6 GPU Motherboards · 8 GPU Motherboards
We’ve compiled a list of cryptocurrency mining rig 8 GPU motherboards to make hardware selection for builders easier. The list is a combination of manufacturer confirmations as well as from our own mining rig build experiences. GPU mining motherboard manufacturers include ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI.
8 GPU motherboards for cryptocurrency mining
Do note that one or more M.2 to PCI-e adapters are required to reach the 8 GPU capacity. These adapters are simple to install and inexpensive. You can find more information about M.2 to PCI-e adapters, including how to calculate how many you will need, beneath the list of motherboards.
Please read the comments regarding ASUS Z3xx-A and Z3xx-P motherboards directly after the list. In short, some mining rig builders are experiencing a 4 GPU limitation with these boards while others are having no issues.
| Motherboard | PCI-e | M.2 | Max GPUs | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASUS Z370-A II * | 7 | 2 | 8 * | Check |
| ASUS Z390-A * | 7 | 2 | Check | |
| ASUS Z370-P * | 6 | 2 | Check | |
| ASUS Z270-A | 7 | 2 | 9 | Check |
| Gigabyte Z170X G 3 | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
| Gigabyte Z170X G 5 | 7 | 2 | 9 | Check |
| Gigabyte Z170X G 6 | 7 | 2 | 9 | Check |
| Gigabyte Z170X UD3 | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
| Gigabyte Z270X G K5 | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
| MSI H310F Pro | 13 | 0 | 13 | Check |
| MSI Z170A G Pro Carbon | 7 | 1 | 8 | Check |
| MSI Z170A G Ti | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
| MSI Z270 G Pro Carbon | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
| MSI Z270 G M5 | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
| MSI Z270 G M6 AC | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
| MSI Z270 Krait G | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
| MSI Z270 SLI PLUS | 6 | 2 | 8 | Check |
* Regarding the Z370-A, Z370-P and Z390-A Motherboards
- Z370-P Motherboard: Many Z370-P builders have reported a 4 GPU limitation on their Z370-P motherboards. Some have hit this limitation and by trying different firmware versions, overcome the limitation and ran 8 GPUs.
- Z370-A Motherboard: A few Z370-A builders also reported the same 4 GPU limitation that many Z370-P builders were faced with. As with the P boards, some Z370-A board builders did eventually find a BIOS firmware version which allowed for 8 GPUs.
- Z390 Family Motherboards: We have heard little about challenges with Z390-A motherboards but did want to call attention to the Z3xx series motherboards which could theoretically also pop up in the 390 family.
Other reasons for the 4 GPU limitation that have been reported included not disabling all of the SATA ports barring the one SATA port being used for the system’s SSD or hard drive.
Some of the motherboards above can support 9 GPUs and all obviously support less than 8 GPUs.
M.2 to PCI-e adapters
Getting to 8 GPUs or more requires at least one M.2 to PCI-e adapter. These adapters transform a M.2 SSD slot into an additional PCI-e slot. Installing them takes just a couple of minutes. To determine how many of these adapters to buy, simply look at how many PCI-e slots the motherboard you are interested in has. Subtract that number from 8. That is how many adapters you need.
The ASUS Z370-A motherboard, for example, has 7 PCI-e slots. That means it would require adapter to reach 8 GPUs. And, since this motherboard has 2 M.2 slots. you could purchase two and go to 9 GPUs.
We have purchased and used the following M.2 adapters:
An 8 GPU motherboard means ‘up to 8 GPUs’
If you’re not going to be running 8 GPUs when you do your initial build, you should still consider if an 8 GPU motherboard might be the right fit. Just because it supports 8 GPUs doesn’t mean your system must have 8 video cards. All of these motherboards can run with up to 8 GPUs.
The most common customer build we do is a 6 GPU mining rig. For those mining rigs, we still go with an 8 GPU motherboard. The cost difference is negligible and it allows for future expansion.
