Secret slot?

February 5, 2007 10:43 AM

Is there a secret PCI-Express slot in my HP Media Center that I can free up for use?

I've upgraded my HP Media Center PC (model number m7060n) to Windows Vista, and I naturally want to run Aero Glass. Officially, though, this box only has a PCI slot available for graphics, and it's impossible to find a PCI card that meets the specs for Aero (DirectX 3.0) -- there are one or two that only seem to be available in the U.S. If I wait, there may be more that become available.

However, several websites list a PCI-Express slot in the specifications for this machine (some noting that the slot is unavailable, though.) Without cracking open the case, I'm guessing it's being used for the TV Tuner card. Can I do any harm by removing this card (possibly replacing it with a PCI version) and installing a PCI-E graphics card into this slot? I doubt I'll like the answer I would get if I asked HP directly, so I'm putting it to you much smarter people.

posted by evilcolonel to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

Nope. Not on that one. Here's the motherboard specs. Integrated video, 3 PCI slots, no AGP, no mention of PCI-E.

Tuner cards don't usually go into PCI-E slots (AFAIK). Only video output cards really need that much bandwidth.
posted by GuyZero at 10:59 AM on February 5, 2007

FWIW, looking at the photo more closely, it looks like there are holes for mounting another edge connector on the mobo, above the 3 PCI slots. It's offset a bit, like an AGP or PCI-E connector would be. But there's no connector. So the other websites might be alluding to the fact that the mobo seems designed to handle it, but it's just not built for it in the end.
posted by GuyZero at 11:02 AM on February 5, 2007

This user review says "the place on the motherboard where the PCI 16x should be was soldered with nothing on it."
posted by Zed_Lopez at 11:03 AM on February 5, 2007

I missed that review. Thanks folks, and I guess I'm stuck waiting for one of those Radeon x1300 PCI models to become available in Canada.
posted by evilcolonel at 11:11 AM on February 5, 2007

Diamond has a x1300 PCI card that they'll ship to Canada. To quote, "This video card is the first Windows Vista-ready PCI video card from Diamond Multimedia."
posted by GuyZero at 11:57 AM on February 5, 2007

Just to update, I found a GeForce 5500 PCI at Staples, and it does the trick.
posted by evilcolonel at 2:18 PM on April 5, 2007