B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

[Sleepy Rabbit]

I would also like an answer to this question (for B85M Pro4).

[parsec]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

Any PCI-E port can be used for any PCI-E device, they are not only for video cards.

A PCI-E x 16 slot is required to use a video card, since it will only fit in that type of slot. But that does not mean those slots can only be used with video cards, they can be used with any PCI-E card, sound, HBA cards, NIC cards, etc.

[Sleepy Rabbit]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

Ok. I just wanted to make sure that there were no unnecessary limitations in the BIOS, because of the wording in the manual and the fact that some people seem to have problems with the PCI-express slots on certain motherboards.

[- wardog -]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

Most times it's folks with Mini ATX boards that have only one PCI/PCIe slot that have problems with compatibility problems when inserting this or that NON-video card in it.

With your board I can't foresee any difficulties. Of course, YMMV.

[jlarja]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

I actually got my B85 Pro4 few days ago and was planning to use ServeRAID BR10i RAID card with it. However, the card doesn't seem to register neither in x4 or x16 slot. It does work in another computer, so the card should be OK. It normally shows a configuration prompt during POST, but on B85 Pro 4 nothing. I'm running Debian and lspci doesn't show the card either.

Any idea what could be wrong and how to fix?

-JLarja

[parsec]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

And the other PC that the RAID card worked fine in, has what for the OS?

Check your BIOS, in the System Browser, to see if it is recognized.

Try clearing the CMOS/BIOS, then reset your required settings and try again.

Also in the BIOS, check for OROM display options, in the Boot screen. Turn off any Fast Boot setting.

[jlarja]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

Ok, armed with the new information, I installed the card again. To my surprise, it worked on the first boot. I was able to enter card's configuration menu and later boot to Debian and check that the card was still there. So I shut down and connected couple of drives. This time card showed some error message (unfortunately I didn't write it down. It was something not very helpful along the lines "error in address 0xb1aab1aa", so it would only matter as something to google. After that the card was silent, no matter what I did, so my guess is that it is probably broken after all. The previous test on another computer was a short one. I just put the card in, booted, checked the card's configuration menu, booted to OS (Windows 7) and checked that the card was visible there.

I did try disabling network option ROMs, but that didn't help. It also seems that the card should be visible in OS even if the option ROM fails to run. I tested with two other SATA cards and both worked just fine even when I disabled all legacy option ROMs (my god the boot was fast that way. I'm almost sorry that it is an always on server). Good thing is that x16 and x4 slot do seem to work for other than graphics cards, so I just need to find a good SATA card.

I'm probably going to forget about port multipliers. I don't know if anyone actually sells them in Finland and considering the uncertainty of whether they will work at all and the extra cost of ordering from abroad, the value isn't really there.

Thanks for your help.

-JLarja

[- wardog -]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

Two things to consider.

1. Have you tried disabling the on-board SATA controllers in the MB's BIOS and then seeing if the card shows up and funtions?

2. Is the card still flashed IR(RAID)? If so and you won't require RAID, that card, like my M1015's, can be flashed IT(Passthrough, non-RAID). Not your BR10i, but the M1015's, IT mode has solved many a problem with recognition issues. I know, if you can't now see the card just how the heck do you flash it. Find a computer that does recognize it and enter the commands VERY CAREFULLY AND CORRECTLY to flash it to IT.

[jlarja]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

Two things to consider.

1. Have you tried disabling the on-board SATA controllers in the MB's BIOS and then seeing if the card shows up and funtions?

2. Is the card still flashed IR(RAID)? If so and you won't require RAID, that card, like my M1015's, can be flashed IT(Passthrough, non-RAID). Not your BR10i, but the M1015's, IT mode has solved many a problem with recognition issues. I know, if you can't now see the card just how the heck do you flash it. Find a computer that does recognize it and enter the commands VERY CAREFULLY AND CORRECTLY to flash it to IT.

Ok, I'll try that. I didn't think changing to IT firmware would matter, but since I don't need (and don't want) to use RAID, I'll give it a shot. Hopefully the card will work on Windows 7 computer like it did before. I'll try disabling on-board SATA, if necessary. Could be few days though, I'll post here again then.

-JLarja

[jlarja]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

So I flashed the card and got it running. However, it seems that the real problem was simply bad contact between the card and PCIe slot. I had originally fastened the card in place in my server. When I tested it on Windows desktop, I was lazy and simply plugged the card in. Turned out that if the card is fastened to place tightly, it may show up but show the error message, or not show up at all. Pushing the card few millimeters, so it's not completely perpenticular in respect to the motherboard, helped. As the card is installed vertically to server while horizontally to desktop, it was quite natural that it hardly ever worked in the server and almost always in desktop. Luckily, I was able to fasten the card to the server in such a way that it works and isn't overly unstable.

I don't completely trust the setup, but as the card only supports disks up to 2 TB, it won't have that many years left anyway.

-JLarja

[- wardog -]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

Yea, the 1068E has a hardware limit of 2TB.

Before my M1015's I had some Supermicro AOC-USASLP-L8i cards that are in the UIO format. In jury rigging them to fit "outside' their intended chassis I now seem to remember one behaving that way too now that I think of it.

Glad to hear you got it sorted and working. Thanks for the update.

Would a CardKeeper (<- link) suit your needs in stabilizing the card and cables that hang off it? Mounting the card horizontal with the unruly SFF cables does induce stress.

[jlarja]

Re: B85M Pro4 - is PCIe x4 slot graphics only?

Before my M1015's I had some Supermicro AOC-USASLP-L8i cards that are in the UIO format. In jury rigging them to fit "outside' their intended chassis I now seem to remember one behaving that way too now that I think of it.

Glad to hear you got it sorted and working. Thanks for the update.

Would a CardKeeper (<- link) suit your needs in stabilizing the card and cables that hang off it? Mounting the card horizontal with the unruly SFF cables does induce stress.

Yeah, something like a CardKeeper would often be useful. On my particular setup though, the card is installed vertically in the server, so the cables don't weight it down the bad way. The card is a second hand part, so I'm thinking that perhaps it was previously installed horizontally and bend a little (not that I could see that with a naked eye), so it now has to be installed in a somewhat bend position to get a good contact. Probably doesn't help that the card is x8 and slot is x16.

-JLarja