So as of recent I've been pondering getting into mining. I can afford doing this perfectly fine.
Offhand I've got a server at a friend's place. If I was to upgrade this into a mining rig I'd move it here.
But anyhow, its specs are:
i5 2500k w/ stock cooler
P8Z77-V Deluxe
Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2x4GB)
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB, if memory serves me right
A Corsair HX PSU that I don't recall the size of
And a Corsair 650D
Out of all of these components, the PSU belongs to a friend of mine. We put this server together for giggles, and then it's just gathered dust. What I'm considering is moving it home to me, where I don't pay electricity anyhow. Put in a new powersupply, and put in graphics cards.
Here's what I'm not decided on:
What powersupply should I get?
I'm considering replacing my own powersupply, a Corsair AX 850, with an AX 1200i. Then put the old AX 850 in the mining rig.
What graphics cards should I get?
I can get myself a couple of R9 280X cards from MSI. These cards have an aftermarket cooler, but the PCB is identical to an HD 7970. I already have one waterblock for cards like these, but I can't obtain a second one. These are also not upgrades for me should mining ever become useless, since I already run two GTX 680s.
So what I've been contemplating now is getting two R9 290 or R9 290X cards. Should mining fail these'll be upgrades for me at least, and getting waterblocks for them is easy. The R9 290 would be with an aftermarket cooler, probably the MSI one. If it's the 290X they'll be completely reference cards. (And also only cost a fraction more than the MSI 290 cards.)
Finally, will two reference R9 290X cards require very active cooling when installed in the Corsair 650D?