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Discrete Graphics cards in Mac Mini?
- Thread starter toru173
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Not in our case. An express card is a different format - it's pci-e's answer to pcmcia, whereas the mini is using the "Mini Pci-e" form factor - think mini pci, but different. The basic concept, though, is what we're after. That would definitely work in a Macbook Pro, though ^_^
I'm the guy over at 123macmini who makes up the JAE50 X IDE Cables so that you can run 2x PATA devices from the mini. This post is quite interesting bcause while making up these adapters I remarked to a few regarding the pci-e channel of the airport, but up until today did not know there was any way to adapt to it.
let me know if I can be of any help to anyone working on this!!!
Serpent
let me know if I can be of any help to anyone working on this!!!
Serpent
Serpent, I had a look at your flickr account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/46617935@N00/134406310/in/photostream/, for others interested). That's exactly what I had in mind for my own mini!
I'm still having difficulty finding a cheap logic board. I don't supposed you have any spare, do you? I'd pay shipping, at the very least ^_^
Glad to see that this topic isn't dead after all. Also, for all those who say that Apple would waste time building another cube - they already have the hardware available. The extensions people are doing to the mini is evidence of that! I guess this really means the decision not to continue the cube line is political, not technical. Still, hopefully Job's lust for cubes will provide us with what I (at least) am hoping for.
I'm still having difficulty finding a cheap logic board. I don't supposed you have any spare, do you? I'd pay shipping, at the very least ^_^
Glad to see that this topic isn't dead after all. Also, for all those who say that Apple would waste time building another cube - they already have the hardware available. The extensions people are doing to the mini is evidence of that! I guess this really means the decision not to continue the cube line is political, not technical. Still, hopefully Job's lust for cubes will provide us with what I (at least) am hoping for.
my adapter has been used to build a mini cube, I'm also shipping out 2 more this week to a few others doing the same. But if this mini pci-e pans out it'll open the doors to a kick ass htpc.
If you saw page 4 of my flickr the only other logic board I have is going into my Austin iMini mod. since almost every connection is being wired remotely into the body and chassis it's np for me to do same w/video card and use a usb wifi in its place.
serpent
If you saw page 4 of my flickr the only other logic board I have is going into my Austin iMini mod. since almost every connection is being wired remotely into the body and chassis it's np for me to do same w/video card and use a usb wifi in its place.
serpent
Serpent, I noticed you were still using the mini's psu. Have you ever considered running it off the PC psu, using a scheme similar to this? It could simplify things somewhat. I'm not sure, but I think the +18v is jsut for firewire. Unless you really need that, you could probably get away with a simply 12v input. It shouldn't damage the mini anyway - the least it could do is brown out.
Also, I'm confused by this image. Do you have the three ATA devices on the same bus? I would have thought you'd use the SATA bus for the hdd. Maybe my eyes are just playing tricks on me >_<
EDIT: In subsequent images you're definitely using the SATA bus. Must just be the angle.
Also, I'm confused by this image. Do you have the three ATA devices on the same bus? I would have thought you'd use the SATA bus for the hdd. Maybe my eyes are just playing tricks on me >_<
EDIT: In subsequent images you're definitely using the SATA bus. Must just be the angle.
My prob is I've been waiting for someone to come up with some type of solution for the GMA950. as everyone knows it runs its full potential under windows, but is capped under OS X. Apple says it will alot over the 80 or so Mb's if needed but I have yet seen anyone actually stress the graphics and see how much more it will actually go, nor have I heard of anyone hacking the EFI to uncap its limitations.
As far as the PSU goes, I was planning on the "Austin" mod to see if the mini would run on 12v. I believe that once the HDD and Optical drive are removed from being powered thru the logic board everything else being powered should run fine offa 12v. If thats going to work or what value resister is needed for the iSense, I dont know?
The IDE channel coming from the JAE50 connection is dual channel and supports any 2 PATA devices as Master/Slave.
It's been awhile since I have hacked into the possibilities of what can be done to the mini, I'll have to re-read all my posts over @123 to refresh myself. Under windows running sisoft Sandra it did show the mini pci-e channel usable but it also showed the logic board being able to handle up to 4-GB's of ram, I think tho the iMM has been test w/2gb sticks which do not work.
Serpent
As far as the PSU goes, I was planning on the "Austin" mod to see if the mini would run on 12v. I believe that once the HDD and Optical drive are removed from being powered thru the logic board everything else being powered should run fine offa 12v. If thats going to work or what value resister is needed for the iSense, I dont know?
The IDE channel coming from the JAE50 connection is dual channel and supports any 2 PATA devices as Master/Slave.
It's been awhile since I have hacked into the possibilities of what can be done to the mini, I'll have to re-read all my posts over @123 to refresh myself. Under windows running sisoft Sandra it did show the mini pci-e channel usable but it also showed the logic board being able to handle up to 4-GB's of ram, I think tho the iMM has been test w/2gb sticks which do not work.
Serpent
Under windows, at least, the top 1 gig is reserved for device space. You need to be running a 64 bit OS to utilise the full 4 gig of expandable memory. It might also be the case that apple simply didn't wire up all of the ram address lines, but I don't know how that would really work.
The page I linked to mentions tying the iSense through a 3.3K to ground. Worked for them, so it should work for you. I agree that once all the devices are seperated from the logic board power wise the draw will be decreased. What I said before is untrue - Firewire is supposed to supply up to 30v unregulated (http://pinouts.ru/Slots/ieee1394_pinout.shtml), so maybe that's generated on board. Perhaps it's more efficient to step down from 18.5 to 12 volts on the logic board, rather then having 12v at the psu. Who knows.
The page I linked to mentions tying the iSense through a 3.3K to ground. Worked for them, so it should work for you. I agree that once all the devices are seperated from the logic board power wise the draw will be decreased. What I said before is untrue - Firewire is supposed to supply up to 30v unregulated (http://pinouts.ru/Slots/ieee1394_pinout.shtml), so maybe that's generated on board. Perhaps it's more efficient to step down from 18.5 to 12 volts on the logic board, rather then having 12v at the psu. Who knows.
These mods have to be the sickest stuff I've heard of. If anyone gets this to work, PLEASE post pics. I'd be interested in doing this myself, if I had the EE background (I've got a BS in mechanical engineering, but I don't have enough electronics skills to even attempt this).
If you have a mini and you're prepared (and comfortable) to try this out, I can point you towards an online supplier to the cables that I've found. Apart from that, no one seems to have the money or the experience to be able to pull it off. Sad u_u
What about this website?
http://www.mycableshop.com/items.asp?Cc=PCIXP_FLEX&iTpStatus=1&Tp=&Bc=
This item should work shouldn't it?
http://www.mycableshop.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=PE-FLEX1-6
(Picture)http://www.mycableshop.com/mmMYCABLESHOP/Images/pe-flex1.jpg
Unfortunately, no. You need the two separate adapters I linked to at the beginning of the thread. Unfortunately, the store you found was the one I had in mind and it seems that they don't have the correct cable. My mistake. As I said, though, you can order directly from the store.
Cheers
Cheers
hmmm... I emailed those guys and haven't gotten a reply back yet because they don't have anywhere to click to "buy". I was looking at graphics cards and I don't know that the low end ones are any better then the integrated chip thats already in the Mini and then the other ones were way out of my price range
I may get a Sata card to I can hook up more drives tho if that'll work.
I may get a Sata card to I can hook up more drives tho if that'll work.
They say on the site that you either need to call or email to order, so the process is probably already underway. Keep in mind that this company is probably relatively small and you may not get a reply for a day or two - it may be better to call (if it's a cheap call for you).
Most low-end discrete graphics cards will be better then the GMA950, even though they are fairly cheap. They support more hardware acceleration - the cpu has to do less work. You'd also be freeing up ram set aside by the onboard graphics, so you may notice a speed benefit there. Using a RAID card will also prove that this method of expansion works, and will open the door to more possibilities. Keep in mind, though, that you're putting a couple of hundred down on a theory. I give no guarantees that this will work. Although everything suggests that it will work, at least in windows, I have no proof. You are truly a pioneer.
Whatever your choice, good luck!
Most low-end discrete graphics cards will be better then the GMA950, even though they are fairly cheap. They support more hardware acceleration - the cpu has to do less work. You'd also be freeing up ram set aside by the onboard graphics, so you may notice a speed benefit there. Using a RAID card will also prove that this method of expansion works, and will open the door to more possibilities. Keep in mind, though, that you're putting a couple of hundred down on a theory. I give no guarantees that this will work. Although everything suggests that it will work, at least in windows, I have no proof. You are truly a pioneer.
Whatever your choice, good luck!
ok what if I got this and this.
http://www.mycableshop.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=PE-FLEX1-6
http://www.papyrus.co.il/xcart/product.php?productid=16467
http://www.mycableshop.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=PE-FLEX1-6
http://www.papyrus.co.il/xcart/product.php?productid=16467
Those aren't going to help you out. The part listed in the first post is what is needed to get a PCI Express slot from the mini-pci express socket.
If one had that adapter, you could buy a PCI-E 1x graphics card (like this), and see if it worked.
I had to order this same video card for a Dell, in order to run a second monitor. Dell couldn't be bothered to put in a full size PCI-E slot, just a pair of PCI slots and a single 1X PCI-E slot.
I forget now how much bandwidth the PCI-E 1X slot is capable of. Certainly more than PCI, less than AGP 8X. Better than intel 950? Hmm... If I could get one of the adapters, I'd be willing to try.
If one had that adapter, you could buy a PCI-E 1x graphics card (like this), and see if it worked.
I had to order this same video card for a Dell, in order to run a second monitor. Dell couldn't be bothered to put in a full size PCI-E slot, just a pair of PCI slots and a single 1X PCI-E slot.
I forget now how much bandwidth the PCI-E 1X slot is capable of. Certainly more than PCI, less than AGP 8X. Better than intel 950? Hmm... If I could get one of the adapters, I'd be willing to try.
No the CPU Doesnt Contact the GPU you may be thinking of AMD's Fusion.
And Actually a 7300GT Can be on PCI-e 1x With Bandwith To spare. A Topend Card BARELY uses 8x If that. And its 16+ Times Faster then A 7300 (3dmark)
Anything is better then a GMA_950 Even a 7300 owns it. By 2.7x.
Santa rosa catches up and nearly beats it but its real power is yet to be known
Sortof. The GMA doesn't support all of the features in hardware that some other GPUs do, so it offloads a bit of the processing to the CPU. Even though they're not on the same die the CPU has a fairly large say in what goes on your screen.
Using a separate card that features these hardware accelerated benefits will mean an increase in available cpu cycles as well as graphics horsepower.
Using a separate card that features these hardware accelerated benefits will mean an increase in available cpu cycles as well as graphics horsepower.
Progress!
I emailed Orbit Micro (one of the companies that stocks other adapters made by the manufacturer we're interested in). The response is as follows:
This is good news! It means that even though they don't stock the exact part they can make it up for us.
Aprilfools1993, if you're still interested I suggest contacting Orbit Micro and talking to them about a custom adapter. Remember, you want to be able to plug a PCIe x1 card (or x16, if they will do that) into a MiniCard (or Mini-PCIe) bus. Use the example of plugging a raid card into a laptop, it ought to get your point across. Hopefully we'll have a working prototype soon!
I emailed Orbit Micro (one of the companies that stocks other adapters made by the manufacturer we're interested in). The response is as follows:
This is good news! It means that even though they don't stock the exact part they can make it up for us.
Aprilfools1993, if you're still interested I suggest contacting Orbit Micro and talking to them about a custom adapter. Remember, you want to be able to plug a PCIe x1 card (or x16, if they will do that) into a MiniCard (or Mini-PCIe) bus. Use the example of plugging a raid card into a laptop, it ought to get your point across. Hopefully we'll have a working prototype soon!