How do I fit a network card with a physical x4 slot into an x1 slot?
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The slot is open. I'm just wondering whether the card will work properly in that slot since all the pins won't be attached. PCIe Gen 3 X1 bandwidth is more than enough for it
They all have to work (at least to an extent) using only x1. It's part of the PCIe spec.
Missing pins are actually extremely common. If your board has a slot that's x16 (electrically x8), which is very common for a second video card, take a closer look. Half the pins in the slot aren't connected. It has the full slot to make you feel better about it, and it provides some mounting stability, but it's electrically the same as an x8 that's open.
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They all have to work (at least to an extent) using only x1. It's part of the PCIe spec.
Missing pins are actually extremely common. If your board has a slot that's x16 (electrically x8), which is very common for a second video card, take a closer look. Half the pins in the slot aren't connected. It has the full slot to make you feel better about it, and it provides some mounting stability, but it's electrically the same as an x8 that's open.
I see. Thanks
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File a small slit in the end of the slot so the card fits into it, but runs past the back. The card will run at Gen 3 x1 speed, but otherwise work properly.
Many motherboards even come with the end of the PCIe slots open for this exact purpose.
A word of caution for anyone cutting out the slot: make sure there aren't other instructions, like capacitors, ICs, and NVMe drives in the way of where the PCIe card will be.
The manufacturers that have the slot pre-cut will have already reserved the space, but even then, it's on you to check that it's suitable for a x16 if they only reserved space for a x8 card.
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PCIe to USB and back to PCIe like what the miners use? Isn't that unreliable long-term?
No, just a USB network adapter.
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I'll likely go for a 4 or 6 gigabit port card, so PCIe gen 3 x1 is not a problem. Am I correct in understanding that the card will run at PCIe gen 3 X1 if I do this?
What can I do if the card is PCIe gen 2 x8? These cards from Silicom are really cheap on ebay
Am I correct in understanding that the card will run at PCIe gen 3 X1 if I do this?
Correct. The situation you described in the original post would result in Gen 3 x1 speeds.
The interface will always default to the fastest standard that both sides can support. If one is gen 2 and the other is gen 4, gen 2 is the highest that can be supported. If one side is x8 and the other is x4, x4 is the highest that can be supported. In this specific case, if you put a Gen 2 x8 in a Gen 4 x1 slot, you will get a Gen 2 x1 link.
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Am I correct in understanding that the card will run at PCIe gen 3 X1 if I do this?
Correct. The situation you described in the original post would result in Gen 3 x1 speeds.
The interface will always default to the fastest standard that both sides can support. If one is gen 2 and the other is gen 4, gen 2 is the highest that can be supported. If one side is x8 and the other is x4, x4 is the highest that can be supported. In this specific case, if you put a Gen 2 x8 in a Gen 4 x1 slot, you will get a Gen 2 x1 link.
Alright thanks
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No, just a USB network adapter.
Yeah, going along these lines. There is probably a USB header on the motherboard. These have pretty darn good speeds. You can get an adapter that lets you turn those into a USB-C port and then use a standard USB-C to Ethernet adapter. Something like this.
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It doesn't need that kind of bandwidth. 6 gigabit ports cannot saturate pcie gen 3 x1 in terms of bandwidth anyway.
What do I do if the card is PCIe gen 2 x8 though?
Potentially the same thing, assuming PCIe 2 x1 provides enough bandwidth.
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How would I do it then? The card doesn't exactly need PCIE gen 3 X4, at the most it needs PCIE Gen 3 X2 == PCIE Gen 4 X1 in terms of bandwidth.
In terms of physical connections you've said that the card needs the x4. Not sure what there is to say further.
Can't get a 30 cm ruler into a 15 cm pencil case.
Maybe I've totally misunderstood your post.
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In terms of physical connections you've said that the card needs the x4. Not sure what there is to say further.
Can't get a 30 cm ruler into a 15 cm pencil case.
Maybe I've totally misunderstood your post.
This is false when it comes to me to PCIe, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread.
Most motherboards have cutouts on one end of the PCIe x1/x4 slots, for exactly this situation. If not, and you want to be adventurous, you can cut the plastic of the slot and it’ll work fine.
If the card is PCIe 3.0 x4, and the slot is PCIe 4.0 x1, the card will run at PCIe 3.0 x1. But it’ll work.
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This is false when it comes to me to PCIe, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread.
Most motherboards have cutouts on one end of the PCIe x1/x4 slots, for exactly this situation. If not, and you want to be adventurous, you can cut the plastic of the slot and it’ll work fine.
If the card is PCIe 3.0 x4, and the slot is PCIe 4.0 x1, the card will run at PCIe 3.0 x1. But it’ll work.
Up voted
I stand corrected. Thanks for the heads up..
Really wasn't expecting that.Apologies to OP. I don't know how to reference users: marauding_gibberish142@lemmybdzero
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If you don't want to risk modifying the slot, try one of the cheap PCIe risers on amazon and send it back if it doesn't work. You will need a case with a couple of extra slots under the motherboard in order to fit the riser in there though.
It will run slower, but that probably won't be an issue unless you plan to max out all 4 ports simultaneously.
I did this but buying these on Amazon is scary. Try to find one that won't burn your house down.
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I did this but buying these on Amazon is scary. Try to find one that won't burn your house down.
Yeah, I definitely wouldn't recommend putting something power hungry like a GPU in one of these. A NIC will be fine though.
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Potentially the same thing, assuming PCIe 2 x1 provides enough bandwidth.
Pcie 2.0x1 would have a theoretical max of 4gbit/s so it would probably only handle 3.5 gigabit of connections simultaneously.
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There's another situation. There are older (and cheaper cards) which are PCIe gen 2 x8. Unfortunately, pcie gen 2 x1 is not going to suffice. What would I have to do to get this older kind of card to work? Do you have any reliable PCIe x1 to x16 risers in mind?
I think you're missing the point of a riser. I'd the motherboard only has a 3.0x1 port, plugging in an x16 riser means it'll still only be x1 electrically, but it can physically fit larger cards. If the back of the slot is open already there not much point of using a riser since you can physically fit larger cards already
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Yeah, I definitely wouldn't recommend putting something power hungry like a GPU in one of these. A NIC will be fine though.
The ones on Amazon are intended to run GPUs for crypto farms, but they're all brands you've never heard of with dubious claims and they've all got at least one review where either the device was defective or something was installed incorrectly and it caused damages.
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I think you're missing the point of a riser. I'd the motherboard only has a 3.0x1 port, plugging in an x16 riser means it'll still only be x1 electrically, but it can physically fit larger cards. If the back of the slot is open already there not much point of using a riser since you can physically fit larger cards already
My board has PCIe gen 4 x1, but unfortunately there's a really cheap card with 6 ethernet ports but PCIe gen 2
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I think you're missing the point of a riser. I'd the motherboard only has a 3.0x1 port, plugging in an x16 riser means it'll still only be x1 electrically, but it can physically fit larger cards. If the back of the slot is open already there not much point of using a riser since you can physically fit larger cards already
My board has PCIe gen 4 x1, but unfortunately there's a really cheap card with 6 ethernet ports but PCIe gen 2 X8
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My board has PCIe gen 4 x1, but unfortunately there's a really cheap card with 6 ethernet ports but PCIe gen 2 X8
You can probably use it, but you will not get full throughput on all the ports at the same time. 3.5/6 max real world.
My advice, get a cheap pcie4 10g nic and a 10g switch with multiple ports, but idk what you're trying to do.
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You can probably use it, but you will not get full throughput on all the ports at the same time. 3.5/6 max real world.
My advice, get a cheap pcie4 10g nic and a 10g switch with multiple ports, but idk what you're trying to do.
I'm trying to create a router + switch combo. I know bonding over CPU is considered a bad idea but I don't want to run a proprietary OS on my switch to get VLANs. I'd rather run an OpenBSD VM and do everything in it.
This might delve into some networking, but if you can bear with me:
Whilst I like the idea of VLANs, I don't like running proprietary firmware on my devices. Which means a regular L2+/L3 switch is not going to cut it. But I'm starting to wonder if I can just use Veths and subnetting to segregate traffic between different machines on my network?
Using your example, can I do:
PC (router) -> 10Gbe port (3 Veths) -> switch -> three different machines on different subnets?
Can I prevent the three machines from talking to each other directly through the switch if I put them in different subnets? Sorry for my lousy networking knowledge, it's been a while.
