Video card in x4 slot

O

Ozone77

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 14, 2004
Messages
326
I have a question: if you cut the back of an x4 (or x1) slot and you insert a video card (x16), will it work? After all, you could get an x1 card and use it in an x4 or even an x16 slot.

I understand that the bandwith would be limited to just x4 (or x1), but will it work? could this technique be used to add more monitors to a PC or to simply use the card as a GPGPU or physics processor?

Do you think the same would apply to other types of x16 cards? (like a Raid controller)

Thanks!
 
chris.c said:
Yes it works.
Click to expand...

What!!!!



Ozone77 said:
I have a question: if you cut the back of an x4 (or x1) slot and you insert a video card (x16), will it work? After all, you could get an x1 card and use it in an x4 or even an x16 slot.

I understand that the bandwith would be limited to just x4 (or x1), but will it work? could this technique be used to add more monitors to a PC or to simply use the card as a GPGPU or physics processor?

Do you think the same would apply to other types of x16 cards? (like a Raid controller)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Dude don't physically alter anything to make a card fit. At that point your asking for trouble :D
 
It may work... it may not. I've done this myself with X8 slots and sometimes it will work. Really depends on the card.

If you want to try it I'll tell you the easiest way you can notch out the back. Get a soldering iron and a exacto knife. Use the soldering iron to basically melt the notch out then use the exacto to clean it up. Also make sure you keep the knife and the iron parallel to the slot so you don't damage any of the connection on the inside. Kinda fun to try it... trust me. :D
 
I remember a thread here where a guy asked if he asked if he could fit a 7800GTX in his PCI slot if he chopped off some things :D
 
Lord_Exodia said:
What!!!!

Dude don't physically alter anything to make a card fit. At that point your asking for trouble :D
Click to expand...

It's a small piece of plastic, I don't even need a dremel. You should stop by the case modding forum :D
 
Ozone77 said:
It's a small piece of plastic, I don't even need a dremel. You should stop by the case modding forum :D
Click to expand...


Really man... try and cut that shit with a knife. Not gonna happen. The plastic they use is VERY tough. Hot soldering iron FTW.... believe me. :D
 
Poncho said:
It may work... it may not. I've done this myself with X8 slots and sometimes it will work. Really depends on the card.

If you want to try it I'll tell you the easiest way you can notch out the back. Get a soldering iron and a exacto knife. Use the soldering iron to basically melt the notch out then use the exacto to clean it up. Also make sure you keep the knife and the iron parallel to the slot so you don't damage any of the connection on the inside. Kinda fun to try it... trust me. :D
Click to expand...

Heating an exacto knife up with a lighter also works. :D
 
Ozone77 said:
It's a small piece of plastic, I don't even need a dremel. You should stop by the case modding forum :D
Click to expand...

That's a bit extreme for my taste but I can't knock ya for going for it. If the [H]ardest of the [H]ard say it'll work and your have the confident go for it.
 
OLD news. It works.

Many people were buying these cheap Dell workstations last year, that only had integrated graphics and an 8x PCIe slot (or maybe it was 4x). The systems just needed a graphics card to be really fast. Anyway, everyone called it the "hot butter knife trick". Heat up a knife with a lighter, and just push through the end of the slot. You might need to do it a 2nd time & wiggle it a little to make it big enough. Don't use something pointy or sharp that you could accidentally cut or stab something with.
 
I think he's asking people that bought the deal last year in the HOT DEALS section to magically read his plea for pictures.

And as Chrisf said, it worked for them.
 
Poncho said:
It may work... it may not. I've done this myself with X8 slots and sometimes it will work. Really depends on the card.
Click to expand...
It may also depend on the board. I have heard rumors that Dell has disabled the usage of PCIe graphics cards in some of their servers' PCIe slots. For example, the SC420 was moddable and the SC430 did not accept any video cards in the x8 slots.
 
drizzt81 said:
It may also depend on the board. I have heard rumors that Dell has disabled the usage of PCIe graphics cards in some of their servers' PCIe slots. For example, the SC420 was moddable and the SC430 did not accept any video cards in the x8 slots.
Click to expand...


That's correct. Some of the server chipsets (read: NO graphics) will actually disable the slots if they detect a graphics card. This is done through the chipset since sometimes the server chipset is cheaper than the workstation version so OEMs/ODMs will build a board using a cheaper chipset, marketing it towards the crowd that want's the features of the more expensive chipset. :D
 
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