Should I slice the PCIe slot on the motherboard or slice the PCIe rail on the GPU to get physical 1x?

1337Goat

1337Goat

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I'm building a sweet server machine and I want it to have a GPU for easy GUI maintenance.
It's gotta be a low profile card, which I can find, but even better, it should be 1x physical so I can keep my big PICe slots free for what counts: The 4-port 10 gigabit ethernet card.

So in that case, do I slice the $30 GPU I'd buy, the $200 motherboard, or do I get a 16x riser cable and slice that instead?
 
IdiotInCharge said:
That I really don't know, just read your post and remembered using something like that years ago.
Click to expand...
That's what I figured.
I'd rather have a more traditional GPU, plus, it's not like I can't find one for $30 or less on ebay, and that's even considering Quadros.
It doesn't have to be modern, but it certainly has to work very well in Linux, and perhaps even BSD.
 
mnewxcv said:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ZOTAC-GeFo...531678&hash=item593be79355:g:S6QAAOSwxPRdxbWL
Click to expand...

Not bad, but I think I'll be using the riser cable method. Then I just need to slice the edge of the 1x connector and I can fit any size card into it.
https://www.amazon.com/Express-Extender-Extension-Gold-Plated-Connector/dp/B07J2BJPDN

I'd just use a hot butter knife to melt the edge of the connector where you plug in the GPU.

The reason for the riser cable method is so that I can make the case as flat as possible, in the realm of 1U or 2U.
Fully custom wooden case, with a 1080p monitor on hinges, to make it a laptop style doomsday machine.
 
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Those mining style ones look kinda convoluted. They use USB connections to link the PCIe connections, so I'm not sure it'll work very well for "maintenance" mode, where I'd prefer a more reliable video output.
If I could test all of it, I would, but my budget doesn't allow for testing multiple solutions. =p

All it has to do is work, but I'm not looking for hash processing. I need proper video output, specifically in the BIOS and during other moments where SSH or serial type connecting doesn't work.
 
There is absolutely no reason why that mining style wouldn’t work for your intended purpose. I know because I have done the same thing in the past.
 
It doesn’t actually use USB to connect them, it just changes the pinout to USB so you can use a USB cable to connect it up.
And yes like that one. It will work fine.
 
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Well, I just realized that because I'm already using a half-height NIC, I can also use a half-height GPU with no downsides.

So I hope this thread helps someone else in the future. I now have my own solution.

Thanks for the advice guys.
 
Keljian said:
It doesn’t actually use USB to connect them, it just changes the pinout to USB so you can use a USB cable to connect it up.
And yes like that one. It will work fine.
Click to expand...

I sorta suspected that, but I wasn't sure. Cool tech in either case.
 
Aegir said:
I'm building a sweet server machine and I want it to have a GPU for easy GUI maintenance.
It's gotta be a low profile card, which I can find, but even better, it should be 1x physical so I can keep my big PICe slots free for what counts: The 4-port 10 gigabit ethernet card.

So in that case, do I slice the $30 GPU I'd buy, the $200 motherboard, or do I get a 16x riser cable and slice that instead?
Click to expand...
Honestly, cutting the back out of a PCIe slot isn't a bad idea (It's just plastic), as long as there's nothing else in the way. Use a dremel or other precision tool. Why they don't just put in open back PCIe slots on motherboards has always confused me. Whatever you do, don't slice the GPU. Very good chance you'll delaminate the PCB or not quite get the right conductor.
 
svmlegacy said:
Honestly, cutting the back out of a PCIe slot isn't a bad idea (It's just plastic), as long as there's nothing else in the way. Use a dremel or other precision tool. Why they don't just put in open back PCIe slots on motherboards has always confused me. Whatever you do, don't slice the GPU. Very good chance you'll delaminate the PCB or not quite get the right conductor.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the hot butter knife method is a serious technique. I might employ it if I can't find something more pleasant than that GT 710 that was linked. Having slightly more GPU processing power, even just a few CUDA cores, could be cool.
 
Could always go with a low profile GTX 1650


Also second the mining risers, just don't ever use them to plug an actual USB device in (also don't plug the riser into an actual USB port)
 
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Aegir said:
Yeah, the hot butter knife method is a serious technique. I might employ it if I can't find something more pleasant than that GT 710 that was linked. Having slightly more GPU processing power, even just a few CUDA cores, could be cool.
Click to expand...
er knife; ive used a new heated exacto knife quite successfully for simular things.
 
ryan_975 said:
Could always go with a low profile GTX 1650


Also second the mining risers, just don't ever use them to plug an actual USB device in (also don't plug the riser into an actual USB port)
Click to expand...
Oooh, that sounds like some sparky fun!
Maybe another time. =p

Low profile 1650? Not bad, but probably a bit too expensive. Something less than $50 is ideal.
 
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svmlegacy said:
Honestly, cutting the back out of a PCIe slot isn't a bad idea (It's just plastic), as long as there's nothing else in the way. Use a dremel or other precision tool. Why they don't just put in open back PCIe slots on motherboards has always confused me. Whatever you do, don't slice the GPU. Very good chance you'll delaminate the PCB or not quite get the right conductor.
Click to expand...
Max power limits are different for different PCIe slot lengths. For 99% of cases, it could be fine, but specs are there to prevent broken motherboards. Well, if the companies follow the specs, that is (RX480 comes to mind).
 
jeremyshaw said:
Max power limits are different for different PCIe slot lengths. For 99% of cases, it could be fine, but specs are there to prevent broken motherboards. Well, if the companies follow the specs, that is (RX480 comes to mind).
Click to expand...
Yeah, I just realized I might as well just use the other x16 PCIe slot in my motherboard. It's x4 though, so I guess a Radeon Pro WX 2100 would fit in there perfectly and natively.
Only issue is finding one for $40 or less. I'm not about to exceed my delicate budget.
 
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Aegir said:
I'm building a sweet server machine and I want it to have a GPU for easy GUI maintenance.
It's gotta be a low profile card, which I can find, but even better, it should be 1x physical so I can keep my big PICe slots free for what counts: The 4-port 10 gigabit ethernet card.

So in that case, do I slice the $30 GPU I'd buy, the $200 motherboard, or do I get a 16x riser cable and slice that instead?
Click to expand...

I don't get it? The pcie 1x gpus on the market usually come with a half height bracket.
 
So I'm using the ROG Strix B550-F as a NAS Router and Code Compiler, plus Docker and Intraweb Server Mega-Machine.

Built in WiFi 6, 2.5gb Ethernet for my friend and her dinky ITX motherboard, and it has a full x16 PCIe slot for the 4-port 10 gigabit NIC.
And then it also has one x4 16x PCIe slot, and 3 1X PCIe slots.

And so it would be silly to not use the x4-x16 slot.

Why would I slice anything at all if this is available?
But HEY, this sure was a fun thread, right?? =D
 
I intentionally kept some old 1x cards for server use. You can probably find them for cheap on fleabay
 
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