M.2 to MXM?

[DeltaIndiaXray]

Hey so let me start out by saying I’m fairly new to this shit but have been building computers for well over 5 years. I haven’t done a ton of SFF builds but a few. I’ve been doing research lately on some crazy ideas that I’ve been storming up in my head while stuck on deployment and waiting to go home. I’ve seen a couple videos and product pages of M.2 to PCIEx16/8 and others. Now amazing as this may be, I was wondering if it would be possible to make a M.2 to MXM adapter and where would I go to either get one made or prototyped. Any help would be gratefully appreciated!

 

[thewizzard1]

I'm sure it's possible - There are pro-grade (and cheap-grade, but questionable) MXM to to desktop PCIe units, and certainly plenty of functional desktop PCIe to M.2 connector.

 

[DeltaIndiaXray]

I'm sure it's possible - There are pro-grade (and cheap-grade, but questionable) MXM to to desktop PCIe units, and certainly plenty of functional desktop PCIe to M.2 connector.

Well I had the crazy idea to buy a Lattepanda and somehow get a M.2 to MXM adapter in order to make a powerful yet small still gaming computer that can fit in my pocket and still outdo a lot of laptops. Would be a long shot but the question is how would the MXM output signal to a monitor. Would there have to be a HDMI on the board next to the MXM slot?

 

[thewizzard1]

Well I had the crazy idea to buy a Lattepanda and somehow get a M.2 to MXM adapter in order to make a powerful yet small still gaming computer that can fit in my pocket and still outdo a lot of laptops. Would be a long shot but the question is how would the MXM output signal to a monitor. Would there have to be a HDMI on the board next to the MXM slot?

Might be worth your while to read up on the pinout of MXM - It has onboard HDMI and DP.

 

[DeltaIndiaXray]

Might be worth your while to read up on the pinout of MXM - It has onboard HDMI and DP.

Well I’m not entirely sure, as there is probably a connect somewhere on laptop motherboards that all the MXM graphics to utilize it so I wouldn’t be sure if the already HDMI for the CPU would use the both the MXM or the CPU integrated graphics. So the bottom end would be would it work and if so would I need to have a secondary HDMI on the adapter if I got it made to utilize the GPU fully.

 

[thewizzard1]

It might be much easier to use the MXM's display output, as opposed to passthrough.

 

[Windfall]

You would need a impressive adapter chain, m.2-pcie, pcie to mxm.

Wasn't there a thread around here with PCIe to MXM adapters?

 

[thewizzard1]

@Windfall Correct - Mine!

PCIe to MXM - A new challenger appears!

Wanted to share this fun little thing I found on Alibaba, then Ebay with some keyword cross-searching. https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-PCI-E-to-MXM-3-0-Graphics-Expansion-Card-75W-MAX-for-Mining-ETH-ZEC-ETC/323266307084?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 It's a standard...

smallformfactor.net

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

In my humble opinion, it's not worth the effort/money/pain.

 

[Windfall]

@Windfall Correct - Mine!

PCIe to MXM - A new challenger appears!

Wanted to share this fun little thing I found on Alibaba, then Ebay with some keyword cross-searching. https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-PCI-E-to-MXM-3-0-Graphics-Expansion-Card-75W-MAX-for-Mining-ETH-ZEC-ETC/323266307084?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 It's a standard...

smallformfactor.net

Ahaha. Let the fun begin!

In my humble opinion, it's not worth the effort/money/pain.

Yeah, but... SFF!

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Yeah, but... SFF!

Using an ITX GPU would achieve the same result. Good Luck finding an MXM heatsink. Chaining adapters (m.2 → PCIe → MXM) will likely endup with stabilty issues.

And overall size will barely be smaller than any SBC (Panda alpha, NUC, Udoo x86, etc) + ITX GPU.

It'd be fun to have it work, don't misunderstand me .... But at this price point with no guarantee of success, I'd rather get Panda + ITX GPU (proven solution).

 

[DeltaIndiaXray]

Wasn’t expecting this many replies, all valid points though. I firmly believe when it comes to sub-ITX builds price should be kinda thrown out the window as you are trying to achieve things people haven’t. Plus the price to performance of the Panda plus an MXM would out die most of the NUCs and similar designs.

 

[deeree]

Problem with mxm cards is compatibility. Manufacturers use different variations of the pinout on their cards. They are not completely standardized like the pci-e cards are.