Mining board with 8x zotac p106

[kiore]

Should i run linux or windows 10 ?

Linux will be better if you are used to using it and maybe even worth learning if you want to really maximize this rig. Windows will be easier to start with but will bottleneck on the pcie lanes and CPU resources more as you add more GPUs.

[MeeLee]

Yeah, there are a lot of issues with folding from mining boards.
Like mentioned, Linux is your best OS, for lowest PCIE data transfer.
But even then, you'll need to run each card on a PCIE 2.0 x2 slot the least (or PCIE 3.0 x1).
Most mining boards supporting P106 GPUs have only one PCIE 3.0 slot max, and the remaining will run at PCIE 2.0 speeds, and they're all x1 slots.

So your second issue will be that your GPUs will be running below 50% of their capacity.

Third, the CPU will need to have at least 8 threads (4 core 8threads).
Most mining GPU boards are intel 4th to 6th gen CPUs, which support up to quadcores. There hasn't been many octacores out there.

Fourth, the performance you can expect out of those 8GPUs running at ~100W each (1000W total), will perform roughly the same as 2x RTX 2080. The latter consuming only 200W per GPU, but runs well down to 140W per GPU, so using between 400-500W on the wall.
That means running your setup 24/7 for an entire year, and the mining rig will cost you $500 (or more) on electricity.

[r0k0]

alright so i've never touched linux, what version or when do i go to download it ?

also i've bought a total of 13 p106 and 2 p104. couldnt let them go by to someone else at that price haha

[PantherX]

Ubuntu: https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
Mint: https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

1) Install Linux
2) Update Linux
3) Install closed source drivers (https://www.pcworld.com/article/2949295 ... x-pcs.html)
4) Install FAHClient, FAHControl*
5) Configure FAHClient via FAHControl and you will be off folding

*With the latest version, FAHControl will not be able to install unless the script is modified. We have members here who would be willing to guide you

[r0k0]

Thanks for the awesome replies guys !

https://ibb.co/YkcmSxG

This is the massive boards i got ! Haha supports 12 gpu, 8x in full lenght and 4x in 1x or 2x

[foldy]

Onda B250 D8P-D4 seems to have pcie 3.0 x1 slot speeds. So this is good enough to not bottleneck much on Linux.

But RAM seems limited to 8 GB? This could be an issue if you need 1 GB per GPU.
But maybe that 16GB modul fits in? https://www.amazon.de/Crucial-CT204864B ... B0123BRIDK

And GPU needs one CPU thread to feed it so you need a 4-core CPU with 8 threads hyperthreading, like Intel i7-6700.
https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Intel_(c ... /B250.html

Looks like 8 GPUs could be the max because of CPU and RAM limits.

[r0k0]

PantherX do i install linux on the SSD on the motherboard or on a usb stick ? the guy i bought all this stuff has usb 3.0 stick m.2 slot with 120gb ssd on them

[MeeLee]

I personally use Lubuntu.
My experience is, out of all operating systems, Ubuntu/Lubuntu have always been the most stable, and nearly always working out of the box.
Unlike other operating systems, where you have to configure, or run into driver issues.
YMMV.

Also use version 18.04. It's older, and less desirable, but works fine with multi GPUs, unlike 20 which still doesn't support many multi GPU functions; like fan curve adjustments, power curve adjustments, or overlocking.
18.04 allows you to do that over multiple GPUs.

Download drivers (.run files) and install the run files after making them executable.

The max GPU count per fah Client is like 9 or 10 or so.
I don't know, because I never tried that many.
Any more, and FAH won't use your remaining GPUs.

I would recommend figuring out how linux works on a cheaper, small computer.
I spent learning linux since 2005, left it for a decade, and picked it up again in 2018 with FAH, and the learning curve has been at least a good 6 months;
just to know barely enough to make the basics work;.. but nothing more than that.
It's not something you learn overnight.

Once you have one server up and running, experiment with settings on a small pc.
In case things go south, you can easily re-install everything.
Your main focus should be to have at least the big server running, and focus on updates on smaller machines.
Once updates, adjustments, etc work fine, you can update and adjust the big server.
Saves you hundreds of hours of downtime and headaches.
Sometimes Linux makes no sense. And it'll crash on you for seemingly no apparent reason.
I've had systems I as much as shut down, and they wouldn't boot up anymore, and took me 4 hours tracing back the issue to a bios lock up or something...

The USB option is good for installing the OS from a live OS drive.
Never run FAH from a live image. With a power outage, all data is lost.
Also never install Linux to a USB drive. The USB (2.0) protocol is too slow for FAH and multi GPUs to work correctly.
USB 3.0 is better, but USB drives have a worse error correction than SSDs.
Get a 64GB or greater SSD. Especially if you're running FAH on more than 8GPUs.
But 128GB (like $35 or so) is about as big as you need per system.

You install everything on an SSD. Sata 2 is good enough for most purposes. Drives are cheap.
You'll need about 16GB of RAM for 10 GPUs, though 8GB should work as well, but is cutting it short, as 8GB is better suited for up to 4 GPUs.
You don't want to run short of RAM, and have the system revert to swap space.

If you use an m.2 ssd drive, it'll use up some of your PCIE lanes (usually 2 to 4).
That means there'll be less left for the primary and remaining GPUs.

Believe me when I say, that multi GPUs are a pain to maintain.
It's much easier to consolidate everything to a single powerful GPU, vs multi slower GPUs.

Good luck!

[kiore]

PantherX do i install linux on the SSD on the motherboard or on a usb stick ? the guy i bought all this stuff has usb 3.0 stick m.2 slot with 120gb ssd on them

Sounds like he had a very simple Linux type OS run off USB stick, the MS2 looks like a simple way to run the OS and really as a dedicated folding rig this will not need much space, I run my win10 folding rig with a M2 250 G stick and this well beyond enough even on windows.

[r0k0]

Meelee the only thing is this motherboard only supports 8gb of ddr4 sodimm sticks from what i have read.

also i hope the ssd isnt nvme or anything and just a sata m.2.

motherboard came with a 4gb ddr4 sodimm and 120gb ssd

[MeeLee]

Meelee the only thing is this motherboard only supports 8gb of ddr4 sodimm sticks from what i have read.

also i hope the ssd isnt nvme or anything and just a sata m.2.

motherboard came with a 4gb ddr4 sodimm and 120gb ssd

I haven't tried it, but you could (in theory) expand ram via a PCIE x16 slot, by buying a PCIE to RAM adaptor.
You could also use a separate SLC SSD as swap drive.
You could use a swap partition on your 120GB SSD, if you're just intermittently using FAH, but for 24/7 use, you may need to change your drive about once a year or two.
Just make sure it's not a QLC SSD. MLC is preferred, TLC the worst.

[Foliant]

the remaining will run at PCIE 2.0 speeds, and they're all x1 slots.

So your second issue will be that your GPUs will be running below 50% of their capacity.

I dont own a 1060 or P106 but I collected some data with my GTX 650 on a PCIe2 x1 Slot.
If I start only one Core of my CPU (6 Core Phenom II 1090T) all 4 GPUs will slow down.
I cant say nothing about the Bandwith my 650 is using. But i think this Low-End-GPU dont bottlenecks the PCIe2 x1.

If youre interessted in i can try out a PCIe3 x16 Slot on a different Mainboard .

Code: Select all

GTX 650
Average performance: 8.38835 ns/day)
PCIe 2 1x

Project: 16918 (109,18,48)
TPF: 42,55
Base Credit: 29000
Estimated Credit: 36853
Estimated PPD: 12365

Project: 13425 (105, 17, 3)
TPF: 2,26
Base Credit: 1750
Estimated Credit: 4801
Estimated PPD: 28413

Project: 13425 (209, 10, 2)
TPF: 2,26
Base Credit: 1750
Estimated Credit: 5185
Estimated PPD: 30685

Project: 13425 (557, 18, 0)
TPF: 2,38
Base Credit: 1750
Estimated Credit: 5186
Estimated PPD: 30273

Project: 13425 (557, 29, 3)
TPF: 2,27
Base Credit: 1750
Estimated Credit: 5168
Estimated PPD: 30377

Oh, and can someone explain what the "Average performance" in "ns/day" is meaning?

Regards
Patrick

[gaskippy]

I ended up upgrading to a i7 CPU on my mining rig. The Celeron CPU was overloaded with just 2 P106 GPUs. I am currently running Ubuntu with 8gb of ram.

[gunnarre]

How many P106 cards are you running on that i7, gaskippy?

[MeeLee]

I ended up upgrading to a i7 CPU on my mining rig. The Celeron CPU was overloaded with just 2 P106 GPUs. I am currently running Ubuntu with 8gb of ram.

Depends, if you have a single core Celeron, yes.
But a dual core ~2,5Ghz Celeron shouldn't be bottlenecked by 2x P106.
It may show 100% CPU utilization, but most of that data is idle data (to lock the GPUs to their active CPU cores).
You should look at kernel times, rather than CPU utilization.
Chances are a dual core Celeron can push 3 or 4 P106 GPUs, depending on the CPU frequency.