So you can run mining rigs with SATA connections on your PCIE risers, but beware, one might be a problem, more probably will given enough time (t). I had a 2 cards using SATA connections solution in an 8 card rig and everything was doing just great until one evening we noticed a burnt electronics smell wafting up from the basement. Turns out that you are playing with “fire” with a setup like this as too much voltage will be pulled and sooner or later even a decent connector will fail. In my case, it failed at the PSU, melting the wire, disconnecting it from the power supply and the rig kept running sans one card, but the heat as it melted also melted the connection at the PSU – no harm anywhere in the long run, just a missing PSU connection.

After powering down the rig, I learned from fellow miners, this is far from a safe setup. I re-wired everything to use Molex connectors, only 2 per cable max. Moving forward, all of the rigs I build used 6 pin connectors instead of SATA or Molex. Problem solved.

Here is a shot of the damage:

Have any similar fun with your rigs? Comment below!!