Repairing a PCI-E slot, possible?

trojan698 · 11 Feb 2006 at 18:30

Hi there,

Set myself the challenge of building a decent gaming system (only requiring a mobo, gfx, cpu + ram) for under £200, god knows why... if only i had 250 posts to access the MM :rolleyes:

£45 for an Athlon 64 3000+ isn't a bad start though.

Anyway,

I have the opportunity to pick up an Asus A8N SLi from a friend although it has a broken PCI-E socket, what are the chances of being able to repair the board? i.e. replacing the PCI-E slot with a new one. Bearing in mind I haven't much soldering experience under my belt. A straightforward task or not?

Bobbler · 11 Feb 2006 at 18:45

Rather you than me TBH mate, looking at the pinouts for the 16x PCI-E slots you are talking over 80 solder points to do which are going to be pretty close together. Get a couple of them shorted and you could end up loosing the board and possibly whatever you plug into it altogether.
It may be worth a go if you can source another board as a donor for the replacement slot too.

trojan698 · 11 Feb 2006 at 18:49

80? ouch..
I can get a replacement slot no probs, but perhaps the risk is too high considering I could destroy my other components..

Bobbler · 11 Feb 2006 at 19:01

Its a question of do you trust your soldering mad skillz enough TBH

I wouldnt say its impossible but from what I know this is a robots job in some Taiwanese factory.
This is what you are talking about soldering http://www.ixbt.com/mainboard/albatron/albatron-px925xe-pro-r-i925xe/board-back-b.jpg
and looking at that picture theres actually 82 connections on each side of the PCIE slot for the graphics card! Eeek!

trojan698 · 11 Feb 2006 at 19:10

hmm, seeing as its a SLi board, do you reckon I could only use the bottom PCI-E slot as my main one? I'm not intent on going SLi with the board, just looking to pick one up for much cheapness.

I think I'll ditch the soldering idea :eek:

djunknown · 11 Feb 2006 at 19:28

Hmm..well heres my take on things
I have been soldering for the past 2 years on various chips and so forth
But...i wouldnt recommend trying your skills on the board, especially when you admit your skills arent up to much
If i were you i would just go for the safe bet of a board you know can work straight away, maybe save on the ram and add more at a later date