PCIe powered risers, which ones do I choose?
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Could someone please recommend which PCIe powered risers are the best to use, for setting up an altcoin GPU mining rig? From what I could tell, the best ones have a USB extender along with a molax cable. Whether the powered riser is x1 to x16 or x16 to x16 does not seem to make a difference, unless of course you are extending a x1 slot.
Additional questions
1 Is using such a product still necessary if your GPUs are supplied with power directly from the PSU?
2 Is using such a product still necessary if your motherboard has an extra power socket from the PSU supplying the PCIe slots with more power and your GPUs get power directly from the PSU also?
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@Propagandalf
a) No recommendations - don't use them.- Yes - the PSU power is supplemental, the card will still be trying to draw power from the slot.
- Yes - there is only so much current you can push through a 0.1mm wide copper motherboard trace before it burns up, and as per above - the PSU power is supplemental to what the card is drawing from the slot.
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@haitch Thanks for the reply. I'm a bit confused though, you first say "don't use them", and then you reply to 1 and 2 that they (powered risers) are still necessary?
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@Propagandalf That should have been "I don't use them ..... :
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@haitch Aha, I see! If someone could share some of their experience with PCIe risers, I would be grateful. :)
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@Propagandalf It depends on what you are using them for, for a GPU for alt-coin mining x 1 to x 16 is ok (low data throughput) , for a sata controller (high data throughput) you want to match the speed, example x 1 to x 8 pci controller will operate at a 1/8 of the bandwidth (not good). You want x8 to x8 or bigger. As to motherboards powered or molex powered, molex powered has the advantage of being able to use an additional PSU. For alt-coin mining some motherboard-riser-GPU combinations have been know to cause issues, best to ask on a forum dedicated to the coin you will be mining.
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@iKnow0 Thanks. In my case I would need them for connecting several GPUs to the same motherboard, so x1 would do fine. On Amazon I saw lots of different reviews on different types of powered risers, and many had complaints that the wiring got burned out and other bad stuff. Therefore, I am wondering if anyone knows a specific product that is high grade and quality?
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@Propagandalf as i said before, best go a forum where the coin is mined specifically and ask there. Other fun issues you will encounter are heat and tripping breakers. Good luck :-)
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@iKnow0 Hehe, I can't wait! Sounds like fun :p
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http://cryptomining-blog.com/1153-checking-out-the-pci-express-x1-x16-usb-3-0-extenders/#comments here is an informative article about the risers
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We use them. The USB ones. They're good for ventilation so that your board doesn't fry with the heat. Also, we use the 1x1, i think. Those small ones. :)


