The recent jump in the cost of bitcoin and ether raised the prices for video cards to the skies and slightly affected the motherboards. It is necessary to understand what size of the "farm" will be optimal, depending on the capabilities and appetites of the miner. Buy a video card is not difficult, online stores a lot, but to begin to decide on the choice.
Criteria of choice
It is worth paying attention to some important factors: the
- form factor of the motherboard - ATX and microATX;
- type of connector for the processor.
ASUS H81M-PLUS
- Motherboard model for Socket LGA1150 supports Intel Celeron G1840 processor and is equipped with four PCI Express slots (1 x PCIe x16 and 3 x PCIe x1): this indicator is key, because it depends on it the number of video cards that can be use for mining.
- It is also recommended to use 1 power supply. For example, if you install 6 GTX 1070 graphics cards on the "farm", which consume a total power of 900 W, you will need a 1200W power supply, or better with a 1500W power reserve (though, such a power supply will cost a fairly large amount).
- There is an alternative option, which is to use 2 blocks. This will solve the problem, but you need to be careful, since many inexperienced miners violate the installation rules. One power supply unit is "powered" by all the risers and, say, two video cards, and the other by the other four. It turns out that video cards, powered from different units through risers, consume energy from different blocks. If you recall the school course of physics about the difference in potentials, you can guess the consequences. Two blocks, even if they are absolutely identical, can have different output voltages and different drawdowns.
This motherboard is designed for the processors of the Intel Skylake line and due to its wide functionality it should interest gamers and experienced miners.
ASUS MAXIMUS VIII HERO
It supports the use of six video cards. This is an intellectual choice, aimed at demanding users who want to get a motherboard with balanced indicators, appropriate quality and reasonable price. The ASUS MAXIMUS VIII HERO uses six PCI Express ports, which allows you to increase the size of the "farm" by half compared to the ASUS H81M-PLUS.
ASRock H81 Pro BTC R2.0 A
- motherboard designed specifically for miners. It uses 3 x PCIe x16 and 4 x PCIe x1. More often only six video cards are launched; as a rule, if the seventh starts, then with big problems. Very practical model.
- Easy to install the operating system. One of the best operating systems, according to many miners, is Windows 7, as it is fairly easy to configure, you can easily disable all updates without too much trouble, it will not overwhelm the system (something to download, send or load an SSD).
It must be remembered that the use of the "farm" is becoming very popular among users. While the prices for bitcoin and ether remain rather high, the cost of these components will be at an appropriate level.