2) Are the "cords" ordered power cords for the gridseeds? Are these the 2.1mm barrel connectors to PCIe power connector for each GridSeed?
Scrypt only meaning the cord is 18awg?
This is more of an educated guesstimate, but after looking at the website in question, I think this has less to do with the gauge of the wiring and more to do with connectors and current limits. The issue is the cabling splits off - there's a 1:1 connection to PCIe power, then a splitter cable connects to that and branches off to multiple GridSeeds. The wiring involved should all be capable of handling the draw from a single unit (In mixed mode), but the issue arises because you've got four or five (or more!) units drawing a combined several hundred watts through a single PCIe connector and barrel plug. The PCIe isn't rated for that, the barrel plug sure as hell isn't rated for that, and the cable not being rated for that is actually probably the least of your worries.
You are correct that all components must support the VA; barrel plug, PCIe.
You are also correct my question was definitely poor. I didn't put very much effort into the question so it was hard to answer. I also didn't bother to checkout the product. I was wondering the awg so I could reuse the plugs and directly wire to PSU rail.
I'll just document what I found out here for others.
It looks like what may be received is:
1x PCIe to 3x barrel connectors
Depending on what the barrel and awg are rated to draw, it's *possible* it is enough to run in dual-mining.
If more than 3 gridseeds, a 1-to-4 barrel splitter may be provided. Meaning it could support up to 12 Gridseeds per PCIe connector.
1x PCIe to 3x barrel connectors to 3x 1-to-4 barrel splitters = 12 potential barrels per PCIe power plug
A PSU providing a PCIe 3.0 power plug can support at least 300W, but this is distributed across 2 plugs, providing a max of about 150W per plug. Supporting more than that is dependent on how much amperage can be provided by the PSU's 12V rail. Each 6-pin connector supports ~150W (3 conductors @ 12V each, drawing a max of 4.16 amps each (or maybe it is 2 conductors @12V drawing 8A...)
Each Gridseed, without overclocking, draws 7W if Scrypt-mining, and 60W if SHA256-mining or dual-mining.
So each PCIe 3.0 connector should be connected to, at most, 2 Gridseeds, for reliable, safe operation in a dual or SHA256-mining rig.
These estimates, are usually conservative, so if you do *not* overclock, you may be OK for 3 Gridseeds in dual/SHA256 operation.
If scrypt-mining, components specified must support
7W (1 Gridseed): 1-to-4 barrel wire + barrel to GridSeed
28W (4 Gridseed): PCIe-to-3 wire + barrel split
84W (12 Gridseed): PCIe plug + wire back to PSU
If SHA256 or dual-mining
60W: "
240W: "
720W: "
Note that 4 Gridseeds far exceeds the PCIe spec, and if you connect 12 Gridseeds to dual-mine be sure to have a camera recording to capture what happens when you turn the system on. Also, older PCIe revisions only supported 75W per connector in the spec, so be aware when connecting to older PSUs. And know your PSU rail support.
