Biostar Reveals The First 8-Slot PCI-e Mining Motherboard (Update: Price)

By Steven Lynch
published

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Update, 8/1/17, 8am PT: Biostar informed us that the TB250-BTC will cost $130.

Original article, 7/24/17, 8:25am PT:

Biostar is back with yet another cryptocurrency mining motherboard, the TB250-BTC+, which is the world’s first 8-Slot PCI-e mining board.

The TB250-BTC+ joins Biostar's recently announced TB350-BTC and TA320-BTC mining motherboards. The company said this board is designed specifically for people  looking to "maximize your mining from home." According to the company, even though this board supports eight Nvidia or AMD graphics cards, the motherboard stays close to the safety limits of a continuous load rating for a typical 15amp household circuit. 

Given the fact that this board is based on Intel's B250 chipset, it features native support for 6th and 7th generation Intel LGA 1151 socket processors, two DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB of DDR4-2400M, a single PCI-E x16 3.0 slot and seven 7 x PCI-E x1 3.0 slots, 2 x PCI-E 12V 4-pin connectors, USB 3.1, and 7.1 channel HD audio. As with Biostar's other mining-specific motherboards, the TB250-BTC+ also includes a moisture proof PCB and low resistance mosfets as well as electrostatic discharge (ESD) and overvoltage protection.

As we have explained in the past, even though the Ethereum mining craze is showing signs of waning, many companies are still jumping on the cryptocurrency mining bandwagon with products designed specifically for miners.

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ModelBiostar TB250-BTC+
ChipsetIntel B250
CPU SupportIntel Core i7 LGA 1151 ProcessorIntel Core i5 LGA 1151 ProcessorIntel Core i3 LGA 1151 ProcessorIntel Pentium LGA 1151 ProcessorIntel Celeron LGA 1151 ProcessorMaximum CPU TDP: 95W
Memory2 x DDR4 DIMM Memory SlotDual Channel DDR4 2,400/ 2,133/ 1,866MHzMax 32GB Memory
Expansion Slots1 x PCI-E x16 3.0 Slot7 x PCI-E x1 3.0 Slot*Note: PEX1_6/11 slot are not compatible w/ ATX standard, users need extra connecting kit to install VGA card for crypto mining.
Storage6x SATA3 Connectors
USB4 x USB 3.0 Port1 x USB 3.0 Header2 x USB 2.0 Port2 x USB 2.0 Port (only 5V power, up to 1.5A)2 x USB 2.0 Header
LANRealtek RTL8111H - 10/100/1000 ControllerSupport Super LAN Surge Protection
Integrated Video*By CPU Model
Rear I/O1 x PS/2 Mouse1 x PS/2 Keyboard4 x USB 3.0 Port2 x USB 2.0 Port2 x USB 2.0 Port(only 5V power, up to 1.5A)1 x DVI-D Connector, resolution up to 1920 x 1200 @60Hz1 x RJ-45 Port3 x Audio Connector
Internal I/O1 x USB 3.0 Header2 x USB 2.0 Header6 x SATA3 6Gb/s Connector1 x SATA Power Connector(for rear USB power enhancement)1 x Front Audio Header1 x Front Panel Header1 x CPU Fan Header2 x System Fan Header1 x Serial Header2 x PCI-E 12V 4Pin Connector(Must be installed when using for bitcoin mining.)
Dimensions (W x L)29.5cm x 21cm
Steven Lynch
9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Giroro
    What are bitcoin miners going to plug into all those PCI-E x1 slots.
    I thought they were primarily mining with dual-slot PCI-E x16 GPUs.

    heck, 2 of those slots are inline with each other. I have no idea what could possibly fit there.
    Reply
  • Eximo
    For mining you don't need the bandwidth. Each card is typically hooked up using a ribbon cable.
    Reply
  • gstauffer
    I believe most mining rigs (insofar as setups dedicated to mining alone go) actually have the cards suspended over the motherboard in a rack of some type, with the GPUs attached using a PCIe x16 to PCIe x1 ribbon cable.

    As I understand it, it is not a high bandwidth application since while the GPU will be utilized heavily, the actual data throughput is low as the calculations take a significant time as compared to other applications like gaming that require processing a lot of data in real-time in order to render quickly.

    Others welcome to correct me if I'm wrong about any of this.
    Reply
  • skyviper80
    The cards are plugged in with a x1 to x16 riser board using either a ribbon cable (old school) or USB 3.0 cable. I have a couple mining rigs for alt coins. You should not try and mine Bitcoin with a GPU rig unless you want to just throw a couple grand away for fun. GPU mining is for altcoins like Ethereum, Siacoin, Monero, etc.
    Reply
  • lorfa
    19976810 said:
    heck, 2 of those slots are inline with each other. I have no idea what could possibly fit there.

    Just google "ethereum mining rig" to see how they do it. Prepare to be amazed by what you see..
    Reply
  • rsquared
    And board footprints for four more PCIe x1 connectors. Maybe Biostar is planning on a twelve-slot version later?
    Reply
  • rsquared
    Never mind, I just happened across the TB250-BTC PRO. The twelve-slot version already exists.
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    This fad needs to end or vendors need to increase GPU production capacity. The upside will be the glut of used GPUs when miners get tired of losing money on their rigs and devices start turning up for re-sell on the used market.
    Reply
  • menfou
    A lot of 8 pci-e already exist !!!
    MSI Big Bang P67 Marshal
    Reply