Fitting Pci-e X16 Card In A Pci-e X8 Slot Is it possible or worth doing?

[Qrntz 0]

I've heard rumors of people managing to get their x16 PCI Express graphics cards to work in a PCI Express x8 bus.Though also seen people complaining about glitches or slowdowns when doing so.As I have a motherboard with only an x4 and an x8 slots and I have a working x16 card lying around just waiting for it's time I am wondering about:1) if it will actually work2) what is the best way to fit it in3) are the benefits worthyAny help will be much appreciated. :PIf anything, the motherboard is the Intel entry-level S3000AHV serverboard.

[grim reaper1666 0]

its not reccommended to do it and those slowdowns are becuase the 8x bus runs at a low speed to the 16x bus if i were you i would get a converter to put it in since it is dangerous to force a bigger card into a smaller slot. note you can put a 8x card in a 16x slot because the card is smaller but you need a converter to go the other way i believe if you search on google then you should find one. if you force it into the slot and damage the card don't blame me because i don't recommend to do it. heres a link to one just to prove that i m not making it up and it gives you your search terms. https://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=11465

[Qrntz 0]

Thanks, I didn't think of using a converter actually.Now the problem is finding it at my country, where such things are rare to come by.

[grim reaper1666 0]

you could actually see if you can have it delieved from a country which sells it which is nearby your own country, for example if you are near germany than try going on the german ebay/amazon and order it from there it will cost a bit more postage but would still be cheaper than buying it from where it is rarer. i find converters useful for fitting pci e 16x cards into the smaller slots. don't forget the slowdown is simply because the 8x slots have half the lanes which to send data down hence the term 16x and 8x which is the number of lanes. i don't mean going on german only i just mean one which sells them at a good price which are also not too far away from you.

[wutske 0]

It will work, tough it's not guaranteed. The amount of slow down depends on the card you'll use in the 8x slot, tough I doubt that even the fastest cards are using the 16x bandwidth completely (just for the record, some 16x slots are only provided with the amount of lanes for an 8x slot, especially older motherboards with a jumper for enabling crossfire).
I wouldn't spend money on an extender, if your card is a bit bigger then you might have problems fitting it in the case.

//edit: about not using the extender, you'll have to mess up your motherboard's warranty with a soldering iron
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/249291-30-card
Also worth mentioning is that less lanes = less power, so you'll probably need a GPU with and extra power connector.

Edited January 8, 2011 by wutske (see edit history)

[Qrntz 0]

It will work, tough it's not guaranteed. The amount of slow down depends on the card you'll use in the 8x slot, tough I doubt that even the fastest cards are using the 16x bandwidth completely (just for the record, some 16x slots are only provided with the amount of lanes for an 8x slot, especially older motherboards with a jumper for enabling crossfire).

I wouldn't spend money on an extender, if your card is a bit bigger then you might have problems fitting it in the case.

 

//edit: about not using the extender, you'll have to mess up your motherboard's warranty with a soldering iron

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/249291-30-card

Also worth mentioning is that less lanes = less power, so you'll probably need a GPU with and extra power connector.

As far as I know, power is provided via a few first lanes. Feel free to correct me if I am not right.

I know about the warranty, but the warranty ended like 3 years ago. Though I still don't want to intentionally damage my board.

Thanks for the input.

[wutske 0]

As far as I know, power is provided via a few first lanes. Feel free to correct me if I am not right.I know about the warranty, but the warranty ended like 3 years ago. Though I still don't want to intentionally damage my board.
Thanks for the input.

woops, you're indeed right

[levimage 0]

Just get the required video card for the board. Do a google search for your board that other people have customized. Make not of the video cards they use. Maybe you can get some ideas. Especially some insight on the PCI-Express, the motheboard implementation, and the power requirements.I use a program called Everest Ultimate Edition which was formally AIDA32, and now is renamed to aida64 extreme. This software has helped me identify my motherboards and components for quite a few years.This is especially true when I have to narrow down similar graphic cards and performance capabilities. :PLevimage

[Qrntz 0]

Just get the required video card for the board. Do a google search for your board that other people have customized. Make not of the video cards they use. Maybe you can get some ideas. Especially some insight on the PCI-Express, the motheboard implementation, and the power requirements.
I use a program called Everest Ultimate Edition which was formally AIDA32, and now is renamed to aida64 extreme. This software has helped me identify my motherboards and components for quite a few years.

This is especially true when I have to narrow down similar graphic cards and performance capabilities.


Levimage

Nuh. If only buying it was the real solution. The thing is, tough times at the moment - I don't have any money at all.
The motherboard is a specialized, server one, not desktop so that's why there isn't too much talk about it.
I've though found a way to make a riser the DIY way, but it needs 2 PCI-E desoldered slots (the motherboard-side one and the graphics card side one) which I don't have.
I figure out, I should really spend that time I could've spend finding the needed parts and soldering on some work to get money and finally buy a normal graphics card.
Thanks for your input, anyway. I presume this is resolved.

[wutske 0]

Nuh. If only buying it was the real solution. The thing is, tough times at the moment - I don't have any money at all.The motherboard is a specialized, server one, not desktop so that's why there isn't too much talk about it.
I've though found a way to make a riser the DIY way, but it needs 2 PCI-E desoldered slots (the motherboard-side one and the graphics card side one) which I don't have.
I figure out, I should really spend that time I could've spend finding the needed parts and soldering on some work to get money and finally buy a normal graphics card.
Thanks for your input, anyway. I presume this is resolved.

Hmm, I wouldn't suggest you doing that. It requires some very fine soldering and the lines should be the right length since you'll be sending high frequency signals over the lines and an incorrect line length can result in a huge impedance, lowering the signal level.

[Atomic0 0]

Unfortunately, PCi Express x8 are quite hard to find. The only graphics cards below PCI Express x16 I could find were some PCI Express x1 cards (Nvidia Quadro NVS graphics) (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/PNY-VCQ290NVS-PCIEX1/dp/B000XABCJK). But these ones seem to be a bit expensive, probably because there are built for "business professionals' for use in workstations that require a bit more graphics power than can be provided in generic integrated graphics solutions.