Unusual PCIe card
Unusual PCIe card
I'm looking into the type of PCI this card is compatible with. It says it's "PCI Express 2.0 X4," but without the right tools, it's hard to install. I need to know the slot it uses and which motherboard supports it. The eBay listing shows an IBM Intel I350-T4 ML2 Quad Port Gigabit Ethernet Network Card.
The connector seems to match the name "ML2" or Mezzanine LAN-on-Motherboard Generation 2. It appears to be a custom design for certain IBM/Lenovo servers. A summary from the product page mentions a server compatibility list on pages 7 through 9. Plugging it into a standard PCI_e slot doesn't seem possible.
Wow, that actually makes sense. It's odd to find PCI listed as the bus type on eBay. It feels a bit suspicious. Thanks for your response!
Technically they're not deceiving. The communication relies on the PCI_e protocol, yet the actual physical design isn't conventional, especially in desktop systems. You'll often see rack-mount servers with diverse shapes and dimensions for their PCI_e setup. This variation usually serves to accommodate different riser cards that support x8x8x16 or similar configurations. They might also be designed to house more PCI_e devices within a 1U or 2U enclosure. I'm not very experienced with this specific layout, but it's still supported on boards using LGA2011-v3 and SP3 connectors.