PCI-E 7 slot expansion board

[ssateneth]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=14062839037

I'm very interested in this item, but I have no clue on how to decipher how much it actually costs, or how to even buy one. Maybe someone here can sell one to me?

[1714141717]

1714141717

[bulanula]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=14062839037

I'm very interested in this item, but I have no clue on how to decipher how much it actually costs, or how to even buy one. Maybe someone here can sell one to me?

WOW. Somebody gotta try this mofo out.

This can solve all my problems LOL. Screw the extenders !

How much does it cost ? Can it be trusted ?

We need some Chinese people here to help us translate !

As far as I can see it costs about 150 GBP shipped to the UK which is quite nice but I don't think it will work without many stales or something.

Someone needs to try it out for us if possible.

I can already see some problems with the CPU cooler placement ( need to get me a LP one then ) and the board flexing under heavy GPU weight and also problems with the connector to the MB location.

Also why not 8 connectors instead of 7 ? Maybe I can attach the eight board via the standard mobo with extenders ?

Also see that it has 2 onboard PCIe power 6 pin connectors which is VERY nice to supply the power to the PCIe slots ! Screw powered extenders and all that BS.

Get a board like this and you can easily put 8 * 5870s on one mobo with just 1 extender !!!

God, I hope this is real ! I will buy one ASAP if someone tests it and shows us it is geniune. I wonder why the designer guy does not post on here to advertise his product ? Maybe fake ?

I sure hope it is real !!!

[ssateneth]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=14062839037

I'm very interested in this item, but I have no clue on how to decipher how much it actually costs, or how to even buy one. Maybe someone here can sell one to me?

WOW. Somebody gotta try this mofo out.

This can solve all my problems LOL. Screw the extenders !

How much does it cost ? Can it be trusted ?

We need some Chinese people here to help us translate !

As far as I can see it costs about 150 GBP shipped to the UK which is quite nice but I don't think it will work without many stales or something.

Someone needs to try it out for us if possible.

It's just a fancy powered pci-e extender, I highly doubt stales will even be a factor. It'll be great for those snagging single gpu cards, but those using dual gpu cards likely will just stick to pci-e ribbon cables since most reliable boards have 4 or more pci-e slots.

[xzion]

saw this last week, looks awkward. have to be careful with cpu heatsinks, and all of the other PCEI ports are out unless you mess around with extenders. i guess it would be effective to use on a small board with just one PCIE slot.

1400 yuan works out to be about $220 USD, plus $7 for shipping. not exactly cheap.

[bulanula]

This is the HOLY GRAIL for people like me without access to dual GPUs like 5970 and access to single GPUs like 5870 !

God, I hope somebody gets one here so we can see if this is legit and works properly !

8 single GPUs on a rig + this baby > 4 dual GPUs on a rig

in terms of heat produced and probably price too ( dual GPU is very expensive for some ) !

[racerguy]

Looks to block the cpu heatsink, but that shouldn't be a problem for mining rigs where the cpu's are mostly idle anyway.

[sadpandatech]

I'd have to consider putting something like that at the end of a 16x extender cable. Just attach that extender of their's into the expansion board and run the cable to it. You might have a slight clearance issue to consider with extender cable though. But that is easily remedied with either plcing the mobo on a shelf just below this unit with a 'slot' in the shelf for the cable.

I like the pic he has, showing it mining almost 2GH at Deepbit, presumably using this board.

[bulanula]

I'd have to consider putting something like that at the end of a 16x extender cable. Just attach that extender of their's into the expansion board and run the cable to it. You might have a slight clearance issue to consider with extender cable though. But that is easily remedied with either plcing the mobo on a shelf just below this unit with a 'slot' in the shelf for the cable.

I like the pic he has, showing it mining almost 2GH at Deepbit, presumably using this board.

Yeah and that way you can also place the eight GPU on the normal mobo position and have any type of CPU cooler you need !!!

I just hope this is legit because I need several

[DeathAndTaxes]

I'd have to consider putting something like that at the end of a 16x extender cable. Just attach that extender of their's into the expansion board and run the cable to it. You might have a slight clearance issue to consider with extender cable though. But that is easily remedied with either plcing the mobo on a shelf just below this unit with a 'slot' in the shelf for the cable.

I like the pic he has, showing it mining almost 2GH at Deepbit, presumably using this board.

Even better would be:
a) AMD joins the 21st century and makes drives work w/ unlimited GPU not just 8
b) the expansion connector is at the end of the board
c) the expansion boards are stackable



1 mother board w/ say 4 PCIe16x slots
4 expansion boards
4 PCIe extension cables
=24 expansion slots of stackable goodness.

Yeah heat does rise but you could insulate the bottom of the boards.   Stack em up say 12" clearance between boards = 3 feet high.
Put a 3 foot box fan in front of the stack and another behind it.  Now attach the MB to one side of the stack and x PSU to the other side of the stack.  



Lets see 24x 5970 = ~16GH per rig.

As an alternative to fans you likely could insulate the entire thing and hook it to an AC unit.

This thing is interesting but AMD drives kill the usefulness.  I mean building a 3x5970 rig is possible w/o extenders.  Even w/ 5870s getting 4,5, or 6 on a board with extenders is already pretty easy.   Paying $200+ to gain 2 more GPU isn't really worth it.  Just build another rig.
Hooking 48 GPU to a single motherboard.  Well now that is just cool.

[sadpandatech]

I'd have to consider putting something like that at the end of a 16x extender cable. Just attach that extender of their's into the expansion board and run the cable to it. You might have a slight clearance issue to consider with extender cable though. But that is easily remedied with either plcing the mobo on a shelf just below this unit with a 'slot' in the shelf for the cable.

I like the pic he has, showing it mining almost 2GH at Deepbit, presumably using this board.

Sugar Plums And Fairy Tales

keep dreaming, m8   

Not a bad one though!

[sadpandatech]

As an alternative to fans you likely could insulate the entire thing and hook it to an AC unit.

This thing is interesting but AMD drives kill the usefulness.  I mean building a 3x5970 rig is possible w/o extenders.  Even w/ 5870s getting 4,5, or 6 on a board with extenders is already pretty easy.   Paying $200+ to gain 2 more GPU isn't really worth it.  Just build another rig.
Hooking 48 GPU to a single motherboard.  Well now that is just cool.

Yea, I would try and 'box' them in so heat from any one unit is not warming another.  I am overdue to post some picks of the cards I have mounted inside of Capri Sun boxes. It works marvelously at directing the air properly over the cards. Not to mention, they are slightly more protected than they otherwise would be.

[ArtForz]

Well, let's see...
$60 via board + $10 ram + $220 backplane for 7 cards. $41.43/slot
$50 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + $10 extender + $220 backplane for 8 cards. $40.00/slot
$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + $10 extender + $220 backplane for 10 cards. $35/slot (and lots of fun with 8 card driver limit)

vs.

$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + 2 $10 extenders for 4 cards. $35/slot.

Meh.

[sadpandatech]

Well, let's see...
$60 via board + $10 ram + $220 backplane for 7 cards. $41.43/slot
$50 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + $10 extender + $220 backplane for 8 cards. $40.00/slot
$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + $10 extender + $220 backplane for 10 cards. $35/slot (and lots of fun with 8 card driver limit)

vs.

$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + 2 $10 extenders for 4 cards. $35/slot.

Meh.

Shouldn't the vs comparison use 7 cards?

i.e.,

$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + 5 $10 extenders for 7 cards. ~$24/slot

Which I was hoping would make the standard version look worse. *slaps forehead*

edit; I suppose the other benefit would be the ability to use an even cheaper mobo with 1x 16x slot.

[ArtForz]

Well, let's see...
$60 via board + $10 ram + $220 backplane for 7 cards. $41.43/slot
$50 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + $10 extender + $220 backplane for 8 cards. $40.00/slot
$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + $10 extender + $220 backplane for 10 cards. $35/slot (and lots of fun with 8 card driver limit)

vs.

$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + 2 $10 extenders for 4 cards. $35/slot.

Meh.

Shouldn't the vs comparison use 7 cards?

i.e.,

$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + 5 $10 extenders for 7 cards. ~$24/slot

Which I was hoping would make the standard version look worse. *slaps forehead*

edit; I suppose the other benefit would be the ability to use an even cheaper mobo with 1x 16x slot.

That's why I put that $60 via board there, cheapest board w/ cpu and a PCIe I could come up with quickly, atom boards w/ PCIe tend to be > $80 and any cheap AMx + sempron is also > $60.
Btw, where do you find a AMx board w/ 7 PCIe slots for $80?
And yes, I left out quite a few things. But start adding stuff like PSUs, materials/time for custom racks, PDUs, ventilation, ... and the whole thing gets overly complex. and the +$/slot ends up about the same.

[chungenhung]

Well, let's see...
$60 via board + $10 ram + $220 backplane for 7 cards. $41.43/slot
$50 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + $10 extender + $220 backplane for 8 cards. $40.00/slot
$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + $10 extender + $220 backplane for 10 cards. $35/slot (and lots of fun with 8 card driver limit)

vs.

$80 am3 board + $30 sempron + $10 ram + 2 $10 extenders for 4 cards. $35/slot.

Meh.

This. That is why I have no interest in PCI-E expansion boards.

[rearwheels]

I'll summarise some points in that page as best as I can.

1. Prototype board.
2. It runs only 1x so it's not suitable for gaming.
3. Only tested in Linux. But should work in windows, as there is no software to install.
4. (If I read this correctly) There is separate 12V connector to power the cards connected to this daughter board. (I think you can see it in one of the pictures)
5. Chinese will take over the world. (j/k. My own words)

That's all.

[bulanula]

I really don't know what to do guys, LOL.

Should I buy this ?

I think this is quite good where prices of 2*5870 << price of 5970 ?

[DeathAndTaxes]

I really don't know what to do guys, LOL.

Should I buy this ?

I think this is quite good where prices of 2*5870 << price of 5970 ?

Are you sure.

Price out:
"normal" rig w/ 3x5870 (no extenders necessary)
"normal" rig w/ 4x5870 (using extenders & entry level board)
"normal" rig w/ 6x5870 (using extenders & 6x PCIe board)
"extender rig" w/ 8x5870 ( low end board & 1x extender board)

then calculate entire system cost per GH of each system.  I think you will find that it isn't as good as you think.

The problem is AMD drivers.  Currently it is easy to get 4 graphics cards on 1 board.  Getting 6 is more complicated (and expensive) but certainly possible.

So while this is a 7 slot design you aren't gaining 7 GPU.  You are gaining 2 to 4 more GPU.  $200 for 2 to 4 more slots = $50 to $100 per slot.   No rig I have ever built costs $50 to $100 per slot (excluding GPU).  If AMD ever changed their drivers to allow 16 (or better unlimited) GPU per system well then it might make more sense.

[rjk]

If AMD ever changed their drivers to allow 16 (or better unlimited) GPU per system well then it might make more sense.

How much worse are the open source ATI drivers for linux than the proprietary ones for mining? It seems that it should be possible to modify them to remove a limit, but if they perform badly then there may be no point.

[DeathAndTaxes]

If AMD ever changed their drivers to allow 16 (or better unlimited) GPU per system well then it might make more sense.

How much worse are the open source ATI drivers for linux than the proprietary ones for mining? It seems that it should be possible to modify them to remove a limit, but if they perform badly then there may be no point.

There are no open sources drivers which are OpenCL capable.