Topic: [SUCCESS] 7 GPU Mining with Asrock H81 Pro BTC + PCIe Switch/Hub (Read 29664 times)

good solution, but i cant seem to get it working.

if i plug 2in 1 pcie extension bios crashes and cant eaven boot,

if i use 4 in 1 pce extension same thing. i can only remove battery to make it work again with 6 gpus..

anyome have step by step. please provide.


i have nvidia cards, if this helpes. no amd as in this post.

Hi, I have arround two days trying the beta bios and appears to be running stable. I used a 1 to 3 hub adapter from Parallel Miner (https://www.parallelminer.com/product/usb-3-0-pcie-riser-card-expansion) on pcie 6 (the last one on the motherboard) with two r9 380 connected. In the pcie5 I have connected a nvidia gtx 1060. When I connected the nvidia combined with a r9 380 on the hub I had problems but I'm not sure if it was because I used two different card types on the hub adapter (it should not be a problem) or because a failing riser I found on the go it was causing trouble.

Don't forget to enable 4g decoding option. I also disabled the motherboard gpu and its hd audio device on the bios.

I'm going to continue testing it and will update this post if needed.

anyone tried the beta bios? really hoping to do 8x gtx 1060.. gonna try tomorrow

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81%20Pro%20BTC%20R2.0/#BIOS

Same here. I am running 6 sapphire nitro rx580s on asrock h81 pro btc 2.0 in windows 10. After installing the hub and 7th gpu, system recognized the 7th gpu, but after starting the batch file, the miner shows 0 mh/s for either the 7th or 6th card. (Using the beta mining driver)

Any suggestions please?

Hiya fellow miners, coming to you because i experienced a difficulty. Have already 6 gpu 1070 GTX running smoothly on win10, on my MB there is only 6 slots pcie (Asrock H81 pro btc R.20). Have bought an expansion hib riser, this one https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B0756HM18N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  to install 7 gpu.

So i installed it, plugged one riser on it (one of the 6 already working not the new one) and nothing happen, have now 5 gpu recognized on my win10. Look like this expansion doesnt working or there is something i have to change on bios?

Already have gen1 tryed with gen2 same thing. Tryed to plug the expansion on another pcie slot, nothing happen. Have already check all forums, and didnt see any tips for this kind of problem. If someone have the solution or an idea, i'll take it !

thx

@ggilbert13
this board was de facto standard for mining till mid-2017, until better boards started to appear that accepts 8-9-13 or more gpus.
you can see it in genesis mining videos, and few other large scale mining facilities.

therefor, I would dare to guess that you may have a problem somewhere else. with riser, riser cabels, psu, os setup or even the cards itself.

of course, it may be that it just doesn't love your own mining cards, but to have several MBOs that are "broken" points me that problem IS somewhere else.

Still having an issue getting H81 Pro BTC R2.0 to accept more than 5 ASUS P106 cards to run.  I do run my cards at a 45 degree angle to help with cooling. Can't add pic.

I have had mostly unsuccessful results with ASRock H81 Pro BTC R2.0.  Four motherboards purchased. One won't read memory slot 1. One won't read PCI power connector.  One won't read any PCI slot.  The best of the four I can get five of six (ASUS P106) cards working.  I am still in the process of swapping out H81's and am pretty tired of the process.  Purchased 12 cards and would like to run twelve cards. 

I love the sturdiness of the rigs you have.  A major difference in our rigs that reduces heat.  Willing to talk.  Can't seem to post properly here.

Hi,

- 7x RX 570
- H81 Pro BTC 2 + PCIe Switch/Hub (1x to 4x)
- Win 10

Just tried to install a 7th GPU.
The RIG just boot in a loop before bios.

Have to clear the CMOS to get back to 6 GPU's working.
Don't know why it will not take my 7th card.
I also tried to run the Switch alone and it's working as I can see 6 cards if I use it without the last pcie slot from the MB.
It just won't boot with 7.

:/

Any suggestion?

OK everybody;

I have been through the ringer trying to get more than 4 cards working with H81 pro BTC v2.0.  After a ton of back and forth with Asrock support they sent me an updated / custom BIOS that added "enable 4g encoding" option just above the Auto/Gen1/Gen2 settings in chipset.

Note that this bios does not have the pretty look and feel as the 1.2, but all the same options.  Here is the download link: http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=15578659339316454721

load this file onto a bootable usb (root directory) and flash it from inside the 1.2 bios.

btw: i see a lot of posts about all these bios tweeks and what asrock said was this mb was built to load all 6 gpu's right out of the box without any tweeks. (still tweaked mine)

If this makes your day, please comment to this (so everyone knows its legit) and consider a donation:  ETH: 0x6d3853a12899dad23c9768e1d3fc00e3c98c8edb

Good luck!   -Rizzo

I have the H81 Pro BTC R2.0 and tried with this PCI-e hub but it just could not detect the 6 or 7 GPU at all.
Tried several methods but nothing seems to work. It just could not detect any GPU connected to the PCE-e hub at all.
Not sure what seems to be the problem here.

Any help would be appreciated very much.

Hi there,
I tried putting pci-e hub in slot 2 (x16) and had no luck booting win10 with 8 GPUs.
I also tried disabling "everything" in bios so I can free some extra lanes but had no luck.
I guess it's 7GPU limit for this mobo 

Has anyone tried using a pci-e hub in slot 2 (x16) and using 8 GPU?  All I've seen on this thread is pci-e hub on slot 6 (x1).  I don't think it would matter because they're all connected on x1 lane, but who knows??  I want to run 8 not 7 but need some ppl out there to make sure

also, which mobo do you all have:
h81 pro btc +, or
h81 pro btc + r2.0

I don't have any experience with Nvidia's. For AMD, I needed to run the 6x mod for my windows 7 to see 6+ GPU's, not sure if there are any restrictions for Nvidia or not. I was planning to try 7 1080's onto the same rig and post updates, but waiting to see what Vega is all about first.

i think i'm going to try this, not enough slot anymore, can this work for nvidia too? should be no different

Yes, my cards are the reference models so the rom is from that thread.



As mention in the original post, frame came from spotwood. You can see a link to his website from the original post.

That is very cool ,7 GPU working on one computer.
 and i like the shelf , I think you are build it by yourself..
where i can buy that material?

pikachuy can you tell us what custom bios do you use on this XFX Rx480 ?
do you use the rom from Eliovp https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/update-rx480-ref-31mh-custom-rom-vddc-offset-custom-timing-1584617
480LowEnergyOK
or
RX480Mod.zip
?

I custom-made that cable for him, so PM if you want info.

It's a good thing keying keeps you from plugging a standard GPU 8-pin into the CPU jack. You can't really tell with EVGA's monochrome cables but the pinouts are also very different. The GPU connector has 5 grounds (mostly on the clip side) and 3 hots, while CPU has four hots (all on the clip side) and four grounds. To make one fit in the other would probably result in disaster.

Love your setup!

It looks like it's safe to power a 6+2 pin PCIE off the CPU2 connector on the PSU?

I just built a 7 GPU frankenrig but the standard PCIE cables from the EVGA 1300W don't fit in the CPU2 slot. They have a notched end on one of the 12v connectors the prevent you from plugging into the CPU2. Thankfully one of my GPU's is a 470 so I'm just using the a 6 pin PCIE branch to power it.

Building a second 7 GPU rig now and I really like your setup.

Where can I buy a PCIE cable that will fit in the CPU2 slot? Assuming the CPU2 slot can be used to power a 6+2 PCIE.

Hi all

Because there is real problem on the market with mobos. H81, tb85, tb250 and other cheap mobos for mining always out of stock i was wandering maybe there is some chance to buy some normal mobo for around 50-60$ that has 2 or 3 pcie slot and use 3in1 pci hub for run 6 or 7 gpus on this mobos. Is it possible? And if yes someone can advice some cheap motherboard dor this job?

the original PCIe expander hub you linked to is "no longer available" on Amazon.

There are others but their descriptions read like really badly translated Chinese to English.

Like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/MonkeyJack-Express-Multiplier-Expander-Expansion/dp/B06ZYSCTW3/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493985960&sr=1-5&keywords=PCI-E+1X+1+to+3+Port+1X

and this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Mokao-PCI-e-Express-Switch-Multiplier/dp/B01LPIGJR8/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493985960&sr=1-3&keywords=PCI-E+1X+1+to+3+Port+1X

What do you think? Do they look too sketchy?

I forgot, everything was bought brand new right when the RX480 debut, so on the top of my head, each reference rx480 8gb costed about $230 (including tax), multiply by 7 GPU = $1610 just for the GPU's alone. The rest of the parts you can already know their prices since they are common parts used for mining rigs.

This was a fun project, but now I have to let it go, I posted this rig in the marketplace in case anyone is interested https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/wts-complete-7-gpu-mining-rig-all-set-up-and-ready-to-mine-1900924

Yup, same results, try 8th GPU, no boot or post. So guessing 7 is max for Asrock H81 Pro BTC + PCIe Switch/Hub. There goes that.

i have H81 BTC pro & 3in1 switch, but 7x RX 480 4GB nitro+ max (works fine full stable) 8 gpu black screen.

I wll wait your update

wow, i waiting for this xD

I will give it a try later this week, have time finally to play around with it. I'll post updates on my findings to see if 8th GPU can mine without any special bios modding.

Have you try 8 GPU?

These are my BIOS settings, maybe give those a try:

http://imgur.com/a/0zVqw

Note: Make sure you enable onboard LAN, I disable mine on accident but forgot to take updated photos.

Side Note: There shouldn't be a problem. I was able to replicate this on 3 more rigs full of 7 GPU each all same parts. They are all using Windows 7 x64 Ultimate Edition.

not work for me only 6 gpu read after run ddu in safe mode and already change to gen1

have that cable bro?

I am mining eth + decred on my 2gpu unit at the moment and was thinking about investing in more mining hardware, however after reading ETH was going POS soon I am a little nervous to do so. How do you guys feel about this change or will you just switch to a new altcoin?

^^

Just wanted to ask same question...

Good job btw.

does the 8th gpu work?

It can be done.

wow nice cabling, btw. have peripheral & SATA to 6-pin cable for riser?

I use windows 7 x64, maybe give that a try.



Here's a diagram if you are use using 6 pin risers, the reason I choose this route is because I want minimum load on each wire to be safe to reduce heat/resistance in-cause of dual mining. Sidehack should be able to make all these cables if needed specifically for EVGA power supplies.

it's that use molex riser connector? if i use 6-pin riser connector it's same using this diagram of your setup?


can u give me some pict for your rig from PSU to riser?

I have no luck it does not work at home,

Claymore starts and recognizes my 7 gpu, but my driver 16.9.1 beug has claymore opencl.



this patch is for w10 ?

Here are my steps:
1. Install the hardware of the PCIe splitter (only need power from molex or sata, not both) and GPU's and connect everything.
2. Boot into BIOS and change PCIE link speed to gen1.
3. Boot computer in safe mode.
4. Run DDU to install all old drivers from here http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html
5. Reboot computer normally.
6. It should show 7 gpu in device manager, if so, install drivers 16.9.1 (I have tested and it seems the most stable for me) http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop/previous/detail?os=Windows%207%20-%2064&rev=16.9.1
7. Once driver's are installed, do not reboot computer. Download this and run it and modify registry https://lbr.id.lv/6xgpu_mod/
8. Now reboot, and everything should work.

I do not understand, it does not work with me,

How did you do to install the 7gpu?

You install the 7 gpu and install driver after?

Or did you install driver with 1 gpu and then boot with the 7?

At home windows 10 recognizes the 7 gpu well, but when I run claymore I lose the driver. And i have bsod, and when i want to reboot it does not boot.

I understand your concerns, nevertheless it is still really impressive. Again thx for sharing!

wow very wonderful rig, hopefully someday im gonna build a rig like that. But it is too expensive, your videocards here in our country is very expensive like our electricity bill here is expensive too. But someday I wish I could have that too.

Yeah.  470/480s can do that pretty easily.  You just don't want to go above 300w total on a single pcie line.

I wanted each port on my EVGA PSU to power each GPU individually, so it maxed out at 7 (No more ports available). Also, I am on a 20 amp breaker at 120v, so that is a max of 2400 watts. Two 7 gpu rigs combine is about 2000 watts already. That is about 83% load. If I try to add any more GPU, then it might be near the max of my 20 amp breaker and also wanted to give it some cushion too in case of spikes.

But if you really wanted me to give it a try, I can add a 8th card just for the heck of testing. But will need to find some time.

Wow this really awesome dude... I just finished a six card setup with same motherboard... Thx for sharing, Hey do you think putting an eighth card in that extra pcie slot you have there would work? Wattya think?

Yea, I thought about that too, but then I wanted to future proof my rig, in case future cards require (2) 6pins or (2) 8pins each, then I am ready for them, just need to swap out the cards and good to go with no modification needed. Since right now, each GPU has a spare 6+2 PCIe as can been in the photos of the rear. I would hate having to redo my cables in the future if the newer cards requires more PCIe ends, which is the reason why i took this step.

To save yourself some cabling in the future, you can split one power cable to two of your 480s easily.  I use a 6pin to dual 6+2 pin adapter and the builds are much cleaner.  Very nice job though.

Cool. It's good to see everything working, took some figuring out to get the cable needs nailed down but it looks great.

Yup, thanks for them. And yes, your cables are being used. Each riser and each GPU is independently powered from their own ports on the EVGA power supply, except for one port is powering 2 risers because of my 7 GPU set up (My powered risers are the 4 pin molex, I don't feel comfortable using those sata to molex adapters so I had sidehack make some molex ends for my PSU).

Here is a diagram of my setup in-case anyone else is interested:
(Note: Riser 5 is on a molex split because I needed a power source for my SSD.)

Regarding cables:

Yes, I've always made cables. Been selling PSU breakout boards for a little over three years and they've always shipped with in-house-manufactured cables.

The cables I made for this build are 24" from EVGA 8-pin PCIe (and CPU) split to two PCIe 6+2. 18AWG wiring is necessary for doubling up in a pin (double 16AWG is too much wire for a solid reliable crimp) but that's still good for about 150W per end, meeting PCIe 8-pin spec.

Not sure if they're in use in this build but I also supplied some 6-pin to 4-Molex for riser power, plugging into the EVGA's SATA/RERP ports.

Hmm, thats odd, it should of, mine does. Maybe it might need a delay and some adjustment. Try changing your .bat file to this and let me know if it helped:


Yea, I had to get creative, I did the same thing with the SSD drive, and just slide it down near the PSU, so it won't be dangling around. Everything sits nice and stable, even did a tilt/wobble test =)

The distance from the top of the motherboard to the bottom of the USB risers is about 4.5 inches.

@pikachuy I love how you leveraged the modularity of the extrusions to mount the PCIe Switch/Hub.   

What is the distance from the top of the motherboard, to the bottom of the USB risers?

I couldnt find the H81 BTC, but I was able to buy one of these new Biostar BTC motherboards that use the B250 chipset (Kabylake + Skylake CPUS, DDR4)  - Got it from NewEgg (now it seems to be out of stock I guess) https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138449&cm_re=Biostar_BTC-_-13-138-449-_-Product


I've built a frame with wood, and plant to start with a 3 GPU rig, and move up to 6 GPUs in  a month.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bbHoEb5MKy_lcjyrwWKelf3yGIYT3atQsmybAzk2DxM7mzyd_-_4r7IWdCq7Xugq9JJupBKe1LKYPR680yJPbymnsgqYg729k_rYJbRG41rY8dZKmiS4ZvCjyifFetpRtzE3LcjZ0kjC8357W9qhOGL4vrGoOByf23-35o9rS9iiKawMwnwYMU9KykFSb78Wqxcx_3BxQB9Xqs7jWtSwpN6f6Ab2V7AUM5stMD7C8PcHdDw1DacMaccncEpY4g41YF-QedQOZ3evfZyow2vh6ZZjenqcFHICxfrwVcmPv49Fyq4gw08AEU5S7dR0_ddm5fbyK2kOpTNKvrpqutwOlPMW9hlZLp24lSDii6F9mNDttpXo0Ra7vjoxzHW064Gvkmnx40LUQcP2_B01wwXgNHoQlRQQC1Rt3mVFHUfoSwek1PY6wBlCT5L9Q_rUCn_hJJuu14NmzLVxLkpha5BVjYn-Q6yB0FShxVXe_YbTB_sXWz94OoWkomQqGKlT0gIza7xT9Uv1aAXWEG7-W0Z9ZbNgQyJCwc1WlrjpX8_X6Ni7ltyw2ygxJPzLb-X7CyDJ7IsyBKEwRjvWOX7DYYVJmlTKSR3R-Rf0Eh_bG8J2yoYdO26yCRqPyg=w1234-h925-no

Regards,
Vish

Nice rig you got there. I could change the H81 PRO BTC for another 1150 with 6 pci x1? The H81 is really hard to find where I live.Ty

I did exactly what you said, I think.

At startup windows wattTool loads automatically but it does not load my profin .ini

A basic Intel Pentium G3240

What processor are you using??

Great thanks!  I didn't realize he made cables as well.

Thank you for your answer pikachuy .

 

From my experience, with this motherboard, it would not boot sometimes if there is no display/monitor connected. So the dummy plug emulates a monitor being connecting all the time, that way, I am guarantee the computer to boot up, even if I restart the computer remotely. I updated the original post to include comments about the dummy plug and link.


What I did was go on the first GPU in WattTool, and set up the settings to my liking, and then save profile, and then I go onto the next GPU and repeat, and save profiles (like GPU1.ini GPU2.ini GPU3.ini and etc.). Once that is all done for your GPUs, create a new text file in the WattTool folder named "Run.Bat". Then right click that new file and choose edit, and enter in something like this "WattTool-0.92.exe GPU1.ini GPU2.ini GPU3.ini GPU4.ini GPU5.ini GPU6.ini GPU7.ini" and save. Then right click that file and create shortcut. Now take that shortcut file and place it into your startup folder. Now when your computer boots up, it will load up all your profiles automatically. When ever I need to tweak stuff, I just make my changes and re-save the profiles to their appropriate name and it will still auto-load at startup.


Correct, you can use either or. If you have no Molex, you can power the switch/hub with SATA. If you have no SATA, you can power it with Molex.

The switch has both SATA and Molex connectors. I think I see in your pictures that you only connected the Molex? No need to connect the SATA as well?

What does it serve your dummy plug?

To keep a resolution when you take remote control?

Or did you find that? Do you have a stp link? I'm from europe.




Actually it works well wattTool I did not get down to 0.90v with msi afterburner, but with wattTool no problem.

The file that tut speaks is the file ExampleProfile?

Do you place it or this file so that it starts automatically?


thank you in advance

I got my cables from sidehack, can see his thread here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/fs-gs-server-psus-boards-kits-stickminers-gpu-riser-power-made-in-usa-940317

Nice setup.  Just wondering what kind of PCIe cables those are and where did you get them.  I've been looking for some spare PCIe cables for EVGA power supplies.

Watttool is kind of similar like MSI afterburner, but to me, I like WattTool better because I can change all the settings in a simple text .ini file and have it load at startup easily. I'm not much of a graphical interface kind of person when it comes to underclocking/overclocking. All the settings I need (voltage offset, GPU control, memory control, fan control, and etc) all in a plain text file easily for me to modify.



Yes, I am using a dummy plug as you can see from the pictures, only setting I changed was set PCIe to gen1, and disable onboard GPU.



This is the case I got, http://spotswoodcomputercases.com/wp/?page_id=8791

Hi Pikachuy. Are you using dummy plug? Any magic settings in BIOS? Thanks.

Hello,

it's makerbeam or openbeam?

it work well your pci express 1 to 3

Hmm interested.

I will test.

What is this watttool tool?

It serves to modify the bios or is it a soft like msi after burner?

Nicely done! Love the case too

UPDATE: Steps I did to do the same is on the bottom of this post.
UPDATE2: Tried 8 GPU, and it was blank screen/no post or boot, so 7 GPU is max with this setup.

Well, after reading all this talk about motherboards with 7 PCIe slots for 7 GPU rigs, it got me into the hype of wanting it too. But all my rigs are Asrock H81 Pro BTC motherboards and didn't want to buy a new motherboard for each of them, just to add a 7th GPU. I've read about PCIe switches/hubs and decided to give it a try and want to share my findings with others.

Here's my setup:

Motherboard: Asrock H81 Pro BTC
Processor: Intel Pentium G3240
Ram: 8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws Series
Storage: 60GB SSD
Power Supply: EVGA 1300 G2
Cards: (7) XFX 480 8GB Reference (Custom public bios, thanks @Eliovp)
PCIe Switch/Hub: https://www.amazon.com/PCI-E-Switch-Multiplier-Expander-Expansion/dp/B01ERXUEOM
Custom power cables for the EVGA to power 7 GPU and 7 Risers (thanks @sidehack for the nice quality cables, and a custom CPU to VGA modular cable https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/fs-gs-server-psus-boards-kits-stickminers-gpu-riser-power-made-in-usa-940317)
Drivers: 16.11.5
Tools: http://www.overclock.net/t/1609782/watttool-a-simple-tool-that-combines-overclocking-with-vrm-monitoring-tweaking-for-rx-400-series
O/S: Windows 7 X64 with 6+ GPU MOD (https://lbr.id.lv/6xgpu_mod/)
Bios settings changes: Set PCIE2 Link Speed to gen1, and disable onboard GPU, Also, see post #44 for all my bios settings here https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.18803505
NOTE: HDMI Dummy plug used because sometimes it would not boot without a display connected so I used a dummy plug 24/7 since I manage it remotely with teamviewer https://www.amazon.com/CompuLab-fit-Headless-Display-Emulator/dp/B00FLZXGJ6/

And a shout out to @Spotswood for the nice quality open frame (http://spotswoodcomputercases.com/wp/?page_id=8791), puts my PVC frame to shame:








And a look at the PCIe Switch/Hub nicely mounted:






Now time for the good stuff...

I downclock/lowered my numbers a bit instead of going for the 31+ Mh because power consumption and heat is a big factor for me.

Here is my Claymore mining ETH at a stable ~204 Mh:


Here is my GPU-Z:


Here is my WattTool settings (results may vary):


Now after all that is done, here is my Kill-A-Watt meter:


So 204 Mh at about 976 watts is pretty dang good for me. Just a shy under 1000 watts for a 7 GPU rig setup with 200+ Mh.

Now one is done, time to do the others (fun stuff)!

Here are my steps:
1. Install the hardware of the PCIe splitter (only need power from molex or sata, not both) and GPU's and connect everything.
2. Boot into BIOS and change PCIE link speed to gen1.
3. Boot computer in safe mode.
4. Run DDU to install all old drivers from here http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html
5. Reboot computer normally.
6. It should show 7 gpu in device manager, if so, install drivers 16.9.1 (I have tested and it seems the most stable for me) http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop/previous/detail?os=Windows%207%20-%2064&rev=16.9.1
7. Once driver's are installed, do not reboot computer. Download this and run it and modify registry https://lbr.id.lv/6xgpu_mod/
8. Now reboot, and everything should work.