PCIe Bifurcation Motherboards?

[ChainedHope]

Does anyone know which mITX boards currently support PCIe Bifurication out-of-the-box? I know the Asrock X99e does and I believe the Asrock Z170 Fatality mITX does as well. Not sure what other motherboards do even though the 100 series chipset supports it if the motherboard manufacturer enables the options.

Just playing with some case designs, debating on a small upgrade to use pcie bifurication and downsize from my mATX motherboard and still keep my dual nano setup. If I can find a board+cpu+ram for the right price I might spring for it. (which also means whenever the B/S/T forum pops up here my current board+cpu+ram will be put up for sale)

 

[iFreilicht]

Those are the only two ones I know as well. I don't think there are any others as of now.

 

[Phuncz]

The ASRock Z87E-ITX also has support, which I have and tested successfully with a custom BIOS: https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/macpro-late-2013-mini-itx-case-mod.427/page-5#post-8483

I would expect the ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac would also be compatible. But for now, I have yet to see any other non-ASRock and non-server board support it.

 

[ChainedHope]

Thats kind of a bummer. I've never had an issue with Asrock boards but dont like their aesthetics too much.

 

[Phuncz]

I personally like their mITX boards because they don't feature dragons, owls, guns or razor-sharp tribal-tattoo-shaped heatsinks.
There is also not a lot of the board you can see if going with Bifurcation and some proper cooling.

 

[Kmpkt]

I agree that their more understated aesthetics are a plus not a minus. I personally like things that aren't red/black and generally am not in love with the whole tramp stamp look so many "gamer" boards seem to go with. Above all though, I personally love AsRock more than anything because of their attitude. They unlocked non-K CPUs on non Z170 chipsets until Intel piped up and asked them to stop... and then when intel wasn't looking they re-enabled it. These guys put X99 on an mITX consumer board for no other obvious reason than it is completely absurd and they have the capabilities, so why the hell not. They have consistently allowed PCIe bifurcation on their Z87/Z97 and Z170 ITX boards which I don't believe any other manufacturer has done at any point. This obviously makes some pretty cool build ideas a possibility. As a small form factor builder, their Z-series motherboards also seem to test out the lowest power consumption out there on most benchmarks I see. I'd personally love to contact these guys and see if they'd be keen to collaborate on some more interesting ITX and maybe STX based products since they're probably the only manufacturer that'd be willing to bite.

 

[ChainedHope]

My main problem with the asthetics is the dry red color they have been using on the Fatality boards. It just looks off in my opinion. The blue on the X99e is nice however I dont think I can justify spending $700 just to upgrade to X99

Btw @Phuncz does the Z87 board need a bios update to run the devils cannon cpus? I might pick one up but if i need a valid cpu to boot to the bios to do the update that may be a bit difficult (might just grab a cheap pentium chip if thats the case tho)

 

[Phuncz]

Yes, I believe it does need a firmware update, the second latest 2.30: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87E-ITX/?cat=Download&os=BIOS
I do have the customized 2.50 available to enable Bifurcation if you ever get around to it.

CPU BIOS compatibility list: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87E-ITX/?cat=CPU

 

[ChainedHope]

Yes, I believe it does need a firmware update, the second latest 2.30: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87E-ITX/?cat=Download&os=BIOS
I do have the customized 2.50 available to enable Bifurcation if you ever get around to it.

CPU BIOS compatibility list: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87E-ITX/?cat=CPU

If I can find a board for a reasonable amount I will definitely send you a pm for it. Ive been scrawling ebay and 3rd party sites for one but cant find it for less than $150 shipped.

 

[Phuncz]

That's damn near close to it's retail price 2 years ago.

 

[cmyk78]

I don't know if this is still relevant, but I found on the Gigabyte website that the GA-Z170-WIFI (rev. 2.0) supports pcie bifurcation. Be careful though as only the rev. 2.0 supports it.

 

[Phuncz]

That's remarkable as it would be one of the first non-ASRock commercial motherboards with PCIE Bifurcation support, or atleast that I know of.

 

[iFreilicht]

I don't know if this is still relevant, but I found on the Gigabyte website that the GA-Z170-WIFI (rev. 2.0) supports pcie bifurcation. Be careful though as only the rev. 2.0 supports it.

Source for future generations:

 

[Chrizz]

Here's another board that supports bifurcation.

 

[TheDreamingMonk]

and generally am not in love with the whole tramp stamp look so many "gamer" boards seem to go with.

Hey now, you might hurt Georges feelings saying that word

 

[Josh | NFC]

Chrizz beat me to it.

Time to test it out!

 

[rokabeka]

Gents,

I have an s4 mini and would like to use pcie bifurcation. the plan is to install two 40G NICs (single slot of course) there. Ameri-rack does not want to sell me their pcie riser-splitter cable. They were very courteous but I am not a 'system integrator'. I have an Asrock EPC612D4I and for sure have the BIOS settings to change pcie mode from x16 to x8x8.

So the questions are:
- have anybody ever used an Ameri-Rack riser splitter successfully with an s4 mini?
- If yes then which one exactly? (I guess the one away from board needed but the question is the cable length, 3/5/7/cm, 3 cm might be insufficient for positioning appropriately and maybe 7cm is too much to arrange)
- how/where did the owners buy them?

cheers,
rokabeka

 

[aquelito]

I was able to purchase a ARC1-PELY423-C5V3 last December, to run a dual GPU configuration.

https://hardforum.com/threads/pcie-bifurcation.1870298/page-11#post-1042729050

However, it seems Ameri-Rack does not have a very clear policy regarding individual purchases. Some were lucky enough to get one ; some other were denied the purchase.
I'll send you in MP the rep contact I was in contact with ; best is maybe to phone him.

Regarding the size, it depends of what you need.

- 5 cm is perfect if you want / don't mind to have both cards turned upside-down.
- 20/30cm variants are great if you want to have both cards right-side-up (to allow better cooling for instance)

 

[EdZ]

C_Payne on HardOCP has made is own custom bifurcation riser for the RVZ01, and is selling them directly through eBay. It's a rigid riser rather than a flex riser, and not the most compact design, but if you have space it's a more available choice than the Ameri-Rack risers.

 

[jeshikat]

Oh, that's neat. Though one with an open-ended x8 or just dual x16 would be better, along with external power. Paging Dr @QinX