Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
6 Posts
0
31094
September 19th, 2009 05:00
PCI card compatibility with Poweredge 2650
Hello all
Am new to the 2650. I just bought one to put in a rack to used as a dedicated security DVR for a GeoVision CCTV system. The Geovision card is a GV800 and is a full height PCI card. The slots in the 2650 are unusual to me but I suppose they are PCI-X standard?
The GV800 will fit but is not the correct length and may not even be compatible. Can anyone tell me if a standard PCI card will funcion in the 2650 riser I am describing?
Thanks in advance!
No Events found!
Dev Mgr
6 Operator
•
9.3K Posts
•
3 Points
0
September 19th, 2009 17:00
In theory a PCI card should work just fine in a PCI-X slot. It just doesn't use the full capabilities (bandwidth) of the PCI-X slot.
miketyler1
6 Posts
0
September 22nd, 2009 11:00
ok, its an expensive card, didnt want to plug it in if there was any chance of card or server damage. There is no optional riser card for the 2650 that features native PCI slots is there? I have read some other accounts where they hav tried installing a standard PCI card and found voltage differences in the std PCI slot and the PCI slot in the 2650. The PC slot was 3.3V and the 2650 slot is 5.0V?
Dev Mgr
6 Operator
•
9.3K Posts
•
3 Points
0
September 22nd, 2009 12:00
PCI-X = PCI + extras. Manufacturers (like Dell) had no reason to offer PCI slots in a system that could use PCI-X (unless there wasn't enough bandwidth to feed all slots (highly unlikely on a 2U server)), and why would you need to extend the connector on the card? If the card needs more bandwidth, the manufacturer would have made the card in PCI-X format (even if such a converter existed it wouldn't do anything other than stick in the slot and not use the extra part).
miketyler1
6 Posts
0
September 22nd, 2009 13:00
The Geovision card has two large plugs that has six RCA's and six BNC's for the cameras and microphones. With no way to stabilize or support the card, its just hanging by the slot only and the cabling exits out thru the open slot. Probaby not that big a deal but I should probably check and see if there is a PCI-X version of the GV800 card available.
Dev Mgr
6 Operator
•
9.3K Posts
•
3 Points
0
September 22nd, 2009 20:00
The card doesn't come with the metal bracket (L-shaped) to secure it in the slot?
miketyler1
6 Posts
0
September 23rd, 2009 06:00
Yes, it does but the card is physically shorter than a PCI-X card and as a result when its seated in the slot, the metal bracket is about 3/4" away from the machine backplane. Thus the card just sits in the slot with no mechanical attachment to keep it in place other than the friction fit in the slot itself.
Dev Mgr
6 Operator
•
9.3K Posts
•
3 Points
0
September 23rd, 2009 11:00
Make sure the metal bracket goes in the normal spot. If the card then doesn't fit in the slot (due to the notches lining up), your card is the wrong voltage for the slot (scroll down a bit here and on the right side you can see the different notch options for the different voltages).
If this is the case, look for a different card solution or a different server (if you have to look for both, I'd suggest to look for a PCIe solution as modern servers don't have PCI/PCI-X anymore, so a card based on that may not be usable anymore if you decide to upgrade to a newer server at any time in the future).