I’m attempting to run a Dell RTX A6000 in a non-OEM chassis. It’s been… a journey.
The card appears to use an EPS-style 8-pin GPU power input and expects the NVIDIA dual-PCIe-to-EPS adapter. In practice, I’ve repeatedly hit mechanical incompatibility with modern PSU PCIe cables (ridge geometry / pin-shape mismatch), even when they’re labelled PCIe 6+2 or VGA.
Electrically they should work, but mechanically they don’t seat correctly, and when powered incorrectly the PSU instantly trips protection (no fan twitch on the GPU).
I’m trying to answer a very specific question and would really appreciate first-hand experience:
Has anyone here successfully powered a Dell RTX A6000 in a DIY / non-OEM build, and if so:
• Which PSU model?
• Which exact cables (brand + type)?
• Did you use the NVIDIA dual-PCIe-to-EPS adapter, or a direct EPS solution?
• With the adapter: were the upstream cables true legacy PCIe 6+2 or newer Gen5 / Type-5 moulds? (e.g. 2 square pins vs 3, ridge geometry, etc.)
I’m specifically trying to avoid modern Gen5 / Type-5 PCIe cable moulds with aggressive ridge keying, but I’m open to whatever has actually worked for someone.
Context (to show this isn’t a low-effort build):
I initially went down a misguided external-GPU-with-riser route. Photos attached range from early airflow prototyping (cardboard funnels) through to what can only be described as a cursed extrusion-frame vinyl-tent hellraiser portal. After endless riser issues, I’ve now bought a Fractal Design North XL and am moving to a conventional internal build.
I’ve also tried a dual-PSU setup (ADD2PSU), but would strongly prefer a single-PSU solution if possible.
Software side is now solid (Arch Linux, headless LLM workload). Early driver issues (DKMS stuck on older branches from an old ArcoLinux install) are resolved. At this point, power delivery is the only remaining blocker.
Photos attached. Any confirmed working combinations would be hugely appreciated.
The card appears to use an EPS-style 8-pin GPU power input and expects the NVIDIA dual-PCIe-to-EPS adapter. In practice, I’ve repeatedly hit mechanical incompatibility with modern PSU PCIe cables (ridge geometry / pin-shape mismatch), even when they’re labelled PCIe 6+2 or VGA.
Electrically they should work, but mechanically they don’t seat correctly, and when powered incorrectly the PSU instantly trips protection (no fan twitch on the GPU).
I’m trying to answer a very specific question and would really appreciate first-hand experience:
Has anyone here successfully powered a Dell RTX A6000 in a DIY / non-OEM build, and if so:
• Which PSU model?
• Which exact cables (brand + type)?
• Did you use the NVIDIA dual-PCIe-to-EPS adapter, or a direct EPS solution?
• With the adapter: were the upstream cables true legacy PCIe 6+2 or newer Gen5 / Type-5 moulds? (e.g. 2 square pins vs 3, ridge geometry, etc.)
I’m specifically trying to avoid modern Gen5 / Type-5 PCIe cable moulds with aggressive ridge keying, but I’m open to whatever has actually worked for someone.
Context (to show this isn’t a low-effort build):
I initially went down a misguided external-GPU-with-riser route. Photos attached range from early airflow prototyping (cardboard funnels) through to what can only be described as a cursed extrusion-frame vinyl-tent hellraiser portal. After endless riser issues, I’ve now bought a Fractal Design North XL and am moving to a conventional internal build.
I’ve also tried a dual-PSU setup (ADD2PSU), but would strongly prefer a single-PSU solution if possible.
Software side is now solid (Arch Linux, headless LLM workload). Early driver issues (DKMS stuck on older branches from an old ArcoLinux install) are resolved. At this point, power delivery is the only remaining blocker.
Photos attached. Any confirmed working combinations would be hugely appreciated.
