HP Z820 Workstation: adding more GPUs, lacking PCIe power cables

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alex_stief

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May 31, 2016
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I tasked myself with converting two ageing HP Z820 Workstation into kind of a GPU compute node.
They currently have one Quadro K6000 graphics card, and I want to add another one for compute. Plus an additional lower powered Graphics card to drive the display. Someone will still be sitting in front of these.

What stumped me was the lack of PCIe power cables in these things. They have the 1125W power supply, but only three 6-pin PCIe power connectors. The Quadro K6000 that is currently in them already uses up two of them.
Now I read here that the 6-Pin connectors in these workstations are allegedly higher spec than standard ATX ones. So it might be ok to use a 6-pin to 2x6-pin adapter, and run each of the K6000 GPUs from one of those connectors. But I don't really trust the information presented there.
Does anyone have some wisdom to share about the GPU power delivery situation in these HP workstations
 

alex_stief

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2016
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Had a closer look at the power supply label: each of the 3 GPU 12V rails is rated for 18A. So I guess I can try my luck with 6pin to 2x6pin adapters.