Can Graphics PCI-E x16 x8 be used for non graphics PCI-E cards?

[felixrosbergen]

HI All,

I'm looking at the P45 based Gigabyte motherboards series to use as the mobo for a new server that needs to handle CQC, SageTV and some other stuff.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/WebPag...es-a-models.htm is the series.

My preference is currently the EP45C-DS3R, this one has however 1 PCI slot less than others, but has dual (crossfire capable) PCI-E grpahics slots...can one of these slots be used for normal PCI-E cards as well?

Any comments/recommendations are appreciated.

For the time being i don't have plans to play Blu-Ray and DVD directly from the server, but i coudl considering putting a graphics card with HDMI in there and connect it to the 51" HD screen (Sony DLP).

 

[felixrosbergen]

Also it seems the Mobo doesnt come with a serial interface...can anybody recommend a serail card? Guess there goes another PCI slot. Is there serial cards for PCI-E?

This board has:
- 1 PCI-E x16 (for graphics), don't know if this can be used for regular PCI-E
- 1 PCI-E x8 (for graphicss), secondary graphics (Crossfire), don't know if this can be used for regular PCI-E
- 3 PCI-E x1
- 2 PCI

Looks like for now the population will be:
- PCI Hauppage WinTV-500-PVR with expansion bracket
- PCI 4 Port Serial Card with expansion bracket

I guess any additional card for TV tuning will need to be PCI-E ....

I'd rather find a PCI-E serial card and keep a PCI slot open.

With 6 onboard SATA and 1 E-SATA i guess

 

[felixrosbergen]

UPDATE:

Just found a PCI-E 4 Port Serial Card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16815124058

They make an 8 port but it has external breakout cables which i think are a bit too messy...

 

[IVB]

UPDATE:

Just found a PCI-E 4 Port Serial Card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16815124058

They make an 8 port but it has external breakout cables which i think are a bit too messy...

I literally just bought that a few days ago, and installed it today. I did it for the same reason - out of PCI slots, and the IP serial serer didn't work for the serial touchscreen.

 

[GraysonPeddie]

I'm thinking about buying 8-port PCI card. This will save space for other slots.

I could imagine having this:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard with:
- AMD Phenom 9350e CPU
- Built-in 790GX chipset with AMD Radeon HD 3300 (2 touchscreen)
- Built-in 7.1 sound chip for streaming up to 7 speakers
- 2x AMD Radeon 3450 (4 touchscreens)
- 2x ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card (14 speakers total)
- 2x SYBA PCI 32-Bit 8x DB9 Port Serial Card
- 1x HDTV tuner for recorded TV shows through Windows Media Center PCs.

So why worry about a mess? It won't make sense to look at the server and mess with it every day! Having up to 16 serial ports in just 2 PCI slots is great!

 

[IVB]

If you have spare PCI slots, that works great. I have 2 MOXA 8way serial PCI cards and one extra one, but the issue in that PC is that I had no slots left to put one in.