Question: PCIe-1.0 card in a PCIe-2.0 socket?

Guys,

Just got a new system up and running. The mobo (MSI k9A2 Platinum) has on-board audio but I'm considering disabling it in favor of some kind of PCIe-1.0 based sound card (make and model is unknown at the present).

My problem is that my mobo has but a single PCIe-1.0 slot and it is covered by the video card (go figure!). My query is as it says in the title - will PCIe-1.0 card work in a PCIe-2.0 slot?

Yeah, I know, there are a lot of extra pins in the PCIe-2.0 design but it may not mean that this combination won't work. I just don't know enough about the new specs but I'd like to... This new system is my first in about 7-years so you can imagine how things have changed on me. I'm a retired steelworker, not some IT guru, so as you can plainly see, I have 2 strikes on me already

Any help is appriciated.

Thanks.

Sorry for the bad post guys! This I believe should have gone into a different forum. Admin???

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Last edited by shearroller; 14-06-2009 at 01:26. Reason: posted in the wrong forum

Yes, but there is nothing wrong with your on board sound.

Why do you want to make this change?

platinumsword,

Thank you for your quick response.

As I stated in my original post, it's been a long time since my last 'new' system and as we all know all too well, things change quickly in the tech world and right now I'm playing catch up. I'm considering connecting the new comp to my HT and would like the best audio I can afford. Right now I'm just collecting knowledge, hashing out my options, and it good to learn that I have the option of adding a different audio card should I decide to go that route. Knowing I have the option is...comforting ;-)

Thanks again...

Ciao...

You have an excellent MOBO, it's not top of the line but it's up there and has had many respected reviews.

You motherboard has been designed to do what you ask.

Audio

On board your motherboard is a Realtek soundchip once you have the Realtek HD Audio Drivers installed you will be able to output via your optical (SPDIF) 7.1 + 2 Channel High Definition audio via activation through the Realtek HD Audio Manager. So all you need here is the right length of optical cable.

Video

Well you already know that there is no on board video.

There basically two players, ATI and Nvidia. Well it has been suggested that ATI works better with this board, its not a given.

So what you need is DVI to HDMI conversion and then the proper length of HDMI cable and activation through your video cards manager.

In a nutshell all video cards have DVI out on the back of them. So what will be require is a DVI to HDMI conversion. This little device is referred to as a dongle. Depending on what video card is purchased some will come with one and some will not.

Now that we have that covered here is a bit of a twist for ya and as far as I know this still holds true today although I have not spent alot of time digging.

ATI cards

If you look at some the cards in ATI's line some of the video cards are capable of decoding 5.1 audio. IE 3870,3890,4870,4890

In the home theater world we know that DVI is only capable of moving video, well ATI has manged to modify it's DVI to HDMI dongle so that is will allow 5.1 audio to pass through with the video. Not all dongles are the same, and usually the correct dongle will come with the video card.

DVI to HDMI conversion,HDMI cable and activation via the video cards manager.

Nvidia cards

Simple, connect the DVI to HDMI dongle. Run your HDMI cable, Activate via the video cards manager.


Summary

Your audio is transmitted via optical out
Your video is transmitted via DVI to HDMI conversion. ( ATI's extra option )


Now all you need is the appropriate software for playback.


I kinda of babbled a bit, But I think you can get it.

platinumsword,

Again, thank you for the response and the loads of info. Wow! I knew I was behind the times but...give me time...

Interestingly, I'm using a pair of HIS 4890 Turbo video cards in crossfire config and I also know about the HDMI output via an adapter thrue one of the DVI jacks. I read something about audio being available too on the DVI/HDMI but I thought I read it wrong. OK, now I know my memory is working about par.

When I bought the second video card I also ordered a 25-ft. length of HDMI cable to reach to my HT equipment. And I did try the hook-up once and while I was able to have my desktop displayed on the TV it wasn't exactly what I wanted - it looked like it was only an EXTENSION of my desktop and not THE desktop. In other words it displayed my desktop but no icons and no cursor. I need to do more work on things but the HT will have to wait until I have time to play.

It's nice to know that my mobo choice wasn't a bad choice. And I bought it with my HT in mind since it does have the 7.1 configuration. I had always thought I'd have to go with a 25-ft. long optical cable to feed the audio to the HT but I'm glad to hear I won't have to go that route. When I decided upon an ATI video card (I always had nVidia video cards until just last week!) it was when I read about their DVI/HDMI configuration - hense the HDMI cable. But I just have to get the job done.

FYI - my computer is as follows:

Motherboard: MSI k9A2 Platinum
CPU: AMD Phenon II 940 running @ 3.67GHz.
Memory: 4GB (2x2GB) of G.Skill F2-8500CL5d
PSU: Corsair 750Watt
Video: Pair of HIS 4890 Turbo in Crossfire configuration.

Thanks again platinumsword for all the great info. I hope it helps others as well.

Ciao!

I recently purchased an XFX 4850 vid card (great card) and was a bit pestered that it did not included a DVI to HDMI adapter.

Monoprice sells such a device and there are at least 2 reports from ATI users that their adapter does pass through audio. I was going to purchase it, but a call to XFX resulted in them shipping one to me.

I'll probably order one anyways on my next purchase from Monoprice.

Just to let you know, the HIS 4890 Turbo cards I went with do include a DVI-to-HDMI adapter. However, the HDMI cable I ordered from Newegg does have a DVI plug on one end and an HDMI plug on the other. I have my fingers crossed in hopes I can make it all work as I've read one post by a person who claims his 4890 (maker unknown) will work great with the HDMI until he configures for crossfire. Once he configures for crossfire he looses audio. So I do have ALL of my digits crossed ;-)

You might have to return the cable with the DVI plug on it and get just a straight HDMI cable, because as far a I know the transfers from DVI to HDMI has to happen through the ATI official dongle. This is only if you wish to transmit audio through it in which you really don't have to because you have optical out on your motherboard. This is all going to depend on weather you want to set up your home theater so that you have the option of using audio via the TV or Audio via the AMP.

So, what does ATI's dongle do?

It simply tells the ATI card that it is plugged in and to start sending the audio (not over dedicated audio pins but over the 3 sets of data signals). Basically, when the dongle is plugged in, ATI pretends the DVI connector is an HDMI one and electrically treats it like that.

How does it detect that the dongle is plugged in?

The DVI and HDMI specifications include a 2 wire serial bus called I2C that is widely used in electronics. This bus is used to transfer the EDID information. The ATI dongle includes a small memory chip, either an EPROM or some other non volatile RAM device, on that bus. Any time an adapter is plugged in, the ATI card tries to probe for that eprom and read the data from it. If it's a real ATI dongle, it then turns on the audio. This is why you need the specific graphic cards dongle that usually comes with it.

platinumsword,

Your comment is uncanny...

While I was entering my last reply about my video cards and DVI-HDMI cable the thought that I may have purchased the wrong cable DID cross my mind - I even had the text entered but decided to delete it all in hopes my 'feelings' were unjustified. Maybe I should have listed to that damned little voice in my head. After all, he's right most times...

I plan on giving it a try anyway...because now I have to find out for myself what's what.

Thanks again.

platinumsword,

You are correct, I needed to use the HDMI-to-HDMI cable, along with the supplied DVI-to-HDMI adapter, to get the audio feed-through with my HIS 4890 video card. It works great with videos!

Of course, being human, I always want more...I was hoping I would be able to play my games too but, alas, it's not to be...no audio. After thinking about it for a few days (I'm getting slow in my 'old age') it makes sense that the games would be silent since it uses different pathways as compared with a DVD.

Thanks again for your help.

Now where did I put that 25-foot audio lead.....

Select the correct audio output as the default device (ati/HDMI) and select "Use only default devices.