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Senegal, Dakar
1 Level
739 Review
56 Karma

Review on ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ StarTech.com PEX2PCI4 PCI Express to 4 Slot PCI Expansion System - External PCI Slot - PCI Expansion Chassis (Black) by Steven Darkshnar

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Works well enough when you really need it

This product works well enough most of the time when you really need to add a few PCI slots to a modern system, and it works plug and play with modern Linux kernels. Warning, I managed to fry the motherboard by powering on the case while the computer was on - maybe not a very smart move, but since the PCI standard allows hot-plugging I figured it might work. Lesson learned. An important caveat is that while the PCI standard allows up to 5A on the 5V rail, the 5V buck converter in this case only supplies 3A for all four cards. This forced me to supplement the 5V rail with an external power supply. If you plan to use all four slots, or have particularly power-hungry cards, be sure to count before you buy.

Pros
  • Computer components
Cons
  • Ugly packaging