Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > Other Components > Can i put a PCI express socket on my motherboard?

Can i put a PCI express socket on my motherboard?

Forum CPU & Components : Other Components - Can i put a PCI express socket on my motherboard?

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I have a space on my motherboard with the little flat silver circles covering it, two screw holes and "PCI express 1x16 slot" written above it. it looks like there should be a socket there but there isn't. I am positive I could put one in there but after a while of scouring the internet I can't find anywhere selling the socket component. I bought the machine off of ebay refurbished. I have looked at its statistics on line and it comes with said PCI express port, but on mine, just a blank space. I would appreciate any help on this matter, it's driving me crazy!

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I'll take a rough guess and say no.

If you had the equipment and know how to install components onto a motherboard I don't think you would be asking this question.

------------------------------ I'm a git, deal with it.

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Reply to strangestranger

Only a rough guess?
I would have no idea how to install it, I'd have to take it somewhere to perform the upgrade but i just want to know if it's impossible.

Reply to Anonymous

Probably not, Chances are that the missing socket isn't the only piece of hardware that is required to make it function left out of the board. If a company is making a board without that feature and they are going through the trouble to change the process and have the socket removed, they are going to save every penny they can and remove anything else they can get away with without causing the other features of the board that are included to fail. If you want PCI-Express you need to get a new motherboard, simple as that.

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Reply to HVdynamo

OK, thanks for that mate.

Reply to Anonymous

if ur still listening, if ur board came with no pcie connectors at all, then most likely ur chipset dosent even support pcie, see the average chipset manufactured today comes with support for a certain number of pcie lanes, u need 8 lanes for a pcie gpu, and adding a pcie slot to ur board will require ingineering a new chipset compatible with ur cpu that supports pcie, the r&d alone would set u back a couple million, so in short, get a new pc

------------------------------ "Envy is ignorance" - Henry Thoreau : Best quote ever.

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Reply to xaira

It depends on the board you have and it's chipset. If the traces are in place for a PCI-E connector then technically it may be possible. For one if it's an OEM dell or HP board or something that's suppose to go into a really low end system, then the BIOS itself probably has the PCI-E locked out, so one hurdle right there is to hack the BIOS. Next you would need the port itself as well as a machine to properly solder it in (very delicate operation after all). In short, it's easier and cheaper just to buy a proper motherboard from newegg .

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Can i put a PCI express socket on my motherboard?

Forum CPU & Components : Other Components - Can i put a PCI express socket on my motherboard?