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#1
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PCI card backplate dimensions
Hi all,
My family has an HP Pavilion slimline PC which has a single PCI card slot. It came with a crappy softmodem PCI card installed, which I decided to replace with a Wireless-G PCI card. The case is very slim, about 100 mm wide, so that the DVD drive has to be mounted vertically. The motherboard is a microATX motherboard with dimensions of 6.7"x6.7" (it looks like this: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...ng=en&y=0#N813) When I removed the modem card, I found to my surprise that the backplate of the modem was actually significantly shorter than a standard PCI card. Perhaps a little ASCII art will illustrate what I mean... STANDARD PCI CARD BACKPLATE / =/ / _=/ / /_ / =/ / _=/ / / / /_ /|______/__________________/__ |O| _ \_ ^ | | |_| O O O _| | ~ 20 mm | |____________________________/ v |/ ----- ~ 16 mm --------- ~ 120 mm ----------- "SMALL" PCI CARD BACKPLATE / =/ / _=/ / /_ / =/ / _=/ / / / /_ /|/________________/__ |O| _ \_ ^ | | |_| O O O _| | ~20 mm | |____________________/ v |/ ----- ~ 16 mm ------- ~80 mm ------- Basically, this PCI card is totally identical to a "normal" PCI card that would go in any mini-ATX desktop case, EXCEPT that the backplate is only 80 mm long from the tab to the point where it screws into the chassis, rather than the 120 mm or so for a "normal" PCI card. This is presumably to allow a slim case (the whole case is only about 100 mm wide) Since the card itself was only about 60 mm in depth, I was able to make the "normal" PCI card card fit in this case, after some rather heroic modifications. I had to remove the backplate from the card, cut it short with a hacksaw, bend it, and drill a hole for the mounting screw. I'm wondering if anyone knows what this shallow-depth PCI card is called for future reference. I've had trouble finding publicly available documentation on the official size of PCI cards. Wikipedia has only the barest information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphe...hysica l_size. I gather that a "standard" PCI card that fits a modern motherboard is actually a "half-length" PCI card. Thanks for any advice, Dan |
#2
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PCI card backplate dimensions
On 21 Dec 2006 14:54:36 -0800, "Dan Lenski"
wrote: Hi all, My family has an HP Pavilion slimline PC which has a single PCI card slot. It came with a crappy softmodem PCI card installed, which I decided to replace with a Wireless-G PCI card. The case is very slim, about 100 mm wide, so that the DVD drive has to be mounted vertically. The motherboard is a microATX motherboard with dimensions of 6.7"x6.7" (it looks like this: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...ng=en&y=0#N813) When I removed the modem card, I found to my surprise that the backplate of the modem was actually significantly shorter than a standard PCI card. Perhaps a little ASCII art will illustrate what I mean... STANDARD PCI CARD BACKPLATE / =/ / _=/ / /_ / =/ / _=/ / / / /_ /|______/__________________/__ |O| _ \_ ^ | | |_| O O O _| | ~ 20 mm | |____________________________/ v |/ ----- ~ 16 mm --------- ~ 120 mm ----------- "SMALL" PCI CARD BACKPLATE / =/ / _=/ / /_ / =/ / _=/ / / / /_ /|/________________/__ |O| _ \_ ^ | | |_| O O O _| | ~20 mm | |____________________/ v |/ ----- ~ 16 mm ------- ~80 mm ------- Basically, this PCI card is totally identical to a "normal" PCI card that would go in any mini-ATX desktop case, EXCEPT that the backplate is only 80 mm long from the tab to the point where it screws into the chassis, rather than the 120 mm or so for a "normal" PCI card. This is presumably to allow a slim case (the whole case is only about 100 mm wide) Nice ASCII art. That's probably a "low profile" card bracket. Not as common, but still a standard. Since the card itself was only about 60 mm in depth, I was able to make the "normal" PCI card card fit in this case, after some rather heroic modifications. I had to remove the backplate from the card, cut it short with a hacksaw, bend it, and drill a hole for the mounting screw. I'm wondering if anyone knows what this shallow-depth PCI card is called for future reference. Low profile. You can (with a little hunting) find some low profile network adapters, though many of the wireless ones that short (PCB itself) are inferior quality... it seems most of the good ones are a little more than 80mm from bracket tip to card PCB top edge. I probably would've used a USB adapter or the built in ethernet port to a bridge capable access point or capable router (the lines on what each is and can do are blurring, based on installed firmware). I've had trouble finding publicly available documentation on the official size of PCI cards. Wikipedia has only the barest information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphe...hysica l_size. I gather that a "standard" PCI card that fits a modern motherboard is actually a "half-length" PCI card. Well it could be a full length, it'll still fit, but with today's integrated chipsets (for whatever the PCI card does) you don't often find cards that need to be that big, not for the past half a decade or more at least. Today video cards may be the largest on average, though most people aren't using such PCI video cards anymore unless they bought an OEM system lacking anything better to interface a video card upgrade. |
#3
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PCI card backplate dimensions
kony wrote:
Basically, this PCI card is totally identical to a "normal" PCI card that would go in any mini-ATX desktop case, EXCEPT that the backplate is only 80 mm long from the tab to the point where it screws into the chassis, rather than the 120 mm or so for a "normal" PCI card. This is presumably to allow a slim case (the whole case is only about 100 mm wide) Nice ASCII art. That's probably a "low profile" card bracket. Not as common, but still a standard. Thanks Kony! Looks right to me... why didn't I think of that? I found the spec on it: http://www.pcisig.com/specifications...i/lowp_ecn.pdf Low profile. You can (with a little hunting) find some low profile network adapters, though many of the wireless ones that short (PCB itself) are inferior quality... it seems most of the good ones are a little more than 80mm from bracket tip to card PCB top edge. I probably would've used a USB adapter or the built in ethernet port to a bridge capable access point or capable router (the lines on what each is and can do are blurring, based on installed firmware). Good to know, thanks! It's strange because many PCI cards are shallow enough to fit this form factor easily. It's too bad that such cards don't come with replacement brackets, it's just a 10-cent piece of sheet metal basically. I searched for low-profile PCI cards and it seems like some of them are labeled as such based on the depth of the *card* and NOT the dimensions of the bracket... for instance this one he http://www.acortech.com/AOpen_FM56-S...d-3204184.html It's clear from the relative lengths of the pins and the bracket that the bracket is about 120 mm... so it's clearly not a low-profile bracket. Is this a term that's abused a lot? Dan |
#4
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PCI card backplate dimensions
On 21 Dec 2006 15:39:32 -0800, "Dan Lenski"
wrote: Good to know, thanks! It's strange because many PCI cards are shallow enough to fit this form factor easily. It's too bad that such cards don't come with replacement brackets, it's just a 10-cent piece of sheet metal basically. Yes, but there are SO MANY different product flaws that 10 cents would solve, it's not surprising they're too cheap to include 2 brackets. I searched for low-profile PCI cards and it seems like some of them are labeled as such based on the depth of the *card* and NOT the dimensions of the bracket... for instance this one he http://www.acortech.com/AOpen_FM56-S...d-3204184.html It's clear from the relative lengths of the pins and the bracket that the bracket is about 120 mm... so it's clearly not a low-profile bracket. Is this a term that's abused a lot? Unfortunately yes, it seems that somehow marketing departments saw short cards called low profile and they didn't "get it", what the point of it was... that it has to have the bracket or it's pointless unless the buyer wants to, is willing to do what you did to shorten it. I've had to shorten a few brackets before too, and on one I didn't want to destroy the original bracket yet because I suspected the card I was trying to use might not "cut it", was a wireless card in a system pretty far away from an access point. I just too a piece of sheet aluminum and cut it to size, but that was easier because being a NIC, it only needed a couple small circular holes for the R-SMA jack and an LED. |
#5
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PCI card backplate dimensions
Dan Lenski wrote:
kony wrote: Basically, this PCI card is totally identical to a "normal" PCI card that would go in any mini-ATX desktop case, EXCEPT that the backplate is only 80 mm long from the tab to the point where it screws into the chassis, rather than the 120 mm or so for a "normal" PCI card. This is presumably to allow a slim case (the whole case is only about 100 mm wide) Nice ASCII art. That's probably a "low profile" card bracket. Not as common, but still a standard. Thanks Kony! Looks right to me... why didn't I think of that? I found the spec on it: http://www.pcisig.com/specifications...i/lowp_ecn.pdf Low profile. You can (with a little hunting) find some low profile network adapters, though many of the wireless ones that short (PCB itself) are inferior quality... it seems most of the good ones are a little more than 80mm from bracket tip to card PCB top edge. I probably would've used a USB adapter or the built in ethernet port to a bridge capable access point or capable router (the lines on what each is and can do are blurring, based on installed firmware). Good to know, thanks! It's strange because many PCI cards are shallow enough to fit this form factor easily. It's too bad that such cards don't come with replacement brackets, it's just a 10-cent piece of sheet metal basically. I searched for low-profile PCI cards and it seems like some of them are labeled as such based on the depth of the *card* and NOT the dimensions of the bracket... for instance this one he http://www.acortech.com/AOpen_FM56-S...d-3204184.html It's clear from the relative lengths of the pins and the bracket that the bracket is about 120 mm... so it's clearly not a low-profile bracket. Is this a term that's abused a lot? Dan In the low profile video cards on Newegg, only a few cards ship with the necessary bracket. I guess you have to shop for brackets separately, in a lot of cases. And getting a bracket with the right hole pattern, for any needed connectors, is the next issue. It cannot cost a company very much, to ship a low profile bracket, with a low profile card. Here is a bracket for a video card. http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_inf...or-evga-fx5200 Someone wants to make a little more profit on this one. http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3102226 I did find a site, that offered a few different kinds of brackets, but I cannot find it now. Guess I didn't bookmark it. The main benefit to a manufacturer, of making a low profile add-in card, is saving on the size of the PCI card blank. That is why they make the cards. It isn't generosity, as in making a low profile, because of a large demand. I think that may be why the card is low profile, and the bracket is regular profile. They save on PCB material, and yet have a regular profile bracket which fits the hottest shopping category. Throwing a low profile bracket in the kit, would be admitting that people have low profile computers :-) Paul |
#6
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PCI card backplate dimensions
"Dan Lenski" wrote in message
ups.com... kony wrote: Basically, this PCI card is totally identical to a "normal" PCI card that would go in any mini-ATX desktop case, EXCEPT that the backplate is only 80 mm long from the tab to the point where it screws into the chassis, rather than the 120 mm or so for a "normal" PCI card. This is presumably to allow a slim case (the whole case is only about 100 mm wide) Nice ASCII art. That's probably a "low profile" card bracket. Not as common, but still a standard. Thanks Kony! Looks right to me... why didn't I think of that? I found the spec on it: http://www.pcisig.com/specifications...i/lowp_ecn.pdf Low profile. You can (with a little hunting) find some low profile network adapters, though many of the wireless ones that short (PCB itself) are inferior quality... it seems most of the good ones are a little more than 80mm from bracket tip to card PCB top edge. I probably would've used a USB adapter or the built in ethernet port to a bridge capable access point or capable router (the lines on what each is and can do are blurring, based on installed firmware). Good to know, thanks! It's strange because many PCI cards are shallow enough to fit this form factor easily. It's too bad that such cards don't come with replacement brackets, it's just a 10-cent piece of sheet metal basically. I searched for low-profile PCI cards and it seems like some of them are labeled as such based on the depth of the *card* and NOT the dimensions of the bracket... for instance this one he http://www.acortech.com/AOpen_FM56-S...d-3204184.html It's clear from the relative lengths of the pins and the bracket that the bracket is about 120 mm... so it's clearly not a low-profile bracket. Is this a term that's abused a lot? Dan For what it's worth, I just installed a D-Link wireless card G and B compatible, model WDA-1320 in a friends computer. The box came with a standard full sized mounting bracket installed on the card BUT the box also contained a replacement bracket they called a "Low Profile Mounting Bracket" in the box just in case I wanted to install the card in a machine like you describe. |
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