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About PCI Express
 A connection between a PCIe device and system is known as a "link" and a link can use one or more "lanes". A lane is capable of simultaneously transferring 250 MB/s (megabytes per second) of data in each direction, compared to 133 MB/s for a PCI 1.0 (32-bit, 33 MHz) connection. All links compliant with the PCIe specification must minimally support single-lane connections, referred to as "x1" (pronounced "by-one") links.For higher potential bandwidth, PCIe devices and systems can optionally support links using multiple simultaneous  lanes – for example, a "x16" link uses 16 lanes. To support extra lanes, a PCIe card and slot must be designed to accommodate the extra electrical lines required (2 lines per lane). Currently, card and slot types exist for x1, x4, x8, and x16 links. PCIe cards will physically fit into slots designed for their lane configuration or higher (up-plugging) but not into slots designed for lower lane configurations (down-plugging). So, for example, a x1 card will fit into x1, x4, x8, and x16 slots but a x16 card will only fit into a x16 slot. A x1 card in a compliant PCIe slot will always run in x1 mode.For non-compliant systems that don't properly support PCIe x1 graphics cards, specifically the up-plugging capability, a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) software update to fix the problem may be available. For more information, contact your system vendor. The types of slots available vary between systems. With their x1 design, Millennium G550 graphics cards for PCIe have the most flexible link-type possible for systems with PCIe slots. They're an ideal solution for PCIe systems with no available x16 slots – for example, most current servers don't have x16 slots. < All this and Linux/Unix, too In addition to having Matrox display drivers for Windows, the Millennium G550 PCIe is the world's first PCI Express graphics card with open-source display drivers for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. The open-source driver includes a closed-source binary HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) file provided by Matrox to enable certain advanced features. Further, because PCIe is software compatible with PCI, open-source display drivers for Millennium G550 PCI products work with Millennium G550 products for PCIe without any modification. In fact, the same unified Linux driver supports all Matrox G-series products. Open source display drivers allow third parties to make and compile custom display drivers to meet their specialized needs. For example, to support special versions of Linux. Open-source display drivers are especially useful for mission-critical areas like process control, scientific research, and the military. Open-source display drivers are supported by the open source community. To meet specific needs, Matrox also develops its own closed-sourced Linux display drivers for other Matrox products (non-G-series). Finally, for extra performance, features, and technical support, Linux and Sun Solaris x86 display drivers for Matrox graphics hardware can be purchased separately from Matrox partner, Xi Graphics. Xi Graphics provides direct technical support for its drivers. Most flexible graphics cards With the feature set of Millennium G550 products for PCIe, including Matrox multi-display technology, PCIe x1 design, proven display drivers, and passive cooling, these cards are among the most flexible and reliable graphics hardware solutions available for mission-critical systems. |
