Hi I am trying to see if it is possible to do the following using the PCI express slot.

I want to see if I can grab the onboard sound off the motherboard so I can have a mike in and headphone out connection, the speakers need to turn off when headphone is connected. Want to take USB ports off card and turn on the disk activity light and last but not least control power on off button.

I plan to make a pcb PCIexpress card and bring those controls away from the PC. I've only just started looking at it, but if any of you have done similar things I'd be interested to know how, or if you can give me any tips would be great.

Cheers
Dazz

 

Sounds good! Whats the problem? If you follow the PCI express specification, you should be fine.

 

Well i think the hard part is the power on off switch not sure that can be done unless i have a power on source when pc is off will have to check pci express bus and see.

 

Why does it need to be powered when the PC is not? Once PC power goes away, all the supplies on the bus will too.

Also, I would not recommend an external supply to power the bus when the PC is not powering the bus. This may cause problems to other devices in your PC.

 

none of the features you have mentioned have anything to do with the pci bus or any major data bus in your PC.

USB and Audio are most likely functions of your northbridge or southbridge chips, which are connected directly to the CPU via their own special bus.

the hard drive light is controlled by the mass storage chip (which is probably connected to the northbridge)

the simplest and safest approach would be to build a card that fits in a 3.5 or 5.25" device bay, and use it to route these various signals however you see fit. short jumper wires will interface your card to the systems you mention. any modern pc will have internal headers for audio (sometimes connected to any front-panel jacks you may have) and usb devices (also front panel), there will be headers for the power switch and hard drive light as well.

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Hiya;
The fact that ur pc has a pci express slot proves that u'r pc is a new one..
Newer pc's always have connections for front panels for audio ,hdd light etc ..so i suggest make a 3.5" pcb and connect it to these connectors rather than pci-e slot which will be cumbersome and troublesome..If u want i can design one for u..jus mail me the model of your motherboard...

 

Hi again just getting used to how this site works ;-) About the power I've noticed that when the PC is switched off there is still 3V supply on the motherboard do you know what this is for? I have seen the board in my Dell PC with USB and lights etc What I am trying to do is bring all the the controls on the front of the PC away from the PC so I can control from the little remote panel i've got working. I have DVD power on USB and disk lights etc and it is working.

I have a loom of wires pulling all these functions off the motherboard the reason I was trying to use PCI Express was to get rid of the wires and have just a card and make the whole thing alot easier to install, but from what people are saying this might not be possible.

I am only just starting to look at what PCI Express can do.

Cheers for comments it might save me some time.

Dazz

 

How will pci express help you reduce wires? why do you need an external power switch and hard drive led anyway?

wireless usb which should be out soon will reduce some wires. a wireless hub connected to the computer and another sitting on your desktop can route the signal for your peripherals (keyboard, mouse, speakers, mass storage) without using a wire running back to the pc, but it's kind of expensive.

__________________
If you don't have a planet, what good are gold bars?

want to contact me directly? gmail gordonthree
check out my project website: http://projects.dimension-x.net
Favorite numbers:
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0