Best "Regular" PCI Card

[oaaltone]

I have a Dell PowerEdge 840 that I'd like to test Windows 7 on, but the integrated graphics are very slow. The gotcha: my options for expandability are only x1 PCI Express, x8 PCI Express, or 1 32-bit/33MHz 5v legacy PCI slot.

What's the best value legacy PCI or 1x/8x PCI Express graphics card out there that will let me experience Vista/Windows 7's Aero graphics? From a quick perusal of Newegg's offerings, it appears the ATI x1300 or 2400PRO chipsets are the segment leaders.

Thanks!

 

[TurtleCrusher]

The 2400pro trounces the x1300, so that's probably be your best pick.

Now if you are into modding your motherboard you could just cut into that pci-express x8 lane so a x16 card (low power of course) could fit just fine. Some people have done this with lowly video cards with success.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Your options are all pretty meh at best.
Maybe Radeon x1550 pci express x1?
Though I honestly don't know if that'll get you any "real" performance at all..

 

[oaaltone]

I'm not looking to play games... just something to drive Vista/Windows 7's Aero Glass interface.

I think the best option would be to cut the end of the x8 slot and use a regular x16 card at the lower speed... the PCI options seem to have lesser chipsets for a higher price simply due to the lack of demand for such options.

 

[Quiksilver]

I'm pretty sure that an PCI-E x8 is the same interface as a PCI-E x16. So just pick any PCI-E x16 card that you feel is good it will just run at x8 speeds instead of the full x16.

 

[PCTC2]

PCIe x8 is not the same as PCIe x16. They are different slots, and if you do the "mod" and cut your PCIe slot, you'll have pins that are unconnected and that is undesirable. I would recommend just picking up a x1 card.

 

[nyker96]

i have a simple 6200le pcie card running xp here but it's pretty decent. if you not into fancy eye candy it can do win 7.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: PCTC2
PCIe x8 is not the same as PCIe x16. They are different slots, and if you do the "mod" and cut your PCIe slot, you'll have pins that are unconnected and that is undesirable. I would recommend just picking up a x1 card.

The trouble is, the only 1x cards that are available are horrible. Not only are they extremely overpriced (last I looked, $100+ dollars) but they're usually gutted versions (64bit memory) of their already pathetic 16x counterparts.

16x cards will generally work fine in a 8x slot, minus a fairly small performance hit. That is provided they are getting enough power.

It would be cheaper and probably offer better results to knock out the back of the 8x slot or purchase an adapter. Both are cumbersome solutions though.

However, its not clear to me what exactly the OP wants to do with this machine so perhaps the crappy 1x cards would be sufficient.

 

[PCTC2]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: PCTC2
PCIe x8 is not the same as PCIe x16. They are different slots, and if you do the "mod" and cut your PCIe slot, you'll have pins that are unconnected and that is undesirable. I would recommend just picking up a x1 card.

The trouble is, the only 1x cards that are available are horrible. Not only are they extremely overpriced (last I looked, $100+ dollars) but they're usually gutted versions (64bit memory) of their already pathetic 16x counterparts.

16x cards will generally work fine in a 8x slot, minus a fairly small performance hit. That is provided they are getting enough power.

It would be cheaper and probably offer better results to knock out the back of the 8x slot or purchase an adapter. Both are cumbersome solutions though.

However, its not clear to me what exactly the OP wants to do with this machine so perhaps the crappy 1x cards would be sufficient.

They will work in a physical x16 slot with x8 lanes, but they will not work in a physical x8 slot. There's a difference. I believe the OP has a physical x8 slot.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Google is quick His slot is only x8 in size, which sucks.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: PCTC2

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: PCTC2
PCIe x8 is not the same as PCIe x16. They are different slots, and if you do the "mod" and cut your PCIe slot, you'll have pins that are unconnected and that is undesirable. I would recommend just picking up a x1 card.

The trouble is, the only 1x cards that are available are horrible. Not only are they extremely overpriced (last I looked, $100+ dollars) but they're usually gutted versions (64bit memory) of their already pathetic 16x counterparts.

16x cards will generally work fine in a 8x slot, minus a fairly small performance hit. That is provided they are getting enough power.

It would be cheaper and probably offer better results to knock out the back of the 8x slot or purchase an adapter. Both are cumbersome solutions though.

However, its not clear to me what exactly the OP wants to do with this machine so perhaps the crappy 1x cards would be sufficient.

They will work in a physical x16 slot with x8 lanes, but they will not work in a physical x8 slot. There's a difference. I believe the OP has a physical x8 slot.

I realize that. I was just saying, you can purchase adapters or in many cases, break out the back of the 8x slot and leave the extra lanes dangling.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: PCTC2

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: PCTC2
PCIe x8 is not the same as PCIe x16. They are different slots, and if you do the "mod" and cut your PCIe slot, you'll have pins that are unconnected and that is undesirable. I would recommend just picking up a x1 card.

The trouble is, the only 1x cards that are available are horrible. Not only are they extremely overpriced (last I looked, $100+ dollars) but they're usually gutted versions (64bit memory) of their already pathetic 16x counterparts.

16x cards will generally work fine in a 8x slot, minus a fairly small performance hit. That is provided they are getting enough power.

It would be cheaper and probably offer better results to knock out the back of the 8x slot or purchase an adapter. Both are cumbersome solutions though.

However, its not clear to me what exactly the OP wants to do with this machine so perhaps the crappy 1x cards would be sufficient.

They will work in a physical x16 slot with x8 lanes, but they will not work in a physical x8 slot. There's a difference. I believe the OP has a physical x8 slot.

I realize that. I was just saying, you can purchase adapters or in many cases, break out the back of the 8x slot and leave the extra lanes dangling.

 

[tcsenter]

See:

Video Card for DELL Server

Graphics upgrade experiment on Dell SC1430

 

[MustangSVT]

wow some got 8800GT to work on it?! interesting!

 

[tcsenter]

Actually, I think someone got a 9600GT working with one of the lane conversion adapters, which possibly makes 9800GT within reach.

 

[Ryland]

PNY makes an 8400 PCI card.

 

[Leyawiin]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...dpNo=3422142&CatId=319

Kind of overpriced, but no ghetto solutions necessary. It seems all the OP wants is to use Aero to its fullest. This should do it.

 

[mindless1]

Why do people keep thinking you need some high performance video card to do Aero graphics? You don't, grab the cheapest dx9 card you can find, or if your integrated video is dx9 or 10 you have no reason to upgrade it. Speed at games has nothing to do with whether it'll be fine for desktop 2d use. If you find Vista or win7 slow graphically that's due to the other performance aspects of the system, and the timing loop in the OS to let you "see" the effect.