Would it be an idea to add something like this CGminer tweaking guide?
https://teksyndicate.com/forum/litecoin/how-tweak-your-settings-and-squeeze-khs-out-your-card-using-cgminer/137706

I’m still new to this, so I can’t vouch for the quality of the advice given there and whether or not it’s safe for your hardware. But I found it to be interesting reading and I definitely got a better understanding of what you can do to get the most bang for your buck :)

[quote name=“keshuker” post=“50689” timestamp=“1389182007”]
[quote author=HizzleFizzle link=topic=5398.msg39793#msg39793 date=1386203725]

GPU 0 (7970): 92.0C, 538Kh/s
GPU 1 (7990): 87.0C, 517Kh/s
GPU 2 (7990): 96.0C, 517Kh/s

I am a bit worried to go to bed with it on as the temps are still slowly climbing. I’m thinking, next step would be to start reading up on lowering the voltage a bit. Do you agree? Maybe there are other suggestions?

The OS is Windows 7 and Catalyst 13.9 is installed.
The setup of CGminer is simple as I’m still getting acquainted with it. There is nothing special added and I am running intensity 13 on all three GPU’s.

Any help would be much appreciated :)
[/quote]

Hello

Just registered to comment on this as I have a Club 3D 7990 bough second hand which had the same symptoms. I thought about the process for a moment, then decided to disassemble the card and change the heat transfer paste. After that the GPU:s run at 70-80 celsius. The taking apart was surprisingly easy to do.
[/quote]

Hey Keshuker. Thanks for registering to tell me that! :)

I took the ASUS HD 7990 apart yesterday and you were absolutely right. There was way too much thermal paste… and of poor quality.
I gave it some Arctic Silver and replaced two of the conductive pads which broke in the process. I didn’t get as big a change as you did, but it did save me about 3 degrees, so it’s better than nothing :)

I’ve actually ordered water cooling for it, but the water blocks for 7990 have been out of stock for a long time. But as long as it gets here before summer, I think I will be okay :)

Thanks again, for taking the time!

For anyone interested, the continuously dropping hashing rates came from me fiddling with both MSI Afterburner and ASUS Trixx. After loading defaults, it seemed to go away.

[quote name=“Kiwis” post=“43382” timestamp=“1386844133”]
Thanks for comments!
Well, after looking at MB, I’ve ordered only 3 VGA’s. Not going to use any risers, at least for the moment.
I will use mid tower. Keeping side open is not an issue. Sound is not an issue. Temperature… Well, it will be standing next to my air conditioning unit, so I think it should be OK…
However all of it will arrive only for the next year as VGA’s are pre-order for 27th december…
[/quote]

Sounds like it should work out just fine then :)
Good luck!

[quote name=“specter” post=“43405” timestamp=“1386848318”]
The big question is it worth paying more for custom board and cooler? [/quote]

Actually, because I want to use water cooling, the big question is, is it a reference board model. Because for all the modified boards, the water cooling blocks won’t fit.

[quote author=specter link=topic=5866.msg43405#msg43405 date=1386848318]
Also manufactures sites should at least tell you why its “so” great. Sorry, don’t want to do the research either!
[/quote]

I’m sorry if it seems like I don’t want to do the research. I’m actually researching everything mining related like crazy and just wanted to ask if anyone knew the answer to this. This is where miners hang out, so someone might have “gone down the same alley” as I am now.

However, I did find out from XFX’s website now, that the design of the card has changed, so that means that now there are non-reference boards out there. So that kinda answers the question… I have to get an old card, if I want to make sure it is a reference model.

Thanks for helping out :)

I’m pretty certain you would get a heat problem, if you put 4 of those cards in a midi tower. Probably you would have issues with three as well. For four cards, you might want to build an open rig instead of putting it in a tower.

And as tomsamadhi says, risers are a good idea, so you will be able to get more space between the cards.

I’m mainly using 7970’s, and with two of those in a midi tower, I have to leave the side off and put a large fan next to it to help it get rid of the warm air. And still, the GPU’s are currently running at 82 and 86C… and they are making a lot of noise keeping the temperature down.

However, the cards you are considering there might be cooler. But if they use 300w each, they should get pretty hot too and might be a problem in a midi tower.

I’m only 1 week into the mining game though, so I might be wrong.

Hey guys. Once more, I have a question that I couldn’t get Google to answer for me, so I am bothering you again ;)

Does anyone know if the ASUS 7990 is exactly the same as the XFX 7990? They look identical on pictures and from what I understand, they are both “reference cards”. Does anyone know for sure?

And if they are, does this mean that the differences are purely in the stickers and not at all in the hardware/firmware?

I’m thinking of doing water cooling on the PC in my bedroom. That way, I could let it run during the night, and put the noisy ASUS 7990 in that one. Some might have seen me write that I was going to return it to the dealer. But I have another week to decide before it’s too late, so it’s still here.

The XFX 7990 is quite a bit cheaper than the ASUS, and if they are identical, I’m considering putting one of those in my bedroom computer along with the ASUS. This would give me a to pretty solid, quiet, water cooled miner to keep me warm at night during winter ;)

[quote name=“colsteel” post=“43285” timestamp=“1386816448”]
yes undervolting will drop temps alot
[/quote]

Yes, I have to work on figuring out how to do that on those XFX’s.

[quote author=colsteel link=topic=5844.msg43287#msg43287 date=1386816545]
my rigs actually are serving as my heater in my apartment lol
[/quote]
I know what you mean. The heater in my bedroom is off during the day while my daily PC is mining :P

[quote name=“TheRedViper” post=“43162” timestamp=“1386793007”]
Well, i stay go ahead and continue. Try explaining the situation to your roommates, and offer them some shares in your already built rig, theyll be interested then and will start to actually take interest in the mining rig instead of blaming you for the noise :p.
[/quote]
I see your point, which S2 Bergen also made earlier in this thread. I’ll see if I can spread the love for mining ;)

[quote name=“Ernesto” post=“43101” timestamp=“1386783818”]
In the test is that the vegetable oil is better than mineral oil coolant and air.
As vegetable oil is not derived from petroleum, does not attack the embedding in plastic components and oil components. Then it can be removed more easily the vegetable oil.(isopropyl alcohol)
The components are not going to ever wear, it is impossible to wear submerged in oil.

:)
[/quote]
That sounds good :)
But doesn’t vegetable oil get bad faster? Well, I will read about it a bit more and consider again :)

[quote author=nimmneun link=topic=5844.msg43109#msg43109 date=1386784585]
Also keep in mind, you could always sacrifice some kh/s for undervolting + downclocking + lower noise + lower power consumption.

example: R9 280x’s may run @ ~1.07v 1000mhz/1250mhz with -g 2 -I 13 hashing @ about 680-690kh/s
fanspeed @ 50% temps @ 65-70°C (ambient 20°C)

;)

[/quote]

I’ve been trying to undervolt. It seems that the core voltage is locked on these XFX R7970 cards, so it’s not so easy. The idea is good, but I just haven’t found a way yet.

[quote author=RIPPEDDRAGON link=topic=5844.msg43152#msg43152 date=1386791120]
look into that thread, If i remember doing my calculations correctly you should be able to ROI faster optimizing for power due to your crazy $/KWh…
I run 2 settings, the first is an optimized all out setting getting me 740KH/s per 7970 and the second is my quiet power optimized setting 660KH/s that drops temps about 12c.
[/quote]

I have been reading and learning from your thread. Very impressive results!

But as mentioned above, undervolting didn’t go so easily for me. In Afterburner, the voltage is locked, so I did a combination of Afterburner and Trixx. After that, the speeds started dropping over time. It’s back to normal now, except it’s hashing somewhat slower than before. Around 667Kh/s per GPU. Anyway, I think I know the process of getting it back up, so I just need the time to do it.

Any clues on how to unlock the voltage clock on those XFX R7970 would be appreciated :)

[quote name=“robUK” post=“43092” timestamp=“1386782641”]
Hi I don’t know a great deal about mining, but you really shouldn’t quit this, you came to mine some crypto and you aren’t just limited to feathercoin, get what you can while the getting is still good.
[/quote]

That’s what I feel like doing, so I will! :)