Controller card - PCI Express

[mike909]

Building a custom NAS/SAN/Whatever, and the adaptec SATA II controller card is pci-express 4x. My question is, can I plug that 4x into a 16x slot to achieve max performance? According to this wiki article I can. Most mobo specs say the 16x pci-express slot is for video card, but does that mean I can't use it for the sata raid controller card? The mobo only has a 16x slot and a couple 1x slots.
controller

[rallynavvie]

I think the PCB fingers will fit and if it's anything like fitting PCI cards into PCI-X slots then it would clock that bus down to x4 speeds. But since that would be the only card you're using in there anyway (or at least the fastest interface on the board) then you wouldn't lose performance anywhere else. I'd check with the motherboard manufacturer to verify the slots are scalable like that though. Which board is it?

What performance loss did you think you would encounter?

[mike909]

Well, I havn't selected the board yet, but most of the lower end ones Ive been looking at have just a 16x and 1 or 2 1x slots. I just wanted to make sure that I could in fact plug a controller into the 16x slot and have it clock to the max of the controller (4x), and also that there isn't a such thing as a pcie 'video card only' slot. I guess I will pick a board and contact the manufacturer to see if that is indeed how it works.

[rallynavvie]

That's an MD2 card, are you trying to keep the size within 1U-2U form factor? I can recommend some boards if you're looking for a file server. That's a great card you've got already so I'd certainly try building around it too.

[mike909]

are you trying to keep the size within 1U-2U form factor?

Not necessarily, I was just looking for a good card; but maybe you can help with my other question (now that I have found the mobo I will be using). You can check out this thread for my controller question. Basically, I'm wondering how much, if any, performance hit I would take by using the onboard raid 5 controller vs. the add-in card.
Thanks for the knowledge.

[mike909]

That's an MD2 card, are you trying to keep the size within 1U-2U form factor? I can recommend some boards if you're looking for a file server.

I'm certianly open to suggestions on the card, especially if you think I'l get comparable performance out of a cheaper card (>300$)

[mike909]

rallynavvie,
Would you mind throwing some controller suggestions my way? I feel like I will be paying for the low-profile card for no reason, but I don't have any experience with any controllers except Adaptec.
Thanks.

[rallynavvie]

It's an expensive card, sure, but the 8-port SATA controllers in my storage array were $400 each used so the $300 card you've got there is still a pretty good deal. Watch Anandtech's for sale forum for used deals.