PCIE adapter?

N

nicnicman

New Member
Just recently bought a Nvidia Quadro FX 4500 for my Dell Dimension E510 and have found that it will not fit into my case. If the card could just be moved down a half inch it would fit. Which brings me to my question. Is there such a thing as an adapter that will plug into the PCIE 16x slot on my motherboard and connect to my new video card thereby giving me more freedom to place the card?

Thanks for any comments
Nick
 
Unfortunately there isn't one. The main problem with prebuilt systems is the actual lack of space for anything other then the options available when buying or ordering new.

The newer models come in more compact style mini towers rather then any good sized mid tower case that would provide adequate space for high end as well as mid range and lower end model cards.
 
Actually if the PCIe slot were lowered about a half inch there would be plenty of room. Maybe I could get one of those flexible riser cards. The ones I saw were about $50.00 bucks but I think it will beat the alternative.

The non flexible ones seem to be cheaper but all they do is turn the card 90 degrees. This could make matters worse for me unless they are available in both 90 degree directions.

Actually all I really want to do is go directly beside the existing slot but I have not seen any cards that will do this.

Any suggestions? Could this work?
 
The one seen there was a bit higher priced. But it would allow you to tilt the card enough to see it fit in.

Even with a riser in will you have enough power from the supply seen in the older model Dell there? I'm looking at much newer high end card being used on an older prebuild typically seeing a 301-305w supply.
 
You're right it is a 300 Watt power supply. Nvidia recommends a 350Watt or higher. The power supply will need to be upgraded but I was going to try it with the existing power supply.
 
The largest seen for older Dells was a 350w if you can find a replacement model at this time just for the increase. Biut I'll tell you from the start the card itself is a bit of overkill for the older system there to start with.

It would good if you decided to build a new case on your own however where you could put in any supply you wanted to meet the demands and still some extra onhand. One review pointed out that model came with a Radeon X300SE model card as an option.

Now compare the general specifications on that to what is seen on the FX 4500 you have to get an idea. http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonx300/specs.html

One of the problems you could run into wouldn't be so much simply being newer and needing more power but the need for an additional 4 or 6pin power feed seen on the typical 500-700w supplies especially those with SLI certification seen on them.

The specifications seen in one review rather then fuss trying to find specs at Dell's support site(dellmare) shows that comes with a 305w suppy At least it won't cost an arm and a leg for their 350w replacement supply however available at http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A2125383
 
The computer is actually not that bad. It has 2 SATA Hard drives, a 2.8GHz Pentium D Dual core processor, and 3 GB of RAM. Eventually I would like to build from scratch but I still think there is some life left in this machine.

I chose the card because it is designed for CAD applications and if possible I would like to install it in my Dell.

The Quadro does require a 6 pin connector but an additional molex would do the trick. Do you think I could find a decent power supply that is the same size and shape of my existing power supply?

Thanks for all the input!
Nick
 
The Quadro came with a wire with a 6 pin connection on one end and two 4 pin molex connectors on the other end. If I am understanding correctly, I am to use this connector if my power supply does not have the 6 pin connector.

Do both of the 4 pin molex connectors need to be plugged into the power supply or just one?
 
The 350w model from Dell at the link sees a 6pin power connector available on that while still being a smaller supply. Likewise any other good supply will see at least one unless you look at big wattages which would be pointless there.

The twin 4pin molex connectors are for seeing the card powered by the P8 connectors required for some of the latest boards out while most still use the 4wire molex 12v cpu feed like you would have on the older P4 board there.
 
All right let me get this straight. If I were to connect to my existing power supply, which does not have a 6 pin connector, would I have to use the included wire with the two 4 pin molex connectors? Would both the molex connectors need to be connected? Or is this wire only for newer motherboards?

By the way, I will switch the power supply these are just hypothetical questions that I hope will help me to understand.

Any more info will be great.

Thanks a lot
Nick
 
The cable included with the card is simply an adapter cable for use with the newer model supplies coming out with the P8 connectors. The 6pin plug for the card is already provided on the 305w supply you have now.

You will certainly want to wait until you have the 350w model in before trying to run the card since the present supply could end up being pulled down with any good load placed on the system itself. Memory and cpu time are certainly going to be taxed when running CAD there.
 
For some reason I can't find the 6 pin connector on my power supply. I see a 6 pin connector but there is no way that it will fit into the Quadro card. Am I missing something?

Attached is a link to the exact same page that was sent with my video card. The card is a FX4500 but this page was sent.

Thanks again.
 
You can save space by using the edit button next to the quote for adding something to a post just to let you know. If you have to come back in at some time to update information that will come in handy.

The pdf page there is simply for illustration purposes and not specifying any particular newer model since. It's simply to show where to look when plugging the adapter cable in there.

The current 6pin plug on the 305w supply you have in now likely saw another use rather then for a PCI-E 16x card but likely an early PCI-E 4x model explaining the change seen with the plug size. Dell may have had another optional device that would use that when that model desktop first came out.
 
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