Chained PCIe Risers Match Native GPU Speed Across Three Meters

How many PCIe Extensions is TOO MANY?? — Linus Tech Tips

Linus Tech Tips

Shielded PCIe riser cables sustain uncompromised frame rates across three meters of daisy-chained links before trace attenuation causes signal collapse at 3.6 meters under load.

AI-assisted summary of How many PCIe Extensions is TOO MANY?? — original source. Check the original for full context.

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Key ideas

  • Linus Tech Tips tested the physical limits of daisy-chaining PCIe risers after successfully using a 1.3-meter chain in their wall-mounted computer build. (0:00)
  • An older NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti functioned normally up to 1.9 meters of chained extenders but failed to POST or output a display at 2.3 meters. (2:03)
  • Upgrading to a modern NVIDIA Titan Xp allowed the system to achieve a fully stable 3.0-meter (approximately 10 feet) chain, maintaining an uncompromised 120 FPS in FurMark. (3:42)
  • Extending the chain to 3.6 meters reached the breaking point; while the Titan Xp booted into Windows, FurMark experienced severe frame drops before crashing completely. (5:44)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube by Linus Tech Tips on August 31, 2017, this video investigates whether chaining multiple PCI Express extension cables together causes drops in graphics card performance. Sponsored by LG to promote the LG gram laptop and its "Share the Art" contest, the experiment pushes PCIe signal integrity to its physical limits.

## TL;DR Following an unconventional 1.3-meter daisy-chained PCIe riser setup in their wall-mounted PC build, Linus and Ivan set out to find the absolute breaking point of chained riser cables. An older GTX 650 Ti passes tests up to 1.9 meters before failing to boot at 2.3 meters, prompting a swap to a flagship NVIDIA Titan Xp with superior signal transceivers. The Titan Xp achieves an uncompromised 120 FPS in FurMark across three meters of chained Thermaltake cables, matching native motherboard performance. Pushing to a 3.6-meter chain allows Windows to boot, but heavy stuttering and crashes under load establish three meters (~10 feet) as the functional limit for unpowered high-end extensions.

## Atmosphere & style The video captures Linus Tech Tips at its quintessential chaotic-experimental best, blending scrappy garage-style workbench testing with rapid-fire buddy comedy between Linus and Ivan. Playful military callouts over dual power supplies and escalating squabbles over studio furniture keep the energy brisk as a massive ribbon-cable snake overtakes the room. There is genuine technical suspense watching whether each successive link will post, rounded out by Ivan gamely holding a blistering 85°C bare graphics card and a perfectly timed system crash right as the credits roll.

## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=0s) Linus Tech Tips tested the physical limits of daisy-chaining PCIe risers after successfully using a 1.3-meter chain in their wall-mounted computer build. - [02:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=123s) An older NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti functioned normally up to 1.9 meters of chained extenders but failed to POST or output a display at 2.3 meters. - [03:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=222s) Upgrading to a modern NVIDIA Titan Xp allowed the system to achieve a fully stable 3.0-meter (approximately 10 feet) chain, maintaining an uncompromised 120 FPS in FurMark. - [05:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=344s) Extending the chain to 3.6 meters reached the breaking point; while the Titan Xp booted into Windows, FurMark experienced severe frame drops before crashing completely.

## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=0s) The experiment was inspired by the 'wallputer' build, which successfully bridged a motherboard and GPU across 1.3 meters using daisy-chained Thermaltake risers without performance degradation. - [00:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=35s) PCIe is a high-speed serial bus vulnerable to signal degradation, trace impedance, and interference over long distances. - [01:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=78s) The test bench incorporated an independent auxiliary power supply dedicated to the graphics card to eliminate internal PSU cable length constraints. - [02:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=139s) Thermaltake's heavily shielded premium riser cables proved significantly more resilient than standard unshielded ribbon cables, which often fail after just two links. - [01:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=105s) The Kepler-era GTX 650 Ti maintained full 120 FPS rendering across 1.3 m, 1.6 m, and 1.9 m chains before completely failing at 2.3 meters. - [03:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=222s) Swapping to a flagship Titan Xp bypassed the 2.3-meter barrier, likely due to superior PCIe Gen 3 transceivers and modern controller signaling. - [05:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=308s) At a 3.0-meter chain length spanning across the room, the Titan Xp matched native motherboard slot performance at an unthrottled 120 FPS. - [06:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=361s) At 3.6 meters, the system initially hung on POST code 40 due to potential 12V and 3.3V bus power attenuation over unpowered riser joints. - [06:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=395s) Although the 3.6-meter setup managed to load Windows, heavy 3D rendering in FurMark caused severe frame rate stuttering from 86 FPS down to 14 FPS before freezing. - [07:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=435s) The testing established 3.0 meters (~10 feet) as the functional limit for unpowered high-end shielded PCIe riser chains under heavy GPU loads. - [09:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=551s) During the video outro, the highly stressed test bench suffered an unprompted spontaneous hard shutdown, dropping the motherboard debug display to zero.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=0s) The Wallputer Precedent and Daisy-Chaining Risers

When building their wall-mounted computer—the "wallputer"—the Linus Tech Tips team encountered a major layout hurdle: the graphics card sat on the opposite side of the mounting frame from the motherboard. The gap was far wider than any single commercially available PCI Express riser cable could bridge. To solve the problem, they decided to daisy-chain riser cables together, combining a one-meter Thermaltake TT Premium extender with a 30-centimeter extension for a total run of 1.3 meters. To their surprise, the setup ran without a hitch. As Linus explains, “We actually ended up with a one meter Thermaltake premium extender chained to a 30 centimeter one and we pulled it off with no performance degradation whatsoever the system works perfectly fine.”

That unexpected success sparked curiosity about the actual physical limits of PCI Express signal integrity. High-speed serial interfaces like PCIe are notoriously sensitive to trace length, impedance variations, electromagnetic interference, and connector degradation. Seeing a chained cable setup work flawlessly in the wallputer prompted Linus and his team to push the concept to its breaking point: how many extenders can you string together before the video signal corrupts, frames drop, or the system refuses to function altogether?

[01:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=78s) Bench Setup and Testing the GTX 650 Ti to Failure

The crew builds a dedicated test rig using a standard, known-good GPU benchmarking motherboard to ensure optimal PCIe signal integrity at the host. Because they anticipate chaining cables across multiple tables, they also attach an independent auxiliary power supply exclusively for the graphics card. This guarantees that standard internal PSU cable lengths will not artificially restrict how far away the GPU can physically travel. The dual-PSU setup provides an excuse for comedic military-style callouts between Linus and Ivan, who coordinate flipping power switches across the room with shouts of "engaging auxiliary power now" and "Roger Dodger."

```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: PCIe Daisy Chain Testing Sequence accDescr: Diagram illustrating the progressive extension lengths and GPU results from 1.3 meters to 3.6 meters.

subgraph Phase1["GTX 650 Ti Runs"] A["1.3m Cable Chain"] -->|"Stable 120 FPS"| B["1.6m Cable Chain"] B -->|"Stable 120 FPS"| C["1.9m Cable Chain"] C -->|"Fails POST at 2.3m"| D["Crash / No Signal"] end

subgraph Phase2["Titan Xp Runs"] E["Titan Xp Swapped In"] -->|"Stable 120 FPS"| F["3.0m Chain (10 ft)"] F -->|"Add Final Extender"| G["3.6m Chain"] G -->|"FurMark Stutter / Freeze"| H["Limit Reached"] end

D -.->|"Upgrade GPU"| E ```

Testing begins conservatively at 130 centimeters (a 1-meter Thermaltake cable joined to a 30-centimeter cable), matching the wallputer configuration. Under a synthetic stress test, the system maintains a flawless framerate without dropped frames. Linus and Ivan then add another segment, bringing the total length to 160 centimeters, where performance remains identical. Pushing further to 1.9 meters—a cable snake Linus notes is "almost the height of Darth Vader"—the card continues to render smoothly without any artifacting.

Trouble strikes when they add another 40-centimeter segment to reach 2.3 meters. Linus observes that unshielded budget ribbon risers often fail after only two segments, contrasting them with Thermaltake's heavily shielded premium cables: “These you legitimately can't go very far with like I tried daisy-chaining even two of these together and I had trouble with it, so oh do we have failure?” The 2.3-meter chain fails to produce a display. Even after power cycling and reseating every connector link, the system refuses to run the stress test. When Linus asks if the legacy card is running PCIe Gen 3, Ivan flatly responds with a Russian "Nyet," leaving the crew to ponder whether the older interface or insufficient load is causing the crash.

- Rig configuration: Standard open-air test bench platform with dedicated auxiliary PSU for PCIe power. - Initial test card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti (PCIe 3.0 compatible bus, but older Kepler-era controller behavior). - Extension lengths cleared by GTX 650 Ti: 1.3 m, 1.6 m, and 1.9 m. - Failure threshold for GTX 650 Ti: 2.3 meters (no display/POST).

[03:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=222s) Swapping to the Titan Xp and Conquering Three Meters

Determined to eliminate GPU-side hardware bottlenecks, the team swaps out the GTX 650 Ti for a flagship NVIDIA Titan Xp. Linus inspects the card's golden edge connector and recalls the launch controversy surrounding missing PCIe contact pins on high-end boards, where enthusiasts debated whether omitted pins affected bandwidth or lane integrity while NVIDIA insisted it made zero difference. Whether attributable to superior Gen 3 signal transceivers or pin configuration, the Titan Xp immediately boots and stabilizes across lengths that choked the older card.

Emboldened, Linus and Ivan decide to bypass minor increments and jump straight to three full meters of chained risers. The physical layout quickly outgrows their workbench. Linus demands more furniture while Ivan is forced to physically balance the external monitor on the edge of the space. As tensions flare over table real estate, Ivan playfully warns Linus not to shout, prompting Linus's defense: “I'm not yelling at you I'm yelling with you.”

Against their expectations, the three-meter run—roughly ten feet of daisy-chained ribbon cable snaking across the floor—initializes without video artifacts. Launching the FurMark stress benchmark yields an unwavering 120 FPS, identical to the card being slotted directly into the motherboard's native PCIe x16 slot.

- Test card upgrade: NVIDIA Titan Xp. - Benchmark: FurMark stress test running at native resolution. - Performance at 3.0 meters: Exactly 120 FPS with zero dropped frames or visual artifacts.

[05:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=344s) The 3.6-Meter Breaking Point and Final Verdict

Pushing for an absolute maximum, Linus chains in their final remaining riser segment to reach an astonishing 3.6 meters (nearly 12 feet). The setup now extends clear across the room, forcing them to warn staff not to open the studio door lest someone trip over the high-speed bus. Ivan supports the loose graphics card by hand while Linus toggles the bench. The motherboard initially stalls at debug POST code 40. Ivan points out that none of the intermediate riser joints are powered, theorizing that the issue might stem from 12V and 3.3V power attenuation across the slender ribbon traces rather than high-frequency data corruption alone.

After power-cycling and firmly reseating all inter-cable links, the monitor flickers to life, proving a Windows desktop can display across 3.6 meters of chained PCIe extenders. However, launching the 3D rendering load immediately breaks signal integrity. FurMark starts, but the framerate stutters erratically—fluctuating from 55 FPS up to 86, then plummeting down to 25 and 14 FPS before locking up entirely. Linus laments the near-miss while Ivan dryly quips, “Welcome to my personal life.”

The test establishes 3.0 meters as the reliable limit for unpowered high-end shielded riser chains. Linus summarizes the outcome with satisfaction: “Ultimately we failed when we tried to yolo too hard, but I still consider this a success three meters of PCI Express extension and we managed to get it running at an equivalent to having it right in the socket 120 FPS.” He thanks Thermaltake for supplying the mountain of hardware and checks in on Ivan, who spent the final minutes holding a bare GPU radiating 85°C heat against his palms.

| Metric / Test Parameter | GTX 650 Ti | Titan Xp | |:--- |:--- |:--- | | **1.3 m (Wallputer baseline)** | Passed (Full performance) | Not tested (Assumed pass) | | **1.6 m** | Passed (Full performance) | Not tested (Assumed pass) | | **1.9 m** | Passed (Full performance) | Not tested (Assumed pass) | | **2.3 m** | **Failed** (No display/boot) | Passed | | **3.0 m (~10 feet)** | Untested | **Passed (Stable 120 FPS)** | | **3.6 m (~11.8 feet)** | Untested | **Failed** (POSTs, but heavy throttling & crashes in 3D load) |

[08:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M&t=491s) Sponsor Spot and Abrupt Bench Failure

Linus transitions into the video sponsor spot for the LG gram ultra-lightweight laptop and its "Share the Art" campaign. LG collaborated with a coffee artist to produce three original artworks inspired by the laptop's portability. Linus outlines the contest rules running through September 14, 2017: viewers can share campaign posts to social media, submit URLs to LG's event page, or comment on a behind-the-scenes video detailing their favorite gram features—such as battery life and light weight—for a chance to win LG monitors, Amazon gift cards, or one of 14 LG gram units.

Wrapping up the episode, Linus delivers his closing thoughts: “Alright, so thanks guys for watching if you disliked this video you must not like fun.” Right as he begins prompting viewers to hit the like button and visit the merchandise store, the test bench behind him suddenly suffers an unprompted hard reset and turns completely off. The motherboard's digital debug readout drops directly to zero, providing an unexpected, comedic full-stop to an afternoon spent abusing PCI Express signal margins.

## Mentioned Amazon, FurMark, Ivan, LG, LG gram, Linus, Linus Tech Tips, Newegg, NVIDIA, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti, NVIDIA Titan Xp, PCIe, Thermaltake, TunnelBear

## Video description Thanks to LG for sponsoring this video! Check out their Share the Art #LG gram campaign: https://www.lggramevent.com https://youtu.be/6oKU9APBrwI Learn more about LG gram laptops http://www.lg.com/us/laptops/

Can PCIe extensions cause a loss in GPU performance? We investigate!!

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[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5xvwPa3r7M)

中文简报

串联PCIe延长线在三米长度下仍可达到原生GPU速度 带屏蔽的PCIe延长线在长达三米的串联链路中可保持帧率不受影响,但在3.6米负载下因线路衰减导致信号崩溃。 在壁挂式装机中成功采用非同寻常的1.3米串联PCIe延长线方案后,Linus和Ivan着手探寻串联延长线的绝对极限。较旧的GTX 650 Ti在最长1.9米时通过了测试,但在2.3米处无法开机,促使他们更换为拥有更强信号收发器的旗舰款NVIDIA Titan Xp。Titan Xp在长达三米的Thermaltake串联线缆上于FurMark中实现了毫不逊色的120 FPS,与主板原生性能相匹配。进一步延长至3.6米虽能启动进入Windows,但在负载下的严重卡顿和崩溃表明,三米(约10英尺)是无源高端延长线的实用极限。 在壁挂式电脑装机中成功使用1.3米长的串联线后,Linus Tech Tips测试了串联PCIe延长线的物理极限。 (0:00) 较旧的NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti在串联延长线达到1.9米时仍能正常工作,但在2.3米处无法通过POST自检或输出显示画面。 (2:03) 升级到现代的NVIDIA Titan Xp使系统能够实现完全稳定的3.0米(约10英尺)串联,在FurMark中保持了毫不逊色的120 FPS。 (3:42) 将串联延长至3.6米时达到了极限;尽管Titan Xp成功启动进入Windows,但FurMark出现了严重的掉帧,随后彻底崩溃。 (5:44)

Reading summary

Testing by Linus Tech Tips demonstrates that heavily shielded PCI Express riser cables can be daisy-chained up to 3.0 meters (approximately 10 feet) without performance degradation, though signal integrity collapses under 3D load at 3.6 meters. Motivation and Open-Air Test Configuration (0:00) The experiment originated from the team's "wallputer" build, which required bridging a 1.3-meter gap between the motherboard and graphics card using a 1-meter Thermaltake TT Premium extender chained to a 30-centimeter extension. Because high-speed serial interfaces like PCIe are highly sensitive to trace length, impedance variations, electromagnetic interference, and connector degradation, running without signal loss prompted further testing to find the physical breaking point of daisy-chained risers. To conduct the stress test across multiple tables, the team built a dedicated open-air test bench using a known-good benchmarking motherboard. They attached an independent auxiliary power supply exclusively for the graphics card to ensure that standard internal power cable lengths would not physically restrict how far the GPU could travel from the host platform. Kepler-Era GPU Limitations at Extended Lengths (1:18) Testing began with an older NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti to observe baseline behavior. The card successfully completed synthetic stress tests at 1.3 meters, 1.6 meters, and 1.9 meters while maintaining a stable 120 FPS without dropped frames or visual artifacts. Linus noted that heavily shielded premium cables were critical, as unshielded budget ribbon risers often fail after chaining just two segments. The GTX 650 Ti encountered a hard limit when a 40-centimeter segment was added to reach 2.3 meters. At this length, the system failed to produce a display or complete POST, even after power cycling and reseating all inter-cable connectors. The team questioned whether the failure stemmed from legacy PCIe Gen 3 controller characteristics or insufficient load handling on the older architecture. Flagship Transceivers and the Three-Meter Threshold (3:42) Swapping the legacy card for a flagship NVIDIA Titan Xp resolved the failure at 2.3 meters. Whether due to superior Gen 3 signal transceivers or edge-connector pin configurations, the card stabilized immediately. The team bypassed smaller increments and extended the chain to 3.0 meters (roughly 10 feet) of ribbon cable snaking across the studio floor. At 3.0 meters, the Titan Xp initialized without video artifacts and executed the FurMark stress benchmark at an unwavering 120 FPS. This performance matched the results of inserting the graphics card directly into the motherboard's native PCIe x16 slot, confirming that high-end shielded risers can preserve full Gen 3 bandwidth over long distances. The 3.6-Meter Breaking Point (5:44) Adding a final segment pushed the daisy chain to 3.6 meters (nearly 12 feet). The motherboard initially stalled on debug POST code 40. Ivan theorized that signal loss might involve 12V and 3.3V power attenuation across the slender ribbon traces rather than pure high-frequency data corruption, as none of the intermediate riser joints received auxiliary power. Reseating connections allowed the system to boot into the Windows desktop, but launching a 3D workload exceeded signal tolerances. FurMark framerates fluctuated erratically between 14 FPS and 86 FPS before the benchmark froze entirely. While an unprompted bench reset occurred shortly after concluding the run, the tests confirmed 3.0 meters as the practical operating limit for unpowered high-end riser chains. The testing established that unpowered, premium shielded PCIe risers can maintain full performance at up to 3.0 meters, but extension beyond that length triggers severe throttling and system crashes under 3D rendering loads. The trial left unresolved whether powered riser joints could overcome the voltage drops that likely contributed to failure at 3.6 meters.

精炼阅读摘要

Linus Tech Tips 团队通过级联多根高规格屏蔽型 PCIe 延长线,对高速串行总线的物理传输距离极限进行了压力测试;实验表明,在搭配优质屏蔽线缆与现代显卡收发器的条件下,PCIe 3.0 信号在长达 3.0 米的无源串接线路上仍能实现无损的 120 FPS 满速运行,而 3.6 米则是导致 3D 渲染彻底冻结的电气极限。 测试诱因与双电源架构设计 (0:00) 该测试的构想最初源于该团队的“壁挂电脑”(wallputer)装配项目。在该项目中,显卡与主板被安装在机箱框架的两侧,间距远超任何市售单一规格的 PCIe 转接线。团队尝试将一条 1 米长的曜越(Thermaltake)TT Premium 延长线与一条 30 厘米延长线串联成 1.3 米的总链路,系统在运行中完全没有出现性能衰减。鉴于 PCI Express 等高速串行接口对走线长度、阻抗变化、电磁干扰(EMI)以及多级接头接触损耗高度敏感,这一意外成功促使团队决定通过持续加长转接链条,探索信号失真导致画面卡顿或系统无法开机(POST)的物理边界。 为确保测试环境受控,团队采用了一套已知性能良好的标准显卡基准测试主板,并针对显卡额外接入了专用的独立辅助电源供应器(Auxiliary PSU)。这种双电源配置消除了传统主机电源内部线材长度对物理拉伸距离的限制,确保显卡即便跨越多个工作台仍能正常获得外部供电。测试人员特别强调,市面上未做屏蔽的廉价扁平排线往往在仅串接两根时就会因串扰失效,而重度屏蔽的高品质线缆是实现长距离传输的前提;此外,由于中间级联转接头均无外部供电,细长 ribbon 导线上的 12V 与 3.3V 直流电压衰减也被推测为影响远端稳定性的关键变量。 显卡控制器代际对信号冗余度的制约 (1:18) 在第一阶段测试中,团队选用了采用较早 Kepler 架构的 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 显卡。该卡在 1.3 米的基准长度下,于合成压力测试中维持了与直插主板无异的 120 FPS 稳定帧率,毫无掉帧现象。随后,团队逐步将链路加长至 1.6 米以及 1.9 米(团队形容其长度已接近达斯·维达的身高),显卡输出依然平稳顺畅,未出现任何画面伪影或卡顿。 然而,当再次接入一条 40 厘米排线将总长增至 2.3 米时,系统遭遇了彻底的信号中断。显示器无法输出任何图像,测试平台甚至无法通过开机自检(POST)。即便团队多次重启电源并逐一重新插拔紧固每一处级联接头,系统仍无法加载测试。测试人员认为,除了链路累积阻抗升高外,旧款显卡物理层收发器性能的局限及其早期 PCIe 控制器的容错能力较弱,是导致其在 2.3 米处发生故障的主因。 旗舰核心突围与三米无损分水岭 (3:42) 为排除显卡端控制器造成的瓶颈,团队将测试卡更换为旗舰级的 NVIDIA Titan Xp。更换后,显卡立即在先前令 GTX 650 Ti 彻底失效的 2.3 米长度下成功点亮,证实了更现代的收发芯片设计与电气引脚规范能显著拓宽物理信号容限。随后,团队跳过小幅度微调,直接将排线串接拓展至 3.0 米(约 10 英尺),使硬件线路横贯工作台并一路延伸至地面。 在 3.0 米的超长物理跨度下,系统不仅顺利初始化并进入桌面,而且在运行 FurMark 原生分辨率满载压力测试时,始终维持在毫无波动的 120 FPS 满速状态,未出现掉帧或任何渲染伪影,其实际表现与显卡直接插入主板原生 PCIe x16 插槽完全一致。这一实测数据确立了在全屏蔽优质线缆配合下,PCIe 3.0 接口在无中继放大器辅助时可稳定维持 3 米传输的可用性。 3.6米信号完整性崩溃与物理极限 (5:44) 在取得 3 米成功后,团队接入最后一段备用延长线,将总传输链路推升至 3.6 米(近 12 英尺)的极限距离。此时线缆横穿整个房间,显卡甚至需要测试人员徒手悬空支撑。开机之初,主板数字诊断指示灯长时间卡在 Debug 代码 40。团队推测,除了极端距离导致的高频时钟与数据抖动外,未通电的转接端子使 12V 和 3.3V 直流供电线路电压降进一步恶化,共同削弱了总线握手能力。 在经历重新断电与全链路插头紧固后,系统虽然勉强点亮并进入了 Windows 桌面,但一旦启动 3D 图形渲染负载,信号完整性便迅速瓦解。FurMark 压力测试启动后帧率发生剧烈抖动,从 55 FPS 冲至 86 FPS,随即断崖式下跌至 25 FPS 与 14 FPS,最终画面彻底冻结卡死。测试由此明确表明,3.0 米是高规格被动屏蔽延长线链路上确保高负载稳定运行的可靠上限,而 3.6 米则彻底突破了 PCIe 信号完整性的物理耐受极限。 测试最终证实,在依赖高规格屏蔽线缆和独立显卡供电的前提下,PCIe 3.0 总线能够实现远超常规预期的 3.0 米无损级联传输,但在 3.6 米负载下会迅速因高频信号抖动与电压降而崩溃。实验收尾阶段,测试平台更发生了毫无征兆的突然断电关机(Debug 读数归零),进一步揭示了长期处于电气边缘状态的高频串行链路所伴随的系统不稳定性。

Original transcript

[0:00] Okay, so when we were building our wallputer, wall computer, wallputer get it? Anyway one of the challenges was having the graphics card [0:08] on the opposite side of the frame. [0:11] Versus the Motherboard, I mean this thing was so far away that there wasn't a single [0:18] PCi Express Riser cable on the market that was able to reach, so the solution? [0:24] Use more PCI Express risers. We actually ended up with a one meter [0:30] Thermal take premium extender chained to a 30 centimeter one and we pulled it off with no [0:38] performance Degradation [0:40] Whatsoever the system works perfectly fine. Which got us thinking [0:46] Just how far can you go before things go Haywire? [0:53] Stick around While we uh [0:56] Snake our way [0:58] to the conclusion. [1:09] Browse privately and securely with Tunnel bear the simple VPN app start your seven day free trial at the link in the video description. [1:18] Okay, so to kick off the experiment we rigged up our standard GPU bench machine. [1:23] So it's a known good machine our PCI express signal integrity should be about as good as it can get [1:30] Then we needed an extra piece so we also hooked up a separate power supply for our [1:36] GTX 650 ti graphics card this is so that we don't actually run into power cable length [1:44] limitations if the experiment goes completely off the hook [1:48] Also, having an excuse to call out to Ivan like he's far away is a bonus [1:54] so I hit the power switch check off [1:57] -So I didn't catch that can you repeat? [2:00] -Hit this I'm right here. Oh [2:03] -Engaging auxiliary power now. [2:05] -Thank you Roger Dodger. [2:08] -You have recognition. [2:10] -I'll turn on the system [2:13] So to kick things off [2:15] We're gonna be using a single one meter extension plus an additional [2:22] 30 centimeter extension, that's a total of a hundred and thirty centimeters [2:27] This is the same as what we did for the wallputer. [2:31] -On more lower. [2:32] -There you go. [2:34] Stress test go. [2:36] So it's running perfectly as expected which means [2:41] It's time to kick it up a notch, baby. [2:44] Let's take it to a hundred and sixty centimeters. [2:48] Would you look at that still no dropped frames, let's add more. [2:52] Look at this. [2:54] This is ridiculous. [2:57] Yeah... [2:58] Down down down right there yep. [3:01] (Unnecessary groaning) [3:04] 1.9 meters our PCI Express extensions are almost the height of Darth vader. [3:14] Okay, so we're adding another forty centimeters this time [3:18] You can tell those thermal tape guys have a lot of confidence if they sent us this much PCI riser. [3:25] I am excited this was the best PCI express riser technology we had around here so, these aren't even shielded [3:33] These you legitimately can't go very far with like I tried [3:37] Daisy-chaining even two of these together and I had trouble with it, so oh [3:42] Oh [3:44] Do we have failure? [3:46] Okay, let's try disconnect and reconnect just to make sure that we're being fair to it come on, baby [3:54] Is the 650 Ti Pci-e gen3? [3:57] Nyet (no in Russian) [3:59] Okay [4:00] So maybe our load just isn't demanding enough [4:06] Maybe we need to bring out the big guns. [4:09] A Titan Xp ok so. Let's shut it down and let's try again [4:13] So look at this [4:16] Ok so do you remember back when they launched this thing there was a bunch of press around? [4:21] The missing Pci-e pins look check this out [4:24] So these are power and then this is all data and NVIdia swore up and down [4:30] Makes no difference makes no difference now [4:32] We don't know if this is because it's gen 3 or if it's because it actually has all the pins [4:39] But what we do know is that our 650 ti [4:43] Didn't go as far as our titan xp at the same resolution. I mean arguably this is a bit of an edge case, but [4:52] No one can say this scenario is some what of a stretch. [4:57] I think we're gonna have to go even further straight to 3 meters should we do it? [5:03] -YOLO! [5:05] Okay, this is ridiculous. I mean why would anyone need to know we need more table. We need more table [5:11] You have to hold the monitor now. This is what happens! [5:14] -Done yell at me or I'll turn the relationship. [5:16] How many times I have to say? [5:17] -I'm not yelling at you I'm yelling with you. [5:19] Okay, be honest with me though are we expecting this to work? [5:22] -No comment. [5:24] It's on! No artifacts or anything. [5:27] This is crazy. How's it doing though? [5:31] 120 FPS. Same as before. We're still getting the same frame rate. [5:36] No weird anomalies three meters. That's like [5:42] 10 feet for Americans. [5:44] add 30 or add 60? [5:49] -Do I really have to scream YOLO? [5:52] Okay monitor over on the other side and then just hold the graphics card here. This is insane [5:58] That's the last piece we have? [5:59] -Yeah. [6:00] -Three point six, okay. [6:01] No one come through this door. [6:06] No. [6:09] It's still working. [6:11] -No way. [6:14] -Wait [6:16] Maybe that's all we got oh, oh, it's at Postcode 40 now [6:20] Same as last time same as last time, okay hold on let's shut it down though [6:23] Let's I'll do a quick reconnect of all the things okay hold on. [6:27] -Also keep in mind that these are not powered. [6:29] So perhaps it's not even signal loss is just power loss. [6:32] -Oh, you could be right. [6:34] Three two one blast off. [6:38] No! [6:40] Look at this. [6:42] Look at this 3.6 meters. [6:47] You could literally have your graphics card in another room [6:52] Okay, hold on I gotta run FurMark though. Show me the 120s. Oh [6:59] Noooooo. [7:03] No-Ho-ho! The FPS is going up though. It's at 55 after 86... [7:10] ...25, 14 oh. [7:14] Nooooo! [7:18] Wait! [7:20] Nooooo! [7:21] No, it's so Borderline! [7:25] It just teases me every time. [7:29] -Welcome to a personal life. [7:31] -Okay, well, I think we've reached the limit. [7:34] Ultimately we failed when we tried to yolo too hard, but I still consider this a success [7:41] three meters of PCI Express [7:45] extension and we managed to get it running at a [7:50] Equivalent to having it right in the socket [7:53] 120 [7:54] Fps, so thanks to Thermaltake for providing all these pci-e risers and thanks to the [8:02] Slab for holding the graphics card how's that 85 degree GPU right there? [8:06] -I stay holding my hand against a hot backside. [8:11] -Today's video is brought to you by LG's share the art promotion featuring their ultra lightweight [8:17] Lg gram Laptop LG [8:19] Works with a coffee artist who came up with three pieces of artwork [8:22] Inspired by the gram you can check them out at the link in the video description [8:27] What you're gonna want to do is share the post on your social channels and [8:31] Write the posts url on the event page for a chance to win a prize [8:35] You could win an LG monitor. an Amazon gift card or one of [8:40] 14 LG grams for participating and even if you don't win you can get another chance by visiting the [8:47] Behind-the-scenes YouTube link also in the description and commenting on your favorite feature of the gram. [8:53] The weight is really cool, and battery life. 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