pci expansion chassis?

[Havoc]

Has anyone experience with tho/se pci expansion chassis? In another thread I was looking for a way to use my RME ADI-8 with my laptop. But there doesn't seem to be a "direct" solution. After a bit more time on google I tought of those expansion chassis like Magma. But there are much cheaper ones like this: http://www.virtuavia.eu/shop/expresscar ... 29858.html

With such a chassis it would be possible to plug in a supported pci card that can do ADAT and use what I have (and I have a spare RME 96/8 card) instead of getting a complete new interface. And having to get everything working over firewire.

But do those things need drivers or is this just "invisible" to the OS? From what I read about the Magma chassis it looks as if the cards you plug in the rack behave just like they would be in a slot in your pc.

[MattKingUSA]

I just threw up a bit because this is so exciting. I like it a lot.

[thorgal]

good question. I would think you don't need a special driver for the box itself, I am sure the kernel can handle the PCI capability of that box. So you need something to drive the cardbus thingy, a driver to drive your PCI card and chances are the PCI bridge (or is it PCI express?) is supported by the kernel. But you may want to get the full tech specs (what chips, etc).

Ah wait, it's actually a PCI express thingy (you need an express card slot). express cards are what replaces PCMCIA. See for yourself at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExpressCard

If your laptop is recent enough, your cardbus slot should be compatible.

[thorgal]

hey! I found the same kind of thing but it's a casing for one PCIe card only that you connect to your express card slot. It's just awfully expensive!!! 750 bucks!!

http://www.magma.com/products/pciexpres ... index.html
http://sewelldirect.com/ExpressCard-to- ... Length.asp

[Havoc]

I have been doing a bit more reading in the mean time, and it is indeed correct that you don't need any drivers (with some exceptions). The card in your pc just acts as a pci-bridge. The limitation is your BIOS. You need to be able to enumerate all the bridges at least 3 levels deep one in your pc, one in the pc card and one in the chassis. And there is the rub: who knows? If you have a shop nearby where you could try it out before you buy this might not be a problem.

PS: those chassis can be connected to different pc cards: pcmcia, pci-e, pci, cardbus etc because pci and pci-e are so similar.