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Hi,

i just noticed a failed card (280x) wasnt dead but rather the PCIe to PSU connector was burned and i wasnt able to pull it out, the plastic has molten with the socket it seems.

the PSU in question is a Enermax 1000W ECO, this PCIe Connector was attached solely to that 280x, my question is: how is this possible? the card doesnt draw that much power and the cables seemed thick enough to handle a 280x

Those r9 cards draws alot of wattage i wouldn't suggest using powered raisers with them unless it's a high quality one , by the way i have seen so many cases like yours and all are r9 3xx,2xx with molten sockets those gpus are power beasts

i have run my 290x off another enermax gold rated psu for over 3 years and it never broke/melted, seems to be psu build quality? or just cable quality?

If the socket is not well plugged in place, with this amps going to the gpu it could make some sparks and very high temp. Resulting in molten socket .....maybe

it was plugged in tightly

to be clear, im not talking about molex connector but 6/8 pin pcie, even my standard desktop should handle a 280x (8pin + 6pin) just fine, not sure what the problem was

It is possible if dual mining heavily, I have done it with 290. You need to use separate pcie cables or cable cooling if you are going to max it.

was the pcie cable used on a lot of different gear?

was it unplugged and replugged into different jacks.

pcie plugs have very short lifespans when plugged and unplugged.

a pcie cable should not be plugged and unplugged 30 times in its life span!!!

most pcie cables are rated between 10-20 plug an unplug cycles.  Seems silly that 15 times can ruin a cable but it is true.

that is something new to me. I have plugged PCIE cables many times when I have to adjust/test the rigs.

strange though that my other system survived just fine for 3 yrs, i wasnt dual mining as well

the connector which got burned got plugged in only once, the connector which didnt get burned (gpu side) was plugged in 2 times

Then it only leaves poor connection on psu side. Who is the first psu manufacturer to introduce mining series with heavy cabling + good connectors + cable temp sensors?  )

me too  first person that told me cycles are under 20.  I thought you are a ff'ing moron I did research found out I was the moron for doubting him.  the pcie cable side has a shorter life span then most people realize.

Same issue i had almost but with a junk coolmax 1000 watt PSU where the MB power connector was what melted ruining the MB as well, on the wires the PCI slots drew juice for the GPU's.
I learned my lesson the hard way and shelled out some BTC for a Corsair RM1000i, new MB and all powered risers.
Been running smooth since. Get you some decent powered riser and youll be fine.

The R9 series are power hungry monsters.

What are reputable risers? I only knew of the chinese ones that are everywhere.

The ones i have are from newegg, the 12.95 ones sold by MintCell. Im not sure if they are chinese or not, but they havent had any issues
and keep my release day RX 480s powered well.

It has nothing to do with the amount of power the GPU uses because the 280x has usually 1x6 pin + 1x8pin connector, so 6 +12V wires.

This usually happens because the female end of the modular PSU keeps getting looser and looser everytime you plug it in and out. Either that or you had the wire hanging at an angle and it wasn't in horizontally but was tilted at an angle and caused a bad connection.

This is why I hate modular PSUs and usually love PSUs like the Corsair CX750 however most 1000Watt > PSUs are modular.

This is very common and if you search it happens to people with $500 Platinum PSUs who never mined in their life they were just gamers.

hmm, no angles at the psu side (where it broke), only at the gpu side

i also own a cx750, so far it has been working great :D

buy corsair or evga, i usually discard every other psu

not sure if this applies to what is broke...but here is an adapter trick for a knc titan cube (works well with a 16 awg split adapter)

for what it is worth...(I have 2 of these with this issue it works well)

Not sure if this applies to your problem ..but just in case it does...you won't have to replace the plug on teh board?

also sent a pm

anyway for what it is worth..may not apply to you..but hey no harm in posting the links below in case it can work

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=170332.msg13872248#msg13872248 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=170332.msg13872248#msg13872248)

https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fs7.postimg.org%2Fgr4wy5x63%2FBare_pins_with_connector_removed.jpg&t=574&c=G8rXP7r5GdKGnA


Below is using common 16awg Y adapter....this is the KNC model came with the cube...just clean the plastic gunk off to bare pins and do below

https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fs30.postimg.org%2Fnfhjl5bnl%2Fbare_pins_with_cable_plugged_on.jpg&t=574&c=lOVBkdI0UHscHw

Anyway for what it is worth :) Let us know if such a hack worked in your case (with pics) and if not if you have a work around (with pics) :)

as the connector on the PSU got burned and it has warranty ill just RMA it, thanks though, might come in handy for others without warranty

cheers

as reference the burned connector, gpu side is fine:

https://i.imgur.com/X95XKTD.jpg

i have noticed some other connector also got pretty hot it seems (yellow turned brown-ish a bit, but not melted yet) and my supplier offers partly refunds (80%) on the RMA so ill just buy a new (different) one


it should be able to handle about 4 x 7970

my current config is: 7870(6+6pin) + 280x(8+6pin) + 7990(8+8pin)

in another system i have a FSP Fortron/Source Aurum Pro 1200W working fine, but im looking for alternatives as well (it was the cheapest 1200W with 8x 8pin psu)

suggestions?

edit: another option would be: Seasonic Prime Gold 1200W

if possible use a good brand/quality of psu & pcie if & when possible.

from what i see, you are using a single pcie cable with the split at the end (6 + (6+2) 8 pin) to power a power hungry gpu & that could be the main reason it started to melt.

try to use individual cables.

i disagree on the plugging & unplugging of 30 times shortens or have any impact on pcie cables, agree on the poorer quality ones but if well taken care & checked properly before each use, it should last much longer than that.

another good way/tip to check on your cables is to make sure they get some sort of airflow over them, normally the yellow cable +12v would start to turn yellowish & thats a good indication to STOP using that cable or do something about it.

the area of the yellowish part is normally harder to twist and bend, it becomes hard & if you have some tools & have no other choice, you can snip away that part & re-pin them with a new pcie plastic housing.

always check on your cables if you are in doubt, visually & physically such as the temp on the cables if they're too hot to touch.

happy mining & always be safe ;)

indeed id prefer single cables but most psu come with split ones sadly (the cx 750 is an exception here)

from the screens available this one seems to have single cables: Zalman EBT Series ZM1200-EBT

anybody used it / is it good quality?

another option would be dual psu with add2psu, but id need to check availability in my country

i dont or rarely use atx psu's anymore

my recent build

https://i.imgur.com/cUwrejs.png?1

mining scrypt in 2013 and melted a HD7990 with a PCIE power connection, card still works but yeah u can get arc's happening

was all under warranty so was ok

hope u get it working better

nice set up

so how do u power those cards i dont see cables? or am i just blind?

whats your PSU/Power set up?

everything is wired up.

cables are hidden, not a fan of messy rig/cables.

server psu

nice I was thinking about going with server psu but how exactly do you power the motherboard thanks

Same question. Do you need adaptor for the ATX power socket?

yes n a little more than that, most likely u will need a server psu, a breakout board n a atx adapter powered by the server psu aka pico but u MUST be able to get those good ones ! if not it will burn & may or may not cause the mobo to burn too.

i've been busy with couple of ongoing projects.

i may launch a complete kit soon. couple of things are on order.

happy mining & be safe.

If all the extras are included, will that be more expensive than standard ATX PSU?

Hi,
After 3+ years of continuous mining I found melted PCIE connectors (in different stage) in connectors seems to be formed a little oxide (visible in unused), so imperfect contact was the cause. This happened only with one PSU, low quality connectors.

what were you clocking the card at?

I used to do a lot of grounding work and always had these large bus bars where soft aluminum connectors that I crimped myself were bolted to the copper surface.. it was *highly* recommended to use no-ox of some sort to prevent the buildup of any barrier that inhibits conductivity between the surfaces.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cesco-content/unilog/Batch7/783669/59661-ProductImageURL.jpg

since I had an r9 290 plug melt down on me I picked up the habit of using this no-ox after taking a scotch brite pad the connections and have had zero issues since.

it's an exponentially more vital practice between two uncommon mating surfaces like aluminum to copper vs copper to copper.

as for the life of a connector clicking on/off cards, i would believe 20 cycles is a fair number.. but with some needle nose pliers and a bit of common sense you could reset that number and tighten up the clearances on the soft female connectors quite easily.

ive taken to pointing my ir temp gun at pcie and psu connectors every couple weeks or so for the last year, ever since i had a seasonic 750 psu melt its pcie connectors on the psu side (seasonic had a bad run of cables a few years ago when i bought it).

i remember taking needle nose pliers to some female molex connectors years ago as they would loosen up on some connectors.

i have a tube of no ox that i use for flashlights and my r/c cars. havent used it on computers yet but its a good idea.

sweeping with a laser pointing ir gun is good practice now and again.. but i see and raise the concept with using an entire camera.

https://cnet2.cbsistatic.com/img/-ZwbvSzyzyVsIvmYrdecKjVyujw=/770x433/2015/02/13/3ba3a1cf-f2db-4599-93bf-e910ca15f98e/seek-thermal-0137.jpg

these solutions are pretty inexpensive as a stand alone product and can save your time in spades with just a short glance of the screen.

CAT came out with an inexpensive cell phone a year or so back that includes this option.. personally i like the seek thermal solution for android or iphone.

thanks for the feedback/options, will "measure" temps with my fingers and see if it gets hot, but the new psu will not arrive/get ordered till later this year as it is getting hotter in my country and my gpu rigs are not running till winter