet, so thank you i wasn't sure if would come with one so i wanted to be on the safe side, and i don't think you understand.. i just want 1 of those modals, 1gb is more then what i need for a miner, and i can get more cheaper in the future if i want to. If a faster one would be nice, but not worth it for anything more. Even on you mane rig do you realy go mutch over 1gb? unless i'm running a VM or google earth (pluse my everyday webpages+compiz+doc) i don't.

At HermanAB (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=44990)

Bitcoin is not broken, its also not going to get you rich over night like it could have 2 years ago. if you run the numbers (which I'm sure you haven't) it will show that not only this rig but many lesser ones will still be profitable (after electricity), there are plenty of miners out there that will argrea with me at http://forum.bitcoin.org/

Please don't give such a strong one sided opinion on something if you don't know the facts (i don't post in a topic about binary because i have nearly no idea how it works) , please don't call me a fool because A I'm not and B its not nice.

P.S. I might still have one snuffed in a book somewhere...

[kmsalex]

I don't think 667 for the RAM would be enough to get the full power out of the 4 cores. I would recommend 800 minimum. Getting a slightly better PSU might be a good idea. 500W should be enough, but getting a more "prestigious" brand might also be a good idea.

Other than that: I own several Gigabyte motherboards, they are no worse than the Asus and usually cheaper. Also, I don't think there is much of a difference in performance in Radoen 5xxx series vs 6xxx, depending on the model you may get a better/cheaper deal.

Final note: for the case, it is good, but all cases from Newegg have the problem that the shipping is a significant part of the cost. I either look for a "free shipping" deal or I go to craigslist.org. If a GPU was used in hot conditions, then it may die on you shortly after you buy it, but a case is just as good today as it was five years ago. You may be able to get a better deal on the case form Craigslist. For example, I got this one for only $60.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=HAF-_-11-119-197-_-Product

Didn't even see your reply, I'll be looking more at utilizing the gup then the cpu anyway, someday i'll most certainly buy more faster ram for this but this rig is going to be used for a very specific task, I'll monitor the temps in the case, don't plan on over clocking so i'm not overly concerned with overheating. (no pun intended) I got that specific gpu for a reason, and the psu is price motivated.

[doorknob60]

At doorknob60

I haven't ordered yet, so thank you i wasn't sure if would come with one so i wanted to be on the safe side, and i don't think you understand.. i just want 1 of those modals, 1gb is more then what i need for a miner, and i can get more cheaper in the future if i want to. If a faster one would be nice, but not worth it for anything more. Even on you mane rig do you realy go mutch over 1gb? unless i'm running a VM or google earth (pluse my everyday webpages+compiz+doc) i don't.

Fair enough, if you don't need it, then don't buy it. I don't usually use much RAM, but occasionally I do, but if you know you won't need it, might as well not spend the extra now. Anyways, this is still a better deal here for 1 GB of RAM, and it's 800 MHZ too, I'd get this over the one you linked, it's better and cheaper. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148239

Other than that though, and the ATI card, which since you won't be gaming should do fine (and even for gaming would probably work fine, but that's not what you're using it for), it looks like a solid build.

One more thing I have to note is that I've cheaped out on power supplies in the past for money reasons, and it burned me (it died wrecked a motherboard and did some damage to the CPU), so keep that in mind that you want to get a decent reputable brand ideally. I replaced it with this one, which has worked great so far. It's the same price as the one you have, and it is less watts (460 instead of 500, not significant), and it's still a lower end model, but it's a much better brand (Cooler Master), and I'd trust it over the one you posted any day (I've never heard of "Topower" before): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171046

[Dustin2128]

Bitcoin mining? MOAR POWER TO THE GRAPHICS CARD! I'd not recommend less than a GTX 580 or Radeon 69xx series card.

[CharlesA]

One more thing I have to note is that I've cheaped out on power supplies in the past for money reasons, and it burned me (it died wrecked a motherboard and did some damage to the CPU), so keep that in mind that you want to get a decent reputable brand ideally. I replaced it with this one, which has worked great so far. It's the same price as the one you have, and it is less watts (460 instead of 500, not significant), and it's still a lower end model, but it's a much better brand (Cooler Master), and I'd trust it over the one you posted any day (I've never heard of "Topower" before): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171046

++++. That PSU only had 14A on each 12V rail, which isn't all that much. I've got a OCZ PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016&cm_re=ocz_power_supply-_-17-341-016-_-Product) that has 18 amps on each 12V rail, used the same model in two or three builds and it's been rock solid.

[Thewhistlingwind]

Maybe you didn't get the memo about bitcoin being broken? The early adopters may have made some real money from bitcoin. Joining at this stage is just a fool's errand.

It's not like anyone signing up, didn't know it'd be broken anyway.

See:

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=20207.0

And:

http://keepyourassets.net/2011/06/06/the-coming-attack-on-bitcoin-and-how-to-survive-it/

Even the proponents saw this coming. In reality, anyone who was actually playing around with real money and bitcoin in any sort of exchange deal really shouldn't of, and the whole things a proof-of-concept at best in my eyes.

[3Miro]

Didn't even see your reply, I'll be looking more at utilizing the gup then the cpu anyway, someday i'll most certainly but more faster ram for this but this rig is going to be used for a very specific task, I'll monitor the temps in the case, don't plan on over clocking so i'm not overly concerned with overheating. (no pun intended) I got that specific gpu for a reason, and the psu is price motivated.

You will not have issues with the temperature. When I was taking about the case, I meant that you can save yourself the shipping. This was a minor point anyway.

You get to decide what you buy as you are the only one who knows your budget, however, with 667 RAM you will not be able to get the full power out of your hardware. Your CPU AND GPU will be idling every now and then.

[kmsalex]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148239
Thank you for that!

and for the small price increase i think i'll go with CharlesA's PSU

at Dustin2128
new does'nt always mean better, i think the hash rate on this GPU is supposed to be in the mid 200's.... and your recommending a nividia card?....

I'll admit i am being somewhat optimistic, but you can't say that there isn't some substance behind bitcoin. Even if it disipares tomorrow I've been itching to build a rig for the past few years, this can be easily repurpased into a much more flexible machine.

Again thanks for all your help and suggestions, i keep putting off ordering everything, maby tonight.

EDIT: I actually haven't been watching the market lately, even now knowing the situation I'm not afraid, it will bounce back. especially if the do the roll back as planed

[BkkBonanza]

The only thing that matters for bitcoin mining is the graphics card. Everything else can be cheap as possible. Get a good graphics card, put it in a cheap mainboard with a usb flash stick to boot. Skip the hard disk, skip everything else except decent power supply. Minimal RAM too. Save your money for more graphics cards because that's the only component that makes money. Don't bother with a case, do like google and make a wood shelf of mainboards.

I'd even consider a small mini-itx board like the Zotac one with PCIe x16 slot because the CPU/mainboard combo may be cheaper. Buy used mainboard+cpu off ebay if you can. Use Celerons even, but keep the cost down except for GPU power. More slots would be good but not if the mainboard costs too much. Remember the cpu in this case is only feeding minimal data to the GPU in this setup and minimal info across the net. Except for the GPU the system needs minimal performance specs.

For GPU get a good one. I've seen people going nuts over the ATI 5770 because they are cheap and get about 156 MH/s. But with one slot per main board I think maybe the higher end ones may be better. Check the forums for best $$/MH/s ratio.


As far as whether it's worth doing this - well, that's a gamble. Not because anything is wrong with bitcoin but because you can't see the future and how it will get gamed. ASIC chips are coming for this and reportedly under dev on some forums by monied partners. When they hit the market the ability to calculate hashs will jump up a good bit.

The constant inflow of new miners means that the difficulty level will continue to rise until it is just profitable enough to keep mining. If you don't pay close attention to maxmimum hash speed per buck then you will always be lower on the curve and fall behind. You may make money but as time passes that will diminish due to competition.

Unlike a normal business there is no reward for goodwill or customer relationship. Only processing speed matters.