Questions about PCIe extender cables

[biganth]

I notice that the extenders have different sizes on the male end depending on whether it's an X1, X4, X8 or X16 but the physical size of the slots on the motherboard are the same (with the exception of the X1).

My first question is why are the X4 & X8 extenders smaller than the actual slot?

Second do you need to match the cable numbers to the slot (x4 extender -> x4 slot)? Or can I put a X16 cable in a X4 or X8 slot?

Thanks in advance.

[DrG]

The end going into the motherboard should always be smaller than the slot it's going into - ie  you can't put a 16x extender into a 1x slot.  Well you could, but it would require cutting the 1x slot on your board - not recommended.

You should be able to use a 1x extender in any slot.  Some board are tricky.  You may need to do a pin mod for it to work - there's threads here about that.

If you buy a 1x --> 1x extender like I did way back before Bitcoin started you can dremel the end open on the extender and the card will work fine as long as you don't mess up the pins.  Like I said earlier you could do this on a Mobo, but taking a dremel to a $200 Mobo is a bad idea.

Most importantly, buy quality extenders. Cheap ones will have the leads come off or get very hot and burn out.  You want at least 2 or 3 ribbons per extender in there since I think up to 75W can be drawn from the Mobo.

[biganth]

You should be able to use a 1x extender in any slot.

But can I use 16x in 4x & 8x slots? I know physically they fit but does it affect anything?

[MaGNeT]

You should be able to use a 1x extender in any slot.

But can I use 16x in 4x & 8x slots? I know physically they fit but does it affect anything?

Unless you want to game on it, no... Mining needs minimal bandwith on the PCIe so PCIe 1x is fast enough.