Multiple PCIe graphic card motherboards

[keybaud]

Does anyone have a list of motherboards that will take multiple 2-slot wide PCIe graphic cards. The older the better, as I'd like to use a cheap, low power CPU if possible. I've looked at some, but there doesn't appear to be sufficient space for 2-slot cards.

Thanks.

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[grndzero]

My old system died, right after I upgraded luckily. Since it was just the motherboard I decided to resurrect it originally as Vmware Vshpere box before I discovered Bitcoin. I got a brand new Intel D975XBXLKR ATX LGA775 on Ebay for $50 and it has slots that will hold 3 double wide cards. LGA 775 is around 5 years old and the dawn of the Core 2 and Pentium D chips and was a solid rig at the time.

[allinvain]

By multiple you mean more than 2 and less than 4? Or? How many PCIe slots are you expecting?

[TenthReality]

My old system died, right after I upgraded luckily. Since it was just the motherboard I decided to resurrect it originally as Vmware Vshpere box before I discovered Bitcoin. I got a brand new Intel D975XBXLKR ATX LGA775 on Ebay for $50 and it has slots that will hold 3 double wide cards. LGA 775 is around 5 years old and the dawn of the Core 2 and Pentium D chips and was a solid rig at the time.

+1 for this board, running 3x 5870's on one without problem.  You can find this 775 motherboard+cpu for < $75,  DDR2 is dirt cheap if you only want a gig or two.  Makes for a wonderful foundation for mining.

[allinvain]

My old system died, right after I upgraded luckily. Since it was just the motherboard I decided to resurrect it originally as Vmware Vshpere box before I discovered Bitcoin. I got a brand new Intel D975XBXLKR ATX LGA775 on Ebay for $50 and it has slots that will hold 3 double wide cards. LGA 775 is around 5 years old and the dawn of the Core 2 and Pentium D chips and was a solid rig at the time.

+1 for this board, running 3x 5870's on one without problem.  You can find this 775 motherboard+cpu for < $75,  DDR2 is dirt cheap if you only want a gig or two.  Makes for a wonderful foundation for mining.

Interesting. Thanks for the info. It's funny cause I'm looking for a motherboard for another mining ring and this one seems pretty nice. I do like the PCIe layout, and since you say that you run 3 5870s then I guess I'll take your word for it and assume that they will all fit just fine with good room for airflow.

My own concern is finding low power Intel chips from the 775 era

P.S I found this board on ebay for $42 CAD so that's like $45 or something around there USD

[grndzero]

My old system died, right after I upgraded luckily. Since it was just the motherboard I decided to resurrect it originally as Vmware Vshpere box before I discovered Bitcoin. I got a brand new Intel D975XBXLKR ATX LGA775 on Ebay for $50 and it has slots that will hold 3 double wide cards. LGA 775 is around 5 years old and the dawn of the Core 2 and Pentium D chips and was a solid rig at the time.

+1 for this board, running 3x 5870's on one without problem.  You can find this 775 motherboard+cpu for < $75,  DDR2 is dirt cheap if you only want a gig or two.  Makes for a wonderful foundation for mining.

Interesting. Thanks for the info. It's funny cause I'm looking for a motherboard for another mining ring and this one seems pretty nice. I do like the PCIe layout, and since you say that you run 3 5870s then I guess I'll take your word for it and assume that they will all fit just fine with good room for airflow.

My own concern is finding low power Intel chips from the 775 era

P.S I found this board on ebay for $42 CAD so that's like $45 or something around there USD

It looks like it will do Pentium 4, Pentium D, and Core2, though the compatibility is more tricky for Core2.

Here's the compatible CPU list. Basically you're looking for an 800Mhz chip. http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/d975xbx/sb/CS-026566.htm

The nice part is it's a previous generation without being completely obsolete so it shouldn't be too hard to find people selling parts.

[allinvain]

Why such fixation on intel chips? AMD semprons work just fine and costs are lower.

I agree. The sempron would be a better way to go (plus 45 W TDP), but I'm having a hard time finding a suitably cheap board that has 2+ PCIE slots with good spacing. It seems I can find tons of those MicroATX and MiniATX boards, but I'm looking for an ATX sized one.

Do you have any recommendations Vladimir?

[allinvain]

My old system died, right after I upgraded luckily. Since it was just the motherboard I decided to resurrect it originally as Vmware Vshpere box before I discovered Bitcoin. I got a brand new Intel D975XBXLKR ATX LGA775 on Ebay for $50 and it has slots that will hold 3 double wide cards. LGA 775 is around 5 years old and the dawn of the Core 2 and Pentium D chips and was a solid rig at the time.

+1 for this board, running 3x 5870's on one without problem.  You can find this 775 motherboard+cpu for < $75,  DDR2 is dirt cheap if you only want a gig or two.  Makes for a wonderful foundation for mining.

Interesting. Thanks for the info. It's funny cause I'm looking for a motherboard for another mining ring and this one seems pretty nice. I do like the PCIe layout, and since you say that you run 3 5870s then I guess I'll take your word for it and assume that they will all fit just fine with good room for airflow.

My own concern is finding low power Intel chips from the 775 era

P.S I found this board on ebay for $42 CAD so that's like $45 or something around there USD

It looks like it will do Pentium 4, Pentium D, and Core2, though the compatibility is more tricky for Core2.

Here's the compatible CPU list. Basically you're looking for an 800Mhz chip. http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/d975xbx/sb/CS-026566.htm

The nice part is it's a previous generation without being completely obsolete so it shouldn't be too hard to find people selling parts.

Hmm, the Pentium 4 and Pentium D run hot from what I know - Core2 probably the same. A low power celery (Celeron) might do the trick. But I'm very much tempted to just go with AMD on this one.

[grndzero]

Why such fixation on intel chips? AMD semprons work just fine and costs are lower.

I don't disagree. I just contributed what I know. I don't know any athlon/sempron based boards that have slots to hold 2, let alone 3 double spaced cards.

In my case I already had a CPU and 4G of memory so it was worth buying the board to resurrect the system.

[TenthReality]

In my case I already had the board/CPU so going AMD wasn't going to happen since i already had everything cheap.

Quick note about cooling here, this machine is NOT in a case and is just sitting open on a piece of wood on a shelf that has multiple others and a large box fan in front of it.  My recommendation above and notes about 3x cards might not hold true if placed inside a case.

[allinvain]

I like layout and price of ASRock 890GX Extreme3, have not tested it yet though. AtrForz said bad things in the past about ASRock bios.

I see. So, what boards are you using in your commercial mining operation?

[Jaime Frontero]

Why such fixation on intel chips? AMD semprons work just fine and costs are lower.

I agree. The sempron would be a better way to go (plus 45 W TDP), but I'm having a hard time finding a suitably cheap board that has 2+ PCIE slots with good spacing. It seems I can find tons of those MicroATX and MiniATX boards, but I'm looking for an ATX sized one.

Do you have any recommendations Vladimir?

If I may, I can recommend the MSI 870A-G54.  2 PCIeX16 slots with proper spacing, and a PCIex1.

It does support Sempron ( http://www.msi.com/product/mb/870A-G54.html#?div=CPUSupport ).

[grndzero]

Why such fixation on intel chips? AMD semprons work just fine and costs are lower.

I agree. The sempron would be a better way to go (plus 45 W TDP), but I'm having a hard time finding a suitably cheap board that has 2+ PCIE slots with good spacing. It seems I can find tons of those MicroATX and MiniATX boards, but I'm looking for an ATX sized one.

Do you have any recommendations Vladimir?

If I may, I can recommend the MSI 870A-G54.  2 PCIeX16 slots with proper spacing, and a PCIex1.

It does support Sempron ( http://www.msi.com/product/mb/870A-G54.html#?div=CPUSupport ).

Board + 2G Crucial Ram + Sempron Processor = ~$155

If I was going to go that far I'd just go with the Athlon X2 ... the 20W is pretty negligible. You can even make up for the difference by getting the open box board for $29 less.

[luffy]

if i want to put 3 9750 (6 gpus)  do i have to use linux?

[allinvain]

if i want to put 3 9750 (6 gpus)  do i have to use linux?

If you want to use 8 gpus you have to use linux, but with 6 I think you should be fine with windows.

[Littleshop]

Why such fixation on intel chips? AMD semprons work just fine and costs are lower.

I agree. The sempron would be a better way to go (plus 45 W TDP), but I'm having a hard time finding a suitably cheap board that has 2+ PCIE slots with good spacing. It seems I can find tons of those MicroATX and MiniATX boards, but I'm looking for an ATX sized one.

Do you have any recommendations Vladimir?

If I may, I can recommend the MSI 870A-G54.  2 PCIeX16 slots with proper spacing, and a PCIex1.

It does support Sempron ( http://www.msi.com/product/mb/870A-G54.html#?div=CPUSupport ).

I am using one MSI 870U-G55 and next week will have a second.  It is too early to tell but it really seems well made.  The first one has been going for about 10 days with two 5870's. 

[allinvain]

That looks like a very nice board. Not sure though if I can justify getting one brand new. I'll have to hunt on ebay for a good deal, but so far I'm liking everything I've read so far about it. Also the PCIe layout is excellent and provides plenty of space between two 2 slot graphics cards.

[bitcoindaddy]

Anyone know where to get a cheap processor for the D975XBXLKR board? I can't seem to find anything except the newer models. Also the ones listed in http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/d975xbx/sb/CS-026566.htm don't seem to match up to Intel's part numbers.

[grndzero]

Try clicking the Processor Compatibility Tool at the top:

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/d975xbx/sb/CS-026566.htm

Newegg (if you live/order from the US) and Ebay in any country should have at least a few.