PCI Express Slot Compatibility?

[Supermansdead81]

I'm not understanding something here. Can you plug a TV Tuner Card with a PCI Express x1 connector into a regular length PCI Express x16 or x8 slot and it work? Thank you all in advance for your help. I'm trying to decide on a motherboard but this remains one of the key factors because the Intel board I want has 3 regular lenght PCI Express slots and only 2 regular PCI slots.

 

[Tutelary]

there are:

classic PCI slots

pci-e 16x slots longest
pci-e 4x slots shorter
pci-e 1x slots shortest

cards differ for each slot and no you cannot place them in other slots.

edit: this is incorrect, as seen below. I goofed.

 

[TMan1876]

there are:

classic PCI slots

pci-e 16x slots longest
pci-e 4x slots shorter
pci-e 1x slots shortest

cards differ for each slot and no you cannot place them in other slots.

I don't think so.

One of the big selling points of PCIe is that there are 16x 8x 4x 1x slots and anything can theoretically work in anything.

It always works one way, but not the other. If you stick a 1x card in a 4x slot it will definately work. However, if you stick an 8x card into a 4x slot, it might or might not work (the card has to be designed to work in both situations.

 

[454Casull]

Of PCIe cards, the ones with smaller numbers (1X being the smallest) can fit into slots of equal or bigger numbers, so to speak. 1X can go into everything, 8x goes into 8x and 16x, etc.

 

[Tutelary]

that being the case, a 1x connector is meaningless then, as the size differential between the 1 and the 4 isnt very large. I was fully under the impression they were not upwardly compatible, but *you're right* I looked it up. My only 1x connector is covered by my video card fan.

 

[Whatsisname]

Can you plug a 16x video card into a 1x or 4x slot or something and just have it run at 1x speed? That would be pretty lame if not.

 

[Viper16]

Can you plug a 16x video card into a 1x or 4x slot or something and just have it run at 1x speed? That would be pretty lame if not.

No the slot to fit the card into is much smaller than the 8x or 16x

--> 8x ====================
-->4x ========
-->1x ====

WARNING: proportions are inaccurate and not liable for any sueing against.

 

[BlindedByScience]

I wouldn't expect to see many X1 slots, but it sure is a slick way to talk to on-board devices....very low trace count....

Regards - B.B.S.

 

[Whatsisname]

Yes, i know the slots are of different size, however I was hoping the connectors would be notched so they can go into the different slots.

Looks like we'll have the same issues again like with AGP, having only one video card per computer. I guess they want to put a stop to people filling computers up with a ton of PCI video cards for multiseat machines

No the slot to fit the card into is much smaller than the 8x or 16x

--> 8x ====================
-->4x ========
-->1x ====

WARNING: proportions are inaccurate and not liable for any sueing against.

 

[TMan1876]

1x slots are great for NICs and sound cards eventually, and usb/firewire cards,... there should be a couple on every motherboard.

From what I remember, the 4x slots (at least) are open on the end, so you can stick an 8x card in there (like a raid card or something like that) and if the card supports it, it will just run with the reduced bandwidth.

 

[IanG]

A couple of minutes with a dremmel and you can fit a 16x vga card into a 1x or 4x slot - just remove the bit of plastic at the back of the slot to make it open ended. be careful not to damage any of the pins while doing it though.

I think an x1 slot would bottleneck a vga card, but 4x should be alright.

 

[AdamNesvick]

A couple of minutes with a dremmel and you can fit a 16x vga card into a 1x or 4x slot - just remove the bit of plastic at the back of the slot to make it open ended. be careful not to damage any of the pins while doing it though.

I think an x1 slot would bottleneck a vga card, but 4x should be alright.

The guy sounds pretty new to this, don't start tellin him about dremel fu (far eastern hardware combat tactic invented by monks with pocket protectors) until he has more experience.