Motherboard/BIOS installation and configuration for mining

New to building a computer, and therefore a mining rig? In this more technical video from 2021 (in French), we first show you how to install the components on the motherboard, then how to update and configure the BIOS so that all the graphics cards are properly detected.

1. The motherboard used

We use an MSI motherboard with a B450 chipset, for AMD processors. It is a gaming board to begin with, but it has one big advantage for mining: six PCI Express slots, so six risers. You can even connect a seventh graphics card to the M.2 slot, using an inexpensive adapter sold in our shop.

There are also motherboards designed for mining, such as the ASRock H110 Pro BTC, Gigabyte H110 boards or Asus B250 boards. With these models, you usually do not need to update the BIOS, and sometimes you do not even need to configure it.

2. Install the processor and memory

1. Processor: place it carefully in its socket.
2. Cooler fan: install it, then plug its cable into the fan power header, which is easy to find on the motherboard.
3. RAM: this motherboard has four slots, with their names printed on the board. On some models, like this one, the first stick must go in a specific slot.

3. Connect the power button and the power supply

To start the machine, you need to connect a push button. On this motherboard, it goes on the JFP1 header: the instructions are printed on the board, and the button goes on the two pins marked "Power Switch".

As for power, there are only two things to connect to the motherboard:

• the 24-pin connector, the motherboard's main power supply;
• the processor's 8-pin cable, on the connector marked CPU_PWR.

4. Update the BIOS

On a gaming motherboard, a few settings are needed for all the graphics cards to be detected, starting with a BIOS update:

1. Go to the manufacturer's website (MSI here), to the page for your motherboard model, then to the support and BIOS section.
2. Download the latest version and copy it to a USB stick plugged into the motherboard.
3. In the BIOS, accept to enter flash mode: the motherboard restarts into the update tool.
4. Select the file and let the installation run, about three minutes.

On our motherboard, the original BIOS dated from March 2020; we install the latest version, E3, from late September 2021.

5. Configure the BIOS for mining

Press F7 to switch to advanced mode, then set the following options:

• Above 4G memory/Crypto Currency mining: the most important setting. It must be enabled for all the graphics cards to be detected.
• PCI Express slot speed: we usually set Gen2, but Auto mode may be enough.
• Re-Size BAR Support: a recent option that sometimes needs to be enabled.
• Integrated Graphics Configuration: there are three modes. Auto, PEG (the display goes through a graphics card plugged into a PCI Express slot) and IGD (the processor's integrated graphics). Hence our advice: buy a processor with integrated graphics. You then need no graphics card for the display, just use the motherboard's video output.
• Restore after AC power loss: set to "Power On", the motherboard restarts automatically when power comes back after an outage.
• Boot mode: CSM is the old method, UEFI the more modern way to detect components and boot. We recommend UEFI: CSM must not be enabled.

All that is left is to save: the motherboard configuration is complete.

What about today?

Since Ethereum moved to proof of stake on 15 September 2022, GPU mining income has collapsed. To mine today, most people turn to ASIC miners, which are configured from a web interface, with no motherboard or BIOS to set up.

For the next steps of the build, read our article How to build a mining rig and our HiveOS tutorial. To mine today, browse our ASIC miners, or contact us for advice before you buy.