Bitcoin Forum

(originally posted in the wrong forum)

Hello,

So I've taken my gaming rig, a i5-6400, 2x 1080 setup and have used it to make a few dollars here and there where I then take to exchanges to see whatever I can grab with the dips (which seem to be frequent lately).

The motherboard (mATX) I'm using has two pcie 3.0 x1, two pci-e 3.0 x16, one m.2_1, and one m.2_2 (ASUS z270g)

I'd like to expand what the board can do, but since this wasn't built with mining in mind, I'm afraid my options are limited.

I can't really access the pcie x1 slots due to the physical size of the graphics cards covering the slots.  Is there any kind of cable or thin expansion that can allow me to attach something to use these ports?  I think I saw somewhere extensions for the x16 slots, which may work, but I'm not sure.

Also, one of the m.2 slots is also under a graphics card, while the other is under the motherboard itself.  Do extensions or cables exist that might allow me to make use of these slots?

I can understand if my board simply cannot do it, I'm just looking what effort I can put into it.

I'm willing to explore building some kind of rig to access everything, but not if its just not feasible.  Would rather start from scratch with mining in mind.

Heard about Risers?

https://www.amazon.com/EXPLOMOS-Graphics-Extension-Ethereum-Capacitors/dp/B074Z754LT/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1520489989&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=risers+pci-e&psc=1&smid=A2JG7U147IMRBO



Yes, use this

https://www.amazon.com/H-COME-PCI-Express-Powered-Cable-GPU-Adapter-Ethereum/dp/B076F217DH/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1520490125&sr=8-5&keywords=m.2+to+pcie+mining

or this

https://www.amazon.com/EXPLOMOS-NGFF-Adapter-Power-Cable/dp/B074Z5YKXJ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1520490125&sr=8-4&keywords=m.2+to+pcie+mining


Your board is more than enough to handle your existing cards.

this is a good guide for newbies

http://www.lumbridgecity.com/how-to-build-your-own-gpu-mining-rig/

There are risers. They just solve a problem of"shortage of free space". They even exist for M.2. Think about how your videocards will be fixed. On the Internet there is a lot of information about it.
USB riser - https://www.amazon.com/6-Pack-Powered-Riser-Adapter-Extension/dp/B01N3UVJHM (https://www.amazon.com/6-Pack-Powered-Riser-Adapter-Extension/dp/B01N3UVJHM)
M.2 riser - https://www.amazon.com/EXPLOMOS-NGFF-Adapter-Power-Cable/dp/B074Z5YKXJ (https://www.amazon.com/EXPLOMOS-NGFF-Adapter-Power-Cable/dp/B074Z5YKXJ)
Mining rig - http://www.coinminingrigs.com/how-to-build-a-6-gpu-mining-rig/ (http://www.coinminingrigs.com/how-to-build-a-6-gpu-mining-rig/)

Ok.  Thanks for the videos... Very helpful.

My problem was I was trying to have my cake and eat it too, I wanted to keep playing games with either one card mining and one card playing, or to switch back in forth between gaming and mining; hence, I kept envisioning my 1080's still plugged into the x16 slots.  I was trying to figure out how to use the risers with the cards smothering them.  Looks like I need to make a decision.

Might I still be able to do this with these?

https://www.amazon.com/EZDIY-FAB-Express-PCIe3-0-Flexible-Extension/dp/B01CEKN5VO/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1520695470&sr=1-3&keywords=pcie+x16+riser (https://www.amazon.com/EZDIY-FAB-Express-PCIe3-0-Flexible-Extension/dp/B01CEKN5VO/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1520695470&sr=1-3&keywords=pcie+x16+riser)

My concerns then would be cable length and stability.

Though the more I see, the more it looks like it'll be one or the other...

Just buy a few risers like the others suggested, then pull your cards out of your case for extra ventilation. That way, you can also add more GPUs, taking advantage of your x1 slots. You can even add 4 GPUs into x1 slot by using a similar adapter (http://www.sybausa.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=968). Although, if you are planning to use your computer for anything else apart from mining, performance is severely worse using risers, mining performance is not affected. (Gaming for example).