I’m looking at quad port 2.5Gbe Intel PCIe cards. These cards seem to be mostly x4 physically (usually PCIe gen 3) whilst I have a PCIe Gen4 X1 slot, which is more the theoretical bandwidth that the card can support. The card needs at the most PCIE Gen 3 X2 == PCIE Gen 4 X1 in terms of bandwidth.

How do I fit the card into a PCIe x1 slot? Won’t it lose performance if all the pins are not connected to the physical PCIe connector? Is there a PCIe x1 riser that the community likes that is somewhat affordable?

Thanks

  • marauding_gibberish142@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
    4·
    6 days ago

    I’ll likely go for a 4 or 6 gigabit port card, so PCIe gen 3 x1 is not a problem. Am I correct in understanding that the card will run at PCIe gen 3 X1 if I do this?

    What can I do if the card is PCIe gen 2 x8? These cards from Silicom are really cheap on ebay

    • BombOmOm@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      6 days ago

      Am I correct in understanding that the card will run at PCIe gen 3 X1 if I do this?

      Correct. The situation you described in the original post would result in Gen 3 x1 speeds.

      The interface will always default to the fastest standard that both sides can support. If one is gen 2 and the other is gen 4, gen 2 is the highest that can be supported. If one side is x8 and the other is x4, x4 is the highest that can be supported.

      What can I do if the card is PCIe gen 2 x8?

      If you put a Gen 2 x8 card in a Gen 4 x1 slot, you will get a Gen 2 x1 link.