Gigabyte H110-D3A Review – The New Best Motherboard for Mining?
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Some days ago I got my hands on the Gigabyte H110-D3A motherboard. I never reviewed a Gigabyte Mobo before since I always worked with AsRock and Biostar gear. However, I thought it is about time to give Gigabyte some love too, since their new motherboard seems rather promising.
First Impressions
The GA-H110-D3A is the latest MoBo issued by Gigabyte. It is meant to work with the newest Intel CPU’s and it supports DDR4 RAM and the newest M.2 Storage, which is five times faster than SATA 3.
The motherboard came well-packaged in a box, with all the instructions and needed cables inside. The packaging quality reminded me of that of a high-end GPU, which was quite nice. The motherboard isn’t either heavy or lightweight, but it does feel solid.
I am testing it with the components I have right now, and I will be making a fully-functional mining rig of it soon – it takes some time for the new GPUs/CPU/PSU to arrive at my place.
As for today, the mobo keeps working as expected without any kind of issues.
Gigabyte GA-H110-D3A Specs
- CPU: Supports Gen 6 and Gen 7 Inter®CoreTM
- Processor Socket: LGA 1151
- Chipset: Inter®H110
- Graphics card slot: 1*PCI-E 3.0*16
- Video Output: VGA
- Memory: Dual Channel DDR4
- Memory DIMM: 2* DDR4
- Expansion: 5* PCI-E 2.0*1
- SATA/M.2: 4*SATA 3.0, 1*M.2 SSD
- USB: 4*USB 3.1 + 6*USB 2.0
- Audio/LAN: 7.1 Channel Audio / Gbe LAN
- Dimension (mm): ATX (305×190)
Gigabyte H110-D3A Review
Can It Be Used for Mining?
While the motherboard was designed for general purposes, I thought that it could perfectly fit a mining rig too for several reasons:
- It supports up to 6 GPUs by having 1 PCI-E x16 slot and 5 PCI-E x1 slots;
- It features enhanced protection thanks to glass fabric PCB. PCB stands for Printed Circuit Board, which is the part of the motherboard that connects all the core components. It is usually very susceptible to moisture, temperature and other physical effects, therefore some extra protection is always welcome. It is also worth considering that usually mining rigs have open cases, thus a better protected MoBo is, again, more than welcome.
- Besides glass fabric anti-moisture cover, the motherboard features electrostatic, power failure and high temperature protection. While all modern motherboards come with some sort of damage-preventing mechanisms, it looks like Gigabyte took this topic rather seriously and provided this motherboard with high-end safety mechanisms.
There are more things that make me believe that the GA-H110-D3A is a decent motherboard for mining. Let me explain some things with a bit more detail:
Lower EMI
It is a well-known fact that GPU hashrate depends on many factors. Therefore, some people refer to hashrate as a sort of lottery. While this is true, there are ways to reduce the risks of GPU hashrate drops by lowering EMI (electromagnetic interferences). Here is where the GA-H110-D3A looks promising as well.
The motherboard features twice as thicker PCB tracker paths, which allows it to handle more power loads and emanate less EMI radiation. While this is achieved by spending twice more copper per motherboard, the results might be worth the money.
High-End Capacitors
A faulty capacitor can ruin the whole show. One dead or leaking capacitor might do a lot of harm to your mining rig; it might cause hashrate loses, interferences, power drops and even complete failure of one of the motherboard components. The worst part – it might take a while for you to find out that one of the motherboard capacitors failed.
I think you will agree that it is crucial to choose a motherboard with good capacitors. This is where the brand of the capacitors is more important that the one of the motherboard itself. The Gigabyte GA-H110-D3A features Black solid capacitors made in Japan. I congratulate Gigabyte for this decision – I had my share of trouble caused by cheap capacitors, and I really appreciate to have a mobo that should be virtually immune to this kind of issues.
Efficient Heatsink Design
It is no rocket science that GPU rigs produce lot of heat. It is advisable that you use USB risers to keep the GPUs a bit farther from the motherboard; even then, having the MoBo work 24/7 months non-stop puts a great pressure on its components. It looks like Gigabyte thought of that and provided the GA-H110-D3A with enhanced cooling system. Heatsinks are placed on such a way that they dissipate heat from the hottest parts, plus they are bigger than the ones you will find on most other motherboards.
Heat-Resistant Mosfets
Mosfets are one of the components that generate the most heat on a motherboard; Gigabyte used lower RDS(on) mosfets which are less susceptible to heat, which means that they are usually very durable and will less likely fail during summer, when the heat emanated by GPUs is combined with the elevated ambient temperature.
Does this sound too good to be true?
In other words, why do I take the time to explain all of this? You see, every motherboard comes with a lot of bold claims written on the box. Stuff like “premium quality components” and “high-end power chips” can be found on any MoBo box. What I realized is that most of those claims are true. The issue is – marketers try to make even the tiniest pro sound as if it was a groundbreaking unique feature; which is not always the case.
That’s why I took the time to research a bit more about the features of the GA-H110-D3A. I have ignored the lesser and most common traits, while focusing on what I believe are the ones you can’t find in most other mobos.
Non-Mining Usage
Lately, Biostar and AsRock released some motherboards that are meant for mining alone. Of course, those mobos can still be used for, say, a gaming rig, but they virtually have no features that would make them attractive for that purpose. However, the GA-H110-D3A offers several traits that make it a great choice both for miners and for gamers. It supports new-gen GPU’s; it features the M.2 Storage system which is 5 times faster than SATA 3, as mentioned above. Plus, you can also count on enhanced audio and GbE LAN with cFosSpeed systems that allow you to enjoy more priority and thus less lag in networks.
All of this means that even if you decide to quit GPU mining, you can still re-sell the motherboard to gamers and get part of your money back. I am sure that this motherboard will remain in the top category for several years on.
Where to Buy & Compatible CPU / RAM
In Conclusion
As for now, I am happy with my new acquisition. Motherboards are the kind of hardware that you have to trust. They are the backbone of any mining rig, so it better be a strong and sturdy one.
I really hope to keep mining with my GA-H110-D3A-based rig. As I mentioned earlier, soon I will be able to mount a fully functional mining rig on the mobo, so stay tuned, because there is no way I’m not documenting that!
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Mining Performance
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Bios & Software
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Material
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Price
I’m using 4 Gigabyte Z170 Gaming K3 EU LGA 1151 4x DDR4 Max 64 and are reaaly good without any problem. I want to try to add the m2 to pciE to add one more gpu. Did you try it?
m.2 not working for mining
are you sure??? a lot of rigs have this adapter http://www.ebay.com/itm/NGFF-to-PCI-Express-4x-slot-Adapter-M-Key-M-2-to-PCI-e-x4-interface-Riser-Card/121912960082
I have this adapter from aliexpress for 2.5 $ . This MB – i have 3 – not working although i flashing with last bios.
i have msi z170 gaming pro karbon and msi z170 krait gaming 3x also not working . I know from my friend that works on MB ASUS
Can you try x1 to x3 pcie extender for this mobo so it can run a total of 8gpu.
i have sold all my biostar mb to replace them with this.
As of now, 30 rigs all running with this mobo, have no issue what so ever.
Can I know what is your setup? Do you have any idea why some graphic cards cannot be detected on my PCI-e riser while some can? I am using GTX 1070.
Hey guys! I have this mobo up and running with 3GPUs. However I forgot to enable “Above 4G decoding” and now if I enable this option, Windows 10 won’t boot up anymore, I’m getting a black screen and that’s all. So what’s the deal with this option? Do I need to reinstall Win10 with this option enabled?
Do you have a solution yet? I forgot about it too, and now my system will only detect 2 out of my 3 GPUs without it. I tired to reinstall Windows 10, via thumbdrive, with the “Above 4G decoding enabled”, but I still get a black screen too.
Also some other suggestions:
– try booting under UEFI mode
– enable PCI-e gen1 (might help with detecting more GPUs)
-increase the latency of the pcie lanes (not sure where to do this)
– try installing Win10 with “4g decode” enabled without any GPUs (use the integrated one if your CPU supports it)
– try adding GPU’s one by one
Let me know how it goes. I don;t have time to experiment yet
I tried all the following, spent 10 hours on it, didn’t work. Funny thing now is that only 1 of my graphics card is detected where ever I plug it into. My remaining 2 can only be detected if i plug it into the pcie x16 on the motherboard. I even tried disabling some stuff I didn’t need like SATA ports too. I thought maybe the GPU’s bios may have some weird settings in the 2 that doesn’t allow it to be detected so I cloned the working one into one of the not working one, still didn’t work.
Are you sure, your risers are OK?
Yes, my risers are ok, if it worked for at least one graphics card, it should be fine.
ok, here’s some new info I’ve found:
“Essentially the 4g decoding enabled in BIOS refers to all
drives, aka HDDs as well. Make sure your boot drive isn’t MBR but
formatted in GPT (UEIF). This will be more prevalent in older machines
No more black screen and quick boot up after changing to GPT.”
Somebody had luck with the above recommendation, so I suggest you try it too:
“Thank you so much man! I finally solved it!
What I did was:
1. Flashed my bios with the latest rom
2. changed bios settings (enable UEFI mode)
3. run a new windows setup (cleaned and converted ssd to gpt before the installation)
4. installed latest amd drivers (patch wasn’t needed!)
5. went back to the bios settings and enabled 4G decoding and done!”
I will try flashing with the latest bios, will update the results here when I am done.
Hi There, Did you guys solved the problem yet? I know its a month ago, but maybe there is someone still had a same problem in here. I was following this post since I had a same problem with same mobo h110-d3a with 6 gtx 1070, luckily just this morning my rig is working flawlessly with 6gpu with Above 4g decoding enabled. I followed all those step that you guys mentioned, actually Im not sure if this work on yours or not. this is what I did,
– set disabled fast boot on memory setting in bios
– enabled internal graphics in chipset setting in bios. it will skip bios menu.. after that will log to windows with no more error code 12.
hope this helps
0x112f88ddf3bcd99ff76a5324e1a9e0d2cf6ce400
Just tried out things with f22 and f23a(latest). Still Didn’t work. Now still looking around for solutions. Should I try ubuntu? Do they have the drivers for GTX 1070? From the comments I look around, AMD has no issue but there hasn’t been much comments on GTX 1060 and 1070.
I finally decided to install my other 2 GPUs on this board (for a total of 5). Here’s what I did:
1) updated BIOS to the latest version (f23a)
2) Enabled UEFI for storages, and Disabled Mining mode and 4G Decoding (at this point I had 3 GPUs connected to the board which were working fine before, even without “Above 4G decoding” enabled and on factory BIOS version. (2 on risers, 1 in the PCIE 16x slot)
3) Installed WIn10 Pro on a GPT formatted HDD (MBR was giving me black screen when I tried enabling Above 4G decode later on)
4) installed all motherboard drivers and nVidia drivers
5) restarted system to enable “ABove 4G decode)
6) installed 2 more GPUs
7) everything is working fine
Since you are having problems even with 3 GPUs, maybe you should send it back and try and RMA your Motherboard
how you installed the last 2 cards? can you tell me step by step please
how to change bios from uefi mode?
Ok, thanks. That resolved my black screen issue.
glad to hear. let us know when (and especially HOW) you managed to get all your GPUs up and running
Have you also tried to update BIOS first then enable mining mode, uefi mode, 4g decoding enabled and pcie gen 2. install windows in uefi ?
So far I did everything you mentioned, except update the BIOS. Should I update the BIOS to f22 or f23a(latest)?
also please do not me know id you fixed it
Hey guys I have a similar model Z270x-UD3 but i can only get 4 gpous detected in win10. It has a x8 and a x4 gpu slot. Has anyone made it work with more than 4 GPUs? ? ?
Cheers.
check here: https://www.gigabyte.com/MicroSite/462/mining.html !!
I’m running 6 cards rx460. How can I run 7 gpu?
Bios updated f22, above 4G decoding Enable. I try connected slot m2 but it does not work.
check here: https://www.gigabyte.com/MicroSite/462/mining.html
Does this card have dual BIOS ?
Has anyone gotten this motherboard to work on Ethos? I can’t get it to work as it freezed after few minutes.
i bought one of this mother board, however i when i try to boot my all six graphic card it kept on and off, not sure why, happened when i slot in or out of my rizer or usb or any removable devices or cable. not sure izzit having some short circuit issue, anyone had this issue or experienced with other mobo like this before? should i replce it with warranty. this issue tortured me more than a week, i literally cant run my OS at all feel free to advice please :(((
ps
my gpu and other component work well in asrock mobo(but is not belongs to me).
take a look here https://www.gigabyte.com/MicroSite/462/mining.html
Have you solve the problem? Mine can’t even power 1 gpu (1060 6gb) not on a riser…fan spins for only few seconds after start and then stop spinning..already update the bios…someone who experts can give any advice..really appreciate it
By chance, does this mobo have integrated power+reset buttons just like the newer Biostar TB250-Pro BTC ?
A bit late, but since nobody answered: nope.
m2 slot not working for gpu
Does this mobo support 2400Mhz DDR4 ? (by default ir requires Bios setting ?)
yes..
By default it is 2133MHz. You will need a modification in the BIOS settings: in M.I.T >> Advanced Memory Settings enable Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P) et voilà, your memory switches to 2400MHz
Does it require more Bios adjustments than the plug’n’play mining mobos from ASRock/Biostar ?
Plug and play, no other settings. If you have any problems let me know..
Thanks for your answers today
Hi,
I get into problem using 6x RX580 into this board with powered risers.. my SSD wont boot even with latest BIOS, removing a riser will let the machine boot.. 5x cards is the most I could reach until now.
any idea or suggestions ? *mining mode is not helping.
Thanks
I fixed it this way:
– Change “Max Link Speed” setting from “Auto” to “Gen2”(M.I.T / Miscellaneous Settings / Max Link Speed)
– Change “Initial Display Output” setting from “PCIe 1 Slot” to “IGFX” (Peripherals)
– Change “Above 4G Decoding” setting from “Disabled” to “Enabled” (Peripherals) (if needed)
– Change “Internal Graphics” setting from “Auto” to “Enabled”(Chipset)
If settings above doesn’t work use UEFI mode to install your OS
OMG ! is working after i tried your solution. thanks man !
it also works for me code 12 problem solve. thanks you happy new year.
Howdy world- cannot get this board to read my USB drive with all the necessary drivers. I have tried every USB port- no luck. How are you loading initial driver set without a damned optical drive? Keep in mind it would take hours to disassemble and re assemble my entire rig to swap hard drives/add optical drives etc. Thanks!
A USB optical drive costs the equivalent of 25$ here on a Greek island where everything is more expensive than anywhere else. Surely not a big deal?
Which M.2 SSD works for you guys? I’ve been pulling my hair out for 2 days trying to get my Samsung NVMe SSD 960 EVO to come to life but to no avail, it doesn’t get recognized by the BIOS (F23a). I know the mobo only supports SATA SSD in the M.2 connector but Samsung doesn’t give a hint whether the above SSD is SATA or PCIe. Gigabyte also doesn’t give any information which M.2 SSD’s it is compatible with. Do you have success with other brands? I really like the Samsung and would prefer it to work, but if it won’t I have no choice but to return it for another brand. Any feedback greatly appreciated.
Have you tried disabling 4g decoding or mining mode?
Hi Ciprian! The simple truth is that it doesn’t work. After lots and lots of pressure I got a PDF from Gigabyte with the SSDs that this mobo supports. In the linked document it is only the top section (“SATA”) that lists the compatible SSDs. I also got confirmation from Samsung that their module is PCIe only, so no dice on this mobo.
http://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Document/mb_m.2_support_200.pdf
So it isn’t supported ? Have you tried with regular ssd or hdd?
Yes, I had no problems with a regular SATA 3 drive (both SSD and HDD). I also found a M.2 SATA locally, a WD Blue, it’s not the fastest, but I wanted it quickly and it’s what I could get the same day.
People interested in using an M.2 module with this motherboard must make sure that it is a SATA module and NOT a PCIe module. The list I included above should help them.
Just recently purchased this MotherBoard along with several GTX 1060’s 6gb. I have followed every guide I have found and I have not been successful in getting the motherboard under windows 10 to recognize a single card. I have swapped video cards, swapped risers, etc, etc. Anyone have any further thoughts. I have followed everything on this site : https://www.gigabyte.com/MicroSite/462/mining.html
Try settings windows 8/10 WHQL
This MB with 4* Aorus RX 580 and 2* RX 570 will need monitor dummies ?
(As you cam see from my question I am a newbie)
LOTS of thx guys !
Hi Ciprian,
In your last Best Mining Hardware Deals November post, you’re not listing this Mobo.
Does it mean for example the Z270-A/P are better (and maybe newer) than this one ?
Which one do you advise from these three ? (gigabyte vs asus z270A/P) for a 6x GPU rig.
Thanks
Hi, i am listing everything that can be used for mining, but only the best solutions. Choose between H81 PRO BTC or H110-D3A
I have just baught this mobo and connected 4 GPUs Sapphire RX580 8GB successfully but i am having problems with the GPUs performance in mining. Can this be related any how to the bios settings of the mobo ? (Like enabling and disabling features)
What type of problems do you have ?
My afterburner cant unlock core voltages… 6 boards recognized, but AB is bugged… any sugestions?
have you tried with beta version ?
Yes. Heres whats going on. When i follow the guide from gigabyte i can get to see 6 gpu, but cant underclock on afterburner. when i start to mine, 3 gpus slowly fall to 20% hash speed. tried everything but reinstaling windows in UEFI. That is my next step. I have 4 more of those boards, so i`ll test on another one to see if the board have a problem. i doubt it. If u have anything in mind i`ll be glad to try out.
Can anyone confirm (who really knows how things work) can this motherboard support 7th GPU via M.2 slot? Micro site has picture which says yes but people here say no. Anyone has it up and working with 7 gpu ?
Hi, no.. the M.2 Slot works as sata only. 🙂
That sucks 🙁
How does one turn this motherboard on? I looked everywhere online and on the instructions there’s nothing showing me how to turn this motherboard on. Starting to make me frustrated. I sent an email last month to Gigabyte and nothing, they’re not answering my emails or questions.
Hi, check the attached https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8165ce102bcb573652b2647e7e2768e6214b5bdaf937e599ebe47e4e899319bc.png image
Got it, thanks man. You’re AWESOME!!!
Any time 🙂
Hi, between the Gigabyte GA-H110-D3A and the H81 pro BTC 2.0 which one would you go for a 6 GPU rig?
Any of these two 🙂
Maybe a stupid question
but my rig us running an i7 3770k ( i believe its 3rd gen )
Can i use this cpu with this mobo? if not,what other mobo for my cpu can one recommend? dont want to buy a new mobo AND a new cpu
I have installed windows on my ssd and setup all functions into Bios, also i have the latest Bios update and installed the blockchain drivers for my AMD Video Cards but i have problem because windows sometime recognize 3 graphic cards, sometimes 2, and after changing the slots i get reconized 4 card, the risers are ok, everything looks ok.. i have 4 rx580 video cards and i don’t know what is happening, if i buy more card how i will installed into slots because not recognizing them. Can i get any help Please!
contact me here: https://1stminingrig.com/hire-me/ , ill send you a video with installation
Hi,
(sorry for bad texture english)
I have had this board for 2 weeks now, i have mounted it in a mining rig. I was working on the rig yesterday and accidentally bumped into the mining rig, i dit not touch the motherboard itself, but it suddenly turned off…
I have now used many many hours to get i working again, but it wont boot, it wont recive power it looks like..its not the psu, cause i got another board i use for testing and everything works fine there, the psu, cpu, ram and gpus.
The board itself has no light and wont start..ive also tried to mount into a tower i got with the correctly screws in the bottom..i dont understand, it wont start 🙁
any1 got same issues or got some ideas how to fix it? or is it damaged cause the “bump” ?
I guess something happen while you bumped in for sure.. but this happen to me too, very often lol.. but never had such issue. Try to check mobo PCB pins and CPU cables, CPU fan /cable.. also try to start it with no GPU attached..