i5 2500k board/parts to go with 4 gpus?

[CBuffer]

I'm a bit of a lunatic and plan to buy a bitcoin mining "rig" in the next day or two. Bitcoin is a virtual currency which is distributed free to "miners" who perform calculations.

I have wanted to get an i5 2500k anyway. Naturally getting 4 gpus complicates everything.

So far my thoughts are

i5 2500k
4 x saphire 5850 gpus
Power supply something like Thermaltake T power series 1000W - I must need 650W+ (quick online calc said this)
A 60GB SSD - probably OCZ Agility 3 or Corsair.

I don't know what would be a suitable SB motherboard. I understand ram timings make lower better, but don't know whether different sticks add 15% speed or 0.05% i.e. don't know what to buy! I'm buying in Malaysia, where they have a few Asrock, but mainly MSi, Asus and Gigabyte. Probs no other brands.

Do I need to think about case in terms of what will actually fit, or is this generally no problem? or perhaps I need to think about having 4 fans / extra space?

I was going to put either 2 x 1TB Samsung spinpoint F3s into the case, or perhaps some 2 x 2TB drives if someone can recommend good bang/buck drives - I'm out of touch with which are reliable.

I'm probably a sad case, but I enjoy the contemplation stage of building PCs. I normally go best bang for the buck all the way, so a bit of a diversion for me to go for 4 x GPU.

Oh, I'll be taking this PC back to Bangladesh with me once my holiday here is finished. Electricity for my house there costs $12 / month. So power will be cheap for my bitcoin mining.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Knufire]

Cheapest motherboard for 4 GPUs would be a ASUS WS Revolution.

How much memory speeds help is dependent on the task. For bitcoin mining, I'm really not sure, you'd need to do some research for that.

5850 takes 150W max on load x 4 = 600W just for the GPUs. Add in the rest of the system and the fact you don't want your PSU max loaded 24/7, 1000W PSU should be about right. See if you can get a Corsair 950TX.

Case, you're going to need major airflow. Something like a HAF932 or HAF-X, then switching out the 200mm side fan for 4x120mm fans.

 

[CBuffer]

Cheapest motherboard for 4 GPUs would be a ASUS WS Revolution.

See if you can get a Corsair 950TX.

Thanks for those tips. Corsair 950TX. available for a good price. No Asus WS Revolution in Malaysia. Have the P867 core, P867 pro core, P8Z68-V virtu support from Asus (and Gigabyte, MSI equivalents.)

Case, you're going to need major airflow. Something like a HAF932 or HAF-X, then switching out the 200mm side fan for 4x120mm fans.

That is a stumbling block, because these weigh 13.2KG and 14.3KG respectively. Got to get all my gear into 20KG (+5KG they don't bother with) packed luggage + 7KG hand luggage + stuffed pockets and trousers. 4 x 5850, Keyboard, mouse, 20" widescreen etc. all add up. So I was hoping for something like Coolmaster Elite 430 which weighs 4.7kg.

This is getting as bad as a mountaineering trip, where I wear 10KG insulated boots, loads of jackets, and all my metal onto the plane to cut apparent weight ;-)

Thanks very much for your reply. I always have ants in my pants before a purchase, so I'm very keen.

 

[Knufire]

That's a problem. You can't fit 4 GPUs unless you have a MASSIVE case. I wouldn't put more then two in a Elite 430.

Only motherboards that support 4 GPUs on Sandy Bridge are any Gigabyte UD7, any ASUS Maximus IV Extreme, or the MSI Big-Bang Marshall. (And the ASUS WS Revolution, but you can't find it there.)

None of those motherboards would fit in a standard case, they're e-ATX boards.

 

[CBuffer]

Woah! So glad I asked this question. This shows the value of asking around when you plan to do something.

On a plus note, I weighed my other luggage and it only came to 6kg where I was afraid it was 10-15kg. I had a bike accident a week ago that must have left me over estimating the weight of my stuff (bruised ribs make lifting painful). So I could perhaps go for the big case.

I have the cheeky gene very strongly expressed and will probably get away with being way overweight at the checkin for my flight. This is the national carrier anyway, so they are not company people.

I am going to see if I can find any of those boards here. Really keen on this project now.

On another note, I wanted to buy a cheap android tablet just to show some pictures and ended up coming away with a Samsung Galaxy 10.1" tablet and a case for it. I'm a technology victim.

Thanks again. Really appreciated.