New PC mother board / PCi problem

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-- New PC mother board / PCi problem

Posted by kaymak on Oct-03-2007 14:56:

New PC mother board / PCi problem

Hey Guys,

I just bought a new dell xps 210,

The motherboard has 2 expansion slots,

1 half-height PCIe x1
1 half-height PCIe x16 (Graphics)

Basically I only have 1 spare slot

My sound card is a creative sound balster audigy platnum and consists of 2 standard pci cards,

Is their a way to expand the spare half-height PCIe slot so it fits my sound card with its 2 pci cards,

If not can anyone recommend a sound card which would be compatable with the 1 spare pcie slot

Is their a difference tetween pci and PCIe?

Cheers lads

Kev

Posted by echosystm on Oct-03-2007 22:57:

Yep, theres a big diff between PCI and PCIe. They're totally different, and not compatible. You won't be able to use your Audigy in that PC.

There are not many cheap PCIe soundcards around at the moment. Most of them are in the MOTU price range, from memory. You're probably best off with a firewire sound card. Failing that, you could try USB.

If you want to go the firewire route, and your computer has a firewire port, make sure your computer has a Texas Insteuments firewire controller. If you have a VIA firewire controller (buggy with audio stuff), you will probably need a PCIe firewire card ($60).