out of pci slots

[Waldo2k2]

Ok, im in a pickle here.
I'm not looking to buy a whole new motherboard unless I absolutely have to, but I'm out of pci slots (microATX crap, i hate it now). I've been searching for things like "pci expansion card", etc. But I've come up with nothing, does anyone know where I can get something that would plug into an existing pci slot and offer 2-3 more slots off of it? If they don't sell that kind of thing then that's cool, but I can't find anything (mostly because I don't know what the name of something like that would be), so if anyone knows anything that would help me that'd be great. Thanks.

[DavidP]

considering the fact that most PCI cards need to be aligned in the exact same way so that they all fit with the case of the computer, because they usually have some type of port that comes out the back for input/output purposes, I highly doubt it.

Most motherboards, however, do come with some type of expansion slot where you solder on a new slot and put a card there. My motherboard has 1 AGP slot, 5 PCI slots, and 1 ISA expansion slot (in other words, the ISA slot is not there, but I can solder one on if I want to).

Check to see if your motherboard has an expansion slot.

If it does not, chances are you are out of luck...unless there is some sort of external unit you can hook up to your computer which allows PCI cards to be plugged into it.

What are you using all your PCI slots on????

Normal PCI slot usage: sound card, network card, MAYBE graphics card if you dont have an AGP slot...that's 3 out of the normal 5 slots that come with most motherboards...and lots of motherboards are now coming with integrated sound and network capabilities....

Other possible things I guess you could have is a SCSI card or a IDE expansion card in there...

[Waldo2k2]

well this is a microatx board (3 pci). It has onboard sound, however it's cmedia, and their drivers are so broken (and never updated) that hardly any of my games will play without crashing so I have a sound blaster live in one slot. I have a intel 536ep modem in another slot, and the top slot is a pci cooling fan which helps to cool my graphics card (can't remove that or my card overheats, even though it's not OC'd). My onboard LAN has problems, sometimes I'll have to restart 2-3 times to get a good throughput speed on my network (and yes I'm using a switch). So I wanted to put a pci nic in this thing...however I have no slots. I know they used to make "riser cards" all the time for older systems to solve the problem of having hardly any expansion available on baby AT and some early atx boards, but they seem to have gone extinct. So maybe eventually I'll upgrade my whole system (mobo, proc, and ram). But for now I'm going to drop 23 bucks on a usb-->ethernet adapter. Kind of wish I had spent a little more money when i first built this machine and got a full atx board. oh well. Thanks anyway.

[DavidP]

when you first mentioned riser card i thought you were talking about those ghetto old things that used to come in Compaq Presario computers that I wont even begin to describe because they were so horrid...

anyways, i found this after a quick google search:

http://www.casetronic.com/faq/faq-c137.html

Is that what you are talking about? I am sure you could easily find one on ebay.

but if i were you i would still go for a new mobo and a bigger case...

[Waldo2k2]

case can hold 7 slots

[ober]

Sounds like it's time for an upgrade buddy... Either that or find another way to cool the graphics card (leave the case open and use a small floor fan? ... that's what I do, but I have all kinds of heat issues ).

[Waldo2k2]

well I go LANing a lot so that fan thing is out of the question, that's about the only way to cool it at this point, radeon's just run to damn hot.

I'll upgrade eventually, but I hate this onboard lan, im going to get that usb ethernet adapter anyway.

[ober]

Ahh... I wondered what the deal was... carrying your PC to a lan party all the time can be a pain with full systems. That's why I'm trying to talk my group into playing across the net. (but then... that's out for you too pretty much if you're stuck on 46k.

[maes]

I have a spare PCI slot, you can use mine

[EvBladeRunnervE]

well I go LANing a lot so that fan thing is out of the question, that's about the only way to cool it at this point, radeon's just run to damn hot.

hmm..... radeons usually run quite cool, for me and around 20000+ people on OCforums, unless there is something wrong with the heatsink on it. you might be able to get rid of that other fan if you reseat your heatsink with a thermal paste of your choosing(my pref. is arctic silver). The other case might be that your case doesnt have enough airflow, how many case fans do you have , and in what aligment?

[Waldo2k2]

>>case fans

2x120mm one intake in the front which blows towards the hard drives, and across to the pci slots, and one exhaust in the back, above the pci slots. Then this pci cooling fan is 2x80mm. I think i should've bought a different make of my radeon, i bought a powercolor and after seeing it in person the stock fan on it looks weak. Nonetheless, i think it was mostly overheating because I had a pci card right below it, which restricted air flow to the card. So I moved everything down one and got the fan to be safe. So now even if I didn't have that pci fan sticking an extra card in there would cause the radeon to overheat. That's my dillemma.

[MisterSako]

ive seen such things like PCI expansion cards in machines. i think you have to buy a certain one made by the makers of your motherboard

[major_small]

anyways, i found this after a quick google search:

http://www.casetronic.com/faq/faq-c137.html

Is that what you are talking about? I am sure you could easily find one on ebay.

yeah, but:

Can the VIA Dual Riser Card be used on motherboard s other than VIA?
No, the VIA Dual Riser Card was designed specifically for VIA EPIA motherboards because the VIA motherboards come tith a special BIOS for sharing the IRQ on the single PCI Slot.

what is your mobo manufacturer? maybe that would help out more...

[EvBladeRunnervE]

i bought a powercolor and after seeing it in person the stock fan on it looks weak. Nonetheless, i think it was mostly overheating because I had a pci card right below it, which restricted air flow to the card.

hmm... I think the brand of it has more to do than anything; Powercolor is not very well respected ,which is kind of sad, because from the cases I have seen, they are really I am sillyI am sillyI am sillyI am sillyI am sillyy about refunds, and if you got it oem.... well let's just not go there

edit: anyone notice the forums are really strict about what are cuss words?

edit:

also, Waldo, what is your price range on this? I know you already mentioned you do LANs, but is there anything else we should know?

[DavidP]

I still say buy a new mobo, it will solve all problems. It's better to do a major fix now that will make your life much easier than to do a small minor fix that will eventually become outdated and useless and might even cause more problems.