Completed STX160.0 - The most powerful ATX unit, in the world!

[jeshikat]

Have You compared GTX1060 performance between PCI-E x16 and M.2/x4?
GPU-Z shows x4 3.0 or x4 2.0 operation while connected to the M.2 port throught adapter?

There's lots of articles around that extensively test PCIe lane and gen scaling: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/

Depending on the game and resolution, it's usually a 0-10% drop in performance from 3.0 x16 to 3.0 x4.

GPU-Z shows 3.0 x4.

 

[czr]

50mV isn't bad if it does that, which is what I'm not sure of considering it's a $5-$10 part.

This one might do the job: https://www.pololu.com/product/2885

 

[jeshikat]

Maybe, but there's no voltage regulation or ripple spec listed

 

[czr]

From specs they promise 4% voltage accuracy (11.52V - 12.48V)
I've sent them question about the ripple.

 

[chx]

So the second M.2 slot is key E, which can be converted into mPCIe http://www.hwtools.net/ExtenderBoard/P15S-P15F.html which can be turned into 2 SATA ports cheaply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W8XWPIW/?tag=theminutiae-20 and yet again in turn into https://www.startech.com/HDD/Adapters/msata-to-sata-adapter~SAT32MSATM mSATA possibly without cabling http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270335

 

[jeshikat]

Daisy-chaining adapters to get more drive options would be an interesting project.

 

[czr]

@Aibohphobia, have You tried to connect gpu without powering M/2 adapter by 3.3v?
I have it connected only to 12v, an GPU doesn't give a signal.
Can the lack of 3.3v cause it?

 

[jeshikat]

The GTX 1060 supposedly does not require 3.3V but now that I think about I don't think I've ever actually run it without the 3.3V.

 

[jeshikat]

So Larry at HDPLEX sent me a pre-production sample of his new direct plug 160W unit to test if it can power my setup and it does!!

Excuse the mess, I had to borrow the CPU for a temp rig so I just cobbled together this setup real quick to test it.

Unfortunately I've gotten real busy so I don't think I'll have time to mess with until either this weekend or next (and Christmas falls on a weekend this year so no extra time off )

 

[CC Ricers]

Maybe it bodes well for the DC-ATX 160w which I have. I plan to purchase the same internal AC power adapter with my system and while I currently have a GTX 1050 I am hoping that there's still room to upgrade to a 1060 with that kind of power setup.

 

[jeshikat]

The new direct plug would be a much safer bet for powering a system with a GTX 1060 because it's really a 200W unit and it can do the full wattage on just the 12V. It'll be called "160W" just so it matches the 160W AC-DC unit.

 

[czr]

@Aibohphobia
do I need some UEFI setup to run pci-e gpu on Asrock STX board?
Fan spins, but there is no signal on display (Quadro K620)

 

[jeshikat]

I don't recall having to change any settings to get it to work.

 

[Zackmd1]

@Aibohphobia
do I need some UEFI setup to run pci-e gpu on Asrock STX board?
Fan spins, but there is no signal on display (Quadro K620)

Likely an issue with either your m.2 adapter or riser card. If you have a riser card, remove it and plug the GPU directly into the m.2 adapter.

PS: assuming you are providing adequate power to the GPU?

 

[czr]

Likely an issue with either your m.2 adapter or riser card. If you have a riser card, remove it and plug the GPU directly into the m.2 adapter.

PS: assuming you are providing adequate power to the GPU?

It is impossible to connect gpu directly to the adapter because of not enough space.
I'm using adapter from delock: LINK
It's powered by two bricks, 12V/5A and 3.3V (yes, whole rig is powered by 3 bricks )
and it seems that they do the job - with bricks connected gpu fan spins, and without external power it doesn't

 

[jeshikat]

What are you using the 3.3V for? The Delock must be like the BPlus adapter and uses onboard 5V to 3.3V conversion since it uses a 4-pin Molex adapter for slot power.

 

[czr]

It works!
pcie riser card was the reason, thankfully i had another one

 

[TheGooseIsHere]

I just ordered myself a bunch of new parts to build my own one of these! Can't wait...

Am thinking of using the new MSI GTX 1050 ti low profile card with it, which should be pretty decent. Still not sure what I'm going to use for a power supply, will start off with a normal psu to test it first.

May end up making a simple case out of acrylic to house all the parts.

 

[TheGooseIsHere]

Would like to get input from you experts about using a single 230W-ish 19V AC adapter to power both the STX motherboard and a 1050ti using a 5.25mm splitter... I had a dodgy idea which if anyone could give opinions on this that would be appreciated

I have made a quick illustration of my idea:

Would this work or just cause something to explode? lol

Assuming the splitter works as intended, i guess it would come down to whether the picoPSU is capable of supplying a constant 75W through the molex output, which I'm not sure it's designed for...

EDIT: DON'T do this with a cheap splitter, they usually aren't designed for high amp situations and it may burn if you use it. It's better to make your own custom splitter with high quality components.

 

[jeshikat]

If it's a quality 230W AC adapter you won't have any issue there, you'll be well under it's maximum wattage.

I believe people have used the 12V PicoPSU to power only a video card but I'm not sure if the 19V version will be stable doing that. Most computer power supplies are designed to have load on all the rails (12V, 5V, and 3.3V) but when powering a video like I'm doing and you're proposing, it's basically a pure 12V load and I found that both the current HDPLEX 160W DC-ATX and the PICO BOX Z4-200-ATX were not stable using them like that.