Creating a serious custom cryptocurrency mining rig requires specialized hardware and that includes crypto-specific motherboards, GPUs, power supplies, and for Chia farmers extra storage options. Biostar has today presented a motherboard dedicated to mining multiple cryptocurrencies, using Intel's high-end Z590 chipset.
Called the TZ590-BTC DUO, at the heart of this beast, lies a Z590 chipset connected to the LGA 1200 socket, capable of housing all of Intel's 10th and 11th generation of Core processors. It connects up to 128GB of DDR4 memory running at 3200 MHz, which was proven to be an important factor for Chia coin mining operations. But this board is not a one-trick pony as it can be used to mine many different cryptocurrencies.
A single PCIe 4.0 x16 slot and an additional eight PCIe 3.0 x1 expansion slots provide multiple opportunities to add your choice of GPUs for Ethereum mining. Just don't forget the cables.
Besides the numerous PCIe expansion slots, there are multiple storage options in the shape of up to four NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD slots and SATA III connectors for as many as 10 additional HDDs. This setup is perfect for Chia coin plotting, where the fast SSDs are used for extensive plotting efforts, while the slower SATA hard drives are used to store the plots.
This board doesn't lag in the IO department either. It has one PS/2 port for mouse and keyboard, one HDMI port for external display output, one VGA port for more legacy display support, four USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. Connecting to the outside world via the single Gigabit Ethernet port is powered by an Intel I219V LAN chipset
Overall, the motherboard features a very healthy selection of I/O, expansion, and storage options, all tailored towards one specific purpose. And that is cryptocurrency mining. If you happen to want one for your next mining rig, the pricing and availability are currently unknown, leaving us to wonder and rely on Biostar's regional distributors for more information.
