[Guide] How to run up to 13 GPUs on most motherboards - page 2.

After lots of researching, trial and error, I have managed to run 10 GPUs on my ASRock X99 Extreme6 using two PCI-E multipliers for $12 each off eBay or AliExpress. It's likely that I'll be able to run up to 13 if I had more cards.

You need:

Linux or Windows 10 with 1709 update
Above 4G Decoding enabled
If using Windows - install it on UEFI mode with GPT partition table
PCI-E set to Gen1 or Gen2
Intel motherboard on H61 chipset or newer; AMD motherboards with UEFI.

If you are missing either of these prerequisites, it is quite possible that it won't work. Motherboards without Above 4G decoding can run up to 6 GPUs, more are unlikely. Older motherboards with a legacy BIOS can run up to 4-5 cards max, assuming that you don't encounter IRQ issues. The hard limit seems to be 13 regular cards, unknown more mining cards.

Potential issues:

If your install is on Legacy MBR mode - you can convert it without data loss using the built-in MBR2GPT.
If some of the cards are missing - make sure that they're not in Device Manager - Other devices and waiting to have their driver installed.
If the cards are recognized but output error codes in Device Manager - try nuking your driver using DDU and then reinstall it. Make sure that you patch the AMD driver if you are BIOS modded.
If the doesn't boot or doesn't recognize the cards altogether - try switching the PCI-E slot. My motherboard refuses to boot if I plug the multiplier on the first PCI-E x16.

More troubleshooting tips - try updating the BIOS to a newer version, disable unneeded peripherals (audio, additional SATA controllers, whatever), disable iGPU, set PCI-E to a different Gen, even reset the CMOS. HackFlags registry trick might work but I've never tried it.

YMMV, of course - please let me know if it worked for you. So far I've tried it on ASRock X99 Extreme6 and Gigabyte GA-H110-D3A (>6 cards), MSI H110M PRO-VD and several other mATX motherboards for 6 cards.

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Topic: [Guide] How to run up to 13 GPUs on most motherboards - page 2. (Read 1027 times)