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Low-Profile Video Cards?

Posted by Cliff on from the short-enough-to-fit-in-odd-profiled-cases dept.

Catherine Ellerman asks: "I'm after a couple of REALLY low-profile video cards to put in a firewall/router. Motherboards with built in video and networking are available but the reason why I don't really want to go out and buy a new motherboard is because a lot of the processing power would be wasted. Back in my parts store I've a couple of 120Mhz Pentium motherboards that will do the job nicely and a friend of mine helped me source the low-profile NICs (at just over an inch high they're hardly noticeable). All I need now is someone to help me find a couple of low-profile video cards and get the bugs out of the latest kernel."

28 comments

  1. Another idea by flikx · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why not leave a video card out completely? If this is for a router/firewall/NAT gateway, you shouldn't need to do much console work. Build the system with no video card at all, and use the serial port for a console during emergencies.

    Just my 2 , since that's what I do on my network.

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    1. Re:Another idea by psergiu · · Score: 2

      Some mobo's won't budge if they don't find a video card somewhere :(

      For my low profile setups i usually use an 1 slot isa extender (in US, i have seen those at fry's, or you could use isa slots and sockets from old/fried mobos and cards and the soldering iron to make an L-shaped extender) and a isa vga or hercules card (anything that will make the bios happy)

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    2. Re:Another idea by tgburrin · · Score: 1

      I've been trying to set up a serial console on a linux box for months and have been unable to figure it out. I am trying to do it with a straight serial connection (not using pppd and assigning IPs). If someone could tell me how or point me to a good document I would appreciate it.

    3. Re:Another idea by BRTB · · Score: 2

      Serial console... make sure you have Serial Console support in the kernel, add "console=ttySx" to the LILO append= line, and maybe fix the /dev/console device node. The Text-Terminal HOWTO has the details.

    4. Re:Another idea by PhuCknuT · · Score: 1

      Also, I don't know if you're using it but you didn't mention it so I will. You need to use a null modem cable, not a straight serial cable, to connect to the serial console.

  2. Buggy kernel... by Howie · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ... and get the bugs out of the latest kernel."

    Why not use an OS that doesn't have a buggy kernel?

    OpenBSD is a popular choice for firewall machines. As the perl folks say, there is more than one way to do it.

    --
    "don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
    1. Re:Buggy kernel... by psergiu · · Score: 2

      and OpenBSD also has almost-builtin[tm] serial console support. Even for instalation. (you have to modify one line in one file on the install disk).

      The Freebsd install floppy will sense and use a serial console if you send enough Break signals.

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    2. Re:Buggy kernel... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      you have to modify one line in one file on the install disk

      what line? what file?

    3. Re:Buggy kernel... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3 down, your ass

    4. Re:Buggy kernel... by Maul · · Score: 2

      Agreed. As much as I love Linux, I think BSD is probably the better choice for the task.

      --

      "You spoony bard!" -Tellah

    5. Re:Buggy kernel... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who said he wasn't talking about OpenBSD? I didn't see any specific OS there, did you? ...or are you just reading your own bias into it troll-boy?

  3. Forget about Video Cards by maol · · Score: 1
    Just be sure that the mainboard's BIOS supports booting w/out a connected monitor. Then install your Linux or any other Unix using some old card from another PC and remove the card when you're done.

    Make sure that sshd is started upon boot. Don't forget to remove the keyboard too... you might still control the system through a joystick and a daemon which lets you shutdown or reboot the system with it ;-)

    --
    --
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  4. That's nice... by LinuxGeek8 · · Score: 2

    I'm after a couple of REALLY low-profile video cards to put in a firewall/router.

    That's nice for you.
    Only problem is you forgot to put your mail adress in the post so we can get rid of our garbage.

    But yes, I understand your problem, just when you need that something low-profile, noone in the neighbourhood seems to have some left-overs.

    --
    Well, don't worry about that. We can get you back before you leave. (Dr. Who)
  5. Soldering Iron by Ratbert42 · · Score: 2

    This is the sort of thing where I'd break out some wire-wrap wire and a soldering iron. Duct tape the video card somewhere and wire it to the ISA connector. (I pity the fool that does this with a PCI card.)

    Can you believe that I've only fried one motherboard doing crap like that?

  6. Alternate Options by uslinux.net · · Score: 2

    Assuming strictly console and ethernet access is not an option, have you considered 90 degree riser cards? Most 1U rack servers use them. As a matter of fact, the nicest one I've seen is a PCI riser for a 1U rack unit with PCI slots on either side, so you can get two PCI cards in one slot (but since they're horizontal, you lose all your other slots). I've seen them on the web before, and if you do a little searching, you might get lucky. Perhaps try someplace like http://allelectronics.com. Of course, you still need a case for this equipment...

    1. Re:Alternate Options by Matt_Bennett · · Score: 2

      Because of the way PCI works, you can't just turn 1 slot into 2 without a bridge built onto the riser, or a specially modified slot on the motherboard that brings out another PCI REQ/GNT pair. In that case, the PCI riser must be paired with a specific motherboard, since there is no standard for this.

    2. Re:Alternate Options by ivan256 · · Score: 2

      There are PCI risers that have a little 4 pin piece of card on the end of a wire that grab the extra signals from another slot without taking up more space. I assume that the riser he mentions does this, or that it is motherbaord specific.

    3. Re:Alternate Options by 1101z · · Score: 1

      That is not ture you can put a bridge, on a PCI card with not extra pins. There are meany cards out there with which have there own PCI bus on board, it just takes a PCI bridge chip.

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    4. Re:Alternate Options by Matt_Bennett · · Score: 2

      We have no disagreement- you're repeating what I said:

      you can't just turn 1 slot into 2 without a bridge built onto the riser

      You can also run into the problem of violating the PCI power limits if you try to power 2 cards off of one slot. Most cards don't come near to the limit, but you increase the odds of a problem by trying to power more than one card.

  7. i'll second that Re:Buggy kernel... by StandardDeviant · · Score: 2, Interesting

    OpenBSD is just a dream to work with for any sort of networking/security task. Working with (i)pf after ip(chains|tables) is like a religious epiphany. It might require a little gear shifting for a person whose previous experience was Linux only, but it's not that hard really (I'm no guru with obsd but I was up and running with a firewall in a couple of days).

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  8. another option by StandardDeviant · · Score: 2

    the other posts about using an isa or pci extender are all good ideas, as is the idea of installing with a vid card then yanking it. Another option (more expensive but also potentially nicer) is the PC weasel: http://www.realweasel.com/intro.html This would be ideal if this machine you're planning on building will be in a place that's inconvenient to get to. Also, here's a place selling 8mb ati chipset low profile pci cards: http://www.c-source.com/csource/newsite/ttechnote. asp?part_no=500182 (searched pricewatch for "low profile vid").

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    1. Re:another option by whatsit · · Score: 2

      My favorite place for risers is Barada In Canada. The seem to have a fairly large selection of pci and isa risers. However, I didn't see any ISA risers under 2.4 inches tall, but some of the PCI risers (even old Pentium boards should support these) are very small.

      Of course, if your case doesn't like side-ways cards, you will need to take your Dremel to it or come up with some other way to hack it together.

      All of this is assuming that you are going to need the video output from your low profile setup. If you don't need a direct monitor feed from the box, I would highly recommend The Weasel and an extra serial port on another machine. If you read Japanese and have a currency converter handy, you can check out the product page on their distributor's site.

      Perhaps you could share your design with use (the case in particular) so that we don't have to guess at your setup?

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  9. Matrox.. by cmowire · · Score: 2

    I know that I've at least seen advertising materials for Matrox's low-profile PCI video cards. I couldn't find it on Matrox's website, so you might have to contact them or a reseller that works on low-profile PCI products.

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    Gentoo Sucks
    1. Re:Matrox.. by chinnuvani · · Score: 1

      I recently bought Kaser's Trio-4 card with S3 chipset. Original price of the card was $24.. there is a mail-in rebate of $20. It is a decent
      card with 4mb and works with Redhat 7.1.
      hope this helps

  10. Ask Google by jamiea · · Score: 3, Informative

    Google "low-profile pci video card"

    Yeesh.

  11. What about by senine · · Score: 2, Informative

    Try using a agp or pci riser card. These adapters fit between the card and the slot, and allow you to mount the card parallel to the board, as opposed to perpendicular to it.

    They make right angle and flexible ones.

    -Senine

  12. Why not fix the BIOS instead? by DivideByZero · · Score: 1

    Maybe try finding a BIOS for your support chipset that allows boot? Maybe a refrence BIOS?

    Might not work, might. If nothing else, if you crisp the BIOSs of all your spare boards, you would have a good excuse to pick up something cheap that DID boot without monitor. :)

    I woulden't do it with a spiffy new MB, but it's probably less likely to auger your system than tearing a socket out and wire-wrapping a video card into it.

  13. What kind of case are you going to use? by unitron · · Score: 2

    You don't say why you need low profile expansion cards. Are you trying to stick a regular AT or AT but with a PS/2 keyboard and mouse into an LPX case? (I once did that before realising that I could unsolder the PS/2 ports and solder in a regular DIN connector for the keyboard.)

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