Affordable motherboard for GPU mining?

[QuintLeo]

Given the cost of ANY Intel CPU, I can't see how anyone can recommend Intel-based motherboards for miners.

 Definitely go AMD.

 Gigabite has a new revision of their Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 board out, which is a good thing as the old version had gotten to be a pain to find in stock anywhere for a while.

Because for the price of an UD3 I can get both a H81 and a Pentium G3420.

 Going by Newegg pricing from when you COULD get that CPU, you can get an H81 for less than $20?

 Your CPU *ALONE* costs almost as much as the UD3 motherboard - which is a fairly expensive motherboard by AMD motherboard standards.


 P.S. Newegg lists that motherboard as having been around $60 - but "not available".

[mickiya]

Given the cost of ANY Intel CPU, I can't see how anyone can recommend Intel-based motherboards for miners.

 Definitely go AMD.

 Gigabite has a new revision of their Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 board out, which is a good thing as the old version had gotten to be a pain to find in stock anywhere for a while.

Because for the price of an UD3 I can get both a H81 and a Pentium G3420.

 Going by Newegg pricing from when you COULD get that CPU, you can get an H81 for less than $20?

 Your CPU *ALONE* costs almost as much as the UD3 motherboard - which is a fairly expensive motherboard by AMD motherboard standards.


 P.S. Newegg lists that motherboard as having been around $60 - but "not available".

I use Intel CPU in the mining is that it is more energy efficient. If I use it for a few years, the saving on electricity is worth the price difference and it has higher sale value.

[bathrobehero]

Given the cost of ANY Intel CPU, I can't see how anyone can recommend Intel-based motherboards for miners.

 Definitely go AMD.

 Gigabite has a new revision of their Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 board out, which is a good thing as the old version had gotten to be a pain to find in stock anywhere for a while.

Because for the price of an UD3 I can get both a H81 and a Pentium G3420.

 Going by Newegg pricing from when you COULD get that CPU, you can get an H81 for less than $20?

 Your CPU *ALONE* costs almost as much as the UD3 motherboard - which is a fairly expensive motherboard by AMD motherboard standards.


 P.S. Newegg lists that motherboard as having been around $60 - but "not available".

I'm not from the US but here are the prices available to me:
UD3: $138
G3420: $69
H81 Pro BTC: $66

And they are all in stock (for now).

[Abiky]

I'm not from the US but here are the prices available to me:
UD3: $138
G3420: $69
H81 Pro BTC: $66

And they are all in stock (for now).

The H81 Pro BTC looks like it is the cheapest motherboard available so I will give that one a try for my first rig. As long as it is reliable, I have nothing to worry about except installing the GPUs and their USB cable risers. I might set this up on a milk crate, but I think it would be better to buy a custom rig mount (like the ones on Ebay) so I won't need to do all the work of making the holes in the milk crate for the ports of the motherboard.

Take a look at this custom open air frame case for GPU mining rigs, and let me know if it would be a great buy. Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/KADA-6-1-GPU-Mining-Rig-Open-Air-Frame-Case-Aluminium-Chassis-with-6-USB-Risers-/201058353189?hash=item2ed0030025:g:tvwAAOxyhXRTLk2C

[bathrobehero]

I'm not from the US but here are the prices available to me:
UD3: $138
G3420: $69
H81 Pro BTC: $66

And they are all in stock (for now).

The H81 Pro BTC looks like it is the cheapest motherboard available so I will give that one a try for my first rig. As long as it is reliable, I have nothing to worry about except installing the GPUs and their USB cable risers. I might set this up on a milk crate, but I think it would be better to buy a custom rig mount (like the ones on Ebay) so I won't need to do all the work of making the holes in the milk crate for the ports of the motherboard.

Take a look at this custom open air frame case for GPU mining rigs, and let me know if it would be a great buy. Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/KADA-6-1-GPU-Mining-Rig-Open-Air-Frame-Case-Aluminium-Chassis-with-6-USB-Risers-/201058353189?hash=item2ed0030025:g:tvwAAOxyhXRTLk2C

Looks great if you don't mind spending that much on it. I mean it looks great and it's easy to use but it pushes your ROI way back.

I prefer making my own frames with wood similar to this (not mine) which is dirt cheap and spend the excess on another GPU or better PSU.

[Abiky]

I'm not from the US but here are the prices available to me:
UD3: $138
G3420: $69
H81 Pro BTC: $66
 
And they are all in stock (for now).

The H81 Pro BTC looks like it is the cheapest motherboard available so I will give that one a try for my first rig. As long as it is reliable, I have nothing to worry about except installing the GPUs and their USB cable risers. I might set this up on a milk crate, but I think it would be better to buy a custom rig mount (like the ones on Ebay) so I won't need to do all the work of making the holes in the milk crate for the ports of the motherboard.

Take a look at this custom open air frame case for GPU mining rigs, and let me know if it would be a great buy. Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/KADA-6-1-GPU-Mining-Rig-Open-Air-Frame-Case-Aluminium-Chassis-with-6-USB-Risers-/201058353189?hash=item2ed0030025:g:tvwAAOxyhXRTLk2C

Looks great if you don't mind spending that much on it. I mean it looks great and it's easy to use but it pushes your ROI way back.

I prefer making my own frames with wood similar to this (not mine) which is dirt cheap and spend the excess on another GPU or better PSU.

Looks great! The only thing is that I don't know much about building frames myself. I rather prefer to buy it fully assembled. Isn't there such a wooden frame where you could buy it prebuilt? 

[bathrobehero]

I'm not from the US but here are the prices available to me:
UD3: $138
G3420: $69
H81 Pro BTC: $66
 
And they are all in stock (for now).

The H81 Pro BTC looks like it is the cheapest motherboard available so I will give that one a try for my first rig. As long as it is reliable, I have nothing to worry about except installing the GPUs and their USB cable risers. I might set this up on a milk crate, but I think it would be better to buy a custom rig mount (like the ones on Ebay) so I won't need to do all the work of making the holes in the milk crate for the ports of the motherboard.

Take a look at this custom open air frame case for GPU mining rigs, and let me know if it would be a great buy. Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/KADA-6-1-GPU-Mining-Rig-Open-Air-Frame-Case-Aluminium-Chassis-with-6-USB-Risers-/201058353189?hash=item2ed0030025:g:tvwAAOxyhXRTLk2C

Looks great if you don't mind spending that much on it. I mean it looks great and it's easy to use but it pushes your ROI way back.

I prefer making my own frames with wood similar to this (not mine) which is dirt cheap and spend the excess on another GPU or better PSU.

Looks great! The only thing is that I don't know much about building frames myself. I rather prefer to buy it fully assembled. Isn't there such a wooden frame where you could buy it prebuilt? 

Probably, but I don't know any.
Two things came to mind though; the first being that custom frames like you linked preserve their prices well, so you can resell them anytime. The second thing is that for beginners wood is probably not the best idea because wood is flammable. Granted, you'd need to mess up royally to have it catch on fire but still, it's not unheard of.

[QuintLeo]

I'm not from the US but here are the prices available to me:
UD3: $138
G3420: $69
H81 Pro BTC: $66

And they are all in stock (for now).

 Someone's seripusly gouging you on the UD3 - it's about $110 from Newegg, the H81 is around $60 IIRC for comparison.

[Murtiya]

H81 is specifically designed for the GPU mining, it is better than any mother board for this purpose. It can support 6 graphics card.

[Abiky]

H81 is specifically designed for the GPU mining, it is better than any mother board for this purpose. It can support 6 graphics card.

Apparently, the H81 Pro BTC motherboard is Out of Stock from Newegg. I tried looking for it on ebay or Amazon but the price is much expensive. I guess that I will have to wait in order to get one, or maybe buy a similar motherboard with less PCI slots. 

[mickiya]

H81 is specifically designed for the GPU mining, it is better than any mother board for this purpose. It can support 6 graphics card.

Apparently, the H81 Pro BTC motherboard is Out of Stock from Newegg. I tried looking for it on ebay or Amazon but the price is much expensive. I guess that I will have to wait in order to get one, or maybe buy a similar motherboard with less PCI slots. 

Some MSI motherboards have 7 PCIE slots, like G41, G45, GD55 or GD65.  I bought the MSI Z77A GD55 for $160 two years ago. I sold it for $180 a few weeks ago. They are in demand.

[Abiky]

Some MSI motherboards have 7 PCIE slots, like G41, G45, GD55 or GD65.  I bought the MSI Z77A GD55 for $160 two years ago. I sold it for $180 a few weeks ago. They are in demand.

Great! I have a look into them and check which one would be suitable to start mining according to my budget. About the ideal power supply for the GPUs, how do I know how many watts PSU do I need for lets say 6 or 7 GPUs? I just want to know since I don't want to waste money on a bigger watt power supply, when I could have bought one that meets the wattage requirements for the GPUs. 

[fricircled]

Some MSI motherboards have 7 PCIE slots, like G41, G45, GD55 or GD65.  I bought the MSI Z77A GD55 for $160 two years ago. I sold it for $180 a few weeks ago. They are in demand.

Great! I have a look into them and check which one would be suitable to start mining according to my budget. About the ideal power supply for the GPUs, how do I know how many watts PSU do I need for lets say 6 or 7 GPUs? I just want to know since I don't want to waste money on a bigger watt power supply, when I could have bought one that meets the wattage requirements for the GPUs. 

If your electricity is more than $0.2/kWh, then do not mine.

If you can buy AMD 7990, that is the best for Ethereum mining in terms of price, performance and power consumption. You might get ROI with this.

With 4x 7990 = 8GPU, so it is best to reduce the overhead cost of the PC system. It also just needs 4 PCIE slot. You can even use a micro ATX motherboard.

For Ethereum mining with h4x7990 and you undervolt and underclock, a 1250W power supply is OK.

[atp1916]

Some MSI motherboards have 7 PCIE slots, like G41, G45, GD55 or GD65.  I bought the MSI Z77A GD55 for $160 two years ago. I sold it for $180 a few weeks ago. They are in demand.

Great! I have a look into them and check which one would be suitable to start mining according to my budget. About the ideal power supply for the GPUs, how do I know how many watts PSU do I need for lets say 6 or 7 GPUs? I just want to know since I don't want to waste money on a bigger watt power supply, when I could have bought one that meets the wattage requirements for the GPUs.  

Need context to qualify a response, as in: what card(s) you'll be building your rig out on.

[QuintLeo]

Do some digging to find the wattage used by your total cards, plus the CPU and the motherboard itself - then add some reserve capasity just in case, 20% is a good rule of thumb if you have GOOD wattage figures to work with.
 If you're running higher-end cards, figure you're going to probably need more than one PS.

[Akarabzie]

I'm building a GPU rig the next week or so using an old AM1 socket mobo for a few weeks but will most likely be picking up a refurb'd MSI g45 from newegg to replace it. I've had that board in two different machines and never had issues. I'll be putting a Corsair RM1000 to power 2 7990's. Probably the lowest PSU wattage you wanna go if you run two 7990's I may try to get two more and power them with a 1000w HP server PSU that people have been using here to power their bitcoin miners. Look up dogie's guides he has it listed there and its pretty cheap i think $45 on amazon. So hopefully won't have any issues mining on the MSI G45 with 4 sapphire 7990's. Essentially 200 MH/s of mining power on 2000w without being full load. If you're looking for the most efficient card for your money it's gong to be the 7990. .

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s5SaThZ5eOSAiVMpmuIjz-_YjIlcxttAzKuWKAbczds/edit#gid=0
Look here for a spread sheet the ethereum guys have put together...That's what i'll be mining.

[Akarabzie]

I wouldn't recommend the 7990, they are good for gaming but they can not run 24/7 .... and after 2-3 weeks of mining they get burn  

Yeah I'm hoping that underclocking them a tad will help in the not burning department  But if they go I will just swap to full 7950s

[mickiya]

I wouldn't recommend the 7990, they are good for gaming but they can not run 24/7 .... and after 2-3 weeks of mining they get burn  

If you reduce the voltage to 1v or lower, the frequency to 900MHz or lower, the card will last quite long.

[crsminer]

I wouldn't recommend the 7990, they are good for gaming but they can not run 24/7 .... and after 2-3 weeks of mining they get burn  

Why do you say that?

I have a 7990, running stock at under 70 degree.

Should I be concerned?

Thanks!

[Akarabzie]

I wouldn't recommend the 7990, they are good for gaming but they can not run 24/7 .... and after 2-3 weeks of mining they get burn  

Why do you say that?

I have a 7990, running stock at under 70 degree.

Should I be concerned?

Thanks!

Depends on how long you've been running and what kind of quality your PSU is. Depends on what you are mining but things like Ethereum are heavily Memory dependant and not core dependent. You shouldn't lose any hashrate by lowering your core clocks and keeping your mem clocks the same or a little higher. may save you on power usage and lifespan on the card as well.

As always keep your cards COOL. Big fans are a great to help this in open air rigs.