Intel G41 Chipset - PCIe Limitation?

[RichDD]

Hi all,

I am looking to purchase some PCIe raid controllers, but am unsure what to go for due to potential limitations the chipset might be making.?

I have an Asus P5QPL-AM mobo which uses the Intel G41 + ICH7 chipset and has one PCIe x1 and one PCIe x16 (gpu) slots. My confusion lies with the x16 slot, which i've read can be used for other cards, such as controllers, but apparently is limited in someway?

This thread...

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/265741-12-intel-chipset-limitation-video-post-pcie-slot

refers to the chipset restricting the use of onboard DVI/HDMI output if you use the PCIe x16 slot for anything other that a GPU or a card faster than x1...

PCIe x16 card slot can not be used for any card that is not a video card or larger than PCIe x1 if the intended use of the system includes the on-board DVI / HDMI functionality.

The disabling of DVI/HDMI does not worry me, because A. i don't need it (unRAID server) and B. my mobo only has VGA output. What does concern me however, is the reference to PCIe x1 on the x16 slot, as well as other things i have read that lead me to believe the G41 chipset limits the PCIe x16 slot to x1 when a non GPU card is put in. Does that sound right?

I am looking to put a 4 channel PCIe x4 raid controller into the x16 slot, but if it does limit it to x1, i might as well save my cash and just buy a 2 channel x1 controler.

I'd be very grateful for some advice, as i am a bit out of my depth in this area.

Thanks in advance,

Rich

 

[RichDD]

Please see the following link, if you are looking for an answer to my question...

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=13442.msg127545#msg127545