Crypto mobo's

[Luke1978]

Was just thinking that we have threads about everything Crypto, except mobos. More specifically, motherboards with a high number of pci-e slots. Obviously if the h81 btc pro from Asrock was accessible for retail price it would be a no brainer, but it isn't.

Guide to running more than 5 GPU's in Win7 Post #19



My idea for format is..
Board
Socket
Pci-e slots and physical type
Number of slots usable by GPU's


AMD
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
AM3+
2x PCI-e x16 / 3x PCI-e x1
Unconfirmed number of GPU's

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
AM3+
4x PCI-e x16 / 2x PCI-e x1
All 6 slots usable by GPU's

Intel
MSI Z87-G45 Gaming
LGA 1150
3x PCI-e x16 / 4x PCI-e x1
Unconfirmed number of GPU's

MSI Z77A-GD65 Z77
LGA 1155
3x PCI-e x15 / 4x PCI-e x1
At least 6 slots should be usable, but isn't confirmed

 

[Janus67]

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7635042#post7635042

 

[Luke1978]

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7635042#post7635042

No offense, but to disorganized and general for me. If the thread ever takes off and I had to read through 200+ pages to find 1 piece of info chances are I'd use Google or a different forum.

 

[Janus67]

Well from what I've read the MSI -g45 boards are supposed to be good

 

[Silver_Pharaoh]

I thought any cheap (H81 chipset) mobo with lots of pcie slots will do?

My cheapy Gateway DX-4850 mobo has 4 pcie slots, so with some risers, I can probably get 3 cards crammed in there.

Fixed terms

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I thought any cheap (H81 chipset) mobo with lots of pcix slots will do?

My cheapy Gateway DX-4850 mobo has 4 pcix slots, so with some risers, I can probably get 3 cards crammed in there.

I don't think you want PCIx.

I know what you mean, but its very confusing for some people since PCIx is actually different from PCIe.

 

[eaglescouter]

Well from what I've read the MSI -g45 boards are supposed to be good

Don't make the mistake and 'upgrade' to the MSI Z87-G55, it only supports 4 cards max.

 

[BugFreak]

In stock...for the moment.
Asrock BTC mobo

 

[KonaKona]

In stock...for the moment.
Asrock BTC mobo

I'll add to this that DDR3 is currently cheaper than DDR2, unless you've got a board that uses ECC DDR2. Not cheap enough to offset the price of buying a new CPU, but if you've got a chip to throw in or a good deal it can be cheaper to build a new rig then use older parts.

 

[BugFreak]

Just don't buy that board on ebay where they charge 150$+ for it.

 

[Luke1978]

Added the MSI Z87-G45 gaming

 

[eaglescouter]

Luke1978 please consider a format change?

I am more interested to know how many gpus a mobo supports, than a raw number of slots which are not all useable.

Example: My MSI Z87-G55 has 7 slots (3 at 16X, 4 at 1X) but only 4 are useable at the same time by gpus.

Thanks

 

[Janus67]

In stock...for the moment.
Asrock BTC mobo

snagged one


edit: was sold out by the time I hit pay

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Can I suggest using a table on something like Google Docs?
That way people can come in and sort through the database easily.

 

[Luke1978]

Will do when I get home

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Will do when I get home

If you need help, toss me a PM.

 

[Luke1978]

Luke1978 please consider a format change?

I am more interested to know how many gpus a mobo supports, than a raw number of slots which are not all useable.

Example: My MSI Z87-G55 has 7 slots (3 at 16X, 4 at 1X) but only 4 are useable at the same time by gpus.

Thanks

Is it the Z87 chipset in general with this limitation?

 

[eaglescouter]

I thought the answer was yes, but another member posted that I was wrong and that the g45 version of that chipset from MSI handles more cards

 

[Luke1978]

How to run more than 5 GPU's in Win7

From prometheianz @ bitcointalk.org Source

How to run six Radeon 280X cards in Windows 7

STEP 1:

Start with a clean install of Windows 7 (I use Pro), install the ethernet driver, then get it up to date with Windows Update.

DON'T install any other drivers.

STEP 2:

Download the 13.1 driver from TechPowerUp:

13-1_vista_win7_win8_64_dd_ccc_whql.exe

@ http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2196/amd-catalyst-13-1-software-suite-vista-7-64-bit/mirrors

STEP 3:

Run 13-1_vista_win7_win8_64_dd_ccc_whql.exe.

Click 'Install'.

'AMD Catalyst Install Manager' will appear -- DON'T progress with the installation, click 'Cancel' instead.

'Exit Catalyst Install Manager?' -- click 'Yes'.

STEP 4:

Go to Start Menu > Control Panel > System > Device Manager > and expand 'Display adapters'.

Right click the display adapter that corresponds to a Radeon 280X and click 'Update Driver Software...'

Click 'Browse my computer for driver software'.

Click 'Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer'.

Click 'Have Disk...'.

Paste the following path into the 'Copy manufacturer's files from:' box:

C:\AMD\Support\13-1_vista_win7_win8_64_dd_ccc_whql\Packages\Drivers\Display\W86A_INF

Click 'OK'.

Select 'AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series'.

Click 'Next'.

Your screen will flicker while the driver is installed. This may take a while.

Eventually you will see 'Windows has successfully updated your driver software'.

Click 'Close'.

STEP 5:

Go to Start Menu > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services

Locate the following three services:

'AMD External Events Utility'
'Desktop Window Manager Session Manager'
'Themes'

Right-click each of these and click 'Properties'.

Click 'Stop' if it is not already greyed out.

Open the 'Startup' drop-down list and select 'Disabled'.

Click 'Apply', and then 'OK'.

Repeat for each of the three services.

STEP 6:

REBOOT YOUR SYSTEM.

STEP 7:

Go to C:\AMD\Support\13-1_vista_win7_win8_64_dd_ccc_whql\Packages\Apps\OpenCL64

Run 'OpenCL.msi' and click 'Next >', 'Next >', agree to the terms, then 'Install'.

STEP 8:

Run CGMiner 3.7.2 (or Kalroth, SGMiner, etc).