Project GPUBox: External GPU case.

Yukikaze · Jan 5, 2011, 02:09 PM

A common problem with modern-day high-end systems is the lack of space. I have six slots in my system, but with two GPUs in it I only have two slots left (one PCI and one PCIe). If I want to add another GTX470 for 3SLI (with some amazing scaling due to the 5760x1080 resolution) I will lose all my remaining slots while only using half of them. I don't think I have to mention the overheating issues caused by stacking three powerful GPUs one on top of the other and then clocking them to heck.

I don't like that, and I want to fix that. At work I commonly work with PCIe extender cables of nearly all shapes and sizes, so this got me thinking: Why not do something like this at home?

Thus the GPUBox concept was born. I plan on building an external box which will be able to accommodate four GPUs and an additional power supply unit to feed them with power. The GPUs will be well-spaced and the box will be well-ventilated to keep them cool. Since it is not constrained as a regular computer case is I can push air from nearly any imaginable direction.

Currently I am researching my options. I can start off from a regular computer case and mod it - This has the advantage of looking better than probably anything I can do myself and being water cooling ready due to having ready radiator mounts. Alternatively, I can build a completely custom case which will lend me full flexibility, but I only have experience with wood working, and no experience or tools in order to work with metal.

Gonna have to think which route I'll take - But I want my third GTX470, and I want my expansion slots back!

wolf · Jan 5, 2011, 02:16 PM

subbed! this reminds me of the early lucid hydra concept which was an external box and board to seat the GPU's.

I can't wait to see how it works out!

I'd suggest a ready made box, as you can pop in a PSU easily, fan mounts etc for w/c if you choose, or just fans. the hard part sounds like the pci-e extenders sitting properly in the case and being fed out of the master rig.

overclocking101 · Jan 5, 2011, 02:59 PM

what do you need the slots for?? it sounds like a nice idea.

JrRacinFan · Jan 5, 2011, 03:24 PM

Interesting. i have a few ideas if you want to discuss them via PM. **Subscribed**

Yukikaze · Jan 5, 2011, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overclocking101

what do you need the slots for?? it sounds like a nice idea.

USB3.0 expansion card, another GPU to output to my TV, god knows what else might come up and I wanna mod something.

Yukikaze · Jan 5, 2011, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrracinfan

interesting. I have a few ideas if you want to discuss them via pm. **subscribed**

ygpm.

Yukikaze · Jan 5, 2011, 04:51 PM

Okay. It seems that getting PCIe extender cables can be a little expensive. I never knew a piece of cable can be this expensive (granted, the signaling rate of PCIe is very high, but still). The ones I am seeing can cost up to 100$ for a single 12" length adapter. There is a ton of cheap ones on ebay, but I am pretty sure that they will not work properly at full bus speeds.

I need to do some research about ordering them through work (I doubt our labs pay this much for one cable).

Anyone has a source for such extenders for less money?

pantherx12 · Jan 5, 2011, 06:48 PM

Subbed to see end results and to chip in with development if I can : ]

(FIH) The Don · Jan 6, 2011, 03:00 PM

sub'd

Yukikaze · Jan 6, 2011, 03:07 PM

Okay, currently checking with our electronics guys at work what is the longest full-rate, x16 lane, gen 2.0 PCIe extension cable they can build for me (or order for me). Still no idea on the costs, but at least it looks like I might have a source handy.

scaminatrix · Jan 6, 2011, 03:21 PM

I always wanted to do this, but to mount a rig on my wall
Subbed

gumpty · Jan 11, 2011, 01:01 PM

Rub a dub subd.

silkstone · Jan 11, 2011, 01:23 PM

Count me in.. you might wanna patent the idea if it works well, i can imagine a lot of people would be very interested in this.

(FIH) The Don · Jan 11, 2011, 03:08 PM

take a look here they might have something

http://www.hwtools.net/Adapter/PE4H.html

Yukikaze · Jan 11, 2011, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silkstone

Count me in.. you might wanna patent the idea if it works well, i can imagine a lot of people would be very interested in this.

There is nothing patentable here, really. It has been done dozens of times before in HW development environments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by (FIH) The Don

take a look here they might have something

http://www.hwtools.net/Adapter/PE4H.html

Thanks, but I cannot find a PCIe x16 extender there unfortunately, just x1 and x4 from what I see.

HybridChiller · Jan 14, 2011, 12:20 PM

PciE slot you can only enlarge it for 6cm, further then that it will give faults.

there is an existing external PciE for vga's solution from asus rog

Yukikaze · Jan 14, 2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HybridChiller

PciE slot you can only enlarge it for 6cm, further then that it will give faults.

We use longer extenders at work, so I would say you're not quite correct. Still trying to find out who makes them, though (went through four people so far and have a fifth name on the list. This one is actually supposed to be the one in charge of the orders).

Quote:

Originally Posted by HybridChiller

there is an existing external PciE for vga's solution from asus rog

The XG Station? That's for laptops, and isn't 16 lanes.

HybridChiller · Jan 14, 2011, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yukikaze

We use longer extenders at work, so I would say you're not quite correct.

what i ment was the internal pciE can not be longer as a specified lenght,

The extenders you use will be different

Yukikaze · Jan 23, 2011, 10:38 AM

Okay. Update at last. I tracked down the company we order the cables from. They are www.samtec.com and I plan to order cables from them this week. They allow you to customize cable lengths and lanes, so I should be able to get exactly what I need from them. I plan on a 500mm extender (cable) length at the moment.

Price is still up the air.

roast · Jan 23, 2011, 10:55 AM

Subbed. Looks interesting!

Yukikaze · Jan 23, 2011, 12:13 PM

Borrowed a PCIe extender from work to test whether the concept is sound prior to making the actual orders. This is a PCIe X4 -> X16 extender so I'll only have four lanes, but this will be good enough to test whether a GPU works properly across this. Gonna be a PITA to take down my tri-monitor setup and then bring it up again when I am done.

But hey, no effort, no glory.

Swamp Monster · Jan 23, 2011, 12:33 PM

Nice Idea, i am only concerned about signal interference. PCI-E runs @ 100MHz, I think because of that mobile solutions transfers data via USB. I am curious if this would work.
Subbed!

*edit* How long is that extender?

KieranD · Jan 23, 2011, 12:34 PM

Nice idea! Let us all know if the test run works out properly.
So you wanted to make a box for the gpu to sit in?

Frick · Jan 23, 2011, 12:57 PM

It would be interesting to see how cable lenght affects performance!

Yukikaze · Jan 23, 2011, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swamp Monster

Nice Idea, i am only concerned about signal interference. PCI-E runs @ 100MHz, I think because of that mobile solutions transfers data via USB. I am curious if this would work.
Subbed!

*edit* How long is that extender?

The extender is 50cm in length from what I am guessing (no way to measure it here at the moment, but it looks about 50cm). We use these extenders at work, and there are no problems with signal interference, so I think this should work.

Jan 5, 2011, 02:09 PM	#1
Yukikaze Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 2,121 (1.24/day) Thanks: 213 Thanked 481 Times in 347 Posts System Specs	Project GPUBox: External GPU case. A common problem with modern-day high-end systems is the lack of space. I have six slots in my system, but with two GPUs in it I only have two slots left (one PCI and one PCIe). If I want to add another GTX470 for 3SLI (with some amazing scaling due to the 5760x1080 resolution) I will lose all my remaining slots while only using half of them. I don't think I have to mention the overheating issues caused by stacking three powerful GPUs one on top of the other and then clocking them to heck. I don't like that, and I want to fix that. At work I commonly work with PCIe extender cables of nearly all shapes and sizes, so this got me thinking: Why not do something like this at home? Thus the GPUBox concept was born. I plan on building an external box which will be able to accommodate four GPUs and an additional power supply unit to feed them with power. The GPUs will be well-spaced and the box will be well-ventilated to keep them cool. Since it is not constrained as a regular computer case is I can push air from nearly any imaginable direction. Currently I am researching my options. I can start off from a regular computer case and mod it - This has the advantage of looking better than probably anything I can do myself and being water cooling ready due to having ready radiator mounts. Alternatively, I can build a completely custom case which will lend me full flexibility, but I only have experience with wood working, and no experience or tools in order to work with metal. Gonna have to think which route I'll take - But I want my third GTX470, and I want my expansion slots back! __________________ Cameron: Core i7 2600K 4.5Ghz, MCR220, 2xMCR120, MCP655, ASRock P67 Extreme4, 4GB DDR3, 2xOCZ Vertex 30GB RAID0, GTX470, 2xHD5670, Modu82+ 625W, TT Xaser VI. Neuromancer: Core i7 975, DFI DK X58-T3eH6, 12GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL6-6-6-15-1T, 3x9600GSO 384MB, Hiper 880W, TT Xaser VI. Administrator of a 40 core Hadoop cluster.

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Jan 5, 2011, 02:16 PM	#2
wolf Performance Enthusiast Join Date: May 2007 Location: Enrichment Center for Aperture Laboratories Posts: 5,312 (2.40/day) Thanks: 1,676 Thanked 844 Times in 707 Posts System Specs	subbed! this reminds me of the early lucid hydra concept which was an external box and board to seat the GPU's. I can't wait to see how it works out! I'd suggest a ready made box, as you can pop in a PSU easily, fan mounts etc for w/c if you choose, or just fans. the hard part sounds like the pci-e extenders sitting properly in the case and being fed out of the master rig. __________________ “my goal is speed, full ultra, and extreme gaming” -Ephraim “Yeah you can always overclock the 2gb memory to 4gb” -jaredpace

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Jan 5, 2011, 02:59 PM	#3
overclocking101 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: vermont Posts: 2,636 (1.75/day) Thanks: 196 Thanked 405 Times in 363 Posts System Specs	what do you need the slots for?? it sounds like a nice idea. __________________ hmmmm cant have cpu-z or hwbot anymore me is sad

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Jan 5, 2011, 03:24 PM	#4
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Jan 5, 2011, 04:51 PM	#7
Yukikaze Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 2,121 (1.24/day) Thanks: 213 Thanked 481 Times in 347 Posts System Specs	Okay. It seems that getting PCIe extender cables can be a little expensive. I never knew a piece of cable can be this expensive (granted, the signaling rate of PCIe is very high, but still). The ones I am seeing can cost up to 100$ for a single 12" length adapter. There is a ton of cheap ones on ebay, but I am pretty sure that they will not work properly at full bus speeds. I need to do some research about ordering them through work (I doubt our labs pay this much for one cable). Anyone has a source for such extenders for less money? __________________ Cameron: Core i7 2600K 4.5Ghz, MCR220, 2xMCR120, MCP655, ASRock P67 Extreme4, 4GB DDR3, 2xOCZ Vertex 30GB RAID0, GTX470, 2xHD5670, Modu82+ 625W, TT Xaser VI. Neuromancer: Core i7 975, DFI DK X58-T3eH6, 12GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL6-6-6-15-1T, 3x9600GSO 384MB, Hiper 880W, TT Xaser VI. Administrator of a 40 core Hadoop cluster. Last edited by Yukikaze; Jan 5, 2011 at 05:12 PM.

Jan 5, 2011, 06:48 PM	#8
pantherx12 Eligible for custom title Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: ENGLAND-LAND-LAND Posts: 8,443 (5.27/day) Thanks: 1,188 Thanked 1,705 Times in 1,375 Posts System Specs	Subbed to see end results and to chip in with development if I can : ]

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Jan 6, 2011, 03:00 PM	#9
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Jan 6, 2011, 03:07 PM	#10
Yukikaze Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 2,121 (1.24/day) Thanks: 213 Thanked 481 Times in 347 Posts System Specs	Okay, currently checking with our electronics guys at work what is the longest full-rate, x16 lane, gen 2.0 PCIe extension cable they can build for me (or order for me). Still no idea on the costs, but at least it looks like I might have a source handy. __________________ Cameron: Core i7 2600K 4.5Ghz, MCR220, 2xMCR120, MCP655, ASRock P67 Extreme4, 4GB DDR3, 2xOCZ Vertex 30GB RAID0, GTX470, 2xHD5670, Modu82+ 625W, TT Xaser VI. Neuromancer: Core i7 975, DFI DK X58-T3eH6, 12GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL6-6-6-15-1T, 3x9600GSO 384MB, Hiper 880W, TT Xaser VI. Administrator of a 40 core Hadoop cluster.

Jan 6, 2011, 03:21 PM	#11
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Jan 11, 2011, 01:01 PM	#12
gumpty Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: London Posts: 564 (0.30/day) Thanks: 229 Thanked 135 Times in 96 Posts System Specs	Rub a dub subd. __________________ "It's going to install and overwrite the OS. It will kill all your family pets and everything in the 'fridge will go bad. The shingles on your roof will curl and ants will infest your underwear drawer."Kreij HEATWARE

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Jan 11, 2011, 01:23 PM	#13
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Jan 11, 2011, 03:08 PM	#14
(FIH) The Don Eligible for custom title Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Viking Land Posts: 5,406 (3.91/day) Thanks: 3,101 Thanked 2,962 Times in 1,834 Posts System Specs	take a look here they might have something http://www.hwtools.net/Adapter/PE4H.html __________________ "there are 2 types of idiots. those who hate the new stuff to justify not being able to upgrade. and those who have no fucking clue about anything" -KieX “So with this new technology my video card will now fart?” -TheMailMan78

Jan 14, 2011, 12:20 PM	#16
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Jan 23, 2011, 10:38 AM	#19
Yukikaze Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 2,121 (1.24/day) Thanks: 213 Thanked 481 Times in 347 Posts System Specs	Okay. Update at last. I tracked down the company we order the cables from. They are www.samtec.com and I plan to order cables from them this week. They allow you to customize cable lengths and lanes, so I should be able to get exactly what I need from them. I plan on a 500mm extender (cable) length at the moment. Price is still up the air. __________________ Cameron: Core i7 2600K 4.5Ghz, MCR220, 2xMCR120, MCP655, ASRock P67 Extreme4, 4GB DDR3, 2xOCZ Vertex 30GB RAID0, GTX470, 2xHD5670, Modu82+ 625W, TT Xaser VI. Neuromancer: Core i7 975, DFI DK X58-T3eH6, 12GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL6-6-6-15-1T, 3x9600GSO 384MB, Hiper 880W, TT Xaser VI. Administrator of a 40 core Hadoop cluster.

Jan 23, 2011, 10:55 AM	#20
roast Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ireland. Posts: 564 (0.37/day) Thanks: 117 Thanked 101 Times in 81 Posts System Specs	Subbed. Looks interesting! __________________ F O L D _ F O R _ T P U ! heatware: roast

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Jan 23, 2011, 12:13 PM	#21
Yukikaze Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 2,121 (1.24/day) Thanks: 213 Thanked 481 Times in 347 Posts System Specs	Borrowed a PCIe extender from work to test whether the concept is sound prior to making the actual orders. This is a PCIe X4 -> X16 extender so I'll only have four lanes, but this will be good enough to test whether a GPU works properly across this. Gonna be a PITA to take down my tri-monitor setup and then bring it up again when I am done. But hey, no effort, no glory. __________________ Cameron: Core i7 2600K 4.5Ghz, MCR220, 2xMCR120, MCP655, ASRock P67 Extreme4, 4GB DDR3, 2xOCZ Vertex 30GB RAID0, GTX470, 2xHD5670, Modu82+ 625W, TT Xaser VI. Neuromancer: Core i7 975, DFI DK X58-T3eH6, 12GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL6-6-6-15-1T, 3x9600GSO 384MB, Hiper 880W, TT Xaser VI. Administrator of a 40 core Hadoop cluster.

Jan 23, 2011, 12:33 PM	#22
Swamp Monster Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Latvia Posts: 543 (0.57/day) Thanks: 127 Thanked 83 Times in 75 Posts System Specs	Nice Idea, i am only concerned about signal interference. PCI-E runs @ 100MHz, I think because of that mobile solutions transfers data via USB. I am curious if this would work. Subbed! edit How long is that extender?

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Cooling:	CM Hyper 612S
Memory:	2x2 GB Patriot Viper 1066MHz [5-5-5-15] DDR2
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 4870 512MB
Hard Disk:	WD Black 1TB + WD Caviar RE 500GB
Optical Drive:	Pioneer DVD-RW Sata
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer F-22
Case:	GigaByte GZ-X5
Sound Card:	X-Fi Platinum+custom made DAC+Sennheiser HD280 Pro
PSU:	Thermaltake Toughpower 850w Modular +FSP EP-1000 UPS
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Jan 23, 2011, 12:34 PM	#23
KieranD Eligible for custom title Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 5,460 (2.59/day) Thanks: 1,640 Thanked 822 Times in 713 Posts System Specs	Nice idea! Let us all know if the test run works out properly. So you wanted to make a box for the gpu to sit in? __________________ http://myinstants.com/instant/transformer/

Processor:	Intel i5 2500k 4ghz
Motherboard:	Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3
Cooling:	Phanteks ph-tc14pe, MX-4 Paste
Memory:	2x4gb 1600mhz CL9 1.5v G.Skill
Video Card:	VTX3D AMD 6850 (850mhz Core 1150mhz mem stock voltage)
Hard Disk:	OCZ Agility 3 SSD 120gb, Samsung F1 750gb, Seagate 7200.14 2tb
Optical Drive:	ASUS DRW-24B5ST
CRT/LCD Model:	Ilyama ProLite X2377HDS (IPS), Panasonic 41" ST50B
Case:	Nanoxia Deep Silence 2
Sound Card:	Realtek onbaord, Logitech X540 speakers, Superlux 668B headphones.
PSU:	Corsair TX650w
Software:	Windows 7 Professional 64bit

Jan 23, 2011, 12:57 PM	#24
Frick Fishfaced Nincompoop Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 7,900 (2.99/day) Thanks: 1,076 Thanked 1,449 Times in 1,155 Posts System Specs	It would be interesting to see how cable lenght affects performance! __________________ Typemachine: Acer Aspire One D250 \| Atom N280 1.6 Ghz \| 1GB DDR2 \| 160GB SATA \| 10.1' 1024 x 600 \| Lubuntu 12.10 Oldbox: HP D530 \| Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz \| 1GB DDR \| 40GB \| Windows XP "The 'gentle biker' look is overdone. I'm going for 'psycho hillbilly.' "

System Name:	Ongoing scavanging
Processor:	Sempron 140
Motherboard:	MSI 760GM-P23 (FX)
Cooling:	Somesuch
Memory:	2GB DDR3
Video Card:	Something
Hard Disk:	160GB + 1TB
Optical Drive:	Yes
CRT/LCD Model:	19" 1280 x 1024
Case:	Wossname
Sound Card:	Creative Audigy 2 ZS with front panel
PSU:	FSP400-60APN
Software:	Windows 7 Pro

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