Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 02:31:20 +1000 From: Jan Mikkelsen <janm@transactionware.com> To: Jeremy Chadwick <freebsd@jdc.parodius.com> Cc: Tom Evans <tevans.uk@googlemail.com>, freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: SATA 6g 4-port non-RAID controller ? Message-ID: <A5E8942B-A83B-46F9-900E-E74808B009E8@transactionware.com> In-Reply-To: <20110727101234.GA7659@icarus.home.lan> References: <20110725093432.GI1202@home.opsec.eu> <CAOjFWZ6pbSeQ9hn4A-bf0Cy0fOTcyscCRyv61zxpSWFbMoHugw@mail.gmail.com> <20110726225557.GA97184@icarus.home.lan> <CAFHbX1JPJBzH6k2B==hKyS%2BpKOCCG_wFiGxePm3GfYo=vPj_GA@mail.gmail.com> <20110727101234.GA7659@icarus.home.lan>
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On 27/07/2011, at 8:12 PM, Jeremy Chadwick wrote: > On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 10:38:36AM +0100, Tom Evans wrote: >> On Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 11:55 PM, Jeremy Chadwick >> <freebsd@jdc.parodius.com> wrote: >>>=20 >>> And before someone asks: in most cases you *cannot* use this card in = a >>> PCIe x16 connector on a motherboard. ??Most generic motherboard >>> manufacturers at this point have special one-offs that assume their = PCIe >>> x16 slots are for video cards only. ??If you aren't sure, you'll = need to >>> ask your motherboard manufacturer/vendor if you can use a >>> non-VGA-adapter in their PCIe x16 slot. ??Some Supermicro boards do = have >>> PCIe x16 slots that can be used by non-VGA adapters, but I haven't = seen >>> this on, say, Asus/Gigabyte/Dell/Intel motherboards. >>=20 >> Jeremy may not have seen PCI express x16 HBAs working on consumer >> boards, but I have, plenty of times. >=20 > I'm glad -- people should probably start making a list, because the > number of boards I've seen it not work in easily exceeds that of the > times I HAVE seen it work. :-) Where did it fail? >> I don't know why the FUD, but I have had no problems with an Intel >> SASUC8I (LSI 1068 based) running on an Asus P5Q Pro, a simple = consumer >> P45 chipset. I'm not unique, many people have success doing this. >=20 > Once in a blue moon, an intelligent board manufacturer puts comments = in > their user manual to the effect of "the PCIe x16 slot is only to be = used > for VGA adapters and will not work with non-VGA cards", or vice-versa. > Here's some hard evidence of my claim: >=20 > Supermicro X7SBA server-class motherboard user manual has the = following > line in it: >=20 > "Note: The Intel 3210 chipset does not support add-in graphics cards = in > the PCI-E interface provided by the Memory Controller Hub (MCH)." >=20 > So in that boards' case, the PCIe x16 slot (which only has PCIe x8 = worth > of lanes wired) will work with controller cards but not VGA adapters. >=20 > And here's another, for the X7DVL series boards: > http://www.supermicro.com/support/faqs/faq.cfm?faq=3D10582 >=20 > "This is a server board, and you cannot place a x8 or x16 VGA card on > this board. Only onboard VGA is possible. If you need to place a VGA > card please use X7DA(x) board". Perhaps I'm being thick, but this says "a 16x slot on this board does = not support a display card" not "a 16x slot on this board only supports = a display card." The examples you cite only support the "vice-versa" part of your claim, = not the primary claim that 16x slots on some motherboards are only for = display cards. Do you have a reference for that? >=20 > And up until last week I owned and used an Asus P5Q SE (P45-based with > ICH10 SB) board, so I can refer you to the fact that the P5Q Pro user > manual "hints" that the PCIe x16 slot is for graphics only but doesn't > downright say that. Did you try a non-graphics card in the slot to see what happened? Saying = "The 16x slot is where you put the graphics card" is probably not = unreasonable for 99% of the users of that board. Regards, Jan Mikkelsen=
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