Which one of these mobos is best to run 5 7970s?

[MrBilling]

Which of these two mobos is best to run 5 7970s?


Both have 2 x16 and 3 x1 PCIe.

They are pretty much the same thing so I think that either one will work?


Anyone see any problems with either one of these board.



http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GA-970A-DS3-AM3-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B0083R9QQG/ref=sr_1_11?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1367008377&sr=1-11&keywords=AMD

http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GA-970A-D3-AM3-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B0056G10WK/ref=sr_1_10?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1367008377&sr=1-10&keywords=AMD

[bcpokey]

Might want to include which 2 mobos you're talking about

[MrBilling]

Might want to include which 2 mobos you're talking about

Duh.  Thanks

[bcpokey]

The two boards are essentially the same, I don't know enough to say what is diff between the D3 and DS3, but it is very unlikely to be something that significantly impacts mining.

[Vigil]

You could go with the ASRock FM2A85x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157339 - it has 3 Pci-e 16x and 2 powered 1x PCI-e.

[MisterMelancholy]

I'm using this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157262 It looks like I could fit a 3rd GPU on it if the power cables were shorter.

[thisway]

I'm currently testing a 5 cards setup without any luck. The 5th card is not working. Windows shows "Code 43". Is it possible to run 5 cards at once?

[bcpokey]

I'm currently testing a 5 cards setup without any luck. The 5th card is not working. Windows shows "Code 43". Is it possible to run 5 cards at once?

Yes, many people are running 5 cards at once. Check that you have enough power, and whatnot.

[go4gonzo]

I'm using this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157262 It looks like I could fit a 3rd GPU on it if the power cables were shorter.

I have the same board, highly recommended, however, it only hase 3 pci-e x16. Great board though.

[thisway]

I'm currently testing a 5 cards setup without any luck. The 5th card is not working. Windows shows "Code 43". Is it possible to run 5 cards at once?

Yes, many people are running 5 cards at once. Check that you have enough power, and whatnot.

I have a MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard and 5x7970 mounted on it. The motherboard supports 4x PCI-E x16 and 1x PCI-E x1. But still one card is showing Code 43. If I unplug another card, the card with error 43 starts to work. Im using windows 7 64x. I guess the motherboard is not capable of 5 cards. I guess the PCIe buses are somehow with shared resources.

[bcpokey]

That doesn't make terribly much sense, none of the lanes are listed as "shared" in the documentation, nor is the buffer being overloaded (hence why you can run an x16 card off an x1 lane). As I mentioned, you might want to check the power, perhaps trying a powered riser cable, in case your mobo cannot handle 5x75W through the lanes.

[thisway]

3 cards + motherboard are powered by a 1000W PSU. The other 2 cards are on a 700W PSU. All cards are connected to the motherboard via PCIe extenders.

EDIT:
These are the PCIe extenders
http://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/559/352/474/474352559_732.jpg
http://pics.10000300.unique-networks.eu/pics/22000435.jpg

EDIT2:
@bcpokey That is most probably the problem. Thanks for the hint!

[thisway]

@bcpokey I placed now 2 powered PCIe extenders, but still it is showing error code 43. Do I have to replace all PCIe extenders with powered extenders?

[bcpokey]

2 cards on power should be alright. Might be some funky-times with your dual PSU setup. If you have a kilawatts, check the wall-draw from the second PSU, I remember one fellow who had a dual set up similar to yours would find that all current was flowing through one PSU, and none through the other, even though he swore the cards were split between the PSU.