Melted the PSU cable and riser adaptor...

[AvPro]

Hi,

I have a 4 GPU Ethereum rig which i've been running for a year and replaced the PSU risers about 4 months ago.
I use the SATA to 6 PIN PCIE and VER 006C riser boards. I had replaced them from Molex to 6 pin 4 months ago.

I noticed one of my cards kept shutting down and the rig needed rebooted about weekly, thought it was just that GPU getting old. Until a couple days ago when it failed to run.

Now I see the problem... the PSU cable at the SATA adaptor has melted, so much so there is now bare copper visible in the PSU cable and the
plastic housing at the connection of SATA to PSU is deformed and the gold connector plates in the adaptor also fried. Yikes..

So that's the PSU dead and that riser adaptor also dead. Frustratingly expensive now to replace the whole PSU because it is not modular and
with bare copper visible on one of the PSU leads I won't be turning it back on. The only good thing here is that the rig shut itself down when it
fried the connection. GPU is also still working.

What are people using these days for riser power? I thought the SATA to 6 pin was the safe option of Molex but actually I had no trouble with
molex before.

Alternatively I could get a big power supply which had 8+ 6 Pin PCIE connectors and plug the PSU direct to riser board without SATA adaptor. So the RX580 would have power from the PSU and the VER 006C also have power direct from PSU.

PSU recommendations (for 4 x RX580 ) and enough PCIE cables ?

Thanks,

[Elder III]

The only good option is to run pice express cables directly to the riser and/or GPU. An Rx 580 could potentially draw too many amps through that stat connector depending on your power settings and the specific GPU model.  Of course if you have a crappy PSU that just makes the dangers even worse.

Read this post for a bunch of information on why you need to do things a certain way in order to be safe from an electrical standpoint. -- https://forum.z.cash/t/the-facts-about-gpu-mining-electrical-specifications/19468

[nc50lc]

In addition to what Elder III said, Sata to 8/6 pin isn't safe to use in extreme conditions like mining.

The reason is, the wires. The 8 Pin connector is basically four 12v (yellow) and four neutrals (black) while sata has only one yellow wire.
By using the adapter, the single 12v rail from the sata will be forced to deliver power to all four ports of the 8pin connector.
This makes the current (ampere) in that wire high enough for the insulator to melt.

TL;DR: Do not use Sata to 6/8pin adapter to power a GPU alone. Those are designed as a supplement for Old double 6-pin GPUs.

[ivakar]

Because I'm using the server PSUs so I decided to power the riser from that PSU as well.. I mean the GPU cards and riser both are powering from the same server PSU, all I need is just to make some soldering..

[jillscarbrough]

I experienced the same problem 7 months ago, every single month I bought a PSU to replace it up to 3 months 3 PSU. I've been frustrated with that the problems, all the ways I have been done for the fix including advice members like above.

finally, I have found a problem is an electrical voltage in my home not stable (after using a watt meter like Kill A Watt Meter in the USA) because of a cable used not corresponding a procedure or standard for electricity voltage used after the electrician replaced the cable, Mining Rig back to normal and the PSU or USB Riser cable never melt again.

[gameboy366]

I experienced the same problem 7 months ago, every single month I bought a PSU to replace it up to 3 months 3 PSU. I've been frustrated with that the problems, all the ways I have been done for the fix including advice members like above.

finally, I have found a problem is an electrical voltage in my home not stable (after using a watt meter like Kill A Watt Meter in the USA) because of a cable used not corresponding a procedure or standard for electricity voltage used after the electrician replaced the cable, Mining Rig back to normal and the PSU or USB Riser cable never melt again.

Which cable did electrician replaced ? I want to know this as voltage is not stable in my house too.

[smoolae]

SATA to PCI-E is basically a fire hazard and utter trash, for a good night sleep get rid of them .

PCI-E to PCI-E is the best option out there and the only one that should be used for mining rigs.

[claymore008]

Just use 18AWG Y-cables from PSU. Dont use cheap cables. Especially not on 1080ti cards.
Generally cables wil get melted soon, if the slot or a cable close to the socket will get hot while work... It's first sign of soon troubles.

[timbereagle]

Sata to PCIE is kind of suicide. You were luck your system run for some time.

Even 2Xmolex to PCIE is not a good idea.

Only use dedicated 6X-8X PCIE cables and only prefer top brand PSUs like EVGA,Thermaltake.

Learnt hard way

[jillscarbrough]

I experienced the same problem 7 months ago, every single month I bought a PSU to replace it up to 3 months 3 PSU. I've been frustrated with that the problems, all the ways I have been done for the fix including advice members like above.

finally, I have found a problem is an electrical voltage in my home not stable (after using a watt meter like Kill A Watt Meter in the USA) because of a cable used not corresponding a procedure or standard for electricity voltage used after the electrician replaced the cable, Mining Rig back to normal and the PSU or USB Riser cable never melt again.

Which cable did electrician replaced ? I want to know this as voltage is not stable in my house too.

Maybe every country is different in electrical voltage and cable criteria in used but this is the power voltage and cable criteria in my country.

In a nutshell, my mining room has 4400W electrical current and uses a cable of 2x10 mm² 0.6 / 1 kv then replaced with a cable of 4x6mm² 0.6 / 1 (1,2) kv..

These the pictures:

Before		After

the point is better use a cable exceeds the load passed to be more secure and anticipate if there is additional power to the front.

[not.you]

Sata to PCIE is kind of suicide. You were luck your system run for some time.

Even 2Xmolex to PCIE is not a good idea.

Only use dedicated 6X-8X PCIE cables and only prefer top brand PSUs like EVGA,Thermaltake.

Learnt hard way

Yep I had the same problem as OP using the 2 x molex to PCIe adapter.  Rig needed regular reboots, it was freezing.  Finally one day it wouldn't work at all.  Opened the case and one of the molex connectors to the PCIe adapter was melted and burnt.  This was because I built that miner using a cheapo PSU that I had laying around.  I try and use quality modular PSU's when possible but sometimes I give in to the attraction of building a cheap miner (all I had to buy was the GPU's, everything else came my way for free).
 

[swogerino]

My colleagues have been running Rx 580 Sapphire with 2 PSU-s x 750 watt each Modular from the Cooler Master brand. They all have connected the risers with Sata cables and they have been running from about 2 months and a half without problems.

They are using risers version 009s which I recommend you do also.

[timbereagle]

Sata to PCIE is kind of suicide. You were luck your system run for some time.

Even 2Xmolex to PCIE is not a good idea.

Only use dedicated 6X-8X PCIE cables and only prefer top brand PSUs like EVGA,Thermaltake.

Learnt hard way

Yep I had the same problem as OP using the 2 x molex to PCIe adapter.  Rig needed regular reboots, it was freezing.  Finally one day it wouldn't work at all.  Opened the case and one of the molex connectors to the PCIe adapter was melted and burnt.  This was because I built that miner using a cheapo PSU that I had laying around.  I try and use quality modular PSU's when possible but sometimes I give in to the attraction of building a cheap miner (all I had to buy was the GPU's, everything else came my way for free).
 

Yes this is all of miners problem. I also build many cheap rigs. Like using Motherboards 4-5 years old and old and cheap CPUs and rams.

But I always prefer top quality PSU like Evga.

Because I had problems even good brands like FSP.

[smoolae]

My colleagues have been running Rx 580 Sapphire with 2 PSU-s x 750 watt each Modular from the Cooler Master brand. They all have connected the risers with Sata cables and they have been running from about 2 months and a half without problems.

They are using risers version 009s which I recommend you do also.

I also know people who have and still are using SATA to MOLEX connectors for their GPUs and doing that without any problems. I don't recommend doing it but sometimes it works out with using high quality PSUs

[edwardceng]

My colleagues have been running Rx 580 Sapphire with 2 PSU-s x 750 watt each Modular from the Cooler Master brand. They all have connected the risers with Sata cables and they have been running from about 2 months and a half without problems.

They are using risers version 009s which I recommend you do also.

I also know people who have and still are using SATA to MOLEX connectors for their GPUs and doing that without any problems. I don't recommend doing it but sometimes it works out with using high quality PSUs

You can do it, but isn't safer at all. Which one safer?

• Molex to 6 pins adapter (ok)
• Molex Directly from PSU (ok)
• 6 pins directly from PSU (ok)

We can't measure it from what they do, because every card, even with the same series will have different power management if they come from a different brand.

Normally, PCIe bus will provide max 75W for GPU. So, making the same condition would be better. SATA can only provide max 54 W.

[AvPro]

Thanks all for helpful comments.
About to order this one and run PCIE that come with the PSU directly to the riser board. I think 8pin in the RX580 and a 6 pin into the riser board.

Any other PSU recommendations or this one looks good?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015YEI7LK/

[nc50lc]

Any other PSU recommendations or this one looks good?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015YEI7LK/

1000W is more than enough to power all your four GPUs (185W each).
Corsair has been a good PSU manufacturer, it's a "80 PLUS Gold certified" PSU and got a lot of 6/8pin Cables and ports.
It's a good buy, in my opinion.

[Geraldo]

Thanks all for helpful comments.
About to order this one and run PCIE that come with the PSU directly to the riser board. I think 8pin in the RX580 and a 6 pin into the riser board.

Any other PSU recommendations or this one looks good?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015YEI7LK/

Super agree with nc50lc

That's more than enough for your setup (4 x RX580). You have power and connector spare when you decide to add more card to your rig. Remember, always use recommended configuration for safer. You can use all above advice for your reference.

img by techpowerup

[AvPro]

My colleagues have been running Rx 580 Sapphire with 2 PSU-s x 750 watt each Modular from the Cooler Master brand. They all have connected the risers with Sata cables and they have been running from about 2 months and a half without problems.

They are using risers version 009s which I recommend you do also.

That's similar to what I had, two PSUs with a Y adaptor to the motherboard. Then RX580s on risers with Sata adaptors.
I too thought 'everything was fine' and ran 4 months almost continuously with minimal problems. I thought I wouldn't have issues but then here I am with the costs of replacing the PSU and a riser and the fact the rig did - in essence - fume while unattended.

I bet if your colleagues touch the left hand side of the plastic sata adaptor it will be very hot, not a good sign.

[Palmerson]

I'm buying upgraded server power supplies. They are cheaper and can withstand heavy load for a long time. Several times I had problems with the power cable. Cheap cables from China dry up and break. I changed them to high-quality and no more problems I had. Now I am in all my rigs use such power supplies.