Parallel Miner 2400w PSU - questions / input requested

[dbc23]

So, currently I have 4 separate rigs running on a 240v line I put in a few weeks ago with assorted PSUs I've bought over time.  I'm frustrated/annoyed with the realization that different PSU manufacturers have different pin-out configurations for their cables (I actually accidentally killed 4 hard drives in a RAID as a result of this, thankfully I'm a backup fanatic).

To consolidate and hopefully improve efficiency I've order a 2400w PSU from parallel miners, and my search on the forum hasn't yielded much in the way of feedback on these, although the 1200w units seem alot more common.

This is the unit I've ordered (should be here in roughly a week):

http://www.parallelminer.com/product/94-platinum-2400w-power-supply-kit-for-2-a4-dominator-litecoin-miners-200-240v/

My questions are as follow:
1) This configuration is set up for 6 pin power cables, while many of my cards have 8-pin connectors on them - will using 6 pin only connectors work on the cards I have (480s and 1080s)?

2) I understand conceptually how to connect and bridge two standard PSUs to be used on one mobo (add2psu, jumpers, etc...) but since this unit doesn't have an ATX connector and only the PCIs - does this unit automatically power on due to logic on the breakout board or do I need to plan to do something else to have this power on with my cards?

3) Ideally I would like to use this PSU to run several rigs worth of cards to reduce cabling and clean things up on my rack, given the above question about how to trigger it to power on state - is it realistic to set this up to power on multiple motherboards worth of cards, and if so is there anything special I would need to do to make it work for that?

Right now I have 6 nvidia cards (mix of 1080/1070) that are on one rig, and 10 AMD cards (mix of 470/480/580) on 3 other motherboards.  I just received a new Z270 mobo I plan to use to condense those 3 into only two, so in the end I will have three motherboards running all of the cards.  I want to use this PSU to drive the 480s on a standalone rig, and possibly two 1060s on a rig I plan to build out of the leftover motherboard/parts I'll have, has anyone done something like this / have suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
DBC

[Ahead]

So, currently I have 4 separate rigs running on a 240v line I put in a few weeks ago with assorted PSUs I've bought over time.  I'm frustrated/annoyed with the realization that different PSU manufacturers have different pin-out configurations for their cables (I actually accidentally killed 4 hard drives in a RAID as a result of this, thankfully I'm a backup fanatic).

To consolidate and hopefully improve efficiency I've order a 2400w PSU from parallel miners, and my search on the forum hasn't yielded much in the way of feedback on these, although the 1200w units seem alot more common.

This is the unit I've ordered (should be here in roughly a week):

http://www.parallelminer.com/product/94-platinum-2400w-power-supply-kit-for-2-a4-dominator-litecoin-miners-200-240v/

My questions are as follow:
1) This configuration is set up for 6 pin power cables, while many of my cards have 8-pin connectors on them - will using 6 pin only connectors work on the cards I have (480s and 1080s)?

2) I understand conceptually how to connect and bridge two standard PSUs to be used on one mobo (add2psu, jumpers, etc...) but since this unit doesn't have an ATX connector and only the PCIs - does this unit automatically power on due to logic on the breakout board or do I need to plan to do something else to have this power on with my cards?

3) Ideally I would like to use this PSU to run several rigs worth of cards to reduce cabling and clean things up on my rack, given the above question about how to trigger it to power on state - is it realistic to set this up to power on multiple motherboards worth of cards, and if so is there anything special I would need to do to make it work for that?

Right now I have 6 nvidia cards (mix of 1080/1070) that are on one rig, and 10 AMD cards (mix of 470/480/580) on 3 other motherboards.  I just received a new Z270 mobo I plan to use to condense those 3 into only two, so in the end I will have three motherboards running all of the cards.  I want to use this PSU to drive the 480s on a standalone rig, and possibly two 1060s on a rig I plan to build out of the leftover motherboard/parts I'll have, has anyone done something like this / have suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
DBC

Hi,

Something else to have in mind... how are you going to power the riser cards?
Each riser needs to be powered from the same PSU as the 6-pin or 8-pin pci-e on the card...

[iamnoobplzhelp]

1)
Parallel miner also has 6 pin GPU splitters to 8 pin.
http://www.parallelminer.com/product/18awg-pci-e-6pin-to-dual-8-pin-y-splitter-extension-cable-2x-62pin-cable-6in-each-side/
They are also sold on Amazon. Just make sure to get a minimum of 18awg (cable thickness). 20awg is too thin IMO.
Use this to power the card + riser.

2)
No way to tie this with an ATX PSU. This is how you should do it. When you turn on the PC, turn on the server PSU first, then turn on your ATX PSU. When shutting down, do it in opposite order.
I realize this is a pain at first, but after you get everything stable it actually works better.

3)
You could use it to power multiple rigs, but I highly recommend against it. The server PSU can end up powering some of the peripherals on the motherboard. When you need to fully shut down the PC, you have to shut down the server PSU as well. If it's connected to multiple rigs, those rigs will have to be shut down at the same time. I suggest getting the 1200w and using one of those per rig + a ~400W ATX for the mobo and SSD.

As a side note, I placed an order with Parallel miner on 6/1 and still have not received it. It seems they are really backed up.

[dbc23]

Excellent, thanks for the feedback.  I'd originally looked at just getting 2 1200w supplies, but they were basically sold out everywhere OR I couldn't find a breakout board for the models that ARE available.

I've seen mixed info on the risers being powered by the same supply as the mobo vs cards, but if need be I can replace my risers with the 6 pin versions.  I think that may be for the best anyway since I realize what you're saying about the power on issue since I can't link to the atx PSU.

I've kept all my rigs between 3 and 5 cards up to this point for simplicity's sake and my own sanity, but I have a few Z270 boards now and could push up to 7 on one, so I think that will be my plan for the weekend and if I can get it running and stable that will be the new home for this guy.

Do any of you have a good link/source for a 1200w that has a breakout board available?  That would be awesome!

[dbc23]

Also, I saw the 6-8 pin cables they had after I made the original post and ordered a batch of them

I wish PSU cables weren't so damned expensive AND hard to find, doesn't help that they mix their pinouts just to screw with people too 

[iamnoobplzhelp]

1200w HP PSU Platinum
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-643956-101-660185-001-HSTNS-PD30-DPS-1200SB-A-1200W-PSU-PLATINUM-DL580G8-/332251319954?hash=item4d5bb8ce92:g:3yUAAOSwdGFY0TCV

Breakout board with cables:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Breakout-Board-w-8x-6-Pin-to-6-2-PCIe-Cables-for-HP-750w-PSU-Ethereum-ETH-GPU-/232124777244?hash=item360bb7031c:g:PYEAAOSwXeJYHhlq

It seems the breakout board are the same ones sold by Parallel miner, so they must have those in stock.

The 6 pin risers are the best.
Molex can only provide 54W MAX
SATA can only provide 50W MAX
6-pin can provide 75W.

Plus, the SATA/Molex connectors usually use the converters, which can be pulled out and are generally of lower quality. The 6-pin has a clip and are less likely to short or burn.

It is by far the safest way to power a riser.

[iamnoobplzhelp]

One last thing to note, especially for people using 110V.

the 1200W is max when using 208-240V
This PSU only does 950W max using 100-120V (Standard U.S.)

Also, this is LOUD. Definitely don't want it near any living area.

[quick1unc]

Just out of curiosity as i'm using that same 1200w psu and breakout board. Is there a way to bypass the push button on the server board so that the psu always comes on when power is applied? Right now I have it powering my gpu's with a 650w evga powering the risers and mobo stuff, but if it locks up and I want to power cycle it remotely I can't power cycle the whole rig, I have to just control the power to the atx psu. There should be either a way to bypass the button and make it always on, or tap into the signal from the atx psu and make it sense when that psu turns on.

[iamnoobplzhelp]

Just out of curiosity as i'm using that same 1200w psu and breakout board. Is there a way to bypass the push button on the server board so that the psu always comes on when power is applied? Right now I have it powering my gpu's with a 650w evga powering the risers and mobo stuff, but if it locks up and I want to power cycle it remotely I can't power cycle the whole rig, I have to just control the power to the atx psu. There should be either a way to bypass the button and make it always on, or tap into the signal from the atx psu and make it sense when that psu turns on.

You can leave the server PSU on during restarts. I haven't had a problem with it.
I haven't found some way to tie them together, unfortunately.

[joaocha]

you can unsolder the button on the breakout board and solder a 12v relay,

Connect the relay to any 4 pin port on the main psu,

So when the mb starts, the relay turns the 1200w on

I never did it, it is just an ideia

[donationbox]

I am thinking about buying parallel miner PSUs for my L3+ to come.  How are the reliability of these PSUs?  Also, L3+ are rated at 800W + 10% each, and parallel miner 2400 W claims it can power up to 3 L3+.  Can I reliably do that? Theoretically required power draw from 3 L3+s can be 2400 + 240 = 2640 W.

Thanks.

[dbc23]

I have two now and they run flawlessly as best I can tell.  I have them powering two 8-card systems and each hums along, quieter than the cards honestly and I worried about the noise as others have warned of.  I know how server hi-flow fans can sound (the ones that are on these PSUs) and they rarely have had to spin up much at all, however, I have everything on an open air wire shelving unit with an intake and exhaust fan at each end so them and the cards stay pretty chilly.

I wish I'd bought these to begin with honestly, I now have a handful of surplus PSUs that I'm going to pair down and match the cabling up for each so I can resell them soon rather than have them sit and collect dust.  If I build up any more rigs I'll just get another one of these and a small 4-500 watt psu for the mobos like I have now.  The wiring lengths make it A LOT easier to set up your cards where and how you want them too.

Biggest caveat is to make sure you have or buy at the same time the 6-pin PCI powered risers instead of the run of the mill molex/sata type.  I also have an excessive surplus of those thanks to switching entirely to these PSUs too.

[sidog]

You can power your ATX motherboard by buying this:

http://www.parallelminer.com/product/160watt-24pin-atx-power-module-included-sata-molex-cpu-power-connectors-bypass-your-atx-power-supply-entirely/

It'll power the motherboard, cpu (4pin), and an SSD via sata.

As for powering the risers, I believe you can power them directly via the 6 pin pci-e connector if you get these risers:

http://www.parallelminer.com/product/ithoo-usb3-0-pci-express-1x-to-16x-extender-riser-card-adapter-w-24-cable/

In theory, you'll only need a single 2400w psu:

http://www.parallelminer.com/product/2400-watt-power-supply-kit-for-gpu-mining-94-efficiency-200-240v-up-to-24-gpu/

to power everything. 

[philippew]

I contacted parallel miner to know if the 6 pin sockets from their psu's are 150w or 75w. They couldnt answer me that. Im not sure because with the psu I got the 6pin to 6+2 pin cables, so in theory it should be 150w, right?

Other question: will the gpus work connecting the risers to the atx psu and the gpus to the 2400w psu? If not I would have to wait for another 3 weeks to start the rig, i have currently molex risers....

[kjs]

I contacted parallel miner to know if the 6 pin sockets from their psu's are 150w or 75w. They couldnt answer me that. Im not sure because with the psu I got the 6pin to 6+2 pin cables, so in theory it should be 150w, right?

Other question: will the gpus work connecting the risers to the atx psu and the gpus to the 2400w psu? If not I would have to wait for another 3 weeks to start the rig, i have currently molex risers....

You need to use PCIe risers with 6-pin PCIe power connectors.

[droghtak]

hi,
can I pull 200W from a single pcie from the rev7 board?
I want to use only half the connectors, pulling a total of 1200W or 100Amp to feed my cards. The cable provided is 14AWG so there would be no issues using this cable and putting a 6P -> 2x 8P connector there ... or should I buy 24x 6p->8p adapters?

[droghtak]

I have two now and they run flawlessly as best I can tell.  I have them powering two 8-card systems and each hums along, quieter than the cards honestly and I worried about the noise as others have warned of.  I know how server hi-flow fans can sound (the ones that are on these PSUs) and they rarely have had to spin up much at all, however, I have everything on an open air wire shelving unit with an intake and exhaust fan at each end so them and the cards stay pretty chilly.

I wish I'd bought these to begin with honestly, I now have a handful of surplus PSUs that I'm going to pair down and match the cabling up for each so I can resell them soon rather than have them sit and collect dust.  If I build up any more rigs I'll just get another one of these and a small 4-500 watt psu for the mobos like I have now.  The wiring lengths make it A LOT easier to set up your cards where and how you want them too.

Biggest caveat is to make sure you have or buy at the same time the 6-pin PCI powered risers instead of the run of the mill molex/sata type.  I also have an excessive surplus of those thanks to switching entirely to these PSUs too.

are you running the PSU at 2400 ? (or close)
mine goes crazy when its close to limit ... I guess its due to the temp but it really goes crazy!

any advice in how to mod the PSU and put bigger fans would be appreciated.

Could you share a picture of your intake / exhaust fan setup?

[dbc23]

Using the stock coolers on a wireframe shelf with a box fan at each end set as push/pull out a window.  Room gets close to 90F, cards are pretty stable around 70C, fans on the PSUs never seem to need to really ramp up so they're fairly quiet.  I have the PSUs at the outside with cards in the middle though so the cards are working a little harder to stay cool.

Each 2400 is only pushing 6 cards + risers so i'm certainly not maxing them.  I'd have gone with 1200s but they weren't in stock at the time.

[Marvell1]

Using the stock coolers on a wireframe shelf with a box fan at each end set as push/pull out a window.  Room gets close to 90F, cards are pretty stable around 70C, fans on the PSUs never seem to need to really ramp up so they're fairly quiet.  I have the PSUs at the outside with cards in the middle though so the cards are working a little harder to stay cool.

Each 2400 is only pushing 6 cards + risers so i'm certainly not maxing them.  I'd have gone with 1200s but they weren't in stock at the time.

how loud are those ? I had a 1500 wat iMB and it was so loud I had to return it.

I got 2 of the platium 1200 watt ones and they were pretty much silent

what about this 2400 kit ?

[droghtak]

Using the stock coolers on a wireframe shelf with a box fan at each end set as push/pull out a window.  Room gets close to 90F, cards are pretty stable around 70C, fans on the PSUs never seem to need to really ramp up so they're fairly quiet.  I have the PSUs at the outside with cards in the middle though so the cards are working a little harder to stay cool.

Each 2400 is only pushing 6 cards + risers so i'm certainly not maxing them.  I'd have gone with 1200s but they weren't in stock at the time.

I have bought a 40cm box FAN (90w) and it definetly helps. But this is still loud... Im pulling close to 2400W, not sure where to put the PSU.

I think I will try to glue a heatsink to the corner which gets hotter (the one closer to the 2 FANS)

I can try another FAN as exhaust, I guess you just put the box fans in line with the rig between them, right?