when you are using risers - those cheap ones are VERY fickle ... unless using pcie x16 risers - you will NOT get the full power of the 'on board power' which is supplied by the motherboard ...
#crysx
I alter the bios to only use pci-e 1x and save some power. Most of my riser cables are cheap, but I have some expensive cables as well. When using less money on the boards and the risers, I have more money for the cards

According to pci express specifications, both x16 and x1 cards ca ask up to 75W of power (only the initial power is different).
Also the power pins are all on the x1 part.
this is true theoretically - but practically its very different ...
they ALL supply up to 75Watts via their pinout - but in reality - the strain that is put on most of the comonents via the bus is better aleviated through the powered risers ...
whe you have good quality risers - you have much less strain on the bus ...
specs dont always live up to what is on paper - and in reality - rarely do ...
hence the whole oc issues and anomolies with throttling and the like ...
i have 16 gigabye 7970 and 280x oc cards with the fan sytem shot to pieces ( and some fans are completely burned out ) even though the specs say they are capable of withstanding very high temps ... they all need to go in for warranty repair AGAIN ...
im using that just as an example of how specs can say one thing - and it doesnt hold up in a real working and production environment ...
i would luv to get my hands on a tesla farm - and hammer it to see if those cards are built better and can handle the load in extended periods ...
#crysx
I agree: I was just saying that there is no difference, power related, when using a 16x slot or a 1x one.
About broken fans, I assume it's because they are not supposed to work at >40C for months :-D
The plastic parts will deform, even just fractions of millimeters, enough to stop rotate. Seen tens of times ;-)