B250 BTC 12P -12GPU Mining Motherboard @$139 worth it?

[hwgeek]

Hi all,
last few weeks it was really hard finding mining hardware at normal prices, few days ago found this MB with B250 and 12 GPU support under $150 including shipping, what do you think? anyone have some info on those unbranded MB's?
Found on Banggood:
Use code: aff7off

[MarkAz]

I haven't used that specific one - but I have been using a bunch of Chinese no-name boards lately, and really I've found them to be fine.  The biggest issue I think you could run into with this would be the BIOS, but if the one they ship with works well, then you probably have nothing to worry about.  Most of the 'name brand' Chinese boards like Onda and Colorful are just OEM anyway from someone else, so it's not like they really have that much insight or help otherwise.

If you get it, just make sure to post your experiences with it so others can learn as well. 

[EricJH801]

I ordered 2 of these on eBay from a Chinese seller, i'm still waiting them to show up but will post when I get them.

Hi all,
last few weeks it was really hard finding mining hardware at normal prices, few days ago found this MB with B250 and 12 GPU support under $150 including shipping, what do you think? anyone have some info on those unbranded MB's?
Found on Banggood:
Use code: aff7off

[shibob]

I'm have tested this mainboard with 11 P106-100 before, and it's quite ok. Currently I have 1 rig using this for 8 GTX 1060 3GB.
I think Biostar is from Taiwan not China right? The things I like most on this MB are: it's cheap and stable.

[ViperGuy]

I would personally skip this board and go with the Gigabyte GA-B250 for $150. I just picked up two new ones in a combo deal for $120 each. The GA-B250 is a solid board from a real manufacturer.

[Geldor]

I need help with this motherboard.
I bought one on aliexpress because the reviews were positive but I can not make it work. I could not install windows10, I had crashes all the time. Never at the same time or for the same reason.
I ended up testing my ram with memtest. Yet the ram is new and have no errors with an asus prime z270-P (edit not A).
I have errors in very large numbers with this motherboard.
The bios is incredibly complicated. with many options
There are weird things. for example the bios indicates 0-7 sata port, while there are only 4.
The port numbering on the map does not match that of the bios.
Mobo port1: bios port4
port2 Mobo: port5 bios
port3 Mobo: port2 bios
port4 Mobo: port3 bios
To boot in normal mode, you have to activate the CSM and put the video in legacy mode otherwise the screen remains black.
to install windows with the default bios, you need a UEFI bootable key.
There is no documentation. Apparently no possibility to update the bios. And there will probably be no update anyway.
There are two molex power outlets, I do not know what they are for. On the users' pictures it seems that they are useless even with 8-10 gpus.
There are some hardware updates when we get to install windows 10
The built-in gpu is an intel 510.
The bios indicates 2 channels with 2 dimm or vice versa, while there are 2 slots.
The second ram memory slot does not work at all and the motherboard keeps booting and shutting down.

If other owners could share their experience.
Thanks.

I have intel pentium g4400 3.3ghz  + ddr4 qumox 4go 2133mhz 288pins
could this be an incompatibility with this material ?
Before buying a new ram I have to confirm its compatibility with this motherboard.
Bios is aptio setup utility v 2.18.1263. Built date 01/17/18

Edit : I just received ballistix by micron, no more memtest error. Can't say more i was stuck with crashes.

[melpheos]

I bought the 7 port version and it's working absolutely fine.
I have about the same hashrate as on my asrock mining board.
Had to go this knockoff motherboard because price was stupid high on the original parts (not to mention availability)

[CryptoCrucian]

I just got the same and cant manage to get it to see more than 3 cards... No instructions.  It's behaving like the Biostar without enabling the mining option.   Seems like it was solid at first.  I started adding 1 card at a time. Hasrate was good..

Basically, I have exactly the same hardware that was posted,  GPU = 570 strix.  Using 007 rises

[jmigdlc99]

I had the exact same board. I had it RMA-ed then immediately sold it.

My rig was unstable while using this board (frequent random restarts) and when i tried to update the BIOS it crashed in the middle of installation.
When i switched to the ASUS mining expert my rig suddenly became rock stable.

[WoW_Fishmonger]

Any help anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated.
I can't get it to boot from USB, and it won't even recognize my SSD... no manual so I'm SOL.

[CryptoCrucian]

Update - My board is working fine and has been now for 2 months.  Workin better and more stable than some of my other name brand boards
What I ended up doing in the bios?

NOTHING!!

Plug and play running SMOS + 12 RX570 4g cards, 3 750 server supply with break outs boards and 1 pico switch to power the MB from a 6pin.. Easy

[EricJH801]

I had this same issue today, it wouldn't boot up off a USB stick but I ended up booting up off a USB DVD Drive.   Pain but it worked.  Will be adding GPUS this weekend.

Any help anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated.
I can't get it to boot from USB, and it won't even recognize my SSD... no manual so I'm SOL.

[rie3630]

hi, i has bought this board... yes you are right installation need dvd for installation window. i have stuck to put gpu no 9.
window bsod problem

did anyone know how to bios in the start up setting ? for gpu 9

all RX580

[szczur333]

restore board to defaults


I have 6 of them (3 normal like on pic and 3x matx usb instead pci-e slots)

i plug 12x 1050ti and 12x RX470/570 plug and play - always works (with windows10 which i install from USB stick)

only problem i had when i try to test HIVE OS - then you have to enable CSM and play with settings there

[jeremyismer]

Hi all,

I've got one of these boards and have been having limited success. The supplier has given me a few hints (turn on CSM and a bunch of settings there), turn off the 4GB setting, and I am able to boot into windows, install some cards etc.

I've got a G4400 and 8gb of RAM. I'm running Win7.

But, I can get 6 cards installed ok and drivers installed, but I start getting Error Code 12 (This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system.)

I can't figure out if this is the bios or windows causing this. As mentioned, the bios is a bit of a confusing setup, and there isn't much there that seems to help. I've disabled audio, onboard graphics, all sata ports bar the boot drive, but still can't get enough resources. I've tried the 6gpu mod, but that didn't resolve it.

My gut feeling is that it is bios.

Anyone have any luck with it?

[Vann]

I'm running Win7.

That's you're problem. Upgrade to Windows 10 and you can run up tp 13 GPU's.

[jeremyismer]

Yeah, I was beginning to wonder. I will try do a win10 install see if I get on any better,

[jeremyismer]

I did a fresh win10 install, but still the same problem. Can anyone share their bios settings they used to get this thing going?

[jeremyismer]

Well, I got Win10 installed, but still had the same resource problem. But I did find the intel documentation and tracked down the TOLUD option and set to 3.5 gb and now have 6 cards running. But 7 cards gets me back to that new card having error code 12 again.

Better than before, but still not the way I expected this to be.

So in summary, CSM on, legacy for storage and video.
TOLUD to 3.5 gb
Above 4gb MMIO disabled.

Windows 10 and it is working with 6.

I'm running 18.2.2 Radeon as well.

[jeremyismer]

Just another update in case anyone stumbles upon this. I got 7 cards working finally. I found my Win10 install was in legacy mode, not UEFI.

I ended up making a UEFI Win10 USB install drive. Reset the bios. I set the internal gfx to be primary, as once I installed one or more cards I was getting a triple beep. Got it all installed (and fought my way through all the win10 setup again, (updates, start menu not working, etc.).

So I have 7 AMD cards working on this motherboard with Win10 UEFI install (1709). It's running well and stable. So all in all, once I figured out what I was doing, it is a good value board.