28 Oct
2001
28 Oct
'01
4:10 p.m.
Not having tried it I can't say, but there's
clearly a difference in performance
between a 32-bit slot and 64-bit slot. I'd guess the fast I/O devices need all
the transfer bandwidth the 64-bit slot can offer. That would make a 64-bit
board plugged into a 32-bit slot inappropriate if not useless.
I have two 64-bit PCI cards. One is a four-port 100M Ethernet card and the
other is a dual-port U2W SCSI card. The Ethernet card is plugged into my
Internet gateway as I had to have three Ethernet ports and I only had one
free PCI slot (one for each of my DSL chnnections, one to the local LAN).
The card works fine in a 32-bit slot, but I'm not maxing out the connections
in any case.
The 64-bit SCSI card is in a 64-bit PCI slot and works fine there, but I've
also used it in a 32-bit slot without any problems.
Surely somebody is making and selling these things.
The cards? Yes. The motherboards? Yes.
I don't think a lot of people need 64-bit PCI cards at home or on their
office desktops. In servers, yes.
--
Eric Dittman
dittman(a)dittman.net
Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/