Author

Topic: Simple question about PCIe x16 Extender Cables (Read 4049 times)

legendary
Activity: 4354
Merit: 3614
what is this "brake pedal" you speak of?
January 08, 2012, 07:00:03 AM
#10
Before mining, would any of you guys have bought mis-matched video cards and installed them in your computers?   

yup.

folding @ home, contribute to research for cures to various diseases. best on nvidia hardware (as well as CPU clients). all GPUs run independently, same miners, so mix away.

nvidias physx, gives more physics based eye candy for some games. you add a second, usually less powerful nvidia card (or sometimes 1st nvidia card with an ATI primary, but phsyx doesnt officially play nice with ATI cards) to your rig to let the 1st do rendering only instead of both rendering and physx.
rjk
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
1ngldh
FWIW, you can also use PCI -> PCI-E adapters if you're trying to really crunch a lot of cards in there. I bought this and it works fine for my overclocked 5830 @ 1050 core. http://www.ebay.com/itm/150619756121?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
3 bucks cheaper at http://www.ebay.com/itm/390371034002! Grin

EDIT: If you are using a powerful card though, you will want to use a powered PCIe extender cable after that - because plain PCI only has 25 watts, not 75.
legendary
Activity: 1344
Merit: 1004
FWIW, you can also use PCI -> PCI-E adapters if you're trying to really crunch a lot of cards in there. I bought this and it works fine for my overclocked 5830 @ 1050 core. http://www.ebay.com/itm/150619756121?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
I wasn't aware of extender cables, thanks guys. Smiley
 
Before mining, would any of you guys have bought mis-matched video cards and installed them in your computers?   

No.  Gaming performance is going to suffer w/ unbalanced crossfire or SLI setup.  So other than mining there is no reason.

Now that being said if you have lots of rigs keeping everything the same makes it easier to keep track of settings, hardware, spare parts, etc.
hero member
Activity: 609
Merit: 500
I wasn't aware of extender cables, thanks guys. Smiley
 
Before mining, would any of you guys have bought mis-matched video cards and installed them in your computers?   
legendary
Activity: 1834
Merit: 1020
Yes you can mismatch GPU.  The miner doesn't care.  Each GPU works independently anyways.

Amazingly awesome.  Thank you, kind sir.
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
Yes you can mismatch GPU.  The miner doesn't care.  Each GPU works independently anyways.
legendary
Activity: 1834
Merit: 1020
I have a motherboard with a single PCIe x16 slot.  If I buy a PCIe x16 extender cable and attach it between my PCIe x1 slot and a 2nd graphics card, can I expect a drop in hash rate with either graphics card?

No.  Bitcoin mining uses a trivial amount of bandwidth.  You could run multiple GH over serial interface.

Ok.  Will it be possible to use two different GPUs with this idea?  Like a 6970 and a 5870 (6970 in regular PCIeX16 slot, 5870 attached to the extender cable)?  My idea is that I would like to mine with both cards off the same mobo, but if this is not possible, I would still like the ability to switch between the two GPUs (i.e. 6970 for gaming and music production, 5870 for mining).
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
I have a motherboard with a single PCIe x16 slot.  If I buy a PCIe x16 extender cable and attach it between my PCIe x1 slot and a 2nd graphics card, can I expect a drop in hash rate with either graphics card?

No.  Bitcoin mining uses a trivial amount of bandwidth.  You could run multiple GH over an old fashion serial bus and bandwidth still wouldn't be a problem.
legendary
Activity: 1834
Merit: 1020
I have a motherboard with a single PCIe x16 slot.  If I buy a PCIe x16 extender cable and attach it between my PCIe x1 slot and a 2nd graphics card, can I expect a drop in hash rate with either graphics card?
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