10-08-2016, 03:06 PM
Just throwing some ideas out there:
If cost of electricity is not a concern, agreed about 970s. They're going on eBay for around $200-$220, so 3 of those would be a good fit. (And I wouldn't go older or smaller). But for the same price, a single new 1080 (when in regular stock) is close to 2 used 980 Tis or 3 used 970s. If electricity matters, a single 1080 is more attractive. A 1080 will probably also be supported longer by NVIDIA, but that's a ways out.
These links may be useful for comparing performance:
https://gist.github.com/epixoip
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...SsYEqOoqco
Double-check my work with your own research (on price and performance), but back of my napkin, for MD5, stock clocks, theoretical max watts:
970 SC: 10.8 GH/s, 170W (SCs are factory overclocked a little), ~3 for your budget = 32.4 GH/s, 510W
980 Ti: 16 GH/s, 250W for most, almost 2 for your budget = 32 GH/s, 500W
1080: 25 GH/s, 180W for most, 1 for your budget = 25 GH/s, 180W
In practice, power consumption will be a little lower. You'll also probably be able to overclock them a bit. And with fewer cards, you have room to add another later without having to pull one and sell it.
Hope that helps!
If cost of electricity is not a concern, agreed about 970s. They're going on eBay for around $200-$220, so 3 of those would be a good fit. (And I wouldn't go older or smaller). But for the same price, a single new 1080 (when in regular stock) is close to 2 used 980 Tis or 3 used 970s. If electricity matters, a single 1080 is more attractive. A 1080 will probably also be supported longer by NVIDIA, but that's a ways out.
These links may be useful for comparing performance:
https://gist.github.com/epixoip
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...SsYEqOoqco
Double-check my work with your own research (on price and performance), but back of my napkin, for MD5, stock clocks, theoretical max watts:
970 SC: 10.8 GH/s, 170W (SCs are factory overclocked a little), ~3 for your budget = 32.4 GH/s, 510W
980 Ti: 16 GH/s, 250W for most, almost 2 for your budget = 32 GH/s, 500W
1080: 25 GH/s, 180W for most, 1 for your budget = 25 GH/s, 180W
In practice, power consumption will be a little lower. You'll also probably be able to overclock them a bit. And with fewer cards, you have room to add another later without having to pull one and sell it.
Hope that helps!
~