It works fine with the latest bios. I only tried with 4GPUs.
And when I changed 4G decoding to enabled with 1 GPU I can't launched W10
I got it working! 
I ended up re-flashing the bios and for whatever reason, it worked this time! With the exact same steps I had done before.
@etrixone not sure why it won’t launch for you, but make sure you follow the initial instructions. Especially:
- Flashing Bios and Installing the latest release
- Installing Windows 10 on a UEFI/ GPT partition - doing all Windows updates
I also did this in the BIOS:
Settings > Advanced > Windows OS Configuration
- Windows 8.1 / 10 = “Enabled
- Windows 7 = Disabled
- MSI Fast Boot = Disabled
- Fast Boot = Disabled
regarding to the VGA driver installation issue.
after install all six card with riser , do I need install VGA driver again???
No, you don't have to install the drivers again. Check only in the Device manager, if there' re one or more cards missing in the section Graphiccards and shown in the section Other devices. Only in this case you have to do a driver setup for this device. But not in general!
Another hint:
Windows 10 takes a time to recognize and installing a new device. The following best practice worked for me:
- Connecting only one card and installing the drivers - you have to be patient with WIN 10. It can take several minutes. Open the device manager and take a look at the Graphic section. Only if NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is shown there, driver installation is finished. Wait this time.
- At this point I change the BIOS settings ‘PEG0’ and ‘PEG1’ values to ‘Gen1’ and Set ‘Above 4G Decoding’ to ‘Enabled’
- Restarting and check if everything works fine.
- After this I connect the next three cards, Open the device manager and take a look at the Graphic section and waiting until NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is shown for all four cards.
- Connecting the last two cards - restarting and it's done
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Hi, I'm new to the forum, just planned to start mining Zcash on the same platform, using MSI Z170-A Plus and 6 x MSI GTX 1080 ti FE that i found cheap before the actual rocket launched prices off 1070 and everything else.
Based on BIOS updates from MSI for all the z170 and z270 boards, I decided to go with the mentioned model, because of the price and VGA onboard connection, which will be used as primary video for monitoring, hooked to a KVM Switch.
I suppose that onboard CPU video could be enable as primary video and then use 6 x GTX 1080 ti without any video connections.
I'm waiting for PSUs Arrival, will be using EVGA 1000GQ plus 850GQ. A dual setup, because of the wattage on this video cards, approx 250w + per card.
I'll comment here if everything goes as spected, thanks for your tips @MiningStarter an everyone who commented a possible workaround for this motherboard.
Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.
Happy Mining and Moneymaking for all.
@MiningStarter I’m having an issue with the same board and GPU combination…I can’t get any of the GPU’s to show up without having them plugged directly into the board. They’re not under Device Manager; rather, they’re a generic System Device.
I updated the BIOS to the latest version 1.7, performed a clean installation of Windows 10 in UEFI, as well as followed the instructions above regarding 4G encoding and setting PEG0 and PEG1 to Gen1. I’ve also made sure that I am using HDMI and NOT the onboard Intel GPU.
After the clean install, I wanted to see if I could directly plug them in and Windows recognized two. I couldn’t get past two, even with the USB-powered risers. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! I have been scouring the net for days without any progress…
MSI Z170A
Intel i3-6100T processor @ 3.2GHz
8GB Crucial DDR4
6x PCI-E1X TO 16X USB Risers
6x EVGA Nvidia GeForce 1070 GTX FTW GPU
1500W Enermax MaxREVO PSU
I don’t mind doing a clean re-install of everything, so long as I can further than what I did last time. Hopefully, I can get some very clear guidance. Many are in the same situation as I am
Hi, @waxin_poetic
I think the BIOS version you should use is 1A for this particular Motherboard.
Here is the changelog on this Version
Enhanced M.2 Genie function.
- Improved Board Explorer function.
- Improved NVME device compatibility.
- Updated VBIOS and GOP.
- Support multi graphic cards. This is the important update.
Hope to help
@g33km4st3r I went back into my BIOS and realized that I had version 1B. I still went and downgraded the BIOS, but the same results remain. My rig can only detect one out of six GPUs.
@g33km4st3r I have done so, but I've run out of time for the night...I will continue tomorrow after work...
@g33km4st3rI I woke up early to flash the BIOS to the latest 1B version. I also reset the CMOS by taking out the battery and unplugging, as well as touch the two pins on JBAT1. The blue light came on and I held it for a good 30 seconds. Unfortunately, the result is the same...the two cards are recognizable on the motherboard, but not by plugging in the USB risers.
Hi, what cpu is everyone using? I'm curious to see if there's a trend with what is and isn't working with using the 5th and 6th gpu.
EVGA Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070 FTW edition. I really think that I'm missing a step in this whole set-up. I am going to do a clean re-install of Windows 10. I already made sure that it was installed in UEFI mode, but I'm at a point where I will do anything to get my rig up and running.
@g33km4st3r @wish I performed a clean re-install of Windows 10 in UEFI mode. I had only one 1070 card attached and did NOT use the onboard graphics at all. The main difference that I noticed was that the computer was able to recgonize that I had a GPU plugged in when I installed the Nvidia drivers. I used version 382.53. When I tried to hook one of my USB risers with a GPU attached, it did not capture the card at all. I'm wondering if there is an issue with the USB risers. Does anyone know if there are compatibility issues with USB riser versions and the Z170a motherboard and/or 1070 GPU?
What version USB riders are you using?
Here is the exact model as printed on the board: PCIE164P-NO3 VER007S
I'm using VER006S without a problem.
Here's my working setup again:
* Flashing Bios and Installing the latest release
* Installing Windows 10 Pro on a UEFI/ GPT partition (here's nothing to do - it works out of the box)
* doing all Windows updates
* Connecting only one card with a USB-Riser and installing the drivers - you have to be patient with WIN 10. It can take several minutes. Open the device manager and take a look at the Graphic section. Only if NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is shown there, driver installation is finished. Wait this time.
* Changing in the BIOS ‘PEG0’ and ‘PEG1’ values to ‘Gen1’ and Set ‘Above 4G Decoding’ to ‘Enabled’
* Restarting and check if everything works fine.
* After this I connect the next three cards, Open the device manager and take a look at the Graphic section and waiting until NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is shown for all four cards.
* Connecting the last two cards - restarting and it's done
1 Like
Those steps are very straightforward and I am pretty sure I have done it that way, however, I will try again tonight. It shouldn't matter if I use onboard graphics to set up Windows 10 an then connect a graphics card with a USB riser after completing the Windows 10 setup? I have not had any success with connecting the cards via USB risers. I have a feeling that they're no good and that I'll have to buy another set. However, I do not want to buy another defective set. Where did everyone buy theirs? I'll buy from the same vendor. VER006S @MiningStarter