Comparisons Between the Breakout Boards By Parallel Miner
Recently a lot of customers have been asking for more information in a single place detailing breakout board comparisons and differences. We are happy to oblige! While we hope this post will answer your questions and guide you to buying the right breakout board, we are sure you will think of a question that isn't answered here. Please contact us if you have any questions this post does not cover.
R4 Breakout Board Details
Up first for comparisons is the oldest model breakout board we still actively carry! The R4 has found its home helping the DIY community power amazing LED light displays. The breakout board features:
- Rated for up to 125 Amps
- 24 total color-coded screw-in terminals (12 positive and 12 negative)
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 2 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power) and Green (pushing power)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
High-quality stranded cables are meant to be used with this board, such as these 14 AWG cables. It is compatible with the "common slot" CS server PSU power bar slot design. Some example compatible PSUs include HSTNS-PL14, HSTNS-PD30, and HSTNS-PL33.
[Retired] X8 Breakout Board Specifications
The X8 board is one of our original trademarked boards. Although basic in design, it is sturdy and has stood the test of time in many mining facilities. It features:
- Rated for up to 200 Amps
- 16 PCIe ports
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 2 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power) and Green (pushing power)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
It is compatible with the "common slot" CS server PSU power bar slot design. Some example compatible PSUs include the HSTNS-PL18, HSTNS-PL30, and DPS-2400AB A.
X6B Breakout Board Characteristics
This board is based on the X8 and was one of the first to feature some of our staple traits. This was the first breakout board that was so advanced that it required its own usual manual. It features:
- Rated for up to 120 Amps
- 8 PCIe ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 2 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power) and Green (pushing power)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
It is compatible with the 2 different server PSU power bar slot designs! Some example compatible PSUs include the L1100A-S0, HSTNS-PD30, and DPS-2400AB A.
X11 Breakout Board Parameters
This board, like the X6B, is based on the X8 and was one of the first to feature some of our staple traits. This was the first breakout board that was so advanced that it required its own usual manual. The X11 is our top-selling breakout board. The breakout board features:
- Rated for up to 120 Amps
- 16 PCIe ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 2 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power) and Green (pushing power)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
It is compatible with the 2 different server PSU power bar slot designs! Some example compatible PSUs include the PS-2142-2L, D1200E-S0, and DPS-2400AB A.
X11BRK-AMP Board Facts
The X11 was redesigned and upgraded to include the ability to calculate your wattage usage, resulting in this X11-AMP.
- Rated for up to 120 Amps
- 16 PCIe ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltage display
- An LED current display
- Current x Voltage = Watts
- Minimum 20amps/500watt load for accuracy. Read our Ohms Article to understand AC load & DC Load differences.
- 2 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power) and Green (pushing power)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
It is compatible with the 2 different server PSU power bar slot designs! Some example compatible PSUs include the PS-2142-2L, D1200E-S0, and DPS-2400AB A.
ZSX Breakout Board Details
This all-in-one, gaming-changing board is based on the X11 and is the first of its kind! The ZSX board not only has its own user manual, but also required a wiring guide on how to properly connect it to a motherboard. At the time of this being published, we are having trouble producing enough ZSX boards to meet demand. The breakout board features:
- Rated for up to 140 Amps
- 16 PCIe ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- 10 Fan hub ports
- 2 PWM Fan control ports (to control each column of 5 fan ports)
- One ATX 24pin port (24pin cable with CPU 4+4pin cable included)
- A Molex/SATA port to power 1 SSD (with Molex to SATA cable included)
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 3 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power), Green (pushing power), Blue (motherboard powered)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
It is compatible with the 2 different server PSU power bar slot designs! Some example compatible PSUs include the HSTNS-PL30, and DPS-2400AB A.
ZSX-AMP Board Specifications
The ZSX was redesigned and upgraded to include the ability to calculate your wattage usage, resulting in this ZSX-AMP. The ZSX board not only has its own user manual, but also required a wiring guide on how to properly connect it to a motherboard. It features:
- Rated for up to 140 Amps
- 16 PCIe ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- 10 Fan hub ports
- 1 PWM Fan control port to control all 10 fan ports
- One ATX 24pin port (24pin cable with CPU 4+4pin cable included)
- A Molex/SATA port to power 1 SSD (with Molex to SATA cable included)
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltage display
- An LED current display
- Current x Voltage = Watts
- Minimum 20amps/500watt load for accuracy. Read our Ohms Article to understand AC load & DC Load differences.
- 3 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power), Green (pushing power), Blue (motherboard powered)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
It is compatible with the 2 different server PSU power bar slot designs! Some example compatible PSUs include the HSTNS-PL30, and DPS-2400AB A.
Important Note about the Delta 2400W - DPS-2400AB
This magnificent beast of a PSU has 2 power bar slots: the slave port (on the left, PSU's power cord side) and the master port (on the right, PSU's fan side). The slave port has limited functionality and can only make use of the connected PCIe ports, voltage display, and current display. Please ensure that you put the ZSX, ZSX-AMP, or whichever the most advanced breakout board is on the right-hand side! If you will be using the interconnect sync feature, then you must connect the cables only to the master port.
Again, the yellow LED, Molex port(s), ATX port, and interconnect sync ports do not work on the slave port side! For that reason, the X8 is ideal for this port.
X12 Breakout Board Characteristics
Designed to fix a very small compatibility issue that the X11 has with the PSU part numbers 0TCVRR, 0GVHPX, and 0XCHHD. The X12 also shares a usual manual with the X11. The breakout board features:
- Rated for up to 120 Amps
- 16 PCIe ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 2 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power) and Green (pushing power)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
It is compatible with the power bar slot design that we have arbitrarily described as 8pin. Some example compatible PSUs include the PS-2112-2L, DPS-1200MB-1C, and R12-1K6P2A.
X15 Rev:B Breakout Board Parameters
This updated board was designed to work with Dell PowerEdge server PSUs. The X15B also has its very own user manual (not yet updated for Rev: B). It features:
- Rated for up to 120 Amps
- 16 PCIe ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 2 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power) and Green (pushing power)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
At the original time of publishing, we had and X15 board with only 12 PCIe ports and a slightly different layout. The information here was updated after the release of the upgraded X15B.
It is compatible with the power bar slot design that we have arbitrarily described as gapped 12pin. Some example compatible PSUs include the DPS-750AB-2 A, E1100E-S0, and D2000E-S2.
X15B ZSX Breakout Board Facts
We further upgraded the X15 with this all-in-one, gaming-changing board! This version is designed to work exclusively with Dell PowerEdge server PSUs. The original ZSX wiring guide is also for this version. The breakout board features:
- Rated for up to 140 Amps
- 16 PCIe ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- 10 Fan hub ports
- 2 PWM Fan control ports (to control each column of 5 fan ports)
- One ATX 24pin port (24pin cable with CPU 4+4pin cable included)
- A Molex/SATA port to power 1 SSD (with Molex to SATA cable included)
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 3 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power), Green (pushing power), Blue (motherboard powered)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
It is compatible with the power bar slot design that we have arbitrarily described as gapped 12pin. Some example compatible PSUs include the DS1100PED-3-A, DPS-2000EB A, and D2400E-S0.
HDD CHIX Board Details
Introducing our first breakout board designed specifically for hard drive mining! It provides 5V/12V SATA power for all of your HDD/SSD needs. It features:
- 10 4-pin ports
- A Molex Port to be used with our Remote Management Module (or can be used to auto-sync with an ATX PSU)
- Dual 4pin ports for our patent-pending chain sync ability
- Mechanical on/off power button
- Built-in automatic save-state ability
- An LED voltmeter display
- 3 LED indicator lights: Yellow (receiving power), Green (pushing 12V power), Blue (pushing 5V power)
- Protective acrylic bottom plate
The CHIX is compatible with the "common slot" CS server PSU power bar slot design. Some example compatible PSUs include the HSTNS-PL23B, HSTNS-PL18, and HSTNS-PL30.
The End? For Now...
We realize that our breakout boards are quite similar so it's actually hard to name differences while making comparisons between each board. We hope that this has helped you figure out which board is right for you and your server PSU. Please refer to our full breakout board compatibility list for more assistance in matching the right board to the correct server power supply. Although we created this breakout board comparisons guide and the compatibility list, we will not be creating a server PSU recommendation guide. Unless you contact us demanding one, that is.
Article posted on March 10th, 2021. Last updated on January 12th, 2024.
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