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ISA card with only PCI slots
I need to upgrade one of our computers, but it uses an old ISA card
(communicating with a piece of lab equipment). Obviously I can't easily buy a new machine with ISA slots, only PCI slots. Is there some kind of adapter that I can get to convert a PCI slot to an ISA slot? Any help would be great as I search around. Thanks. Ed |
#2
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ISA card with only PCI slots
In article . com,
wrote: I need to upgrade one of our computers, but it uses an old ISA card (communicating with a piece of lab equipment). Obviously I can't easily buy a new machine with ISA slots, only PCI slots. Is there some kind of adapter that I can get to convert a PCI slot to an ISA slot? Any help would be great as I search around. Thanks. Ed There are still companies making motherboards with ISA slots. I don't know anything about this company, so caveat emptor. You never know what kind of BIOS comes with a board like this. http://www.ibase-i.com.tw/MB865_700.jpg It looks like the trick there, is a Winbond bridge chip of some sort, that converts from PCI to ISA. It could be the W83628F on this page that does the conversion. http://www.winbond.com/e-winbondhtm/partner/b_2_d_3.htm Using W83628 as a search term, may unearth other products that use the Winbond chip, to support ISA cards. The general problem with conversion, is mechanical. I have seen a couple of concept products, to convert a slot on a computer from one standard to another. The problem is, that only leaves room for a low profile card to plug into the top of the adapter card. Since most cards that people would want to reuse, would be expensive full function, full size cards, that kind of converter is useless. Another form factor, is to have a piece of flex cable coming out of the adapter device. Then, the user has to figure out a way to gain access to the faceplate of the target card, and also a way to mechanically secure the card, as it flops around on the end of a flex cable. If you can think of a mechanical concept that leaves the faceplate accessable, securely mounts the card, and leaves room for a conversion IC, you'll be a rich inventor! Paul |
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ISA card with only PCI slots
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#4
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ISA card with only PCI slots
On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:56:17 -0500, philo wrote:
wrote: I need to upgrade one of our computers, but it uses an old ISA card (communicating with a piece of lab equipment). Obviously I can't easily buy a new machine with ISA slots, only PCI slots. Is there some kind of adapter that I can get to convert a PCI slot to an ISA slot? Any help would be great as I search around. Thanks. Ed I did see an adaptor once but it was expensive. I'd just get a mobo with an ISA slot... You can still get them and it would be easier that trying to locate that adaptor Modern ISA motherboards (ie. one that accepts the latest CPUs and has at least one ISA slot) tend to be quite expensive too. With so few companies doing them, and so few people buying them, the whole "economy of scale" thing just doesn't come into it anymore, and jacks up the price quite a bit -- that's if you can find someplace that even sells them. That said, it'd probably be easier to locate such a motherboard than the adapter. Of course, if you don't need to upgrade too far up the food chain, you might be able to get hold of an old PII or PIII machine by hunting used computer shops or perhaps even doing a bit of checking around various other departments of your organization. Obviously, that'd be considerably cheaper. --------------------------------------------- Thanks. MCheu |
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ISA card with only PCI slots
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#6
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ISA card with only PCI slots
On 27 Oct 2005 10:52:23 -0700, wrote:
I need to upgrade one of our computers, but it uses an old ISA card (communicating with a piece of lab equipment). Any help would be great as I search around. Thanks. http://www.costronic.com/ -- Regards , SPAJKY ® mail addr. @ my site @ http://www.spajky.vze.com "Tualatin OC-ed / BX-Slot1 / inaudible setup!" |
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ISA card with only PCI slots
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#9
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ISA card with only PCI slots
wrote in message
ups.com... I need to upgrade one of our computers, but it uses an old ISA card (communicating with a piece of lab equipment). Obviously I can't easily buy a new machine with ISA slots, only PCI slots. Is there some kind of adapter that I can get to convert a PCI slot to an ISA slot? Any help would be great as I search around. Thanks. Ed You might want to look at the following motherboard. I don't have one myself but it sounds like it might not be too bad an upgrade and still work with the slower lab machine. http://www.supermicro.com/products/m...7210/P4SCA.cfm |
#10
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ISA card with only PCI slots
wrote in message ups.com... I need to upgrade one of our computers, but it uses an old ISA card (communicating with a piece of lab equipment). Obviously I can't easily buy a new machine with ISA slots, only PCI slots. Is there some kind of adapter that I can get to convert a PCI slot to an ISA slot? Any help would be great as I search around. Thanks. Ed It is most likely that there is a PCI card that would provide the same communication with the piece of lab equipment. Have you contacted the maker of the equipment? Even if it were something made "in-house" it would use a standard interface, RS-(something) most probably, but some standard that would work with the chips in use at that time. Luck; Ken |
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