Building my first mining rig [Problems]

[chris3296]

Hello everyone,
after following cryptos a long time and missing great opportunities I finally decided to build my first mining rig.
Since I am not VERY experienced in this matter it was only a question of time to run in trouble. 


First of all I want to tell you which components I have bought:
1) Mainboard: Asrock Z97 anniversary [http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z97%20Anniversary/index.de.asp]
   - I originally wanted to buy the H97 edition but it has a long delivery delay in my location at the moment so i thought this would also do the job?
2) PSU: FSP-Aurum PRO 1200 [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B008410E4Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
3) Intel BX80646G1840 Celeron G1840 Prozessor [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00K5OJ0TS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
4) 120 GB SSD [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00A1ZTZOG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
5) Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM 8GB [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B006YG94Y2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
6) Power Switch [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B000PELTVA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
7) CPU cooler [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00OB40ULU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
   - I was not sure why I bought this one additionally since the Celeron delivered a small cooler with it. I mounted this one anyways but switched        to the celeron one because it was just too big. I was not able to connect my risers with my mainboard while this one was mounted on the mainb.
8 ) Device to measure my Wattage [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B007459MH6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
9) 5x (soon hopefully 6) MSI Radeon RX 470 GAMING X 8GB [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01JP9U51A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
10) PCI-E riser USB [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B06W57J72K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
     -Still waiting for the delivery thats why I bought other ones too:
https://i.imgur.com/5mc0DQn.png
     - now those are just some random 1x -> 16x riser and 16x -> 16x riser without any USB connection. But they have MOLEX which I connect to the power supply.. (why do they need power supply anyway if they are just some sort of extension?)

So far so good.
Here I started connecting everything to my "case":
https://i.imgur.com/pVnlGkv.jpg
My result today after changing the cooler again and connecting everything now looks like this:
https://i.imgur.com/4UW78sI.jpg

Since I have never used multiple GPUs in a single PC I first wanted to make it work with 1 GPU(connected via Riser). So I installed Ubuntu which I have no experience with. Manged to figure out that my hardware was properly connected but I had some difficulty with booting and sometimes I would get no signal when the HDMI is connected to the GPU, only working when the HDMI is directly connected to the mainboard.
Not knowing how to really solve this I switched to win10 trying to make it work first before also switching to an operation system which i dont know at all.

After installing windows, updating the BIOS to the newest version and installing all drivers[INF, Video driver] it finally boots and restarts without any problems or graphic issues(while using riser).

So at this point 1 GPU is connected via Riser to my PCI-Express 16pin slot, so Iam using a 16 to 16 riser from the image I have uploaded.

At this point I was pretty confident and things start to go weird and I cant find any solution. When I now connect a second or third GPU with the other riser from the image (1 to 16) and try to boot it either
1) gives no signal at all while the GPU clearly runs
2) freezes in boot menu
3) shows windows screen and gives no signal afterwards

I have tried to connect the cards in different variations.. a combination of my 16/16 riser and multiple 1/16 riser, only 3x the 1/16 riser and nothing seems to make a difference.. after reading a bit about my mainboard Iam not even sure if i can use it for mining anyway..

now after plugging cards on and off I tried to go back to the state I mentioned above when everything seemed to work. So I only use 1 GPU connected with the 16x16 riser and it also gives me no signal at all..



So my questions are:
1) does anyone also use the Z97 anniversary edition mainboard? should I buy another one or is it possible to use it for multi gpu mining?
2) what other possible causes of my issues there may be?
3) does anyone have any further tips concerning my setup or issue?

Thank you very much in advance for taking the time to read my post.

[Cereberus]

Hello everyone,
after following cryptos a long time and missing great opportunities I finally decided to build my first mining rig.
Since I am not VERY experienced in this matter it was only a question of time to run in trouble. 


First of all I want to tell you which components I have bought:
1) Mainboard: Asrock Z97 anniversary [http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z97%20Anniversary/index.de.asp]
   - I originally wanted to buy the H97 edition but it has a long delivery delay in my location at the moment so i thought this would also do the job?
2) PSU: FSP-Aurum PRO 1200 [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B008410E4Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
3) Intel BX80646G1840 Celeron G1840 Prozessor [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00K5OJ0TS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
4) 120 GB SSD [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00A1ZTZOG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
5) Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM 8GB [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B006YG94Y2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
6) Power Switch [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B000PELTVA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
7) CPU cooler [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00OB40ULU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
   - I was not sure why I bought this one additionally since the Celeron delivered a small cooler with it. I mounted this one anyways but switched        to the celeron one because it was just too big. I was not able to connect my risers with my mainboard while this one was mounted on the mainb.
8 ) Device to measure my Wattage [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B007459MH6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
9) 5x (soon hopefully 6) MSI Radeon RX 470 GAMING X 8GB [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01JP9U51A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
10) PCI-E riser USB [https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B06W57J72K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
     -Still waiting for the delivery thats why I bought other ones too:

     - now those are just some random 1x -> 16x riser and 16x -> 16x riser without any USB connection. But they have MOLEX which I connect to the power supply.. (why do they need power supply anyway if they are just some sort of extension?)

So far so good.
Here I started connecting everything to my "case":

My result today after changing the cooler again and connecting everything now looks like this:


Since I have never used multiple GPUs in a single PC I first wanted to make it work with 1 GPU(connected via Riser). So I installed Ubuntu which I have no experience with. Manged to figure out that my hardware was properly connected but I had some difficulty with booting and sometimes I would get no signal when the HDMI is connected to the GPU, only working when the HDMI is directly connected to the mainboard.
Not knowing how to really solve this I switched to win10 trying to make it work first before also switching to an operation system which i dont know at all.

After installing windows, updating the BIOS to the newest version and installing all drivers[INF, Video driver] it finally boots and restarts without any problems or graphic issues(while using riser).

So at this point 1 GPU is connected via Riser to my PCI-Express 16pin slot, so Iam using a 16 to 16 riser from the image I have uploaded.

At this point I was pretty confident and things start to go weird and I cant find any solution. When I now connect a second or third GPU with the other riser from the image (1 to 16) and try to boot it either
1) gives no signal at all while the GPU clearly runs
2) freezes in boot menu
3) shows windows screen and gives no signal afterwards

I have tried to connect the cards in different variations.. a combination of my 16/16 riser and multiple 1/16 riser, only 3x the 1/16 riser and nothing seems to make a difference.. after reading a bit about my mainboard Iam not even sure if i can use it for mining anyway..

now after plugging cards on and off I tried to go back to the state I mentioned above when everything seemed to work. So I only use 1 GPU connected with the 16x16 riser and it also gives me no signal at all..



So my questions are:
1) does anyone also use the Z97 anniversary edition mainboard? should I buy another one or is it possible to use it for multi gpu mining?
2) what other possible causes of my issues there may be?
3) does anyone have any further tips concerning my setup or issue?

Thank you very much in advance for taking the time to read my post.

Yes the Z97 anniversary edition supports multi gpu mining. You need to start out your rig with one GPU first , see if it loads up until to windows, if it does try with 2 cards and so on. Usually with this board you will have a few problems with 6 GPU but it should support well 5 GPU-s. If it doesn't give you signal even with 1 GPU then you should have your mainboard troubleshooted. I don't know about ASRock but latest MSI motherboards have already prebuild led lights that tells you what your problem could be.

If you ask me a 6th generation motherboard should work much better for mining than a 4th generation motherboard, so if you have some money left by all means by a Z270 motherboard from MSI, it supports up to 8 GPU-s without problems.

[chris3296]

Yes the Z97 anniversary edition supports multi gpu mining. You need to start out your rig with one GPU first , see if it loads up until to windows, if it does try with 2 cards and so on. Usually with this board you will have a few problems with 6 GPU but it should support well 5 GPU-s. If it doesn't give you signal even with 1 GPU then you should have your mainboard troubleshooted. I don't know about ASRock but latest MSI motherboards have already prebuild led lights that tells you what your problem could be.

If you ask me a 6th generation motherboard should work much better for mining than a 4th generation motherboard, so if you have some money left by all means by a Z270 motherboard from MSI, it supports up to 8 GPU-s without problems.

Hello Cereberus,
really appreciate your input! Iam glad to hear that it is possible to use this mainboard for mining, I will anyways look for your mentioned alternatives.
Right now I have managed to get the setup running with 1 GPU and it seems to work so far.. Those cheap risers are kind of a headache because the MOLEX pins are not manufactured well. Furthermore I managed to boot the PC with a second GPU connected (the first one connected to the monitor is put in the x16 PCI slot and the second one in one of the 3 x1 PCI slots), BUT in windows screen I get kind of artifacts which makes me think something cant be right. The second GPU also shows some weird behaviour concerning the fan speed.. It switches from 0-100% every few seconds while the first one is completely shut off (due to low temperature i guess). Thats how far I have progressed now 
It is also not regocnized in device-manager.

Any further suggestions are very appreciated.
Thanks again!

[LoveCaptcha]

Yes the Z97 anniversary edition supports multi gpu mining. You need to start out your rig with one GPU first , see if it loads up until to windows, if it does try with 2 cards and so on. Usually with this board you will have a few problems with 6 GPU but it should support well 5 GPU-s. If it doesn't give you signal even with 1 GPU then you should have your mainboard troubleshooted. I don't know about ASRock but latest MSI motherboards have already prebuild led lights that tells you what your problem could be.

If you ask me a 6th generation motherboard should work much better for mining than a 4th generation motherboard, so if you have some money left by all means by a Z270 motherboard from MSI, it supports up to 8 GPU-s without problems.

8?? what are you talking about!! 

[xxcsu]

Are you completely blocking the vga cards hot air exhaust end

[Ahead]

Hi,

1st of all. the risers you are using are the worst you can get (try getting some usb version 6 or 7, it would make your life easier). Difference from version 6 to version 7 is that the riser in version 7 has a SATA power connector (i think)

2nd. Check that all GPU's are working properly (one by one, with just one connected to the motherboard at a time, without riser!)

If all cards work fine, then wait for the risers. If that doesn't work also, then check the motherboard.

 

[chris3296]

Hi,

1st of all. the risers you are using are the worst you can get (try getting some usb version 6 or 7, it would make your life easier). Difference from version 6 to version 7 is that the riser in version 7 has a SATA power connector (i think)

2nd. Check that all GPU's are working properly (one by one, with just one connected to the motherboard at a time, without riser!)

If all cards work fine, then wait for the risers. If that doesn't work also, then check the motherboard.

 

Hey there,
Today I have ordered some USB risers -again-.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/2x-USB3-0-PCI-E-Express-1x-bis-16x-Extender-Riser-Karte-Adapter-USB-Kabel-Mining-/332089821794?hash=item4d52188a62:g:rwkAAOSwopRYc0sc
hope those will do the job, those are really the only ones which will be delivered within 2 weeks  
Will see to send the old ones back to the shop. Additionally I will send back my motherboard if possible.
The risers I posted in the first post from amazon were fraud.. hope I wont have to wait too long

In my other PC I have build in a "GIGABYTE GA-970-GAMING" https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B019NFFJXK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Is this one any better for Multi GPU than my Z97? Or should I directly buy the Z270 motherboard from MSI (since the GIGABYTE one only has 4x PCI-E and 4x USB 3.0?)

Are you completely blocking the vga cards hot air exhaust end


https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FpVnlGkv.jpg&t=575&c=qbFeF9vpKVCNTQ

Hey xxcsu,
you are right, seems like my rail partly blocks the side of the vgas.. do you think this will be significant? If really needed I am in reach of a milling machine.. so when everything is working I can monitor the heat and if it really makes a difference I could still adapt it..
https://i.imgur.com/XQ60l8x.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/fNW5Cab.jpg

[Cereberus]

Check here why Z270 chipset is better taken from techreport website

"The biggest upgrade for the Z270 chipset comes from the addition of four more PCIe Gen3 lanes. This allows the chipset to support up to 24 general purpose PCIe lanes, compared to 20 in the Z170. The "up to" qualifier exists because the motherboard maker is given some degree of flexibility with how it wants to allocate the chipset's flexible I/O lanes. Some of the lanes that can be used for PCI Express could be multiplexed with USB 3.0 and SATA ports. A motherboard could be designed to give consumers the maximum number of PCIe lanes for expansion cards, or the designer could swing the pendulum the other direction to maximize the number of USB 3.0 ports. Or, mobo makers could settle on a happy mid-point. Point is: mobo makers have options."

It is the latest chipset of latest generation intel motherboards toward enthusiast people. I see you are one so why not get this board.

[xxcsu]

Are you completely blocking the vga cards hot air exhaust end

Hey xxcsu,
you are right, seems like my rail partly blocks the side of the vgas.. do you think this will be significant? If really needed I am in reach of a milling machine.. so when everything is working I can monitor the heat and if it really makes a difference I could still adapt it..

Those exhaust ports are there for a reason , even when you are using open case you need those , if you want your rig mine stable without any overheating (...mem/gpu/voltage regulator...) you should give those cards a perfect airflow , if you are covering , blocking them its create a back air pressure to your cooling fans , your fans have to work much harder , cooling efficiency will be bad , your mem chips might going to work way over the ideal temp .
I dont think you really need that 5-6cm wide "backwall" to hold those cards , 1-1,5 cm should be enough, im not sure what material are u using... Also you will need some kind of support platform under the pcie riser cards. Something like this :

[chris3296]

Hello again,
just wanted to give a small update. After purchasing the Z270, new CPU and Risers finally arriving, my rig is finally working!
So far so good, just did a quick test run.

Everything seems to be finde, just have one more question Iam kind of concerned about..

MSI Afterburner states that I draw around 80w/GPU, fully 100% exhausted while mining.

1) Still the temperature wont go over 60-63°C (?) the fans are not even turning, sometimes just minimalistic. Can this be true?
2) I have plugged a wattage measure device to the rig.. It states that the rig pulls 1500Watt while mining? I am using a 1200W PSU.. Is this even possible?

Does anyone have an explanation for this?

Thanks guys for your support so far!

[Ahead]

Hello again,
just wanted to give a small update. After purchasing the Z270, new CPU and Risers finally arriving, my rig is finally working!
So far so good, just did a quick test run.

Everything seems to be finde, just have one more question Iam kind of concerned about..

MSI Afterburner states that I draw around 80w/GPU, fully 100% exhausted while mining.

1) Still the temperature wont go over 60-63°C (?) the fans are not even turning, sometimes just minimalistic. Can this be true?
2) I have plugged a wattage measure device to the rig.. It states that the rig pulls 1500Watt while mining? I am using a 1200W PSU.. Is this even possible?

Does anyone have an explanation for this?

Thanks guys for your support so far!

Hi there,

80w/GPU is the power consumption of the chip and PCB board of the GPU. The fans power consumption (and any leds on the card) is not calculated in MSI afterburner (or any other software as far as I know).
So each card can go up to 125-200 (or more) watt depending on the card type, model and manufacturer (different fans, leds, etc)

If your PSU is 1200w and the meter on the wall shows 1500w, then you need to get a new BIGGER PSU, or get a 2nd one (800w for example) to power 2 or 3 GPU's from it. (remember to power the risers from the same PSU. example: 4 GPU's and the 4 risers for those GPU's from PSU 1, the rest of the cards + their risers from the 2nd PSU). If this is going to be your setup, remember to always power up the second PSU 1st! (the one that is not connected to your motherboard). Or simply get a 2 PSU power up link cable (search ebay)

Also you can try to bios mod and under-volt the cards for lower power consumption and better hasrate.