Adapter cards by PCI-X PCI-e! Does it work?

[drenkrom]

Warning: brown-socks geekery ahead.

Originally Posted by digidesigner

I don't know much about PC motherboards.. Is there a board comparable to Mac Pro that can hold two processors for 8 cores and has 3 PCI slots for HD3 system?

You say that like the Mac Pro logic boards were great designs. They're not. They're great for the closed system they're used in, but in the performance PC motherboard market, they would be laughable. There are many MoBos for PC that wipe the floor with the MacPro's logic board feature set. For a fraction of the price, might I add.

There are almost no MoBos for dual-processors on PC anymore, because people who build performance computers have understood the dual-processor thing is now almost useless, we have cores now. Apple keeps pushing it because it's been one of their selling points since the G4. And that was because they couldn't push the PowerPC processors because of poor temperature and power efficiency so had to split the work. In practice in Windows-land, dual-CPU systems mostly just cost more money.

As for PCI slots, off the top of my head I can name one LGA1156-based motherboard that has three PCI slots along with PCIe slots. Granted, that is as much a measure of how much I don't have a life as one of how readily available they are.

Things have moved along quite a bit since the time when many people seem to have formed their opinions on computer systems and OS's. The Windows machine as a music machine is not as daft anymore as many seem to think.

[digidesigner]

Originally Posted by drenkrom

Warning: brown-socks geekery ahead.



You say that like the Mac Pro logic boards were great designs. They're not. They're great for the closed system they're used in, but in the performance PC motherboard market, they would be laughable. There are many MoBos for PC that wipe the floor with the MacPro's logic board feature set. For a fraction of the price, might I add.

There are almost no MoBos for dual-processors on PC anymore, because people who build performance computers have understood the dual-processor thing is now almost useless, we have cores now. Apple keeps pushing it because it's been one of their selling points since the G4. And that was because they couldn't push the PowerPC processors because of poor temperature and power efficiency so had to split the work. In practice in Windows-land, dual-CPU systems mostly just cost more money.

As for PCI slots, off the top of my head I can name one LGA1156-based motherboard that has three PCI slots along with PCIe slots. Granted, that is as much a measure of how much I don't have a life as one of how readily available they are.

Things have moved along quite a bit since the time when many people seem to have formed their opinions on computer systems and OS's. The Windows machine as a music machine is not as daft anymore as many seem to think.

Thanks, geekery is much appreciated. I took some time last night digging into PC parts sites hoping to get a picture what I would be facing going that route. I found a couple of logic boards that might suit to hold as many as HD4 system, but from the pictures it is hard to tell if there is enough room for long PT cards.
But most confusing part was processor side. I see people talking about i7's but in fact there is like 10 of these starting from $300 to like $1300 and for me it is pretty hard to tell the difference as per ghz they are "about the same" Would appreciate some information about this if someone knows better.

Motherboards I found with 4 PCI slots were these:
Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L Intel H55 Express 1156 Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3L V2.0 - Socket 1156 - Chipset P55 - ATX

EDIT:

more boards with 4 PCI

Gigabyte GA-P55-S3

[Brandonx1]

Well I use a P6t WS pro with a Magma p7r464 chassis to hold my HD 4. The chassis is an old pcix to pcix but they still work on PCI slots. Always have. Just not PCIe slots. Also, be careful of using desktop motherboards for PT HD. Might be fine for native but I wouldn't chance it with HD. Use a workstation board.
Best

[Bentley Ferrari]

Originally Posted by Brandonx1

Where does it say this? I looked and couldn't find anything. Are you speaking about ASIO4ALL?
Best

Yes, if you follow the link on the Air Users Blog it takes you to ASIO4ALL. I didn't go beyond that. It's not officially supported, but he's saying in his blog that users are having success aggregating devices. He indicates it might not work with every audio interface out there.

[eledu]

Originally Posted by Brandonx1

Well I use a P6t WS pro with a Magma p7r464 chassis to hold my HD 4. The chassis is an old pcix to pcix but they still work on PCI slots. Always have.

Sorry, but you mean that if I put a PCI-X card in a PCI slot it should work? The PCI-X connector is longer than the PCI, so, not all the lanes are needed?
Thanks in advance.

[Philthy]

Any compatibility issues in terms of RTAS and TDM plugins running Windows 7? Will I lose plugins switching platforms?

[Firechild]

Originally Posted by eledu

Sorry, but you mean that if I put a PCI-X card in a PCI slot it should work? The PCI-X connector is longer than the PCI, so, not all the lanes are needed?
Thanks in advance.

Yes correct. I say it again. The PCI-X pro tools cards are actually PCI cards but with a physical PCI-X form factor. Compatible with both PCI and PCI-x slots.

[eledu]

Originally Posted by Firechild

Yes correct. I say it again. The PCI-X pro tools cards are actually PCI cards but with a physical PCI-X form factor. Compatible with both PCI and PCI-x slots.

Wow that's pretty revealing!
So all I have to do is isolate those unused lanes so they are not exposed to short-circuit or something like that. You have not idea what a great news you gave me!

[docric]

Originally Posted by digidesigner

But most confusing part was processor side. I see people talking about i7's but in fact there is like 10 of these starting from $300 to like $1300 and for me it is pretty hard to tell the difference as per ghz they are "about the same" Would appreciate some information about this if someone knows better.

Motherboards I found with 4 PCI slots were these:
Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L Intel H55 Express 1156 Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3L V2.0 - Socket 1156 - Chipset P55 - ATX

Gigabyte GA-P55-S3

Hey digi,
Don't know about the GA-P55-S3, but the other 2 mobos you listed are going to be pretty hard (read: fuggedaboudit !) to find. They've been d/c'd for a while.
The mobo in my sig is NOT a workstation mobo, but it has 3 adjacent pci slots (read: HD3) and works great. I've put 3 months now of work on it with no probs running win7 64... First stable PT sys I've had in over a year... AND, best of all, you can still purchase it ! Newegg/Microcenter/etc... It runs about $110...

Re: various i7's:
I didn't want to overclock our TDM rig, so I didn't even consider the "extreme edition" models. I run an i7 870 (cost like $200) and it's PLENTY FAST on our machine with an HD3accel rig (compared to my former PPC G5 2.7). The mobo/socket (for Intel your options are 1156 and 1366) and chipset (H55, P55, yada...) will determine specifically which processors you CAN use, so it narrows down a bit once you pick your mobo.

If you're planning on using PCI or PCI-X cards, then you need PCI slots. Those seem easier to find on the 1156 socket mobos... and if you need HD3 or HD4, it REALLY narrows your choices down. Again, I couldn't be more pleased with our system.

Lastly, a few guys have been posting Q's about the PCI-X cards in PCI slots. As someone already posted, the digi PCI-X cards ARE PCI cards FUNCTIONALLY, but the physical form has that extra bottom "male socket tab". It's ONLY a problem if the mobo you purchase has a "tall" structural component just behind the PCI slot. (most often i've seen heat sinks).
The board in my sig. does not have this issue, btw. The UD3L you mentioned above DOES, but hey! that's why Dremel Tools were invented !!!

Anyhoo... I hope I'm not coming across as any kind of "expert" here, I'm certainly NOT. But I did make this jump recently, and had to go to WAAAYYY too much trouble to find the info. I don't see ANY reason why that should continue. The guys over on the Win TDM forum are real helpful (Brandonx1 is one of them), you guys should have this discussion over there...

Hope something here helps...

[Philthy]

Thanks Docric; I bookmarked your post just for your sig.