Don't know what I would use either of these types of slots for...
P5WDG2-WS PRO
P5W64 WS Professional
P5WDG2-WS PRO
P5W64 WS Professional
What slots for peripherals - PCI-X or PCI Express x16 ???
- Thread starter Fun Guy
- Start date
Is there a question buried in here somewhere?
PCI-X is the next-generation(s) of PCI. It's been used on servers for a long time. It's basically PCI with 64bit connections instead of 32, and higher clock rates (all the way up to 133Mhz). Gigabit network cards and SATA/SCSI/SAS controllers are the only cards I've seen, but it's not like I'm looking. I happen to have a server board with several SATA PCI-X cards in it.
PCIe (PCIexpress) is the next attempt at a PC bus replacement, (just like PCI replaced ISA). The most common cards are PCIe x16 video cards since it was determined that the best way to get the bus into the market and sort of force penetration and Mobo manufacturer experience would be to replace AGP with PCIe. It's a serial architecture where each lane (x1) is point to point (card to chipset) and capable of some 300?? worth of bandwidth. In a server the only cards I've seen on PCIe are x8 SATA/SAS cards from Areca.
Do you want to build a server? If not... move along, nothing to see here.
PCI-X is the next-generation(s) of PCI. It's been used on servers for a long time. It's basically PCI with 64bit connections instead of 32, and higher clock rates (all the way up to 133Mhz). Gigabit network cards and SATA/SCSI/SAS controllers are the only cards I've seen, but it's not like I'm looking. I happen to have a server board with several SATA PCI-X cards in it.
PCIe (PCIexpress) is the next attempt at a PC bus replacement, (just like PCI replaced ISA). The most common cards are PCIe x16 video cards since it was determined that the best way to get the bus into the market and sort of force penetration and Mobo manufacturer experience would be to replace AGP with PCIe. It's a serial architecture where each lane (x1) is point to point (card to chipset) and capable of some 300?? worth of bandwidth. In a server the only cards I've seen on PCIe are x8 SATA/SAS cards from Areca.
Do you want to build a server? If not... move along, nothing to see here.
It is a video editing workstation I will be building, and these board were recommended to me as two of the best. The problem is, I don't know which one to get. All I've ever used is PCI slots, so the whole PCI-X / PCI Express thing confused me. Are either of these slots backward compatible?
PCI-X is backwards compat with PCI. You should get the board that supports the peripherals that you want to use. Find out if the cards you want come in either flavor... personally I'd still go PCI-X over PCIe since it's a proven standard for alot of uses.
Why choose? You can have both with the P5WDG2 WS Professional or P5K WS.
The only advantage of PCI-X relevant to an AV workstation would be adding a high-performance PCI-X RAID controller, since I've never seen a PCI-X video card. PCI-X is currently the interface of choice for 'higher-end' RAID controllers in workstations and servers, though RAID controllers are coming available in PCI Express x1, x4, x8 configurations and more will certainly be available in the not-so-distant future.
Contemporary boards are bringing good integrated SATA/300 controllers with RAID0~5, and additional SATA RAID capability via third-party controller or PHY chips (e.g. Marvell, JMicron, Silicon Image, et. al). In the event you should want to expand on that in the future, I see no problem finding solutions in PCI Express.
For an AV workstation, I would go with at least one PCI Express x16 slot for a primary graphics card. A second graphics card can be implemented via PCI, but since the selection of PCI graphics cards is pretty slim (and not going to get better), two PCI Express x16 slots would be better IMO.
You might consider models with the new P35 + ICH9R chipset, which should be improved over the 975X + ICH7R. The only thing, though, is that P35 is a new chipset while 975X is very mature now. BIOS and drivers for P35 boards (e.g. Matrix Storage Manager) are not as refined, so you might be wrestling with BIOS and driver immaturity for another six months.
The only advantage of PCI-X relevant to an AV workstation would be adding a high-performance PCI-X RAID controller, since I've never seen a PCI-X video card. PCI-X is currently the interface of choice for 'higher-end' RAID controllers in workstations and servers, though RAID controllers are coming available in PCI Express x1, x4, x8 configurations and more will certainly be available in the not-so-distant future.
Contemporary boards are bringing good integrated SATA/300 controllers with RAID0~5, and additional SATA RAID capability via third-party controller or PHY chips (e.g. Marvell, JMicron, Silicon Image, et. al). In the event you should want to expand on that in the future, I see no problem finding solutions in PCI Express.
For an AV workstation, I would go with at least one PCI Express x16 slot for a primary graphics card. A second graphics card can be implemented via PCI, but since the selection of PCI graphics cards is pretty slim (and not going to get better), two PCI Express x16 slots would be better IMO.
You might consider models with the new P35 + ICH9R chipset, which should be improved over the 975X + ICH7R. The only thing, though, is that P35 is a new chipset while 975X is very mature now. BIOS and drivers for P35 boards (e.g. Matrix Storage Manager) are not as refined, so you might be wrestling with BIOS and driver immaturity for another six months.
rrahaman1, there are no pcix video cards. I suspect the pcie express slots actually have x16 connectors (as I dont think there are x8 connectors (just 1,4 and 16), theere are x8 slots buts its the same physical connector as x16 unless I am mistaken), so any pcie video card should work for you. What are you planning on doing with the server and a video card?
Can a moderator please delete rrahman1's posting and those that came after? I would prefer to have my thread in non-hijacked status like it was before. Thank you.
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