[geeks] pci express x8 video card?

[Francois Dion]

On 2/13/07, Doug McLaren <dougmc at frenzied.us> wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 13, 2007 at 11:03:46PM -0500, Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
>
> | Francois Dion wrote:
> | > Looking for an nvidia video card that is pci express x8, if there is
> | > such a thing? All I see is x1 or x16. Anything x4 or x8?
> |
> | Not that I've ever heard of.  Only x1 and x16.  Why not just use an x1
> | card in that x8 slot?
>
> I believe the really cheap ECS board that has a GeForce 6150 built in
> also has an x16 slot that runs at x8.  I assume that it can use
> standard x16 PCI-E video cards, but I'm not certain of that.

Yes, that is correct. Similarly, in current boards with dual x16,
since there are not enough lanes and it drops to x8 in an SLI setup.
The video cards then operate at x8 even tough it is an x16 slot.

> And I think the x1 PCE-E slots are totally different, and there's not
> much out there that can use them yet.

They should be compatible. x1 and x16 is typically the case. I know a
x1 video card will work, but this is a render node, so I need as much
bandwidth as I can get, but at a cost effective price. I cannot buy a
1u server with x16 pci express at a reasonable cost from any of the
vendors we buy from.

Francois