Magma PCI Expansion Alternative?

[MikeC]

I was thinking the same thing. I think the comment about heat is valid although I know my G5 runs very hot sometimes (no aircon in my room!) so I'm not convinced that it'll be any worse.

I guess the major issue is whether it will perform acceptably. If it complies to the PCI spec then there shouldn't be a chance of damage to the card (but I'm not able to guarantee that so you go first, ok? ;-) )

It's tempting to give it a try

Cheers,

Mike

[smfelton]

I see the PEX2PCIE4L has 2 full length PCI slots + 2 PCIe, if it does work, that with the Expresscard adapter would be very tempting for a mobile rig !

[soul]

MikeC-
Specs say it is Mac OSX compatible ad PCI spec. There are a few on ebay for around $399 USD. And with the return policy, I guess the only question is will it harm the PT cards? Has anyone tried it? Who's gonna go first?

[dcboucher]

Digi site says each HD card needs 3.3V/2A. Last time I checked, that was 6.6W. This box says 36W max. That means you could put 4 cards in there and have 10W (27%) headroom. Seems like a good idea to try out, no? I have a couple of old PCI cards (ATTO and other utility cards) that I could throw in there as guinea pigs before the beloved HD|3 Accel set. Darn tempting...I think I would add a cooling fan if I got it to work. That would really seal the deal if I could manage the heat.

[MikeC]

Looks like the 4 slot could be too short for PT cards and the longer chassis only has two PCIx slots so no good for anything more than an HD2 setup. Need to check the measurements details as I need 3 slots.

Cheers,

Mike

[macaholic]

Any update on this?? I'm am really curious to see how Magma alternatives work out!!!

[musicman691]

The way I understand it, the PE6R4 doesn't support the new generation pci-e cards even though it's computer interface card is pci-e. Any new MacPro has pci-e slots. I'd like to go one system throughout - pci-e all the way. There are other Magma chassis that are full pci-e. I was thinking about the Express box 7: http://www.magma.com/products/pciexp...ox7/index.html It's a 4 lane interface, same as the PE6R4.

I know Avid/Digi lists both the older pci cards along with the newer pci-e; all Sweetwater sell is the pci-e versions. I'm looking at an HD3 system.

[relaxo]

Don't throw good $$$ toward dead-end technology like PCIx, that's my advice.

[fasttraxx]

Originally Posted by relaxo

Don't throw good $$$ toward dead-end technology like PCIx, that's my advice.

I don't think it's throwning money at dead end technology, buy just the opposite. Alot of us have PCIx cards, and the cost to go PCI-e through Digi is $4000 for the same results as PCIx. The only other choice is Magma $2500-$3000 for the same results. This Startech seems like a good solution for us in this boat. I want a new MAC 8 core, but this is the other side to that want.

[urumita]

2 PCIx and 2 PCIe
makes it a little limited
I would need 4 to jump on a powermac
HD Core, HD Process and 2x HD Accel
The upgrade backplane for my Magma costs $1499
A year ago I saw that Magma had an HBA for PCIe that connected directly to the old chassis but it has disappeared, cost ca 350
conspired obsolescence