pci-e x1 card into pci-e x16 slot?

Ok this may be a really dumb question, so let me preface it with this: back in the day, you could install an ISA card into an EISA slot. Soooooo, I was wondering if I can install my TV tuner pci-e x1 card into my 2nd pci-e x16 slot because all of my pci-e x1 slots are blocked. I don't want to RMA my card because of my stupidity. Please Help

Check out this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

I've been wondering if there are any PCIe sound cards.

I've been wondering if there are any PCIe sound cards.

I believe there are maybe one or two, but obviously they're not going to be as good. Probably limited channels (5.1 as opposed to 7.1), and sound quality might take a hit. I was looking at that when I bought my Fatality (which I regret due to no noticeable change in sound quality really) I think more or less you pay for the media center drive bay and remote, the name, and the software. Spare yourself some cash and find something cheaper that provides you with what you really need. IMO, today's onboard sound is pretty darn good on most mobo's. You might be happier looking into a tv tuner card if you're interested. As far as this kid's problem...if no other solution, get a new motherboard. Just be aware you may not be able to simply swap it out without having to reinstall windows. But a new motherboard could provide you with new card options. I also seem to remember some type of PCI extenders...type it in and do a search on them. How many bays do you have and what are you filling them with? It's possible that you don't need all the cards you currently have installed.

I Second that for greater "proof".

you can not put a 16x card in a 1x slot, reguardless of how good your dremel is.

Thanks for all the replies. So here is my exact situation

System specs:
E6600
P5W DH Deluxe
Gigabyte Silent Pipe II 7600GT (blocks both PCIe x1 slots)
P180B
Seasonic S12-500

I want to add a PowerColor Theater 550 Pro PCIe. My only available slot left is the 2nd PCIe x16 slot. I installed it with the latest drivers. XP sees an unknown card and can't find the drivers. Any ideas?

Edit: After talking to tech support, apparently it is working properly. I still don't know why xp sees an unknown card though and neither did tech support.

Um, yes you can. Some motherboards even leave the end of the slot 'open' for just that reason.



An ASrock board that does this.

I believe Gigabyte has a board with all slots left open at the end.

A 1x PCIe device will work fine in a x16 slot.

As for PCIe sound cards, the reason they dont exist (good ones anyway) is that sound is very bursty data meaning that PCIe has far too much latency for them.

This is the real reasoning for PCIe 2.0 imho... Double the signalling rate with the same packet overhead, and if before (numbers plucked out of the air here, to give an idea) the overhead was 40 clocks, wasting 20ms of real time, now its 40 clocks wasting 10ms of real time.

If you had followed the link near the top of the thread you would have found this on (PCI-E) link negotiation.

http://arstechnica.com/articles/pa [...] pcie.ars/6

Operating under the assumption that x1 will work in any of the other pcie speed slots, I chose my current motherboard, whose chipset heatsink blocks the use of its PCIe x1 slot (long card).

I have a $90 Asus DX soundcard pcie x1. It does NOT work in Asrock [ a780gxe/128 ] motherboard's 2nd PCIe x16 slot. The soundcard cost more than the motherboard. I really like the mobo . . .

from asrock support:
Hi,

The problem that you having is the compatible issue with PCIx bus. I know the sound card that you have is long and can’t fit into the PCix 1x slot properly. The only thing that you can do is either replace the sound card or change the different mainboard. You have the latest bios that we provide from the web. Bios will not fix the issue. The reason is the PCIx x1 and PCIx 16x have different data link layer and transaction layer.

the moral of the story:
don't take for granted the use of pcie x1 in any greater pcie slot. get an answer from hardware maker. or you'll be stuck with a spare motherboard or card.

This is EXACTLY my question, too. The front part of the PCI-e x 16 slot appears identical to the adjacent PCI-e x 1 slot. I am using internal on-board graphics, so I don't need a graphics card. I do, however, need another PCI-e x1 card. The BIOS setup in this motherboard has a setting to "FORCE PCI-E TO X1", so I don't see a problem. But I have failed to foresee problems before.

I'm not particularly interested in being the 11tht person to blow up an nice MATX motherboard and a PCI-e x1 tuner card just to test this theory. It is not an SLI board.

I would think that somebody more brave, foolhardy, and/or knowledgeable might have settled this by now. I did find a PCI-e x1 adapter cable that terminated in a long connector suitable for PCI-e video cards, so perhaps the PCI-e x 1 slot contains enough data capability to operate a graphics card, but undoubtedly not at full speed.

There are others in this forum who say that there should be no problem putting a x1 card in a x16 slot, so I'll give it a try. Any more words of encouragement?

Thank you. I shall try it tomorrow (with an inexpensive e-SATA card). The Intel MATX motherboard already has DVI and HDMI video outputs, and I do need this PCI-e x16 slot to use with a PCI-e x 1 card. Tomorrow it is! .

Don't worry I bought a 3500.00 XITE-1 1U DSP soundcard which is a PCI-e
1X. I had a DP35DP Intel as back-up, but I first tried the soundcard out on a souped up Mini-ITX and it works great.
I thought I would have to disable an IRQ or something, but it worked just fine.

You say you can't do that with SLI motherboards. Is it any different with crossfire motherboards?