#PCI riser adapter!?!?!?
28 messages in this thread
I talked to DPS Tech support today and found out that their PCI audio board is
going to be full length also. I can only manage two full length PCI cards on my
SuperMicro mobo without losing the heat/sink fan combo. The tech at DPS
mentioned adapters for PCI slots that raise the card up about an inch or so
allowing the card to clear most heat sink/fans. I asked him if there were any
problems with these "adapters" effecting performance, and he said that they
were going to be testing them to see if there are any adverse effects. Has
anyone else heard of this? It would really solve my problem as I can't really
lose the fan/heatsink. Just thought I throw it out here to see what everyone
thinks- Thanks
John
If you find such a thing. let me know, I'm have a similiar situation. Also I
wonder if there is any way to reposion the TBC that goes with the PVR so that
It doesn't waste a PCI slot for nothing.
Some motherboards have a "shared" PCI/ISA slot. It would seem to make sense to
put the PVR/daughtercard in that slot since it would cause the loss of an ISA
slot rather that a PCI slot. My motherboard has a shared PCI/ISA slot but its
not the full length one- so these PCI "lifters" would really be great if they
work. I am going to call DPS again in about a week to see if they have any
additional info. Let ya know as soon as I find out anything more.
John…
We're in the process of building/buying a P133 which will be our PVR editing
machine (rendering will be done on an SGI), and unfortunately we haven't found
many mobos that offer the necessary CPU clearance. Two contemporary mobos that
look like they will work just fine are the OEM:ZAPPA 505 offered by Micromax
and the TYAN TITAN II by Tyan. In both cases they use the Triton chipset/Award
BIOS, and have on-board EIDE but no I/O… so you have to use a conventional
I/O card for Serial/Parallel/FDD. A pain, but it's worked well for 20 years <G>
so I guess it's OK. I spoke to TYAN and they noted that they were coming out
with a new board in October that would include the on-board I/O but they didn't
send me the schematic of that one (not finished). The TYAN TITAN II is
supposedly only 3 months old.
BTW, I heard that same suggestion about the risers… that to me would be a
last resort as I don't like more connections than are really necessary, not to
mention where the ports on the end of the card might wind up in your PC
housing.
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Mike,
I have a SuperMicro motherboard with 4 PCI and 4 ISA slots, none shared. My
builder installed a different heatsink so that I now have 3 full length PCI
slots. The motherboard comes with 2 serial and 1 parallel port. Maybe this
would be a possible option for you?
Regards………….Rick – Technical Animations
Rick-
You must have the new SuperMicro board- the P55-CMx. Mine is the model before
that series (P55-CWx). Do you have the name and/or phone number of who
configured your system. I'd like to find out what kind of heat sink he/she
used, because that would, in fact, solve my problem. Thanks-
John
John,
Yes John you are right, I have the SuperMicro P55CMS motherboard with 256k of
piplined burst cache. Mark DeMazza configured my computer, you can reach him at
(203)669-0895 or CIS# 71203,170. I found Mark on the PC Hardware forum, he has
been great to work with and knows NT very well.
Let me know what happens.
Regards…………..Rick – Technical Animations
Thanks Rick. I'll drop him a message and see if he can help me. I'll let you
know.
John
Rick…
Three full length PCI slots available sounds good to me <G>. Can you give me
the name/number of your builder and/or the model number of the exact Supermicro
mobo? Also, is the heat sink you mentioned commercially available and where?
TIA!
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Mike,
That's Mark DeMazza at MIND COMPUTER CONSULTANTS. You can reach him at
(203)669-0895 or CIS# 71203,170. I have the SuperMicro P55CMS motherboard with
256k of piplined burst cache. This motherboard has 4 ISA and 4 PCI slots, none
of which are shared ___and___ it's made in the USA.
Mark got the heat sink and installed it, I don't know where he got it, just
glad he did. Hope this helps, let me know if you have anymore questions.
You know Mark, I would think that the big fish would be getting closer my
now<BG>.
Regards……….Rick – Technical Animations
Rick…
Mark is a hard guy to tie down. He's right down there in Clinton, but I don't
have his real address for his shop. Maybe I will drop him some email again and
see if I can drive down there and set up an appointment to discuss my problems
with him. But thanks for the info. BTW, I can't wait until we have MPEG
inserts so I can animate the billfish and make him eat the lure!
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Mike,
>>Mark is a hard guy to tie down.<<
I've never had any real problems catching him, try calling him about 10-11pm.
He is always up late, usually til 3:00am.
>>BTW, I can't wait until we have MPEG inserts so I can animate the billfish
and make him eat the lure!<<
But, then what will you do after the lure has been caught?<G>.
Regards…………..Rick – Technical Animations
Hey Rick…
Sent Mark a note and he has responded with quality answers. I'm hoping we can
do business, but it depends on our purchasing dept. They've always been a
little skeptical when I suggest a smaller, local guy over a national (like
Gateway, Micron, etc.) because they're worried he may be out of business in 6
months. I'm trying topush this hard though, so we'll see.
Well, I could have the boat go across the screen as you get to the last line
and see a prompt to press shift-F5, and then different kinds of fish would
attack the lure <BG>each time… how's that? Hey I'm trying to be creative!
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P.S. Never mentioned where you are… c'mon.
Rick…
Out of curiosity, are you in New England? Just wondered how you came to buy
from Mark since he's in CT. BTW, so am I <G>.
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Mike,
>>Out of curiosity, are you in New England? Just wondered how you came to buy
from Mark since he's in CT.<<
No I'm not anywhere close, I'm in Oklahoma. I found Mark on the PC Hardware
forum, he's a regular there.
>> BTW, so am I <G>.<<
I will try not to hold that against you<BG>.
Regards……….Rick – Technical Animations
Mike-
Thanks for the info. I will look into the Titan boards. Will it accept 3 full
length PCI cards or only two. There are many motherboards out there that can
accept two, its the third one that seems to be hard to find. Thanks again-
John
John…
The TYAN Titan II looks like it will accept two (2) full-length PCI cards and
two (2) half-length PCI cards (plus 4 ISA cards). TYAN's techie noted that
they would be releasing a new board in October sometime which is "improved" but
didn't comment on changes. Wish there was a list of mobos that accepted 2/3/4
full-length PCI cards, featured the Triton chipset and had all the built-in
goodies. Remember, DPS will be introducing a full-length PCI sound card to add
to this confusion… least that's what I heard. DPS tech support only notes
the older Titan full-sized mobo works with no problems, and as an alternative
they then suggest the slot risers <GAWD!> with other boards!!!
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Mike-
If the slot riser actually work with no adverse side affrects they will
actuallu solve a lot of problems with the cards fitting. I just don't know how
well they will work. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what DPS recommends.
John
John…
Back in my EPROM-burning days with video games, we many times used socketed
chips and I guess in principle… it would be the same… it just looks very
kludgey to me.
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Mike-
I agree. In fact I questioned the DPS tech about how the cards would be held in
place against the back of the CPU chassis. All he said was there was a way to
secure it. Can't really picture this in my head though. Someone on here
mentioned a whole PCI expansion chassis. Now I'm wondering if this would be a
better option altogether-not only for space considerations- but also for
cooling, since even if you could fit three full length PCI slots on a
motherboard, they would probably be "crammed" in so close together I would
worry about heat problems. This is probably an expensive option though.
John
John…
Yeah, the first thing that entered my mind was how you'd keep the cards
(especially those big, full-length ones) locked in the slots. I think that I'm
going to steer away from that method. While I have chatted many times with
Mark DeMazza in the past, Rick's comments were worth following up. I dropped
Mark a EMail note this weekend and have already received a very positive
response. Me, I would rather go with a custom builder, especially one who is
local like Mark. OTH, the bean counters in our Miami office are always nervous
about smaller companies. Mark wrote back a very lengthy reply with a lot of
good advice and rationale for certain components and I intend to endorse his
proposal, and hope that the main office will get off the obscure big builders
that only have voice mail replies to every queery.
Mark's proposed system would have two (2) totally free PCI slots in an 8-slot
mobo with none shared and all the built-in support you'd need. Even if you
give up an ISA slot next to the PCI so the daughterboard has room, you still
have 3 ISA slots and 3 PCI slots to play with. I'll keep you posted on my <BG>
progress.
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That is what I am thinking of doing at this point. My only problem would be the
audio card. It is also full length and has no where to go. Just hope that a
better solution comes along.
John
John…
Well, the mobos that have two (2) full-length PCI slots open might work out OK
since the PVR/AD2500 is a "sandwich" and only requires one (1) PCI slot. You
might be giving up the adjacent ISA slot, but the other "long" slot could be
used for the audio card if/when it's available. The other two PCI slots could
be used for Video and maybe Ethernet(?). If I can get company approaval, I'd
like to have Mark DeMazza/Mind Computer Consultants build my P133/NT system.
Mark has a handle on all the current mobos and also the problems of the PVR
space-wise.
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Yes- I just E-mailed him about the voltage regulator heat sink that he used in
your system. If I could do the same, then that will be the solution for me. I
could use the PVR/daughterboard combo in the shared slot, lose the ISA (no big
deal) and still have the other full length slot for the audio card. This will
work fine as long as the audio card doesn't have any protruding chips, as that
slot cuts pretty close to the CPU socket. I don't think this will be a problem
though, as I've seen the card on their demo tape and all the chips seem to be
low profile surface mounts. I can't do this however unless I can ditch the
voltage regulator heat sink with a low profile design. I'll see what Mark
says……
John
does someone actually market a riser card that I can use with the PVR?
Phil,
DPS sells the riser and a modified back plate for the PVR through their
dealers.
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
Phil…
<<< does someone actually market a riser card that I can use with the PVR?>>>
Call your local <G> DPS dealer and order part number #804-997.
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John,
>>I can only manage two full length PCI cards on my SuperMicro mobo without
losing the heat/sink fan combo.<<
I have a SuperMicro motherboard also and the person that built my system
installed another type heat sink that will allow a full lenght board to fit
into the PCI slot. If you are interested, let me know.
Regards…………..Rick – Technical Animations