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i started on the small DIY project about 2 weeks ago with the assumption that it would take 6 hours max. it shouldn't take too long right? all you have to do chop up some bars and piece them together. boy was i wrong... i've spent nearly 18 hours on it and not yet fully finished. it's a pretty straight forward process, but just very time consuming. i only used very simple tools, nothing complicated:

• dremel (with cutting disc, and drill bit)
• rivet gun (with rivets)
• ruler
• pen
• screws with washer and nut
• 2x 8' aluminum L-bars

i'll be using a MSI bing bang x58 motherboard, which has 7 pci-e slots. i built this rack to fit 7 GPU on top with a full slot space in between each card for breathing room. there's also 1 additional space for a 8th GPU on the bottom, next to the PSU. there's only 2-3 motherboards with 8 pci-e slots (including the MSI big bang marshal), so most likely i'll never use these motherboards, but i just made that 8th slot in case i'll ever need it.

it's not completely done, but i'll snap a few pics of what it looks:

empty frames
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/5747/dscn7338d.jpg (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/dscn7338d.jpg/)

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/1715/dscn7339w.jpg (http://img194.imageshack.us/i/dscn7339w.jpg/)

this is going to be a double PSU rack, but i have not drilled holes for the screws yet. it's just soft mounted right now.
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/9171/dscn7340.jpg (http://img827.imageshack.us/i/dscn7340.jpg/)

mounted the motherboard
http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/5283/dscn7342.jpg (http://img803.imageshack.us/i/dscn7342.jpg/)

a closer shot, you can see i used a long screw with washer and nut to use as the motherboard standoffs. after the motherboard is mounted, i could add another optional nut on the very top to secure it, but i didn't think this was necessary. the screw is long enough, the motherboard won't be popping out.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1213/dscn7343.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/i/dscn7343.jpg/)

2 GPU's mounted
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5666/dscn7345b.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/dscn7345b.jpg/)

these next few pics is just for lulz. the GPU's in here are NOT going to be used in this exact setup.
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/4871/dscn7347f.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/717/dscn7347f.jpg/)

7 GPU's test-mounted on top
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/8154/dscn7348x.jpg (http://img97.imageshack.us/i/dscn7348x.jpg/)

this shows 8 GPU's total, 7 on top and 1 on the bottom next to the PSU
http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/8134/dscn7349f.jpg (http://img828.imageshack.us/i/dscn7349f.jpg/)

closeup of the one on the bottom
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/2152/dscn7350.jpg (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/dscn7350.jpg/)

a shot from the back
http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/943/dscn7351.jpg (http://img834.imageshack.us/i/dscn7351.jpg/)


more updates to come when i have time, the rack isn't finished yet....

Sweet!!!

only 6 slots on mobo. How you plan to use 8 cards?

Since this is a super duper special mobo, it's got new technology on on called AMD AeroTesla which is able to establish a wireless connection to Radeon 5xxx series cards.

How? search the forums for pcie extender cables.

lol it actually has 7 slots: 6 pci-e x16 and 1 pci-e x1 on the very top. i think you were just basing what you said on my pics, which is hard to see that top black pci-e x1 slot. here's the newegg link for specs:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130289

i mentioned in my first post that i'll be using 7 cards, not 8. the 7 cards will be on the top, but i just noted that the 8th slot is on the bottom next to the PSU in case i'll ever want to upgrade the mobo to something with 8 slot pci-e

That still doesn't answer what your doing with the 8th card lol :P

like the man said: for future.  the 8 cards in the pic are to show how it would look like with 8 cards. that's all.

oh i guess you missed the edit while we both were typing. just to clarify, the MSI big-bang X58 is different than the MSI big bang Marshal:

MSI big bang X58 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130289): 7 pci-e slots, socket 1366, i'll be using this in the build
MSI big bang marshal (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130595): 8 pci-e slots, socket 1155, i dont have this board

Nice setup! I know what you mean about "this should only take a couple of hours..."  :D

Do the PSUs draw air in from the top? If so does the motherboard block air flow to them?

Did you find a single rivet strong enough to hold the aluminum angle stock together?

It looks like there's plenty of room between them.  The PSUs can handle quite a lot of heat as well, I think they'll be nice and happy there.

ya i planned the PSU to pull air facing up. there's a few inches of clearance between the PSU and mobo, so that should be enough room for it to breathe. i haven't drilled screw holes in the frame for the PSU mount yet, so i could always just flip it upside down and let it intake from the very bottom, but then that means i'll have to somehow lift the whole rig an inch so it has breathing room on the bottom. i'm probably not going to do that because that will raise the overall height even more, which i wanted to avoid. i measured everything to be as short as possible.

as for the rivets, i used steel rivets instead of aluminum rivets. a single one at each joint is more than enough to hold everything together. if i used aluminum rivets instead, then i'll have some doubts because i test-lifted the whole frame with 2 PSU, mobo, and 7 GPU's and it's pretty dam heavy.

You should upgrade to the MSI bing bang boom x58, which has 8 pci-e slots.

Great build... Looks very good and clean.

holy fuck :o

Nice! Any nicer and the Sheetmetal Workers Union will be after you for dues ;-)

i will probably copy your design and modify it to fit my needs ;)

do you have the dimensions for the rack?  :)

I am not impressed until you put 7 - 6990s in there.  Just kidding, looks awesome!

Just had my Big Band Marshal arrive so i'll be doing something similar to this :D

I'm going out to get 7.2m of Angle in the next couple of days so i can build it (I only need 5.25 but can only buy it in strips of 2.4m each lol).

Looks nice.  But wouldn't the motherboard flex too much in the middle when you plugin/unplug pcie extenders, for example.  I might like to see more support for the motherboard middle (like plywood, that might ruin the look though), but if you're careful maybe wont be an issue.

x1 extenders don't really require that much force to plug in.

lol right? the naming of the motherboard is pretty lame haha. "BIG BANG KABOOM" will be the new x79 socket LGA2011 for MSI. it will have 12 pci-e slots  :P. /sarcasm



it's copyright, there won't be any copying unless you pay me fees. jk. copy all u want, i'm interested to see what variation you come up with. what did you plan to change from the design? be sure to post pics when you have them!



that's crazy, you bought a $400 motherboard for this? it would have been cheaper (including other components like CPU, PSU, etc) if you got 2 separate rigs instead of this one 8-slot motherboard setup.

and just a heads if when you build something like this, you won't be able to fit all 8 GPUs on top when using a standard 17cm riser/extension cable. it's not long enough to reach the two cards and the ends if you leave a slot for cooling between each card. you'll need to break it down to 6-7 cards on top and 1-2 cards on bottom, unless you connect two extension cables together to make them longer.



nope, doesn't flex too much. it might be a problem if the video cards are directly on the motherboard and weighing it down, but since i'm using extension cables, they hardly weigh anything. the CPU cooler weighs the most, but i'm not using a huge tower cooler or anything. there's nothing else on the motherboard to push it down, so flex won't be a problem. haha it doesn't take hercules to plug in the extension cables, so that won't be a problem either


ps- this forum needs a multi-quote button. i just had to manually quote everyone in this one post

Awesome, would definitely be interested in dimensions of build you made.

Sure ;)

I want to make it suitable for 2 motherboards in line and up to 12 gfx cards, so just longer (aproxx. 1- 1.2m lenght), with a closed bottom (another L shaped alu bar at the bottom back for stability) and a bottom plexiglass plate where the psu's can rest on. all this will make a stable skeleton structure where i will build a simple encasing around (probably made of cheap wood) with included fans for proper air exchange to put it on my balcony (also my balcony has good weather protection, the casing still must be wind and rain proof)

that's crazy, you bought a $400 motherboard for this? it would have been cheaper (including other components like CPU, PSU, etc) if you got 2 separate rigs instead of this one 8-slot motherboard setup.

and just a heads if when you build something like this, you won't be able to fit all 8 GPUs on top when using a standard 17cm riser/extension cable. it's not long enough to reach the two cards and the ends if you leave a slot for cooling between each card. you'll need to break it down to 6-7 cards on top and 1-2 cards on bottom, unless you connect two extension cables together to make them longer.

[/quote]

I totalled up all the costs and it's not actually that much dearer in total, it is more expensive but for the amount i'd save i'd rather have it all in one system and not have to spend an entire day building a rack lol.

I have some spare riser cables so i can fit 8 cards on the top length with an inch between each :)

here are some closeup shots of little details you might want to see

the top bar is tapped with threads to fit the regular computer screws. this is to secure down the cards from moving around. i just measured and drilled holes into the bars, then just used the actual screws to make the threads directly into the aluminum. this freakin took like 2 hours  :-\
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/9536/dscn7352.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/811/dscn7352.jpg/)

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7774/dscn7353f.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/84/dscn7353f.jpg/)

here's what i used as motherboard standoffs to raise the motherboard from the aluminum frame. drilled a hole in the frame, then put a long screw from the bottom up. a washer and nut was put on top to secure the screw, and also act to raise the motherboard up.
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/7572/dscn7363e.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/38/dscn7363e.jpg/)

the excess end of the screw sticking up through the motherboard holes prevents the motherboard from moving around.
http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/3533/dscn7362n.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/546/dscn7362n.jpg/)

pic is a little blurry, but it's just to show that an optional nut can be added on top of everything to bolt down the motherboard. i won't be adding this extra nut in the final build since the screw is long enough
http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/5149/dscn7361.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/593/dscn7361.jpg/)

here's a random nice little froggy in my back yard watching me when i was building this rack
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/160/dscn7325t.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/641/dscn7325t.jpg/)


so i ran into a couple problems when doing this build, and i'll post that next time i have pics up

Did you name the frog Mr. "Rig Marshall"?

problems i ran into:

1) stock CPU cooler is too tall. i originally used a socket 775 board with the stock cooler to do all my measurements, and the height i cut the rack into was a perfect fit. however, i didn't realize that a stock s1366 cooler was considerably taller. The pci-e extension cables didn't have enough clearance because the cooler blocks it.

2) the bar that holds up the rear end of the GPUs were about 6 millimeters short because the little PCB "hook" towards the end of the pci-e pins of the video card, got in the way of this bar.

here you can see how the video card's pci-e pins are very close to the cooler, and this is not enough room to plug in the extension cables. these cables take up a few centimeters of space below the video card's pins.
http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/7890/dscn7356u.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/828/dscn7356u.jpg/)

solution: i bought a 1U low profile s1366 cooler. it just came in, here's what it looks like installed on the motherboard.
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/350/dscn7369.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/820/dscn7369.jpg/)

ahh, perfect...
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/4784/dscn7366q.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/24/dscn7366q.jpg/)

now the second problem, the bar holding the video card is too close, so the video doesn't have enough clearance to be mounted properly. solution: i drilled out rivets on both sides, made 2 new holes to move two bars back about 6mm, which is just enough clearance.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4273/dscn7370v.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/232/dscn7370v.jpg/)

that PCB "hook" now has enough clearance
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/2809/dscn7371z.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/717/dscn7371z.jpg/)

a few more mods to come before it's finished

What cpu cooler is that? Looks sick

It seems a Bufo viridis, so you would probably live in Europe, most probably North-East Europe  ;)

small request, can you please edit out your post to take out the quotes? quoting all the pictures like this to just reply with a small phrase takes up forum space, especially when i already posted all of that right on top of your post

and to answer your question, it's a rosewill or dynatron 1U low profile cooler, designed for servers. this thing sounds like a jet engine...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200058
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835114085




would you mind editing out the pic as well? and actually you're waaay off lol. i'm located in the US, southern california to be exact  ;)

LOL, so what kind of frog is it ?  ???

Awesome setup! Can't wait to see it finished!

I'm trying to build your rig but I can't find a frog like this.

Where else can I find one? Can I substitute it for a toad?

started the work today, this will offer room for 2 mainboards and up to 12 gfx-cards. now I will start to drill the holes for the rivets.

first pictures:

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/6348/overviewui.jpg
overview to get the idea.
the metal bars are 25x25x1.5mm L bars made of aluminium, each had a lenght of 200cm.
for the Proxxon (http://www.proxxon.com/eng/html/28481.php (http://www.proxxon.com/eng/html/28481.php) , http://www.proxxon.com/eng/html/28606.php (http://www.proxxon.com/eng/html/28606.php) better than a Dremel)
I do have metal cutting discs, but without a proper working bench it was easier to simply use the strong metal saw.
I use two types of steel rivets for double and triple layer aluminium.


http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8439/tools1.jpg
closeup of some tools


http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7624/proxxon.jpg
closeup of the Proxxon.
I use a 3mm metal drill to drill the holes for the screws like for the gfx-card holder and the mainboard holder, and a 3.1mm drill for the 3mm steel rivets.
5000 rpm.
standard M3 screws (like the one from a regular Computer Case, the ones used to screw the PCI-E cards onto the case) can perfectly cut into the 3mm aluminium holes.


http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8890/holesp.jpg
closeup of the Gfx-Card holder. perfect fit!



more to come..

no idea, i'm not a frog expert, and neither are you judging from your way off guess about the frog's origin of location  :D



you definitely need a frog for this build, a toad wouldn't work, although a crocodile might be ok...



i had a little more time to work on it, almost done. i'll post up update pictures in a bit



looks like very clean cuts and drilled holes! i wish i had that thingy that holds the dremel/proxxon, it would have made drilling the rivet holes and screw threads so much easier. i did it by free-hand with a dremel, which was a pain in the arse. how is a proxxon better than a dremel?

waiting to see how yours turns out as well....

I <3 the interwebs.

http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-220-01-Rotary-Tool-Station/dp/B00068P48O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312923977&sr=8-1

thanks! also i had to do some free-hand work, too, but i found a way to handle the drill. the Proxxon has a better build quality than the dremel and is usually used in the industry in germany.
now I know at least that it is best to first drill all holes and then rivet it together, instead of not being able to get into the corner after you nailed them ^^

here are more pics, as you can see it's not all that clean cut and not all angles are 90° - but this is my first piece of metalwork, i think it works out.

to do: drilling the holes for the motherboard-screws, getting a wooden or plexiglass bottom where the psu's can rest on, build a cover of wood or plexiglass with fans to put the whole thing outside on my balcony ^^

hardware is a placeholder ;)


http://i52.tinypic.com/2mgk2hg.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/4exj8.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/10yjo61.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/2r2xkpz.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/x255pc.jpg

yeah i saw that at my local hardware store too, but i couldn't justify the price for something i won't use much. i bought my dremel on sale for less than that  ;D.


it looks like a really stretched version of mine haha. i had plan everything out first, then drilled all rivet holes before i put anything together, because after the pieces are together, it'll be harder to drill. i can see some of your holes are not perfectly lined up  :D, i had that problem on a few of my holes as well

finally had time to get some more work done this weekend. i'll post up the pics in a bit

the top left corner of the motherboard has an offset mounting hole that is not above the frame, so i was not able to screw in some standoffs for this hole. instead, i just drilled a hole in the frame for a rivet, washer, and small black rubber piece to support the motherboard's top left corner. the motherboard doesn't actually screw down in the area, it just rests on top of this rubber disk
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/3518/dscn7374.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/225/dscn7374.jpg/)

i cut a steel bar and added it to the bottom of the frame to support the front end of the PSU. after all the computer hardware is installed, everything will now be on top of the frame, so i can just lift it all up and move it if i have to. nothing rests on the ground anymore. i also drilled some holes for the two PSUs to screw into the frame
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/9624/dscn7375.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/543/dscn7375.jpg/)

drilled some holes for a 2.5" hard drive
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/5458/dscn7376m.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/dscn7376m.jpg/)

the two PSU's mounted and screwed in
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/237/dscn7378.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/6/dscn7378.jpg/)

you can see the 2.5" hard drive mounted behind one of the rear "legs". all the ugly blue labeling stickers were taken off at this point
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5071/dscn7377u.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/710/dscn7377u.jpg/)

the 2.5" hard drive i used is a 1000rpm WD velociraptor. yeah i know... it's overkill but it was a spare drive i had at the time
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/1676/dscn7379.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/708/dscn7379.jpg/)

PSU, motherboard, and hard drive mounted
http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/2223/dscn7380a.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/594/dscn7380a.jpg/)

a view from the other side
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/7036/dscn7382v.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/685/dscn7382v.jpg/)




@ stellan0r: i just saw pics of your rack. it's going to look like a beast with 12 cards mounted on top. how many PSU are you going to put on the bottom?

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=7216.msg453266#msg453266

This rig looks amazing.
I'd love to put together something like this but I think I'd get to much grief from the 'woman'
I finally upgrade my machine (3 cards) but guided it as upgrading for my games. I run the thing 24/7, it's loud as hell and literally looks like an old server box ( newegg IWIN gaming tower it's huge).
Maybe I'll try to put something like this together.

When it's all build you should def update with some specs (watt draw/ total m(g)hash/ heat , yadda yadda) definitely looks like a fun project

Love watching this, keep the updates coming!

@haploid23,

I hope you have planned well regarding the electrical supply. Sounds like you may live in an apartment. If so, I'd be concerned about available circuits to support the power draw from a 6xGPU rig. Just saying.

LOL where do you live?

Thanks!
I will replace my corsair GS800 and HX850 with two Enermax MaxRevo 1500 PSU's for best efficiency (>90%!). (also I need only 2.4 kW for 12 GPUs, not 3 kW.)

I probably have to reduce the setup to 10-11 cards, as I made the same mistake with the height of the CPU cooler. Also it's low profile, the pci-e riser cable blocks the fan. Maybe I can fix that with some cable binder. If I want to spend that much money, I will solve that problem with a Corsair Hydro Series H70 Water Cooling System.

You should be able to get 3.1kW on one FUSE (in the plug in the UK). In a modern home, the cabling for a double socket will accept up to 26A.

You shouldn't be able to cause damage to wiring in the walls as these will be protected at your fusebox.

Hey catfish, yes I am from Germany :) But I am everything but an engineer, this was my very first approach to work with metal ever.

I start with the last things you mentioned, the heat:

I plan on putting this outside on my balcony (which is pretty well protected already against the weather and only open to the upper front), with a rain/snow/direct sun proof enclosure that will have enough openings (also protected against weather with these http://www.ventilator-shop.com/zubehor-fur-die-ventilatoren/rohrkrummers/rohrkrummer-90/ (http://www.ventilator-shop.com/zubehor-fur-die-ventilatoren/rohrkrummers/rohrkrummer-90/) and some fine mesh against dust and insects) for enough fans. I will drill as many 108mm holes (with a Starrett holesaw - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starrett-Sh0414-Speed-Steel-Holesaw/dp/B0002JT6X6/ref=sr_1_2?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1313349705&sr=1-2 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starrett-Sh0414-Speed-Steel-Holesaw/dp/B0002JT6X6/ref=sr_1_2?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1313349705&sr=1-2) into the enclosure as necessary and mount 120mm fans on the inside, in push pull order (from the back and side-bottom it will push air in, on the front and top front where the gpu's blast their hot air I will mount them to pull air out).

Anyway, the amount of GPU's in my rig will be determined by "how the market goes" in the next months ;)

IF the market does what I want it to do, I will put some money into a powerful watercooling system. This is pretty expensive, as the basics cost about 150 Euro in quality parts + 60-100 Euro per GPU.. But it would cool the system and I could even put it back inside without having a terrible noise pollution but an efficient space heater ;) (and in the end it will have wheels, so I can just shut them down, pull the plug, move it somewhere else, plug it back and so on)

Power is not a problem here, I have a 16A (3.6kW) fuse available to nearly 100% just for the rig (for whatever reason the smallest room in my apt. with the least power consumption has it's own fuse, where my living room with all the stuff shares the fuse with the floor where I put the vacuum cleaner in o.O). My building is pretty new and has good cabling, though.

In my frame is some torsion, this is simply because I didn't do exact measurements in the beginning with the first bars I put together - if I would have to build another one, I would know better what to do in which order, and I would take my time to make the edges more smooth. But I just wanted to put this thing together ;)
I would also use a mix of wood (for the outer structure that does not come in contact with any hardware) and metal then, because the wood is easier to work with and the metal would be only used for parts that need to carry the computer stuff.

Pre-drilled lengths of metal would be nice to have, anyway ;)  

But as soon as I get this one http://www.proxxon.com/eng/html/27100.php (http://www.proxxon.com/eng/html/27100.php) (for my drill stand) accuracy in drilling the holes will not be a problem anymore  8)

thanks! yup, will do. hardware specs, speed, and temps will all be posted once it's finished


lol why do you think i live in an apartment? hard wood floors, big tile kitchens, backyard, etc... don't think an apartment has that  ;). i'm at my house for the summer, but i will however move back to my apartment when school starts, although this rig will stay at the house. the room that i host all these miners has a 15amp breaker, i'm able to put 2 full miners with 4 GPU's each, i tried adding a 3rd one and trips the circuit breaker. i guess this 7-GPU rig will be the only one in the room, all other miners will be moved somewhere else.


hmm you didn't learn from my mistake huh? i also made the mistake of the making the the bars that support the GPUs too low, so some of the pci-e extender cables hits the CPU fan. i posted about it and took pics. you should also get a similar low profile cooler like i did. not only is it very low profile (1U), the fan is also totally encased so you don't have to worry about any cables getting caught in it.

man... you and catfish sure typed a lot haha

Hi OP,

please update on the power consumption and how you distribute the power to the cards.

I know you can use an adapter to turn on the second PSU, but from what that means the second PSU would have no load on other rails (3.3v and 5v ) correct? Is that not recommended tho? Let me know if you have know other way

Also it would be great if we can pull all the 12v wires from the PSU to power the cards (atx connector, eps, p4 12v, molex). Are there any online store we can get these common connectores? (male one)

Santa Fe, New Mexico. I've got a 100ft wiring run on a 15amp circuit and when I added my miner to that circuit with another gaming rig, printer, couple of routers and a switch I had the dreaded VD! Yes, voltage drop down to ~105 volts which resulted in a very unstable mining platform.

I got a small Bosch IXO for as an electric srewdriver, lots of power for such a small tool :)

About the metal work, it was simply learning by doing and looking at the pictures of the OP. A handy guide for using a riveting tool is this:

http://www.hansonrivet.com/w13.htm (http://www.hansonrivet.com/w13.htm)

take a look at my pictures to see what type of tool I am using. Then use steel rivets, with 3 or 4mm diameter. You need to drill a hole for those that is 0.1mm bigger than the rivet, so you need a 3.1 or 4.1 mm drill. also don't forget to look at the length of the rivet, mine are for materials of 1-3mm, 3-6mm or 6-9mm thickness (choose appropriate to the thickness of the material you want to put together (and if you have to put two 1.5mm thick alu bars together, use a 1-3mm rivet, not a 3-6mm long!)

ya i'll update all that info once it's finished and finalized. but for now, i have 5x 5870 on there just to test it. i have a seasonic 750w and a cougar 700w PSU, the seasonic 750w powers the motherboard's main 24pin and CPU power, as well as 3 GPUs. the cougar PSU powers the addition 6-pin power connector on the motherboard for the extra pci-e juice, as well as GPUs. i'm not sure if there are adapters for the CPU power cable to 6-pin pci-e cable. using the CPU power cable to power the video cards is good utilization of excess 12v line, assuming that the PSU is multi rail. if there's no adapters, you can just connect all the yellow wires together i believe


my kill-a-watt meter says my voltage drops down to about 115v off the wall. what's an acceptable AC voltage so that it doesn't go unstable?

Many of the better PSU have specs on input voltage from 90-240 VAC. I'd expect that means they can work fine down to 90V input. Switching supplies are not so sensitive to input voltage when designed to work with a usable range.

Of course, power is power, so a lower input voltage means a higher current draw. For a long line you're much better off with 240 VAC as the current loss will be less. And of course thicker cable makes a big difference.

Dont be confused, my concern has nothing to do with single rail or multi rails. Lots of ppl thought with single rail PSU, they can plug as many devices as they want. Thats asking for a failure.

My concern is because i dont know a store that sell connectors so i can better redesign the power distribution. So far only 4pin molex connectors are common, all other connectors are very rare,

You wouldnt want the voltage drop below 100v, or your PSU will be overheated = toasted.

Thanks but that didnt asnwer my question AT ALL.

Hint, my question is the sentence with a question mark!

I'm sure digikey.com will have those connectors but trying to find it will be hard without a part # or at least a manufacturer.

It may help to find a PCI Express spec page that indicates a mfr. part# first.

Googling: pci express power connector turns up some (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&oe=utf-8&q=pci+express+power+connector&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=7247854542493788615&sa=X&ei=tLVQTsWfCob3rQezyNWsAg&ved=0CEEQ8wIwBA),

Also it turns up this spec (http://www.molex.com/molex/products/family?key=graphics_power&channel=products&chanName=family&pageTitle=Introduction) which gives you the part# for digikey.

... seems digikey doesn't carry that series but mouser (http://th.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=%2FFAXCdFYqP5%252b9357MWKI9g%3D%3D) does and they should be easy to order from.

31 cents each.

I run two PSU's. 530w and 620w (around that) to power 4x 5830's. Pulls about 720w from the wall.

Yes, it is not a good idea to run the PSU without the 5v rails loaded. The second PSU wouldnt even boot without putting a load on the 5v. SOO, I plugged it into the hard drive:) Problem solved.

For about 10-15$ you can get a handy 2xPSU adapter from frozenCPU. Yeah, its dead simple to splice, but why splice and lower the "resale" or "re-use" value?

You could also use some heavy resistors on the 5v rail. This is what they do when they're making a CPU PSU into a bench PSU. (See sandbar resistor)

I have searched and gosh, the damn connector is sure not easy to go. You will have to get those square pins as well...

I think i will stick with my original plan, which is using the 4pin molex connectors, essentially turns the PSU to modular and buy molex to pci-r connectors as needed. More resistance = less efficient but probably cheapest and easier to do.

ok it's pretty much done, i just have to connect all the wires and power it on.

i shorted the two presence pins with a small wire on each of the pci-e slots. this motherboard requires it if using pci-e x1 extension cables.
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/2691/dscn7389v.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/535/dscn7389v.jpg/)

rear view
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/8158/dscn7391.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/706/dscn7391.jpg/)

top view
http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/5710/dscn7396.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/853/dscn7396.jpg/)

front view
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/5173/dscn7397.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/163/dscn7397.jpg/)

side view
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/6118/dscn7401l.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/dscn7401l.jpg/)

another different angle
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/1421/dscn7403y.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/37/dscn7403y.jpg/)

Looks very impressive :)

very nice indeed, like a piece of art  ;D

Looks great.  Can't wait to hear reports on the temps of your cards.

haploid can I have permission to ask trini8d to build me one using your design lay out (or may be add to it?)

I must say.. very impressive! Nice work..

It has given me some ideas for a project next weekend :)

ya sure, go ahead and use the design, i don't mind at all. in fact, stellan0r saw this thread and did the exact same thing but stretched it a little bit. i believe he posted pics of his version on the first page.

Right, YOU CANT JUST PLUG 8 CARDS INTO THE MOTHERBOARD!!! The normal extenders supply 75 watts from the board. RUnning 4 VGA (4x75W(300W)) is the limit. Least i found. I blew a motherboard plugging 5 in it. YOu need moidify or buy extender WITH POWER MOLEX to power the cards direct from the PSU. THats why i kept my rigs below 4 and still use power molex for the 4th card as it loses performance without i found :) Although i dont know what all your cards are. I run 5850's.

I hope you have VERY GOOD 1000W or GOOD 1200W, i.e, Corsair AX1200, antec HPC 1200W PSU's etc, I blew a cheap one and cheap one = KNACKERED HARDWARE, i warn you now :) YOu thought about HEAT! i got 8 running now.well 11 with comp, and use a 12" out take fan to get rid of it. 2x4 rigs. Bottom pic on this post shows what i use for extraction of heat. its HOT! without something.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=18567.msg494839#msg494839

New (11.6+) drivers dont need DUMMY's at the back wither with windows (if your windows). Although 10.4 with 2.1SDK is the best. CGminer and diablo.

AND FANS, you need fans mate. serious fans, them cards are close, WAY too close if you ask me. In in for a suprise i recon haha. 2 rigs of 4 mate, 2 rigs of 4 :) Greedy, i tried :)