Motherboard designed for mining, and better riser cables in this thread.

[llamabucket]

Thanks for the tip! I'll take a look.

This is the supplier I deal with and he's been nothing but wonderful. All the cables that I've gotten from him have worked flawlessly to date.

https://www.hashratestore.com/shop/cables/powered-pci-e-1x-16x-riser-cable-with-molex-extra-length-30cm/

I'll try and report back next week!

[nvandertill]

Why did you buy x16-x16 risers? You should have got x1-x16.

There is no added benefit to mining using x16-x16 riser cards, only negatives.

First, the risers add latency. So, if you were planning on gaming on x16 risers you may need to rethink that plan.

Second, those risers are huge! You are blocking a lot of airflow for absolutely no reason. They are a pain to maneuver and route. They are also more expensive, because they are wider.

Lastly, you've got an extra 17 lanes of connections for no reason. If any one of those hundreds of solder points fails, it's likely the whole thing goes belly up and quits working for absolutely no reason. I also strongly believe the extra noise from all those extra lanes causes problems for people as well. PCI-e was not meant to travel along an unshielded parallel cable. Don't know how many of you have tried, but go untwist your cat5 network cable and see how well it works...

I see people adding 1x presence detect pin jumpers to x16-x16 risers all the time and I just have to chuckle a little...

With 16x risers you don't have to short the presence pins. This is a huge PITA to get right. Once you learn to do it, it becomes pretty easy. Getting the correct width/length of tiny wire in the very small certain hole on the PCI-E lane is difficult at first. That's the main reason I have some 16x risers, as it was my first rig and I wasn't good at shorting the presence pins yet. They don't obstruct my airflow at all though. Who points their fan sideways at their GPUs? That doesn't make sense. It should be facing straight on with little to no blockage caused by the risers. I've broken one of each already (1x and 16x) already from fiddling with it too much. It's all cheap crap from China if its the ribbon risers. Don't care what bus speed it is. I don't think it creates any extra noise. I have 3x 16x risers on my first rig with 5x GPUs and it works just fine. The only bad thing is they are hard to maneuver like you said, but most open rig setups have the card right above the PCI-E bus so its not too big of deal as long as they are long enough.

I don't believe they will cause as many issues for people as you are making out in this thread. Most people use ribbon risers just fine and have no issues, no "smoke" as you put it. I also think you should still use the molex connector on the board as well as powered risers. The more power you can provide your GPUs the better, especially with 5+ GPUs. Why not? Who runs out of molex connections with a high wattage PSU? There is no harm in it, only possible advantage.

I am not contesting your opinion of USB risers though. They are definitely the best option at this point. If they were out when I'd setup my rigs for decent price, I'd of used them. But once you get a rig going there is no point to upgrade stuff like risers... If it's working, just leave it be.

RE: Asrock H81 Pro BTC. I wouldnt use that mobo. It's a piece of junk. What's the point of the PS/2 and parallel ports? Sounds like ASRock had some spare parts leftover from back in the day and figured this would be a good way to use them up.

[llamabucket]

Hey people! I'm back with some news about the ASrock H81 Pro BTC.
I setup the first 5 GPU rig last night and configured it this way:

- 2x Corsair HX850 PSUs (connected together with splitter cable)
- 30cm 1x-16x "inferior" powered ribbon risers
- PSU#1: mobo, cpu, all five risers powered and two 280x cards
- PSU#2: three 280x cards and hard drive
- all risers going to five 1x slots (left the 16x slot empty)
- BOTH molex connectors on motherboard are left unplugged because I figure the risers are already powered nicely!

Turned it on, loaded windows 8.1, drivers, copied cgminer and all settings from another rig and it's hashing at ~67C (standup fan blowing onto the rig as well) without ANY issues at around 3.6Mh/s!
No need for sensor pins, no driver issues or windows not seeing any cards, no dummy plugs. This motherboard is a dream to setup 5-6 cards on compared to any others I've used in the past.

Hope this helps someone.

Cheers,
llama

[andydabeast]

I'll be the retard here and ask... so we can't plug the usb3 into a usb port instead of the pci1x can we? That would be way too awesome...

[pontiacg5]

I'll be the retard here and ask... so we can't plug the usb3 into a usb port instead of the pci1x can we? That would be way too awesome...

At least you openly admit it...

No, it does not work that way. The riser cables use USB 3.0 cables because they are cheap, already manufactured, and they serve the purpose well. Please do not try plugging one into an active USB port.

[GTX-DoX]

Hey people! I'm back with some news about the ASrock H81 Pro BTC.
I setup the first 5 GPU rig last night and configured it this way:

- 2x Corsair HX850 PSUs (connected together with splitter cable)
- 30cm 1x-16x "inferior" powered ribbon risers
- PSU#1: mobo, cpu, all five risers powered and two 280x cards
- PSU#2: three 280x cards and hard drive
- all risers going to five 1x slots (left the 16x slot empty)
- BOTH molex connectors on motherboard are left unplugged because I figure the risers are already powered nicely!

Turned it on, loaded windows 8.1, drivers, copied cgminer and all settings from another rig and it's hashing at ~67C (standup fan blowing onto the rig as well) without ANY issues at around 3.6Mh/s!
No need for sensor pins, no driver issues or windows not seeing any cards, no dummy plugs. This motherboard is a dream to setup 5-6 cards on compared to any others I've used in the past.

Hope this helps someone.

Cheers,
llama

I plan on using the same board with the same PSU but only 1. For start I'm gonna plug only one card into the x16 slot and afterwards I'll add some more. Hope I wont get into some kind of issues.

The only thing that troubles me are those risers, which one should I use in this particular scenario. Seems like there is no "correct" opinion on that matter. Powered ones or the simple ones but with molexes connected to the Motherboard.

Just to repeat I dont plan on putting more than 3-4 cards on that H81 Btc PRO... My guess is that 3 cards(with one card put directly into the x16 slot without a riser) with standard risers should work properly with powered molexes on the board 

[andydabeast]

I'll be the retard here and ask... so we can't plug the usb3 into a usb port instead of the pci1x can we? That would be way too awesome...

At least you openly admit it...

No, it does not work that way. The riser cables use USB 3.0 cables because they are cheap, already manufactured, and they serve the purpose well. Please do not try plugging one into an active USB port.

I am also wondering where the cost for these comes from if the cable is easier to get. I know ribbon cables must be cheap too but $20 for a riser seems ridiculous to me. I am used to getting $8 25cm powered ones on ebay

[pontiacg5]

I'll be the retard here and ask... so we can't plug the usb3 into a usb port instead of the pci1x can we? That would be way too awesome...

At least you openly admit it...

No, it does not work that way. The riser cables use USB 3.0 cables because they are cheap, already manufactured, and they serve the purpose well. Please do not try plugging one into an active USB port.

I am also wondering where the cost for these comes from if the cable is easier to get. I know ribbon cables must be cheap too but $20 for a riser seems ridiculous to me. I am used to getting $8 25cm powered ones on ebay

Part of the cost is in the extra hardware, like the USB 3.0 sockets, the cable itself, and the bigger pcb itself. Also, the USB 3.0 cables have to generate 3.3V for pci-e on the "riser" card itself, so there's a bit of added circuitry.

In November I was getting USB 3.0 risers for $6.60 in quantities of 14 pcs. Blame the Chinese gouging and scryptcoins gaining ground for $20-30 riser cables.   

[GTX-DoX]

Would it be ok to go with non powered risers with 3 cards only on H81 BTC Pro with molex connectors on the board ?

[nvandertill]

Would it be ok to go with non powered risers with 3 cards only on H81 BTC Pro with molex connectors on the board ?

Maybe? But why would you risk frying your expensive hardware over 50 bucks in risers (at most)?

[hash77away]

I'll be the retard here and ask... so we can't plug the usb3 into a usb port instead of the pci1x can we? That would be way too awesome...

At least you openly admit it...

No, it does not work that way. The riser cables use USB 3.0 cables because they are cheap, already manufactured, and they serve the purpose well. Please do not try plugging one into an active USB port.

I am also wondering where the cost for these comes from if the cable is easier to get. I know ribbon cables must be cheap too but $20 for a riser seems ridiculous to me. I am used to getting $8 25cm powered ones on ebay

Simple rule of supply/demand, they won't go more than $1 if the GPU mining is completely dead.

[Blaater]

Would it be ok to go with non powered risers with 3 cards only on H81 BTC Pro with molex connectors on the board ?

What I read.

If you use the Molex connectors on the board, DONT use powered risers, they will fry your gpu.

[nvandertill]

I'm not using this specific board, but I am using a board that provides extra molex connector which supplements the PCI-E lanes. It is also ASRock brand, but higher quality. I am running 5x R9 280x per board. I use all powered risers and the extra molex on the board. Did your comment apply only to the specific board that was on topic or all with PCI-E supplement molex? I've been successfully running 2x rigs (clones) this same way for almost 3 months now with no issues...

From what I understand, molex connectors generally provide around 75w of power per connector. 75w spread over 5-7 PCI-E lanes is not much for a power hungry GPU. Now 75w extra per card (via riser) is a good solution to get the card the power it needs. I don't think it would fry it. It's not going to pull anymore power than the GPU is asking it for. Generally PCI-E lanes are burnt out when you don't use powered risers because the card is trying to pull more power through the bus then the bus is designed to handle. This is why you supplement on the riser itself. Just because the power is available doesn't mean the GPU is using it. This is given the exception of a power surge, in which case the power is forcefully pushed into the circuit and therefore the hardware that is not designed to handle so much current which ends up frying it.

I suppose it all depends on how many GPUs you intend on running off the board what you would need to do. Personally I would always use powered risers for all GPUs.

[pontiacg5]

I'm not using this specific board, but I am using a board that provides extra molex connector which supplements the PCI-E lanes. I am running 5x GPU R9 280x per board. I use all powered risers and the extra molex on the board. Did your comment apply only to the specific board that was on topic or all with PCI-E supplement molex? I've been successfully running 2x rigs this same way for almost 3 months now with no issues...

As I did, a year or so ago, with a gigabyte G1.sniper3. It still mines to this day with 4 7970's.

I give up, not like anyone reads what you say anyway.

[radi324]

I bought 4x USB risers, and I have a couple of questions to ask (they're a bit noobish so bear with me please). First of all, where do you have to connect the black SATA connector?



Secondly, do you need some other cable? That molex-to-SATA cable looks too short to go anywhere.

Thirdly, I just read this topic:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=437599.0

Are these USB risers safe to use?

Edit: my mobo is an ASRock 970 Extreme 4, if that helps. Do I really need to power the risers for them to work?

[pontiacg5]

I bought 4x USB risers, and I have a couple of questions to ask (they're a bit noobish so bear with me please). First of all, where do you have to connect the black SATA connector?

Secondly, do you need some other cable? That molex-to-SATA cable looks too short to go anywhere.

Thirdly, I just read this topic:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=437599.0

Are these USB risers safe to use?

Edit: my mobo is an ASRock 970 Extreme 4, if that helps. Do I really need to power the risers for them to work?

You hook the sata connections up to the power supply. If that is not obvious you have no business mining...

Yes, the riser cables are safe to use. Here is a wall of 24 GPUs and USB risers, running on 8 power supplies. Scroll through my photobucket if you'd like more, I think there are pictures of 3 or more PSUs running one rig.



The guy in that thread you linked to has no idea what he is doing, apparently.

Also, try not plugging the USB riser cables in (power) and see how far it gets you.

[radi324]

Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry but I only worked on notebooks before... I never even had a PC in the house before, the learning curve wasn't the same for me. Some people say notebooks are more difficult to work upon than PCs, but it sure isn't looking that way to me so far. I shouldn't even be apologising though, everyone has to start somewhere at some point and I really appreciate all the help you can give me.

P.S. - nice setup you've got there!

[GTX-DoX]

I'm not using this specific board, but I am using a board that provides extra molex connector which supplements the PCI-E lanes. It is also ASRock brand, but higher quality. I am running 5x R9 280x per board. I use all powered risers and the extra molex on the board. Did your comment apply only to the specific board that was on topic or all with PCI-E supplement molex? I've been successfully running 2x rigs (clones) this same way for almost 3 months now with no issues...

From what I understand, molex connectors generally provide around 75w of power per connector. 75w spread over 5-7 PCI-E lanes is not much for a power hungry GPU. Now 75w extra per card (via riser) is a good solution to get the card the power it needs. I don't think it would fry it. It's not going to pull anymore power than the GPU is asking it for. Generally PCI-E lanes are burnt out when you don't use powered risers because the card is trying to pull more power through the bus then the bus is designed to handle. This is why you supplement on the riser itself. Just because the power is available doesn't mean the GPU is using it. This is given the exception of a power surge, in which case the power is forcefully pushed into the circuit and therefore the hardware that is not designed to handle so much current which ends up frying it.

I suppose it all depends on how many GPUs you intend on running off the board what you would need to do. Personally I would always use powered risers for all GPUs.

I plan on using 3 cards max on the H81 Btc PRO so that's why I'm asking would it be enough only to have molex connectors connected on the board without powered risers? I can easily purchase those but I am just wondering.

[pontiacg5]

I'm not using this specific board, but I am using a board that provides extra molex connector which supplements the PCI-E lanes. It is also ASRock brand, but higher quality. I am running 5x R9 280x per board. I use all powered risers and the extra molex on the board. Did your comment apply only to the specific board that was on topic or all with PCI-E supplement molex? I've been successfully running 2x rigs (clones) this same way for almost 3 months now with no issues...

From what I understand, molex connectors generally provide around 75w of power per connector. 75w spread over 5-7 PCI-E lanes is not much for a power hungry GPU. Now 75w extra per card (via riser) is a good solution to get the card the power it needs. I don't think it would fry it. It's not going to pull anymore power than the GPU is asking it for. Generally PCI-E lanes are burnt out when you don't use powered risers because the card is trying to pull more power through the bus then the bus is designed to handle. This is why you supplement on the riser itself. Just because the power is available doesn't mean the GPU is using it. This is given the exception of a power surge, in which case the power is forcefully pushed into the circuit and therefore the hardware that is not designed to handle so much current which ends up frying it.

I suppose it all depends on how many GPUs you intend on running off the board what you would need to do. Personally I would always use powered risers for all GPUs.

I plan on using 3 cards max on the H81 Btc PRO so that's why I'm asking would it be enough only to have molex connectors connected on the board without powered risers? I can easily purchase those but I am just wondering.

It is best to have 12V power directly at the GPU, not stuffed through a ribbon cable. As you push the limits on this stuff the current required will increase exponentially, and the power supply will comply till it can't any more, there is no regulation on the motherboard, or the molex cables running to the board. That is what burns stuff up. For the cost, why would you not use a powered riser? Not like they are the best made pieces of work ever made...

But you do what you do, save three dollars. After three pages if you still can't get the idea that powered risers should always be used you deserve to burn stuff up.  

[Lynxh]

Lots of good info in this thread, I also want to thank llamabucket and pontiacg5 for their insightful conversation, as I too am in the process of building a rig, using 6x GPU (R9 270), the H81 BTC, and two 860W PSUs.

I've read everything, but still would like to ask again for clarification, due to what  nvandertill said about it being okay to run powered risers and still plug into the ASRock mobo's molex.

What you said about 75W being spread over 5-6 PCI-E lanes being insignificant makes sense to me. Since there is a lot of mis-information about these boards frying, once again:

1. Why are some people frying their H81 BTC boards by using powered risers + mobo molex supplement? Is it because they are powering the GPU with two different PSU rails?

2. I guess since llamabucket got his board running with 5x GPU with powered risers, minus the molex power supplement, what possible harm could there be from adding power to the mobo molex?

3. Total newbie question: if I got two identical 860W PSU, how do I avoid "mixing rails" and connecting 6x R9 270, mobo, cpu, etc? Please spell it out for me, including which connections to which, etc
I have powered USB 3.0 risers in the mail, and will be using these for all 6 cards, just looking to get some confirmation.

I am very cautious and want to do this right, thank you for reading!