RISERS for 2 coins

[Inaba]

That is caused by pulling too much current through your ATX connector.  not all connectors are created equal.  not all motherboards are equal.  You should be using Molex connectors to supply power if you have a lot of cards.  I have several similar burned out motherboards due to the same reason. 

I usually use 2, maybe 3 cards that get power from the motherboard, the rest are powered from a molex on the PCIe extender.

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[BTC guy]

Well since ive personally used around 56 of these extenders without issue im not convinced the molex is necessary. Any problems arising is probably due to operator error not the lack of a molex. Dont overload your board or psu and these will work just fine.

[Cablesaurus]

PCIe Extenders with molex are needed on any dual GPU card. Your 5970's, etc, all need Molex cables to ensure you do not damage your motherboard from over draw.

PCIe Extenders with molex are also needed if you're running any combination of more than 4 GPU's on the extra cards. If you're running 5 5830's or something, than one card should be using an extender w/ molex.

PCIe Extenders with molex may be needed on some random motherboards to use an extender at all, but most of the time, very few boards will run into this. PCIe Extenders without molex should be fine in any other situation. Some folks like to use Extenders w/ molex on all cards, just to be safe. This might be a bit overkill but isn't a bad idea to ensure longevity.

[BTC guy]

Maybe your right but i cant agree with you simply because im currently running 5970s and have run 5 cards without the molex. I also got my extenders for $4. Your charging $22. Im happy with them and im confident my buyers will be too.

[eviltt]

Well since ive personally used around 56 of these extenders without issue im not convinced the molex is necessary. Any problems arising is probably due to operator error not the lack of a molex. Dont overload your board or psu and these will work just fine.

i dont think you are getting it..

they are not saying that the risers are causing this, they are saying that too many cards pulling too much voltage from the board causes it.

the reason they want the molex connector is to lessen the load on th emobo since the power can be supplied via the molex connector

so lets cover this again

a) pcie risers didnt cause that.. too much power draw through the mobo did
b) we all agree your pcie extenders are probably great, no one said anything about quality or anything regarding that
c) if you want to run more than 4 cards in a rig it is highly recommended to utilize the molex connector risers to lessen the chance of this happening.

[malevolent]

Your charging $22.

I must agree, $22 is really a ripoff. But unfortunately that's what happens when there's little competition (plenty of riser suppliers but very few make ones with molex).

[BTC guy]

I do get it. People are posting pics of burnt out parts and posting links to cables with a molex and suggesting they are better or needed. You can recommended them for dual chip cards or more than 4 cards but to say you need them is just plain bullshit.

[Inaba]

It's not bullshit.  I would rather spend $4 in "insurance" than $150 for a new motherboard.  Having burnt out a couple motherboards myself, I know first hand what can happen.  I can also assure you that it was not operator error - one of the boards in question was running a single 5970 and a 5870, both without Molex on the risers.  It was a cheap mobo and the ATX connectors, as I said, are not all created equal and poof, there it goes. 

It happens more often I've found with either a) overloaded PSUs or b) cheap PSUs (which in the end are just overloaded PSUs).  You're far more likely to get away without using a Molex if you are running 5 5850's with a quality, high output PSU than you would if you were running 5 5970's on a 1400w PSU... in fact, I can almost guarantee you will burn out your board trying to run that many 5970's without a molex.

[BTC guy]

I dont doubt what you guys are saying.  Im sure for some people the molex is a good idea. But to say its needed for any and all dual chips or more than 4 cards is not true. If you have a decent board and psu that was desigend for the amount of cards your running you will not NEED the molex. Your equipment will run just fine without it and you will have saved yourself some money.

[imsaguy]

I dont doubt what you guys are saying.  Im sure in some situations the molex is a good idea. But to say its needed for any and all dual chips or more than 4 cards is complete bullshit. What should be said is they might be a good idea if your using cheap equipment or trying to run more cards than what your board was intended. If you have a decent board and psu that was designed for multiple cards you will not NEED the molex. Your equipment will run just fine without it and you will have saved yourself some money.

Ok.  Here's what it boils down to.. the PCIE spec allows for up to 75watts to be pulled through a PCIE slot.  Most cards only pull 25watts, with your higher end/dual gpu cards pulling the full amount.  Some board manufacturers will cut corners and think "They won't use all 6 PCIE slots at one time, so we'll only account for 150 watts for that" and go cheap.   Then you go and use risers to make more cards fit than what would normally and before you know it, you've got 6x25=150watts of draw.  Ok, not an issue.  The board the designed for 150 watts.  If any of those cards starts pulling more than 25watts and the board was made cheaply, you're screwed.

See how both sides can actually be right in this situation?  It really comes down to your exact mix of hardware.  So you run 6x5830s.  We all know different brands run their cards slightly different.  One person's 6x5830 might pull more than a different person's 6x5830s.  Its easier to make a blanket statement about using molex than it is to go and explain all of this, especially to n00bs. 

That being said, I think 22.95 for a riser is a bit much, although I have bought some when I couldn't get them elsewhere.
 

[malevolent]

+1

As for the part about different brands it is only the case of non-referent cards.

[CrazyGuy]

I dont doubt what you guys are saying.  Im sure in some situations the molex is a good idea. But to say its needed for any and all dual chips or more than 4 cards is complete bullshit. What should be said is they might be a good idea if your using cheap equipment or trying to run more cards than what your board was intended. If you have a decent board and psu that was designed for multiple cards you will not NEED the molex. Your equipment will run just fine without it and you will have saved yourself some money.

Ok.  Here's what it boils down to.. the PCIE spec allows for up to 75watts to be pulled through a PCIE slot.  Most cards only pull 25watts, with your higher end/dual gpu cards pulling the full amount.  Some board manufacturers will cut corners and think "They won't use all 6 PCIE slots at one time, so we'll only account for 150 watts for that" and go cheap.   Then you go and use risers to make more cards fit than what would normally and before you know it, you've got 6x25=150watts of draw.  Ok, not an issue.  The board the designed for 150 watts.  If any of those cards starts pulling more than 25watts and the board was made cheaply, you're screwed.

See how both sides can actually be right in this situation?  It really comes down to your exact mix of hardware.  So you run 6x5830s.  We all know different brands run their cards slightly different.  One person's 6x5830 might pull more than a different person's 6x5830s.  Its easier to make a blanket statement about using molex than it is to go and explain all of this, especially to n00bs. 

That being said, I think 22.95 for a riser is a bit much, although I have bought some when I couldn't get them elsewhere.
 

Interesting direction this thread has gone... I've had 3 5970s and a 5830 going strong for about 4 months on standard extenders without issue(1200watt corsair,gigabyte ud3 mb). I never thought about overdrawing power from the pcie connector but this thread has me thinking. I'm only drawing 1000w at the wall but I can't get my system to boot with any more cards. I'm thinking I need a pcie extender with molex, and that I'm lucky I haven't burnt anything out yet.

With that said, I hesitently started to order one from cablesaurus. $22 is ridiculous, add $6 shipping on top of that and it's enough to make me change my mind. From the pics it looks like they just soldered a single pin molex connector to one of the exposed pcie pins. I may break out the old soldering gun and make a few myself. Anyone have any experience making their own?

[TheHarbinger]

I dont doubt what you guys are saying.  Im sure in some situations the molex is a good idea. But to say its needed for any and all dual chips or more than 4 cards is complete bullshit. What should be said is they might be a good idea if your using cheap equipment or trying to run more cards than what your board was intended. If you have a decent board and psu that was designed for multiple cards you will not NEED the molex. Your equipment will run just fine without it and you will have saved yourself some money.

Ok.  Here's what it boils down to.. the PCIE spec allows for up to 75watts to be pulled through a PCIE slot.  Most cards only pull 25watts, with your higher end/dual gpu cards pulling the full amount.  Some board manufacturers will cut corners and think "They won't use all 6 PCIE slots at one time, so we'll only account for 150 watts for that" and go cheap.   Then you go and use risers to make more cards fit than what would normally and before you know it, you've got 6x25=150watts of draw.  Ok, not an issue.  The board the designed for 150 watts.  If any of those cards starts pulling more than 25watts and the board was made cheaply, you're screwed.

See how both sides can actually be right in this situation?  It really comes down to your exact mix of hardware.  So you run 6x5830s.  We all know different brands run their cards slightly different.  One person's 6x5830 might pull more than a different person's 6x5830s.  Its easier to make a blanket statement about using molex than it is to go and explain all of this, especially to n00bs. 

That being said, I think 22.95 for a riser is a bit much, although I have bought some when I couldn't get them elsewhere.
 

Interesting direction this thread has gone... I've had 3 5970s and a 5830 going strong for about 4 months on standard extenders without issue(1200watt corsair,gigabyte ud3 mb). I never thought about overdrawing power from the pcie connector but this thread has me thinking. I'm only drawing 1000w at the wall but I can't get my system to boot with any more cards. I'm thinking I need a pcie extender with molex, and that I'm lucky I haven't burnt anything out yet.

With that said, I hesitently started to order one from cablesaurus. $22 is ridiculous, add $6 shipping on top of that and it's enough to make me change my mind. From the pics it looks like they just soldered a single pin molex connector to one of the exposed pcie pins. I may break out the old soldering gun and make a few myself. Anyone have any experience making their own?

This;
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=38725.0

[BTC guy]

Mine are sealed in the factory anti static bag.

[TheHarbinger]

Mine are sealed in the factory anti static bag.

Granted.  And I will buy some from you on my next rig build.  But he was looking for powered adapters, and unhappy with the price at Cablesaurus so I pointed him to what he wanted.

[Inaba]

I dont doubt what you guys are saying.  Im sure in some situations the molex is a good idea. But to say its needed for any and all dual chips or more than 4 cards is complete bullshit. What should be said is they might be a good idea if your using cheap equipment or trying to run more cards than what your board was intended. If you have a decent board and psu that was designed for multiple cards you will not NEED the molex. Your equipment will run just fine without it and you will have saved yourself some money.

Ok.  Here's what it boils down to.. the PCIE spec allows for up to 75watts to be pulled through a PCIE slot.  Most cards only pull 25watts, with your higher end/dual gpu cards pulling the full amount.  Some board manufacturers will cut corners and think "They won't use all 6 PCIE slots at one time, so we'll only account for 150 watts for that" and go cheap.   Then you go and use risers to make more cards fit than what would normally and before you know it, you've got 6x25=150watts of draw.  Ok, not an issue.  The board the designed for 150 watts.  If any of those cards starts pulling more than 25watts and the board was made cheaply, you're screwed.

See how both sides can actually be right in this situation?  It really comes down to your exact mix of hardware.  So you run 6x5830s.  We all know different brands run their cards slightly different.  One person's 6x5830 might pull more than a different person's 6x5830s.  Its easier to make a blanket statement about using molex than it is to go and explain all of this, especially to n00bs.  

That being said, I think 22.95 for a riser is a bit much, although I have bought some when I couldn't get them elsewhere.
 

Interesting direction this thread has gone... I've had 3 5970s and a 5830 going strong for about 4 months on standard extenders without issue(1200watt corsair,gigabyte ud3 mb). I never thought about overdrawing power from the pcie connector but this thread has me thinking. I'm only drawing 1000w at the wall but I can't get my system to boot with any more cards. I'm thinking I need a pcie extender with molex, and that I'm lucky I haven't burnt anything out yet.

With that said, I hesitently started to order one from cablesaurus. $22 is ridiculous, add $6 shipping on top of that and it's enough to make me change my mind. From the pics it looks like they just soldered a single pin molex connector to one of the exposed pcie pins. I may break out the old soldering gun and make a few myself. Anyone have any experience making their own?

I'm not sure how you can  be drawing 1000w from the wall with 3 5970's and a 5830.  You may want to remeasure that.  3x 5970 = 900w and I can't imagine everything else only taking 100w.  At the wall, no less.. which means you are only drawing ~750w DC?  I just can't see that happening with a fully loaded set of GPUs.

Anyway, they are easy to make yourself if you've got a fine tipped soldering iron.  It's 5 wires you have to remove from the PCB end, solder together onto a molex and away you go.

[BTC guy]

Mine are sealed in the factory anti static bag.

Granted.  And I will buy some from you on my next rig build.  But he was looking for powered adapters, and unhappy with the price at Cablesaurus so I pointed him to what he wanted.

Understood. There is much debate going around and since this is my thread i just want to make my opinion. The molex is not necessary for everybody. Sealed risers are better. You can always buy mine cheap and add the molex yourself. I will also negotiate the price if you buy in bulk.

[BTC guy]

BTW TY crazyblane for sharing your experience with your 5970s. Im sure as this conversation carries on we will have more people confirming the molex is NOT a must have.

[Littleshop]

There are so many factors in needing molex or not.  One is overclocking.  If you overclock you can be drawing more then the rated power per card and that certainly changes things. 

If you use no x1 to x16 adapters (in other words only put x16 cards in x16 slots), AND none of your cards are dual GPU AND do not overclock you should not need molex. 

If you start using x1 to x16 and your cards are dual GPU you should use molex.  It may work, but you are probably over limit for the design. 

[BTC guy]

I think what littleshop and imsaguy said is more accurate information.