STX with m.2 GPU fun build

[aquelito]

Sintech also sells one for $14 (ref. ST-PCE2NGFF). Don't know if it works in 3.0 though.

EDIT : the 4-Pin Molex provides the GPU with the 75W it needs from the slot ?

 

[mickael28]

PCIe 2.0 is about half as fast as 3.0. Considering 3.0 is already a slight bottleneck on current generation GPUs, I'd be reluctant to go that way. The BPlus unit seems to be going for around 65 on eBay which might be a better option.

Sorry, that comment confused me, do you mean that there's a BPlus unit which operates at PCIe 3.0 speed? Do you know which one is that?

I was checking this one, http://www.bplus.com.tw/ExtenderBoard/P4SM2.html and they mention:

• Compliant with PCI Express 2.0 Specification

I've not been able to see an NGFF M.2 adapter to PCIe x4 which supports 3.0 yet....

 

[Kmpkt]

Apparently I was mistaken. Perhaps this is a better choice?

http://vary.technology/product/RP44.html

Edit: this adapter is confirmed by the manufacturer to do a full 32 Gbps (Ultra M.2) if your motherboard is also capable of it.

 

[aquelito]

Great find, Gen 3.0 and flexible !

Curious about the ribbon they are using. Same coaxial as 3M ?

 

[jeshikat]

I've not been able to see an NGFF M.2 adapter to PCIe x4 which supports 3.0 yet....

The BPlus P4SM2 does PCIe 3.0 x4 in my testing.

 

[SeñorDonut]

Just a word of advice, you may want to shield that riser. I've heard bad things about unshielded PCIe flex risers

 

[jeshikat]

You mean the Vary Technology one? If it's like the 3M cable then it should not need additional shielding.

 

[SeñorDonut]

Yeah, you're probably right.

 

[mickael28]

Apparently I was mistaken. Perhaps this is a better choice?

http://vary.technology/product/RP44.html

Edit: this adapter is confirmed by the manufacturer to do a full 32 Gbps (Ultra M.2) if your motherboard is also capable of it.

I see a lot of part numbers, do you know what would be required for adapting from M.2 to PCIe x16 for the graphic card, is it part RP43SF only?

And I see the offer cables with different lengths, does the speed/signal quality gets worse with longer cables?

The BPlus P4SM2 does PCIe 3.0 x4 in my testing.

Really? I was just reading the official specs in their site and they mentioned that they were 'compliant with PCI Express 2.0 Specification,.

How do you measure the speed? Is there a Windows tool for that?
And do you know of any tool to confirm the speed of the M.2 slot in my motherboard, I researched by the chipset and they mentioned that it supported 3.0, but I've not seen any software reporting that on my machine, so not fully certain...

you may want to shield that riser.

Just learning about all this, out of curiosity, really basic questions, what is the riser part exactly? and what is shielding, what is it achieved with that?

 

[jeshikat]

How do you measure the speed? Is there a Windows tool for that?

GPUz will report the link speed. Though when it comes to extenders/risers, it may not be stable under load, so GPUz helpfully includes a little utility to put some load on the GPU to verify if it can actually run at that PCIe gen/link.

And do you know of any tool to confirm the speed of the M.2 slot in my motherboard, I researched by the chipset and they mentioned that it supported 3.0, but I've not seen any software reporting that on my machine, so not fully certain...

Usually the motherboard is advertised explicitly as PCIe 3.0 x4, otherwise look for 32Gb/s. If it doesn't say either of those, then it's probably PCIe 2.0 x4 or x2.

Other than that, I'm not sure if there's a PCIe SSD equivalent to GPUz that will say the connection speed.

 

[TheGooseIsHere]

Just gonna say that my cheap riser cable seems to have performed fine so far, I've used it for the last few months with no major problems, also brought it to a LAN party that lasted days and haven't experienced any problems with it.

There were a couple of occasions where I experienced framerate lag while playing overwatch, this lag only lasted a few seconds and only happened a couple of times, so I can't be sure if this was caused by graphics card instability or something else with the pc.

Bplus seems to have really hiked their prices up, I found a random one off e-bay for like £60, which is still quite a lot, but $125 to order one from bplus is ridiculous

 

[alexep7]

Apparently I was mistaken. Perhaps this is a better choice?

http://vary.technology/product/RP44.html

Edit: this adapter is confirmed by the manufacturer to do a full 32 Gbps (Ultra M.2) if your motherboard is also capable of it.

Wow, this is an amazing find. Has anyone ever tried it?

 

[Kmpkt]

I received two the other day but unfortunately they sent me the wrong units (16x PCIe to 1x PCIe and M.2 NVMe to 1x PCIe). What I will say is within literally minutes of contacting them regarding the error they had responded with apologies and offered to get two more in transit for me ASAP.

The craftsmanship on the units I did receive is very good and I consider myself something of an expert as I am sure I own at least forty riser cards/cables. These are definitely much better put together than most I've seen (including B-plus).

Worth mentioning is that the PCIe power on these units is provided through a SATA to 4 pin adapter they ship with the unit. It is rated to provide a maximum of 36W (12V @ 3A), so for those of us planning to fully power something like a 1050ti through this adapter, you will likely be out of spec (and may fry the PCB on the GPU end). I am not certain, but seeing as this is a power limitation of the SATA standard, perhaps doing a different adapter yourself would allow you to push more power to the PCIe slot? I'd love someone more knowledgeable (@EdZ ) to comment on this if possible ; )

 

[EdZ]

Without having one on hand, the RP43 series appear to have the power connector as close as possible to the power pins on the PCIe card-edge connector. Unless the traces between them were exceptionally narrow, I would be pretty comfortable pushing 75W over that.
If you wanted to be extra-safe, the left-angle and right-angle designs (RP43SL & RP43SR) have the through-hole connectors for the power header and PCIe card-edge connector on the same side. Soldering wires direly between the 'back side' (exposed through-hole pins) of the power input pins and power pins of the PCIe connector would add more than enough copper for the currents needed.
This is commonly known as a 'bodge wire'.

 

[aquelito]

This is indeed what @QinX did with his riser (not a bodge wire but directly soldered to the PCB) :

Thanks to you @Kmpkt I've also ordered 4x to 16X risers from Vary.

I also asked them if it was possible to replace the Sata power pinout by one GND and one 12V wire.
They replied the following :

12V enhance from molex power.

molex 5V is NC

3.3V power from gold finger.

Not sure what it means ; they just told me to precise "Add Molex power" in the Note field of the order form.
Let's see what I'll get in the mail

 

[EdZ]

I also asked them if it was possible to replace the Sata power pinout by one GND and one 12V wire.
They replied the following :

12V enhance from molex power.

molex 5V is NC

3.3V power from gold finger.

Not sure what it means.

I think what they mean is:
- 12V is connected to the Molex connector (by 'enhance', they might mean that the 12V lanes on the x16 PCIe slot are connected to both the Molex connector and the power traces on the x4 card-edge)
- 5V on the Molex connector is unconnected (no 5V for PCIe slots)
- 3.3V traces on the x16 slot are connected only to the 3.3V traces on the x4 card-edge

 

[aquelito]

Thanks a lot @EdZ, much clearer now

Then why the power header has 4 inputs if only 2 are enough ?

 

[EdZ]

Thanks a lot @EdZ, much clearer now

Then why the power header has 4 inputs if only 2 are enough ?

Option 1 (if a custom pinout): to spread current over multiple pins/conductors.
Option 2: if using a standard pinout then it needs to have all the pins present, even if not using them. e.g. it looks like it could be the accursed Berg Connector (scourge of ATX cable looms), which has 12V, 5V, and two grounds, of which only the 12V and one ground are actually needed electrically, but all 4 are needed mechanically.

 

[aquelito]

Thanks again, that's great info

I forgot I had an actual picture of the 4x riser (same principle as the M.2 to PCIe x4).
They just replaced the sata power by a Molex connector.

 

[Kmpkt]

So basically I should be able to wire a molex to 4 pin and just attach it to my riser?