Feeding the antminer S3 with 3 pci-e cables?

[CryptoPanda]

The PSU seems to shut down when feeding it with just 2. It might be because the cables are made for just 75W and it pulls 180W through each (so it drains 360W in total).
So, I'm thinking can I plug a 3rd pci-e cable, without overclocking it just to spread the power a bit more, or it doesn't work like this?

[1714875095]

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[1714875095]

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[jonnybravo0311]

At stock speeds the S3 pulls 340W from the wall, meaning it will pull less from the PSU itself depending on efficiency.  What PSU are you using that keeps shutting down?  I don't know that I'd trust it .  How many rails does it have?  Can it supply enough juice (watts/amps) to the PCI-e?

Bitmain has recommended connecting 4 if you're over clocking, or 2 if running stock.  There's nothing that says connecting 2 on 1 blade and 1 on the other will work.  Even if it did work as you hope, then you'd have 170W draw on 1 cable and 85W draw each on the other 2 (assuming the 340W power requirement).

[jowaybea]

The PSU seems to shut down when feeding it with just 2. It might be because the cables are made for just 75W and it pulls 180W through each (so it drains 360W in total).
So, I'm thinking can I plug a 3rd pci-e cable, without overclocking it just to spread the power a bit more, or it doesn't work like this?

If the PSU is shutting down, either it is overloaded, or one rail of a multi-rail PSU is overloaded, or your AC outlet is not supplying enough power for the PSU.  If the cables are overloaded, it will cause them to get hot, but that alone should not cause the PSU to shut down until the insulation melts, and the cables short out.  

If plugging in a third cable helps you, then maybe the first two cables are on one rail and the last cable is on the other?  Try to make sure each blade of the S3 is on a separate rail if you can.

All that being said, it will not hurt anything, and can only help to plug in PCIe cables to the extra slots on the S3, whether you are over clocking or not.

[Golph]

The PSU seems to shut down when feeding it with just 2. It might be because the cables are made for just 75W and it pulls 180W through each (so it drains 360W in total).
So, I'm thinking can I plug a 3rd pci-e cable, without overclocking it just to spread the power a bit more, or it doesn't work like this?

If you have extra pci-e cable you should just plug in all 4. Having 90W on each pci-e is always better then 180W.

[CryptoPanda]

it's a single rail 630W  thermal take one and it gives 588W to the PCI-e connectors
so should be more than enough, that's why I thought it's the cables, but what you say about them first getting hot makes sense.
Can there be some protection built in that does that?

the AC outlet should have plenty to supply them I believe, there is nothing else on it.

So, what else it might be?

[jowaybea]

it's a single rail 630W  thermal take one and it gives 588W to the PCI-e connectors
so should be more than enough, that's why I thought it's the cables, but what you say about them first getting hot makes sense.
Can there be some protection built in that does that?

the AC outlet should have plenty to supply them I believe, there is nothing else on it.

So, what else it might be?

That should be plenty of power for a single S3.  It is possible the PSU protection unit is bad, or something else about the PSU has failed.

[cloverme]

I would agree with the earlier posts on a possible power supply issue. I'd also look at what your power supply is plugged into. I recently had an APC PDU acting up and once I replaced it, my S3's became stable.

[CryptoPanda]

I tried with another  800W single rail PSU and it did the same first time,  but working for few hours fine now.
However if it does it again, I guess I'll just try with 4 pci-e cables plugged.
So, we know for sure that plugging 4 cables splits the load evenly between them all?

[GrandMasterB]

Not sure if this will help. I'm using a gold rated single rail 1000w PSU for two S3's. If i plug the PCI-E's into a miner the fans blow but it doesn't boot. I have to use 3 PCI-E in each miner. Not sure if this is just the modular PCI-E cable. Didn't really bother checking.

[darkphantom934]

First, drawing 180W through a 6pin is dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

You might be activating some sort of protection on the PSU (they are very safe and programmed to shut down immediately when things get too hot or overloaded), so the best test would be just to plug in the 3 PCI-e cables and see how things go.

Good luck!

[Bitsaurus]

First, drawing 180W through a 6pin is dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

You might be activating some sort of protection on the PSU (they are very safe and programmed to shut down immediately when things get too hot or overloaded), so the best test would be just to plug in the 3 PCI-e cables and see how things go.

Good luck!

The 6-pin is differentiated from the 8-pin by only 2 ground wires.  If the PSU is single rail and uses quality cabling it shouldn't be an issue, especially if you use 3 or 4 cables.

[Biodom]

First, drawing 180W through a 6pin is dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

You might be activating some sort of protection on the PSU (they are very safe and programmed to shut down immediately when things get too hot or overloaded), so the best test would be just to plug in the 3 PCI-e cables and see how things go.

Good luck!

The 6-pin is differentiated from the 8-pin by only 2 ground wires.  If the PSU is single rail and uses quality cabling it shouldn't be an issue, especially if you use 3 or 4 cables.

I added Startech PCIe splitters to each PCIe cord. It works fine on EVGA1300 and cords are not even hot when at 237.5mhz.
Naturally, both ends shall go to power the SAME board.

[jonnybravo0311]

Not sure if this will help. I'm using a gold rated single rail 1000w PSU for two S3's. If i plug the PCI-E's into a miner the fans blow but it doesn't boot. I have to use 3 PCI-E in each miner. Not sure if this is just the modular PCI-E cable. Didn't really bother checking.

This may be pointing out the obvious, and at the risk of insulting your intelligence, you did plug a cable into each board, and not two on the same one, right?

In other words, you plugged in like the green ovals, and NOT like the red rectangles:

[CryptoPanda]

yes, for sure

[n00b2013]

Crypto, to be honest TT units aren't the best so 150+W per rail may be much for em; I run Seasonics and they couldn't care less, 150W per wire is just fine, but id be weary of doing that on lesser quality units
if you do have the 4 wires, why not plug em all in ? if you don't have 4 wires, use adapters from molex to make 4 wires

[jonnybravo0311]

yes, for sure

OK, good .  Now that we've cleared up you're plugging things in properly, I fall back to my original post here: I wouldn't trust the PSU.  If you're plugging in only 2 PCI-e cables and it trips the PSU, something's off.  It looks like you tried another PSU that exhibited the same behavior at first, but has since run properly?  What kind of PSUs are you using?  I've got EVGA 1300 G2, Corsair HX1050 and a Corsair CX600M that I use and have not run into issues like you're describing.

OK... another question for you that may seem obvious: are you accidentally causing this on your PSU somehow (like, are you using the old paperclip test, and that clip slips out or shorts or something)?

[stryker]

I've only skimmed through this thread but thought I should point out I've had PSUs which before now will shut down if there is no draw on the +5v and +3v rails... to remedy this I just plugged in an old CDROM drive.

[bigbitmine]

I run 2 S3's using a Corsair CX750M.  2 pci to each miner.  Runs well.  Hope it helps.

[finlof]

The PSU seems to shut down when feeding it with just 2. It might be because the cables are made for just 75W and it pulls 180W through each (so it drains 360W in total).
So, I'm thinking can I plug a 3rd pci-e cable, without overclocking it just to spread the power a bit more, or it doesn't work like this?

the power usage is separate per side so the 3rd cable would just help distribute the power load on that one side.  i'm not affiliated with minersource (http://minersource.net/products/dell-750w-psu-slash-adapter) or gekkoscience (http://www.gekkoscience.com/products/D750_supply_breakout_board.html) at all but i've purchased several of these products and they are prob the best use of your $ if you are going to run S1's, S3's, BTC Gardens, etc.

[CryptoPanda]

The PSU seems to shut down when feeding it with just 2. It might be because the cables are made for just 75W and it pulls 180W through each (so it drains 360W in total).
So, I'm thinking can I plug a 3rd pci-e cable, without overclocking it just to spread the power a bit more, or it doesn't work like this?

the power usage is separate per side so the 3rd cable would just help distribute the power load on that one side.  i'm not affiliated with minersource (http://minersource.net/products/dell-750w-psu-slash-adapter) or gekkoscience (http://www.gekkoscience.com/products/D750_supply_breakout_board.html) at all but i've purchased several of these products and they are prob the best use of your $ if you are going to run S1's, S3's, BTC Gardens, etc.

yes looks like much cheaper solution. My question is why everyone is using ATX PSUs then?