On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 11:33:35 GMT
"Jared Richardson" wrote:

I've got one but the PCI-X slots are different. It won't physically
fit in the slot.

From what I had read, I believed they would be too.

I looked into this in a bit more detail and found some information that
might be helpful.

The slots are "different" in two ways.

First, they are 64-bit slots, which means that they are physically
longer than 32-bit slots, and any board that has a "skirt" that drops
below the level of the connector will thus not fit.

Second, they are 3.3 volt slots. With 32-bit PCI there is a crossbar in
the slot that prevents boards that don't support the slot voltage from
physically fitting into the slot. For 3.3 volts this crossbar is toward
the card cage, usually at the back of the computer, while for 5v the
connector is physically turned around so it it toward the front of the
computer. The PCI-X slots have a one-piece 64-bit connector that
incorporates the 3.3v crossbar.

Most PCI boards currently on the market are "universal", i.e. they'll
work in 3.3 v or 5v slots and have the cutouts for both.

If your existing board won't fit into the slot then either it has a
skirt or it's a 5-volt-only board.

If you look at http://www.newegg.com you'll find that they have both
Radeon 9000 and Geforce FX 5200 boards in stock with PCI bus, no skirt,
and cutouts for both 3.3 and 5 volts, with photos of the boards so you
should be able to count pins and make sure that they will in fact
physically fit your machine before you order.

"yeeyoh" wrote in message
le.rogers.com...
I just bought a MX440 64MB PCI card and it's working great so far.
Huge
difference.
I've seen them on a lot of web sites, not very expensive to
buy or
order in the states.


"First of One" wrote in message
le.rogers.com...
The PCI-X slots are *supposed* to be backward-compatible with PCI
cards. Have you tried your sound card in one of the PCI-X slots?

Failing that, the board does have a USB port, right? You can
always plop down the cash for a Creative Extigy...

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"Jared Richardson" wrote in message
. com...
Hi all,

I just purchased a new system (go Opteron!) and I find I didn't
do
quite
enough research. The PCI-X slots aren't backwards compatible,
so I
find
myself running w/the onboard video groan

Anyone know where I can get a PCI-X video card at a reasonable
price?
I
can't even find one advertised! I had intended to go with a
nice
affordable
GeForce4 MX 440 but since I have to choose between that and
sound...

Help? tia.

Jared










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