PowerEdge 840 Graphics Card Upgrade?

Thanks for the feedback, Flash.

Yes, I was serious.  My current machine, a 1600SC, has the RAID controller in a PCI-X slot, and the 840 has two of those.  I figured it would probably go in the PCIe x8 slot (was hoping so, actually), but it was kinda sorta necessary to know :)

Yes, x1 graphics cards do exist, but, they're about 2-3 times as expensive as their x16 counterparts, and not all that common.  They're too expensive for me to be buying them randomly, in the hopes one of them will work.

So, unless somebody knows of a card that works, one that has Linux support, no less, I'm going to have to find a different solution.

Jim

only has PCIe x1, x8 and PCI-X slots.  (I wonder in which one the Perc 5i RAID controller will go?)

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or serious, but in case it was a serious question, the PERC will need to go in the x8 slot, leaving you only an x1 slot for video.  x1 video cards are easy enough to find, but not just any video card will work ... you will likely be in for some trial and error finding a card that will work.

Sorry then :) 

All controllers since the PERC 4e/Di use PCIe slots, and the higher-end controllers (PERC 5/6/7/8) are x8 (lower-end (SAS 5/6/H200/etc.) are x4).

Yes, x1 graphics cards do exist, but, they're about 2-3 times as expensive as their x16 counterparts, and not all that common.  They're too expensive for me to be buying them randomly, in the hopes one of them will work. So, unless somebody knows of a card that works, one that has Linux support, no less, I'm going to have to find a different solution.

Understood.  I would try searching the forums for possible models that people have tested to have worked.  There are likely to be several:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/956/p/19460514/20175152.aspx

(The referenced card is supported by Zotac on Linux.)

Jim, the problem with your PE840 is that you do not have an option to disable the "Embedded Video Controller" found under the "Integrated Devices Screen" section within the BIOS which makes it a very annoying problem.

What this means is that if you install a video card into a PCIe slot, the BIOS must still be able to post and the installed video card must somehow passivate the Embedded Video Controller so it can take over that function... Unfortunately as mentioned, it's a very hit and miss process to find a card that works but from what i have read, some have had more luck with ATI based cards on PE1900 series servers which are bound by similar constraints to your PE840 (no BIOS option, no x16 PCIe slot). You may like to search for "PE1950 video" or similar and check out those posts :emotion-1:

As for the inability to find cheap x1 cards, simply buy low power (~25W) x16 PCIe video card and mod it to fit the slot of choice.It's much less risky than cutting the back of a PCIe slot :emotion-1: Oh, and use a low power card as you are limited to 25W per slot (whereas a x16 video slot can feed 75W per slot - but you don't have that luxury).

The mod is done by simply cutting a notch on the card using a fine bladed hack saw so you can insert the card into the PCIe slot of choice (x8 or x1). The PCIe protocol is robust enough to usually take care of the rest. In my case i cut away side contacts 50, 51 & 52 on my XFX GF7600 which allowed me to install it in a x8 slot. Note that if you install a card into a PCIe slot on some motherboards, the system may not post, so in such cases you may need to force the 'presence detect' logic to use the desired lanes by placing a wire between two pins in the PCIe slot (short pins a1 to b48 to force a 8 lanes in a slot containing a x8 modded x16 card). Search my posts on this forum for more info.

Without a doubt the biggest issue is that Dell designed the BIOS without providing the option to disable the Embedded Video Controller. Maybe there is a way to hack the BIOS and expose this feature. There are a few BIOS hack sites you can search if you desire. I did not need to go the hacked BIOS route as my T610 allows me to disable the Embedded Video Controller within BIOS. Also, my IOMEGA Storage server which does not have this BIOS feature worked by simply inserting a grahics card in the PCIe raiser (booted OK and passivated the embedded video controller).

There is plenty of information related to video cards on these forums so do a search and good luck..

Hi, skylarking.  Thanks for the follow-up.

I've probably found most of the video/graphics card posts relating to PE servers :).  I knew about both the card and slot mods.  It's a Substitute character removed as per TOU>-shoot, and each method has its advantages.  In the end I think it'd boil down to how hard it seemed to get to the connector in the server.

Hey, it's a server.  Many people operate them headless.  (I have three PE RM servers like that, at work.)  I just wish Dell didn't make things harder than they had to be to add graphics cards after the fact.  I went through this same ordeal with my 1600SC.

Thanks for the pointer to that thread.  I'd found it already, tho.  I wasn't particularly fond of either solution.

I found a comment on Amazon indicating somebody'd had success with an ATI Radeon PCIe x1 card in an 840.  Since ATI Radeon is what worked in my 1600SC, and it looks like ATI Radeon is what Dell tends to sell, I'll give that a go.  If I can find one.  I'm sure I will... eventually.

Thanks for the follow-up.

Jim