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Ultra-Gaming

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Mining with the Z270X Ultra-Gaming Motherboard

How-To Enable all 6 GPUs with the Z270X Ultra-Gaming Motherboard

I use a fair amount of the Gigabyte Z270X motherboards in my rigs, and have run into an issue where only 5 of the 6 GPUs will be seen by Microsoft Windows 10.  To get the 6th one to display there are a few steps, that I can list below.  The good news is your system will see the GPUs…Windows just doesnt know how to allow the OS to access them all.

First thing….install the latest BIOS for the motherboard.  You can get this from the Gigabyte manufacturer site.

Next, configure the bios by performing the following:

Reboot

Press DEL

Enter Setup

On the M.I.T Tab, navigate to Miscellaneous Settings and select it.

Then select Max Link Speed

Scroll down to Gen 2 and select that option

Next you want to Navigate to the BIOS tab

Scroll down to Windows 8/10 Features and select that option

Make sure Windows 8/10 is selected, not Other OS

Scroll down to CSM Support and select that option

Set it to Disabled

You can now Save and Exit your Bios, reboot your rig, and all of your video cards will be functional.  If you find that you cannot boot your Windows installation, it may be that you need to install the OS using UEFI support.  If that is the case and you do not want rebuild at this time, simply undo the changes above and you are back to where you began.

Hardware I used in this build:
Motherboard (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/2JqGJZ7

CPU (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/3qevp2X

Memory (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/2JqHn8Z

Hard Drive (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/3lic3X5

Risers (QTY 6):
https://amzn.to/33rIgVE

Power Supplies (QTY 2):
https://amzn.to/3fTRpLR

Add2PSU (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/39s4URY

GPUs (QTY 6):
https://amzn.to/2JqvXC8

Power Switch (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/3ljmNVk

My Setup – Ubuntu Mining Rig with NVidia 1080Ti cards

Rig Parts Breakdown and Driver Installation for the NVidia 1080 TI GPUs on Ubuntu 16.04.04

I have several rigs running at any given time. Below you will find the equipment list for my NVidia 1080 TI Rigs, and also the installation instructions on getting the Drivers working under Ubuntu 16.04.04

Rack to Install the Hardware On.  I usually put two full rigs onto one single rack.  It saves space and I end up stacking mine (QTY 1): Seville Classics 3-Tier UltraZinc Cabinet Organizer, 7.5″ W x 17.5″ D x 18.5″ H

These steps will help you install the drivers.  It assumes that you have the hardware connected and Ubuntu Server 16.04 already installed.

Log into your Rig

Open a Terminal

sudo bash

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

apt-get install gcc libglu1-mesa libxi-dev libxmu-dev libglu1-mesa-dev screen

lspci | grep -i nvidia

Check to see if all gpus are listed

apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

mkdir /miner && mkdir /miner/drivers/ &&  mkdir /miner/drivers/nvidia && cd /miner/drivers/nvidia

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa && sudo apt update 

wget https://developer.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/9.1/Prod/local_installers/cuda_9.1.85_387.26_linux

chmod +x cuda_9.1.85_387.26_linux

mv cuda_9.1.85_387.26_linux cuda_9.1.85_387.26_linux.run

apt-get purge nvidia*

screen sh cuda_9.1.85_387.26_linux.run

Answer “yes” for installing the nvidia-drivers, the cuda tools and the symbolic link.

nano /etc/ld.so.conf.d/cuda-9.1-x86_64

put only one line:
/usr/local/cuda-9.1/lib64

Save the file and exit

Then run

ldconfig

In the next step you will want to change tacticalware to the name of your home directory

cd /home/tacticalware/ && nano .bashrc

add this to the end:
# add cuda tools to command path
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/cuda-9.1/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
export PATH=/usr/local/cuda-9.1/bin:$PATH

Save the file and exit

systemctl disable lightdm.service

reboot

Log back in and check to ensure all of your GPUs are still accessible

nvidia-smi

That’s it.  Your GPUs are setup and ready to mine!

Hardware that I use:
Motherboard (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/2JqGJZ7

CPU (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/3qevp2X

Memory (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/2JqHn8Z

Hard Drive (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/3lic3X5

Risers (QTY 6):
https://amzn.to/33rIgVE

Power Supplies (QTY 2):
https://amzn.to/3fTRpLR

Add2PSU (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/39s4URY

GPUs (QTY 6):
https://amzn.to/2JqvXC8

Power Switch (QTY 1):
https://amzn.to/3ljmNVk