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Hi,

Can someone tell me are directly SATA powered risers good? Or I should stick with Molex?

Thanks.

Don't use any sata connector with a molded end on it. Crimp connection only. :-\

What does that mean exactly? I thought PSU SATA to 6-pin SATA risers were the preference over PSU SATA to 4-pin molex risers.

They are the preference, but it still involves SATA. Crimping means that the wires are pressed together very tightly (which is safe), molded would infer there's some kind of glue/paste holding it together, which is dangerous at high temperatures.

any screens for us...thanks

The risers I have bought about 32 of them from China , all of them come with SATA connectors which I didn't use at all. I only used 4 pin molex cables from the PSU, running a few mining boards with these cables and everything running smoothly. No problems reported until now. I would stick with the molex cables from the PSU. Of course branded PSU-s is the most important thing of a mining board so do not go cheap in this area.

Not sure I follow you.... I was talking about these, PSU to SATA directly.

https://www.google.com/search?q=v007s+riser&client=firefox-b-ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjliaXu08DUAhVC1hQKHY1jBgsQ_AUIBigB&biw=1280&bih=737#imgrc=Ak7zyte6UzJ0DM:

Not SATA to Molex or 6pin.

Or are you saying that SATA connector on Riser's PCB is glued and that's not good?

I'm horribly confused about this too.

I have two types of risers, one has 4-molex and one has 6-pin PSU-looking type plug. Both have a sata connector cable. My PSU comes with two types of cables. A perif to 4x molex string and a 6-pin to 4x SATA string.

What exactly am I not supposed to do and what am I supposed to do. From what I've gathered I should use the 6-pin to SATA string to sata cable to molex. And I should use the Perif to 4x molex string connected directly to the riser BUT only two per string of 4.

However, what about the 6-pin riser? Can I use the 6pin-to-SATA cable that was provided and connect it to the 6-pin to 4x SATA cable that comes with my PSU?

Not if you enjoy your house.

Ideally you want a single cable with a 6 pin connector going to a 6 pin receptor on the riser, with no adaptors in between.  In the real world this is rarely possible.

Best connector is 6pin, closely followed by the 4 pin molex.  Not a huge difference really.  What you want to avoid as much as possible is powering the risers through a sata connector.  That includes those sata adaptors they usually include.  The weakest point whether it's on the riser or an adaptor in between will be the sata connector.  The latter was never designed to carry as much current as the molex and 6 pin.  It will probably work fine but there is a greater likelihood of failure and even fire, especially if the sata is poor quality.

On the rig I'm building, I have 3 cables with 4 molex on each.  I will power 6 risers (2 from each cable).  I think this is preferable to having a dedicated wire for each one if it means passing through a sata adaptor.  Molex and 6 pin connectors are simpler and more robust than the sata and are rated to carry a higher current.

This is why I won't use the 7S risers as they all seem to be sata based.

Just to backup my statements above...

Sata has 3 x 12volt pins each rated for 1.5 amps so total 4.5 amps is 54 watts.

Molex has 1 x 12 volt pin but it's a big-ass pin (compared to sata) and is rated to handle 11 amps (132 watts)

I know the 7c sounds like the latest and greatest but I would strongly advise not using it (assuming it has the sata connector).  It will probably work but also probably be carrying more current than it's rated for.  High quality connectors will have a larger safety margin but why take the risk?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Power_connectors

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molex_connector

Can you provide a link to an example riser? So many people have said so many opposite things I am totally confused. It sounds like you're saying the sata plug risers are actually worse then the molex ones. Where is everyone getting all these risers and dedicated cables? Or 90% of people are doing it wrong...

I would stick with Molex it can have up to 132W or with PCI-E 6Pin. The 6pin can have 75W.
Mobo PCI-E power is 75W.

It's really quite straightforward:

Sata connectors are rated at no more than 54 watts.

Molex connectors are rated at 132 watts.

I'm not sure what the 6 pin is rated at but I think it's more than the Molex.

6 pin rated at 75 watts.

Therefore if you have any sata connectors in the cable to your riser, then there is a risk of overloading the connection.  It doesn't matter if the sata connector is on the riser or in an adaptor cable.  Same problem.  Solution: Do not use the ver 7S risers.  

Recommended: ver 006C (6 pin) or ver 006 (molex)

Of course lots of people use the sata type 7S and lots use a sata to molex/6 pin adaptor.  But the fact is that the connector is only rated for 4.5 amps vs 11 amps for the molex for example.  It will still work and most likely it won't get hot and catch fire.  But nonetheless it is much more likely to than the others.

https://www.amazon.ca/Deep-Mines-6-Pin-Powered-Express/dp/B06XCCRFD6

http://www.dhgate.com/product/pcie-pci-e-pci-express-riser-card-1x-to-16x/399679205.html#s1-0-1;disc

Throw away the included sata adaptor.

The 6 pin has 75W and 8 pin has 150W, but there are no risers with 8 pins. PCI-E slot has 75W so it's enough.

Yo are wrong on both accounts.
http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#sata
http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#peripheral

There is absolutely nothing wrong with sata powered risers, as long as one does not connect more than two risers to single sata cable.

Ok, so I have both 006 molex and 006 6 pin risers. However, if I don't use the SATA adapters, the only cable I have available is a 6-pin (perif) to 4x molex string. And I can only use 2 of those 4 molex for safety, how can I connect the other risers? I have two EVGA 750W G2's. They each have 1 perif and 4 Sata plugs on the back.

So I'm assuming I need a 6-pin sata (that plugs into the PSU) to 6-pin that plugs in the riser, but this is the issue, where on earth are those cables sold. OR I need a 6-pin sata (that plugs into the PSU) to molex, and again, can not find cables for that.

Unless I'm just totally blind.

No, you need to buy a proper power supply so you dont burn your house down.

Use 8 or 6 pin splitter, those cables are made to be full powered.
As I wrote 8 pin can handle 150W so you can use 1x 8pin to 1x 6 pin on riser (75W) and 1x 6pin on card (75W), There should be no problem with 8 pin card either...
I wouldn't go for the Sata and definitly not for those SATA adapters! They are very low cost and bad quality.
I tried 3 risers on 1 molex rail and it was no problem at all, Corsair HX1200 has quality cables they were only around 30° (IR thermometer).

3 risers on SATA works fine as well (Corsair). 4 doesn't work, will give issues with cards.

According to the sata spec, the 12 volt pins are rated for 54 watts as the maximum.  As in 1.5 amps for each 12 volt pin, of which there are 3.  Yeah it will most likely work even a bit over that if they're good quality.  But it's better to use molex or 6 pin which are rated to handle considerably more current.  Just to be on the safe side.

I have one perif plug on my PSU. And 4 SATA plugs.

So you're saying to ignore the SATA plugs entirely. And only use the Perif 6-pin plug? And if in that case, the most I can get out of that 750W PSU is two (MAYBE) three molex connections (on the string of 4)

If I was going to use the risers with 6-pin, what exactly is the cable I need and is it a 6-pin perif cable or a 6-pin sata cable (I'm talking about the labels on the PSU)

I have two EVGA 750W.

Any links to the actual cable would be super helpful...

If you don't have enough 6 pin PCIE buy splitter
https://www.amazon.com/PCI-Express-Y-Splitter-Adapter-Converter-Gaming/dp/B004PBJARO
I've bought them here in CZ, one for 4 bucks. I think the brand was Delock.

Using v007s. Works fine on me

http://imgur.com/XapyNZ0

Of course it does.
So it does on hundreds of rigs.
The amount of FUD regarding sata risers is too much.

I hear ya. But then I've also seen the burned melted data connectors so so not sure what to think.

I don't think I have ANY 6pin / that the problem. I have sata 6-pin with four flat sata connectors on one string and then perif 6-pin with 4 molex string.

No 6-pin to 6-pin cables. This is the problem.

Okay, there's a terminology problem here.

When we say 6-pin or 8-pin, we mean the 6/8 pin PCI-E power cables. EVGA G2 750w has four.


Basically, you could use a 8pin PCI-E splitter and connect it to both the RX GPU and direct to the riser's 6 pin socket.
Alternately, it's possible to get (or make) cables that convert the PSU's second CPU EPS12V 8pin connector into a pair of 6/8pin PCI-E and use them to power a pair of risers.
Example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CPU-8Pin-to-Graphics-Video-Card-Double-PCI-E-PCIe-Power-Supply-Splitter-Cable-/272720358725

Or.... for the risers with the direct molex connection, you could obtain more EVGA G2 compatible molex cables, as for an EVGA G2 all the SATA/PERF sockets on the back of PSU are wired identical/interchangable. (EVGA G2, G1 and GS all use the same pinout for the molex cable)

never use any sata connector in mining rig

O.M.G. That. That is exactly what I was confused about. And it's sitting right under my nose.

So given I want to run 7 cards on one mobo, and I have 8 PCI-E (VGA) cables amongst 2 PSUs.

PSU 1
Mobo + CPU
GPU1: VGA1 + Perif-1 to Molex string (1 of 4)
GPU2: VGA2 + Perif-1 to Molex string (2 of 4)
GPU3: VGA3 + VGA4 (to 6-pin riser)

PSU 2
GPU4: VGA5 + Perif-2 to Molex string (1 of 4)
GPU5: VGA6 + Perif-2 to Molex string (2 of 4)
GPU6: VGA6 + CPU to 6/8 splitter (OR buy a 8pin to 8pin PCI splitter for both)
GPU7: VGA8 + CPU to 6/8 splitter (OR buy a 8pin to 8pin PCI splitter for both)

Is that right? That makes so much more sense now...!

As I keep saying, sata works fine for most people. It's very unlikely it will catch fire and melt.  BUT the undisputed fact remains that the spec only requires that it be able to cope with a maximum of 4.5 amps on the 12 volt pins.  Good quality ones may be able to handle more - depends on the quality of the connector.

The following refers to 12 volts:

1. The PCIE spec dictates the slot must be able to sink a maximum of 6.25 amps.

2. SATA spec dictates the connector must be able to handle up to 4.5 amps.

3. Molex spec dictates the connector must be able to handle up to 11 amps.

The more current, the more voltage drop and the higher amount of heat generated.  If your card is drawing less than 4.5 amps then there is no risk,  Many if not most cards will draw less than the maximum from the slot.  However, if you have one of those 250 watt beasts, it is likely it will draw more than 4.5 amps and up to 6.25 amps.  Which will exceed the design specification of the sata (but be well within the abilities of the Molex).

Exceeding the amount of current the connector is designed to handle, will not automatically mean fire and disaster.  But it certainly increases the risk.  Most power supplies have heaps of spare sata and not enough molex or 6 pin.  That is the main reason it gets used.  In most cases it works fine without melting. But it would be better to spend a bit more on a good quality power supply that can handle at least 50% more than your calculated usage.  Power supplies are generally more efficient when used at 50 to 70% capacity and the larger size will likely mean more molex and 6 pin connectors.  Yes you can use sata to power your risers, and most likely nothing bad will happen, but it's definitely more risky than using molex or 6 pin.

It's ok to split one wire to power 2 risers.  As in using 2 molex.  Or even 2 sata if your cards don't draw too much current.  The limitation here is more to do with the wire size.  18 AWG is generally used for sata and molex and over the distances involved it can cope with the current from 2 cards, but 3 or more is pushing it and will likely result in the wire getting warm.  Depending of course on the cards used.

If you really want to be safe and operate your rig within specs, I suggest the following:

1. Do not use sata for anything related to your GPUs.

2. Split a molex or 6 pin into no more than 2.

3. If you don't have enough connectors, buy a bigger power supply that does.

Yeah of course you can use sata and you can split your wires into 3 or more and no it probably won't end in disaster.  But it is certainly more likely to than if you were keeping within specifications.

Correct. My 750w G2 are setup similar to your PSU2 above, CPU to 2x 6pin splitter and using 1 molex string per riser.
(I had spare EVGA G2 molex cables, and on the PSU side PERIF/SATA sockets are wired the same)

that entirely depends on which cards you're using, while most don't draw over 20w from the PCI-e slot, there have been some oddballs even breaking the 75w limit

So I can use the Perif - Molex cable in the SATA plugs on the PSU as well?

EVGA G2? Yep, the sockets are the same other than labels.
Seems to be common for EVGA PSUs, I've noticed it with G1, G2, GS and PS series. (all of which conveniently use the same modular molex cable pinout)

Same with T2 series. Running 2x EVGA 750W T2s.

Sorry, was reading the thread and wanted to clarify couple of points:


Did it ever melt for anyone, or community is just theorizing on SATA specs. I've read about fried MOLEX connectors and melted SATA/MOLEX adapters,  but haven't encountered any reports about burnt SATA risers.


But can a video card actually request more current than mediator device (riser in this case) can handle? Not that good at physics, doesn't it work the same way as a network bandwidth - so if cable/switch cannot put through more than 100 mbps, devices on both sides of the network simply won't be able to push through something bigger?