Top 5 Mining CPU and Motherboard Combinations

Alright. Now that you've picked your graphics cards and your power supply, it's time to pick a motherboard and CPU. The biggest thing with a CPU for a mining rig is that it doesn't need to be as powerful as a CPU that you would buy for a gaming PC. There is no need for a $1000 i7 or a brand new Ryzen processor. It's just the brain of the operation. With that lets move on to the list.

1. ASRock H110 Pro BTC+ LGA 1151 and Intel Celeron G3900 Skylake Dual-Core 2.8 GHz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Price together: $161.99

Motherboard Specs

CPU Socket : TypeLGA 1151 CPU Type: Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Pentium / Celeron (LGA1151) Number of Memory Slots: 2×288pin

Memory Standard: DDR4 2400/ 2133 non-ECC, un-buffered memory 7th Gen Intel CPU supports DDR4 up to 2400; 6th Gen Intel CPU supports DDR4 up to 2133. Maximum Memory Supported: 32GB Dual Channel PCI Express 3.0 x16: 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2: x16 mode) PCI Express x1: 12 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slots CPU Specs

CPU Socket TypeLGA 1151: Core Name: Skylake # of Cores: Dual-Core # of Threads: 2

Operating Frequency: 2.8 GHz L3 Cache: 2MB shared Manufacturing Tech: 14nm Memory Types: DDR4 / DDR3L

This is the preferred motherboard for the larger mining rigs. This baby will run 13 GPU's. Now there is a caveat to this. You will have to run LINUX. Windows will not recognize that many cards. LINUX is very easy to use. I will go over this in a later article. The best part about Linux though is that you can mix and match cards much easier. you can run 6 NVIDIA cards and 6 AMD cards and mine multiple algos. I personally feel this is the best combo to buy if you ever plan on going up to 12 cards. Even if you can only afford to run 4 or 6 cards now, you can just keep adding to this instead of buying another MOBO and CPU. As for the CPU, there isn't much to say. At $42 you can't beat that. The Celeron is the preferred CPU unless you want to spend a little more money and buy a Kaby lake or a Core i3.

Buy Motherboard here

Buy CPU here

1. BIOSTAR TB250-BTC PRO Motherboards and Intel Celeron G3900 Skylake Dual-Core 2.8 GHz

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combined Price: $171.99

Motherboard Specs

CPU Socket : TypeLGA 1151 CPU Type: Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Pentium / Celeron (LGA1151) Number of Memory Slots: 2×288pin Memory Standard: DDR4 2400/ 2133 / 1866 7th Gen Intel CPU supports DDR4 up to 2400 Maximum Memory Supported: 32GB Dual Channel PCI Express 3.0 x16: 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot PCI Express x1: 11 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slots The only real difference between this and the ASrock is the one less PCI slot and you can natively run slower ram (cost savings). The same still applies as above. I recommend using LINUX to use all 12 GPU slots and you can also mix and match graphics cards.

Buy Motherboard here

Buy CPU here

1. MSI H270 A Pro Motherboard and Intel Celeron G3900 Skylake Dual-Core 2.8 GHz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combined Price: $139.99

Motherboard Specs

CPU: LGA1151?Supports 7th/ 6th Generation Intel Core i7/ i5/ i3/ Pentium/ Celeron Processors

Chipset: Intel H270 Memory: 4x DDR4-2400/ 2133 MHz Slots (7th Gen processors) or DDR4-2133 MHz Slots (6th Gen processors), Dual Channel, Max Capacity of 64GB

Slots: 2x PCI-Express 3.0 x16 Slots (support x16/x4 mode), 4x PCI-Express 3.0 x1 Slots
Multi-Graphics: Supports AMD 2-Way CrossFireX Technology

So now we enter the mid range section. First off this motherboard was designed specifically for mining. Easily the best motherboard for a 6 card mining rig. Plus with six cards you CAN run windows for those of you that are scared of LINUX. Now this motherboard does have an m.2 slot that can be converted to PCI-e with an adapter so you can run a 7th GPU.

Buy Motherboard here

Buy CPU here

1. ASRock Motherboard ATX 1066 LGA 1150 H81 PRO BTC and Intel Celeron G1840 Haswell Dual-Core 2.8 GHz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combined Price: $167.99

Motherboard Specs

CPU Socket: Type LGA 1150 CPU Type: Xeon / Core i7/i5/i3 / Pentium / Celeron (LGA1150)

Number of Memory Slots: 2×240pin Memory Standard: DDR3 1600/ 1333/ 1066 Maximum Memory Supported: 16GB Channel Supported: Dual Channel

PCI Express 2.0 x16: 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2: x16 mode) PCI Express x1: 5 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slots

CPU Specs

CPU Socket: Type LGA 1150 Core Name: Haswell # of Cores: Dual-Core Operating Frequency: 2.8 GHz

L2 Cache: 2 x 256KB L3 Cache: 2MB Manufacturing Tech: 22nm

This is a great 6 GPU starter combo you can buy. Now I know what you're thinking " But Walken, this combo is almost $30 more then the last one!" Well fear not my friends. the money savings is in the RAM. This motherboard is DDR3, which you can find for dirt cheap. The processor will be a little harder to find but they are out there for less then $70, so that brings your total down to $147.99.

1. BIOSTAR TB85 LGA 1150 Intel B85 and Intel Celeron G3900 Skylake Dual-Core 2.8 GHz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total price: $111.99

Motherboard Specs

CPU Socket Type: LGA 1150 CPU Type: Intel Core i7, i5, i3, Pentium LGA 1150 Processor Number of Memory Slots: 2×240pin Memory Standard: DDR3 1600/ 1333/ 1066 Maximum Memory Supported: 16GB Channel Supported: Dual Channel PCI Express 3.0 x16: 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 PCI Express x1: 5 x PCI-E x1 2.0 Slots This setup is the budget king. Not only is the MOBO and CPU under $120, not only will it run dirt cheap DDR3 ram, but it will also run 6 GPU's. This is an older motherboard and there are no bells and whistles. But if you are strapped for cash and want to get into the mining game. This is the one for you.

Buy Motherboard Here

Buy CPU here

Conclusion

In summary. There's an entry point for any budget. Weather you want a massive 13 GPU behemoth, or a rig with 2 or 3 cards to get your foot in the door. These are your best choices. Now I will say this again. If you ever plan on building a rig, with more then 6 gpu's, Buy one of the first 2 combos on this list. It will save you money in the long run, not having to buy another CPU and motherboard. I say this from my own personal experience.

If you haven't checked out my previous articles in my mining series click the links below:

Top 5 Profitable Mining Cards from AMD

Top 5 Profitable Mining Cards from NVIDIA

Top 5 Mining Power Supplies for Any Budget

Check me out on twitter @Cryptochrisuw

Also check out my mining and IDEX gem channel: Walken on the Moon