I wanted to chime in again and firstly thank everyone who contributed feedback to my first mining rig build. So, I finally got my heatsink, installed it today along with the CPU, RAM and the 1st MSI 470! I have yet to do anything with the power supply/cables since I wanted to get the layout built and tested before that final step, but everything including the test bench assembly and mounting/hooking up the SSD & Optical Drive went well.
So... once I realized how absolutely HUGE these GPUs are compared to the MoBo, I now totally get when Phil and others stick to a 4-GPU build lol
I was able to plug in the first 470 into PCIe3 x16 slot #1 no problem at all (no blockage issues, etc). However, after plugging in GPU #2 into PCIe3 x16 slot #3 (slot 2 is PCIe2 x4 slot, so i skipped that for now as I understand that will need a riser cable), I realized that it actually blocks PCIe slot #4, which is the short PCIe2 x1 slot. From Phil's previous advise on risers for this board, I purchased this PCI-E 1x to 16x riser adapter cable:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CU1U2XG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1The first problem is that the short PCIe 1x slot is blocked. Only an extremely low profile plug/adapter could possibly fit in there underneath the GPU.
The 2nd problem is that I can't even figure out HOW this adapter is supposed to work because even if there were space above this slot on the MoBo, there is nothing in the product above that could fit in this slot. Aside from the converter board itself there is only a 4-pin molex to wide sata power cable (i don't even have any of the wide sata slots on this Mobo, only 10 regular sata) and also a 2-ended USB cable. Am I crazy or is this adapter even meant to plug into that 1x slot at all? Either way, i cant figure it out so would appreciated some advice.
GPU #3 inserted fine into PCIe slot #5 (the 3rd and final PCIe3 x16 slot). Unfortunately, the GPU blocks a bunch of headers/jumpers, but it seems like possibly none of these will be required for this build (BIOS/CMOS stuff, COM & TPM headers, front panel audio, & USB headers).
GPU #4, which arrives tomorrow would therefore have to go into either slot #2 or slot #4 (already described the issues with slot #4 above, so not even sure that is usable at this point). Slot #2 is PCIe2 x4, so I got this adapter/riser cable:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H8VVD00/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1But, although the short end of this cable fits within slot #2, there's a lot of empty space since the adapter pin section is shorter than the overall slot length.
Bottom line is that I've never used this kind of risers/adapters before so I figure either there is something I am missing, or, i simply bought the wrong adapters.
As always, any feedback is appreciated!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157543