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Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 4th Nov 2015 at 6:07 PM
Default Is there a way to add PCIE slots to my PC?
I hope this is the right place to post this, I am not sure where this type of question would go.

Any way I am not completely new to computers, I have added blu ray drives, changed video cards, added hard drive, and added ram to my computers in the past but this is something I can't find and an answer to on the web and in fact I am not sure what the correct names for some of these things are so I will be posting pictures. It should be noted that the pictures are not of the motherboard for the computer I need help with but are of an older one that got fried by a lighting strike.

Any way there seem to be three different types of PCI Express slots out there and two of them are about the same size and the other is much smaller. The trouble is when I look at the documents that came with my motherboard they are all called PCI express slots and nothing else.

Here is what they look like.







Now my problem is that I already have a video capture card plugged into the middle one, the smallest of the three, but there is other stuff I would like to do to upgrade my computer but it all seems to use that same size slot but I my computer only has one of those and I can't afford a new case or motherboard at the moment. Now the top one has my graphics card in it but there isn't anything at all plugged into the bottom slot.

So my question is this, is there any way to either get some type of splitter for the middle type slot or convert the bottom type slot so that stuff that is made to plug into the smaller type slot can be plugged into it?

I know this question is long and rambling and I don't know the right terms for these parts but if anyone out there knows what I am talking about and can answer my question I would be grateful.

Thank you for your time.

My PC specs.
Windows 7 64 bit,AMD FX 4300 quad core processor, 8 gigs DDR3 ram, 1 gig Geforce 9500 graphics card, patch 1.67.2
Every time I reinstall the game I run it clean without any CC, not even the store bought stuff so it isn't CC or mods that cause me trouble.
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Field Researcher
#2 Old 4th Nov 2015 at 6:45 PM
Buy a new motherboard that is bigger, that is the only way to fix it.

I was going to write: Hahahahahahahahaha, no, buy a new motherboard that is bigger, that is the only way to fix it. Wait, I did..

Also, the blue one is for Graphic Cards, the small one is for powering small expansion cards and the big one is for bigger expansion cards

I am MOHAAPlayer on Discord
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#3 Old 4th Nov 2015 at 8:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by EvilMcNastySim2015
I hope this is the right place to post this, I am not sure where this type of question would go.

It would go in the Computer & Software Technical Support section here:
http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=563

Not least because there is someone over there who knows an awful lot about this sort of thing.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Instructor
Original Poster
#4 Old 4th Nov 2015 at 9:35 PM
Okay, thanks a bunch. Sorry I posted this in the wrong section. I tried using google to get answers about this but since I don't know what those smaller slots are called I wasn't getting any results that applied to them.

I will start saving up for a new motherboard. I am smart enough with computers that I built my last three but for some reason this stumped me because I found I didn't know the names and none of the booklets that came with my motherboards were any help. I was kind of hoping there was some type of cable or something I could use to do the job but I guess not.

Thanks again for your help. I wish I could find the names of those smaller slots but I guess they have the same names as the bigger ones, talk about confusing. At least it is confusing to me but then again I am not that smart to begin with

My PC specs.
Windows 7 64 bit,AMD FX 4300 quad core processor, 8 gigs DDR3 ram, 1 gig Geforce 9500 graphics card, patch 1.67.2
Every time I reinstall the game I run it clean without any CC, not even the store bought stuff so it isn't CC or mods that cause me trouble.
Theorist
#5 Old 4th Nov 2015 at 11:53 PM
From what it looks like the first pic is a pci-express. I say that because I can see a tab on the right that you have to move slightly to place a pci-express card into the slot. The second pic is just this universal utility slot for a modem / network card. The third looks like a regular, old fashioned pci slot, good for a soundcard if you want something better than your onboard sound chip.
Instructor
Original Poster
#6 Old 5th Nov 2015 at 4:04 AM
Okay,thanks. I have been wanting to get a surround sound system for my PC(I have been seeing a lot of decent ones turring up at thrift stores for around $20 lately so this is a big help.)

Thanks, that is a really big help. I wish the documents that came with my mother board had been this helpful.

You guys are the best.

My PC specs.
Windows 7 64 bit,AMD FX 4300 quad core processor, 8 gigs DDR3 ram, 1 gig Geforce 9500 graphics card, patch 1.67.2
Every time I reinstall the game I run it clean without any CC, not even the store bought stuff so it isn't CC or mods that cause me trouble.
Super Moderator
staff: senior moderator
#7 Old 5th Nov 2015 at 5:53 AM
Moved to the proper forum. As mentioned above, there is someone very knowledgeable about computers who may be better able to help you. @ajaxsirius
Instructor
Original Poster
#8 Old 5th Nov 2015 at 7:23 AM
Thanks I don't know how I missed that this forum was here, I guess I just had a brain fart. Thanks for fixing it.

I have found several motherboards that seem to fit the bill for what I want, now I just have to save up the hundred or so buck for one of them.

Thanks again for your help.

My PC specs.
Windows 7 64 bit,AMD FX 4300 quad core processor, 8 gigs DDR3 ram, 1 gig Geforce 9500 graphics card, patch 1.67.2
Every time I reinstall the game I run it clean without any CC, not even the store bought stuff so it isn't CC or mods that cause me trouble.
Theorist
#9 Old 10th Nov 2015 at 6:10 PM
Actually, the first slot is a PCI Express x16 slot. The 2nd slot is a PCI Express x1 slot. You can plug a PCI Express x1 card into the x16 slot, but not the other way around, because the slot is much shorter. You can actually plug a PCI-e x16 card into the x1 slot as well if you cut the end of it so that the longer card will fit, and it would work, just at x1 transfer rates instead of x16, although I digress.
The bottom slot is a 32-bit PCI slot. It's an old school slot that dates back to the 90s.

Anyway, if I understand correctly, you want to know if you can plug a card that fits into the middle (PCI-e x1 slot) into the 32-bit PCI slot on the bottom.
Technically, it IS possible to do. There do exist PCI-e to 32-bit PCI adapters. In fact, I have this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-32-Bit-...d-/261395602426
Here is one that costs a bit more and might be better:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/StarTech-PC...1-/291490355272

The one I have (top one) has an x16 sized slot so graphics cards can fit, but it is electrically just an x1 slot. I'm currently using it in an ancient Pentium 4 computer, so I can use a modern PCI-e x16 graphics card in one of its old PCI slots. Here's what I can tell you about these adapters:
- They will add to the height of the card since they go between your card and the slot. If your case doesn't have enough room, your full-height card might not fit.
- Since it adds to the height of the card, a full-height card obviously won't have any place to screw down into the case.
- Since it adds to the height of the card, you wouldn't be able to access any connectors near the top of the card through the hole in the back of your case.
- Low-profile cards should fit pretty well, as low profile card + adapter = full size height.
- The card will communicate more slowly with the PC because PCI slot will be the bottleneck (33MHz speed, or 133MB/s bandwidth whereas PCI-e x1 has 250MB/s bandwidth).

The one I have in particular has a few caveats as well:
- ATI HD 6450 card did NOT work in Windows 7. No driver could make it work. It would lock up the computer, even with a clean install. It does, however, work just fine with Windows 8.1. Weird.
- nVidia GTX 460 card worked fine in the adapter in both Windows 7 and 8.1. Although being a big card, only the bottom ports could be access through the hole in the back of the case.

That said, you're probably better off getting a new motherboard, although just thought I'd let you know these adapters do exist and they do work. Although due to the weird caveats mine had with the ATI card and Win 7, it wouldn't surprise me if some cards work and others don't.

Resident wet blanket.
 
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