Quote from: GrandMasterB on August 06, 2014, 11:18:25 PM

I procurred an RX 1000AE for my Antminer S3 because I plan to expand to another miner...probably an S3. There is a PCI-E cable that is already dangling out the supply. It splits into two PCI-e 6+2 connectors. Technically is that just one PCI-E 6+2 line? For safety's sake I plugged both in and then plugged two more into another side from what I believe is the "modular" 8 pin - 6+2 pin cable.

My question is, did I buy the right power supply to power two S3s? Does the modular PCI-E 6+2 with 1 8 pin connector to two 6+2 connectors count as a 2 connectors for yet another module?

Unfortunately that PSU is not ideal, and here's why:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4CP1GG1829

Quote

Active PFC, Quad +12v Rails;

Ideally, a single rail is preferred for powering miners. Now you have to make sure you get each blade of each miner on it's own separate rail. That seems difficult, as you have 6xPCI-E connectors, and from what you said and the pictures, it looks like it's 3 cables with two connectors per cable. So that indicates that the CPU 4+4 and/or CPU 8pin connectors are *probably* on the 4th rail. And I don't know if anyone makes adapters for those plugs, so you might have to find some way to get PCI-E connectors on those cables.

On the other hand, it does say each 12v rail is capable of 36A, and the total 12v power available is 912W. That *should* mean you can run an entire miner (both blades) from a single rail. 12*36 = 432W max. The only problem is that means you're running it off of a single cable, but if your cables are quality enough, you might just be OK. Just check them closely over the first few hours and make sure they don't get hot. And don't overclock any miner that doesn't have all 4 PCI-E's attached (which would mean you'll be on two separate rails anyway).

With all of the built in protection that PSU has, and keeping an eye out to make sure the cables don't get hot, you should be fine. But in the future, look for single rail PSU's.

jowaybea

Posts

Merits