PCIe Extension Ribbon, card not recognized

[tjanko04]

Hello,

My system includes an eVGA P55 SLI mobo and 2 SLI'd 9800 GTX+ video cards. I decided to upgrade the coolers as they run hot under load and I wanted to do some overclocking as well.

I'm using a pair of Accelero Twin Turbos which work awesome, silent and about a 20-30 degree drop, however, the cards will not fit in my PCI-e x16 and x8 slots due to the thickness. Currently, I am only running one because of this.

I ordered a PCI-e extension ribbon cable which allows me to plug the male end up into the PCI-e x8 slot in the board with just enough clearance behind the fan shrouds and allowed me to relocate the 2nd card. Success?

Nope. The motherboard does not recognize the card through the extension. There is no display, no recognition in the device manager, and when used to connect the first card to the motherboard, the LED readout shows a 2e code indicating no graphics card. Here are the steps I've taken:

Put the 2nd card in the PCI-e x4 slot below, but I was informed that you can not use this for SLI, it is dedicated for only a 3rd card for PhysX.

Uninstalled and reinstalled the latest versions of the drivers.

Ordered a second extension ribbon in case the first was faulty.

Tried both cards in both slots with and without the ribbon (the ribbon is for sure the issue).

Contacted eVGA tech support who
said they have no experience with these ribbons, but suggested their Power Boost to provide additional power to the PCI-e bus. Yes, I bit and I bought. No good.

I really enjoy the performance I'm getting with my cards and I love the fact that no matter what load test I run, I can't heat them past 71 degrees. I don't want to give up on this project when it seems that I'm ALMOST there (and I can make it look nice too ) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Tim

[patio]

Dead card...return it for a replacement.

[Computer_Commando]

...The motherboard does not recognize the card through the extension...

PCI-e does not support the use of extension cables, most buses don't.

[tjanko04]

Dead card...return it for a replacement.

Both cards work without the cable.

[tjanko04]

PCI-e does not support the use of extension cables, most buses don't.

Hmm... that's interesting.  See, this extension cable is made specifically for a PCIe.  It fits directly into the socket.  There are many suppliers both overseas and domestic that produce them.  I bought one made by Tyco from Hong Kong because I they were about $10, I just had to wait a month.  Buying them in the states cost about $40-50. 

I'm pretty sure that it is supported, maybe it's just my specific motherboard? 

[BC_Programmer]

I'm pretty sure that it is supported, maybe it's just my specific motherboard?

It's not supported. In fact, it's "prohibited" by the spec.

This isn't really that surprising; manufacturers make all sorts of device that blatantly defy specifications. From SNES controllers that latch high on the wrong pin to ISA, PCI, AGP and PCI-E "Extensions" (and even "converters") they make all sorts of stuff for which there is either no provision for in the specification or are in effect prohibited by one or the other; additionally engineering issues may mean they take shortcuts. Either way, while they can often work most of the time for many devices, none of them work for all devices all of the time; most of them don't meet the specification (on account of... well, existing) or they feel they can save so much by doing something differently and it happens that you have cards that rely on the standard behaviour.

It sounds like a stretch, but I've seen it before countless times with hardware from all sorts of manufacturers.

[Computer_Commando]

It's not supported. In fact, it's "prohibited" by the spec.
...
It sounds like a stretch, but I've seen it before countless times with hardware from all sorts of manufacturers.

I didn't find the spec, but certainly knew a ribbon cable would be prohibited.  There could be bus extenders, but they would cost as much as the computer.  Believe it or not, sometimes these devices are intentional designed to override the spec & other times they are just not aware there is a standard or how to intrepret it.