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So with the crazy mining craze going on right now all the "good" M.2 to PCIe adapters got sold out (there is only one rare version that actually works for GPU mining...the one you usually see on eBay does not even work). I decided to build my own solution that is even better for GPU mining rather than wait for stock.

So a direct M.2 to USB3 port for GPU risers is born! This bypasses the PCIe slot altogether, and reduces the number of contacts/breaks in the pcie lanes so its a more reliable setup if you can use your M.2 for GPU mining on your board.

Im currently testing it and works great with my setup, but need a few additional testers based in the US (preferably east coast) that currently use a working M.2 slot to GPU mine.

Once this is complete I should be able to produce a batch of a couple hundred for anyone that wants one in the $5-15 range per depending on quantities I end up making.

https://i.imgur.com/Aspbyrg.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/XwYOceG.jpg?2

Keep in mind that just because you have a M.2 port does not mean your motherboard or BIOS will support posting an additional GPU.

Awesome! An option to mount the USB connector horizontally would be useful for some boards/laptops/NUCs.

great work jstefanop

I have two Asus Prime z270-P MB that contain two additional M.2 slots that can be used for additional cards and can help out with testing if you would like....I'm East Coast (Peoples Republic of Maryland)

Thanks but seems like everyone messaging me has an Asus Prime :D I need about two more testers that have any other board.

This looks amazing :) two thumbs up, hope this sees the mass markets. I just bought a whole bunch of regular m.2 to pcie's, I hope they work.

Will it work on Biostar TB250-BTC?
I had problems with M.2 to PCIE adapters bought from ebay...

But price 5USD above is nothing special. From China it is from 2,2USD...

This would be so damn helpful for me, especially for mining- I've got a few PCs that would be unusable for mining without such a device. I will definitely keep looking at the thread and maybe see if I can get a few. :)

Happy to run it on my z97 gaming 5. single slot m.2 but would be cool to get 8 1070s running on this mobo. Question, does the m.2 interface have a direct interface with the CPU? Im usually hitting zcash so my g1820 is good enough but have a 4790k I can swap in for eth and claymore dual.

What is the difference  between yours and this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/NGFF-M-2-To-USB3-0-Converter-Card-Adapter-Power-Cable-22X30mm-22x42mm-22x80mm/112437643782?_trksid=p2054502.c100227.m3827&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908103841%26meid%3Db00d879640b64e3fbfee9146f30c0414%26pid%3D100227%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D13%26sd%3D112437643782

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/92AAAOSwnK9ZO2Dp/s-l1600.jpg

Great idea -- if I had some testing time (unfortunately I don't) I'd love to test these out as I have several different board types

Any info on pricing?

Cute little babies! I would love to purchase some.

So cool! About a month ago I was talking to my friend about using m2 and some other extensions to mining!

Okay...I need to purchase another board for a test machine, so let me know if there are any boards you have in mind that you would like to test and I'll pick it up.

Another option is I have 3 MicroCenters close to me and don't mind picking up multiple MBs to test your solution on. Just let me know.


Answer from OP:

too bad I'm not in the state even I really love to test it but I don't have a chance i'll wait for this one to be more successful then order mine too, good luck mate.

Cute little guys. Sign me up!

My adapter is wired to work directly with GPU risers and uses 1x PCIe lanes from the M.2 slot. Not sure what that is exactly, but it definitely wont run GPU risers (probably just pulls USB 3.0 directly from a compatible slot).

Thank you for the info .

I think you need an additional power supply for your M.2 adapter. Mine have Molex connectors to be powered.
I'm currently running 6 1070 on a Z270-P but by 7th and 8th card are not recognized even tough they're powered on by the PSU. PCIe slot 2 and 4 are not detected.
Can someone help me?

These attach directly to the GPU riser, so they don't need to be powered. The normal 4X PCIe to M.2 adapters have power because the actual PCIE port has power pins that need to provide power when something is plugged into that slot. In this case only data travels over the USB line on the Riser, since the actual riser board provides all the power to the GPU.

We have a Biostar TB 250 BTC with a M.2 slot, but I don't know if it does or does not work for mining. We also have a MSI Z170A Gaming M5 that is reportedly good for mining with a M.2 adapter from what I have seen online. We're upstate New York and could test it on those motherboards if you like.

Very nice, put me down for 256 assuming the price is reasonable!

Looks awesome! I'd definitely like to help test. I have a TB250 and Z97 board I could test it on.

great work , moving the M2 -> USB is so choice.

Ok so looks good with the units I sent out, ill probably make a small batch of a couple hundred of these. Trying to figure out the best distribution method...I might just have a few resellers resell this. If your looking for bulk purchase or want to resell let me know, as ill place a PCB order in the next week.

These are coming in next week, I only have a few left that have not been sold already if anyone still wants them.

I have these in hand / in stock ready to ship from US / New York.

What is that? It looks completely different than the original pic, and I can't figure out how it works by looking at the pics.

The Pics show a scrypt miner.

Sorry, wrong photograph is on website, I was going to grab the photo from the forum thread, which shows a green board, and the actual release board is black. I wanted to get these listed on my website quickly as several people have been looking for them, and asking if I had them in stock yet. If you are reading this thread, I am selling the correct M.2 board you are looking for. I will have correct photographs shortly.

All items must go, due to personal reasons and not enough profit I will no longer be selling online soon. Taking all offers into consideration.

You can PM me here if you're interested or email me at holyscott@sent.com

Also taking escrow payments or Paypal (from verified accounts)

Ah that makes sense. How much power can be transferred through these adapters and the m.2 slot though? the other adapters i've seen have an extra plus for auxiliary power usually via 4 pin to SATA connector. Is it safe to use your adapter with a 1080 Ti? I read that 1080 Ti cards can pull 75 watts and over 4 amps through the PCI-E connector without an alternate power source.

I used it for few months already.

With a 1080 Ti?

My understanding is the pcie riser supplies the power the cards take through the pcie slot and no power traverses the USB cable. So no power should be pulled through the M.2 to GPU riser adapter.

Regarding the other m.2 to PCI-E 4x adapters, if your riser is powered then you usually don't need to plug power into the m.2 to pcie adapter. The power connection on a m.2 to PCI-E adapter is to power cards that would be plugged directly into the pcie slot on the adapter. In which case, you couldn't plug anything over pcie 4x anyway.

I just bought 2 of them for a couple 1080ti. I'll let you know if they catch fire.  ;)

Thats correct...these are designed for the GPU risers, and those are obviously self powered and don't pull power from the actual slot. Only thing that goes over the USB cable is PCIe data lines.

Hey jstef.  Just got 13 of these from Holy the other day and, first off, they look great.  With that said, having mixed success thus far... working on getting them installed and only 1 of 3 are allowing Windows to recognize the attached GPU.  FYI, I have confirmed the riser itself is working by unplugging from your m2 and plugging directly into motherboard (Windows recognizes then).

Motherboard = ASUS Prime Z270-A

All other hardward & bios settings are the same.  Any ideas what I can try?  Thx!!!

This is from the ASUS site (https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/PRIME-Z270-A/specifications/):


I bought 2 of of some cheaper looking ones off Amazon a while back but ended up not using them because I heard some people friend their mobos. I think they only support either SATA or PCIE mode. Some motherboards are configured for SATA only m.2 while others can do NVME and PCIE modes. Just thinking out loud.

Yea you have to make sure M.2 slots are configured for PCIe...some motherboards have the option to switch between SATA/PCIe, and some M.2 slots don't have PCIe support at all.

Are these a better option than a m.2 to PCIE adapter? I've read mixed reviews regarding safety (melting boards etc.) and reliability.

I have an asus prime 270a. I just want something that is reliable and safe and i've struggled to establish find a consensus regarding which option is better. The thread may be biased, but if the m.2 to PCIE is a better option, can someone recommend me a link to a quality one?