Asus has revealed a new motherboard specifically designed for cryptocurrency miners who need lots of GPU power, with the mobo being capable of supporting no less than 20 graphics cards.
The H370 Mining Master motherboard (with an LGA 1151 CPU socket) follows up on the previous B250 Mining Expert board, and makes a number of refinements aside from the sheer amount of graphics cards you can plug into the thing (although admittedly, it’s only one more card than its predecessor, as the B250 supported 19 GPUs).
It replaces the B250’s PCIe x1 slots with vertical PCIe-over-USB ports that allow for USB riser cables to be plugged directly into the ATX motherboard. In other words, this connection is a sturdier method than using a PCIe card (as was required with the B250). And by using less parts, there’s less chance of issues occurring, so you should see better overall reliability in your mining PC.
Furthermore, Asus has introduced a suite of diagnostic utilities to help keep the mining rig running smoothly. Features incorporated include GPU State Detection, which scans the system at boot to look for any potential problems with connected graphics cards.
Debug disco
Asus also notes that the on-board diagnostics are complemented by individual debug LEDs that light up when issues are encountered, showing at a glance which components are having trouble.
Finally, the H370 also benefits from a ‘mining mode’ which comprises of various UEFI tweaks to ensure that some mining-related settings are optimally adjusted out of the box, saving the user the trouble of having to manually do this themselves.
Asus didn’t reveal any information concerning the price or availability of the new motherboard, but hopefully we’ll hear some details along those lines soon. The previous B250 currently retails at around £160 or $140 online.
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