Out of PCIe slots, Will a USB GPU work?

[jimp]

My system has a Ryzen 3950X (so no iGPU), LSI HBA + Intel SAS expander (powered by molex), 10gbe NIC, and Nvidia 3060 GPU. All PCIe slots are filled except the x1 slots. I want to pass the 3060 through to Plex, but TrueNAS protests because it needs a GPU for itself.

I looked for x1 PCIe GPUs but couldn't find any. That leaves me with a few ideas:

1) USB GPU -- Will TrueNAS accept that for its own GPU need?

2) PCIe x1 to x16 riser -- However my case has no external card openings not over the mobo's slots, so I think I'm physically prohibited from doing this.

3) Some way to make TrueNAS go headless after Grub launces the OS?

4) Some way to make TrueNAS and a VM share the 3060 GPU? (I recall reading nVidia has lifted the restriction on doing this, but I have no idea how it actually works.)

The primary question really is if a $20 USB GPU will satisfy TrueNAS and let me pass the 3060 GPU through to Plex or a custom VM. If there is a better way, I'm open to suggestions. Thank you!

 

[jimp]

Right after I posted this, I did another search for PCIe x1 GPUs and I found a few in the $75-100+ range. I would still like to know if USB GPUs are good enough for what TrueNAS needs since they are much cheaper (and arguably something easier to repurpose later).

 

[Samuel Tai]

I would still like to know if USB GPUs are good enough for what TrueNAS needs since they are much cheaper (and arguably something easier to repurpose later).

I highly doubt a USB GPU would work. I suspect the USB passthrough in KVM would only support HID devices and possibly USB storage.

 

[jimp]

I highly doubt a USB GPU would work. I suspect the USB passthrough in KVM would only support HID devices and possibly USB storage.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not wanting to pass the USB GPU through to an app or VM, but rather would like to know if TrueNAS will recognize the USB GPU and accept it as the one GPU it requires for itself to work properly.

 

[Samuel Tai]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not wanting to pass the USB GPU through to an app or VM, but rather would like to know if TrueNAS will recognize the USB GPU and accept it as the one GPU it requires for itself to work properly.

Doubtful, as I believe the kernel tries to initialize video framebuffer before initializing the USB subsystem.

 

[NickF]

There used to be quite a few GT 710s out there that solve this problem. There still are on eBay

Zotac Geforce GT 710 DDR3 1Gb rams Zone Edition PCIE x 1 DVI HDMI VGA Card | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Zotac Geforce GT 710 DDR3 1Gb rams Zone Edition PCIE x 1 DVI HDMI VGA Card at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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[jimp]

I found this thread asking something similar for Core. https://www.truenas.com/community/threads/displaylink-udl-4-within-truenas.93366/

It seems I didn't fully understand how limited a USB "GPU" would be...as it is actually a software defined display. And it appears to be limited to only being a secondary display in a GUI OS. I didn't find the necessary driver included with Scale, and I understand why it wouldn't be, so I'm not even going to order that.

@NickF Thanks. Not an expense I was initially expecting but certainly doable. I'll check it out, thank you.

 

[samarium]

I'm wondering if you can get a old but working x16 card, and nibble away the card where the x1 slot ends, and also cut any traces if required. Should be much cheaper that finding x1 cards, so maybe look for old x16 card like a nvs290/nvs300, 1 slot wide, passive heat sink. A pity to butcher it, but that is what you would be buying it for. I've been keeping my eye open for x1 cards cheap enough with postage to be worth buying, but they are rare, especially posting out of the US. There seem to be a few geforce x1 available on ebay for a reasonable price, and even more available for unreasonable prices.

 

[joeschmuck]

I'm wondering if you can get a old but working x16 card, and nibble away the card where the x1 slot ends, and also cut any traces if required. Should be much cheaper that finding x1 cards, so maybe look for old x16 card like a nvs290/nvs300, 1 slot wide, passive heat sink. A pity to butcher it, but that is what you would be buying it for. I've been keeping my eye open for x1 cards cheap enough with postage to be worth buying, but they are rare, especially posting out of the US. There seem to be a few geforce x1 available on ebay for a reasonable price, and even more available for unreasonable prices.

OMG! Do not do that!

@jimp, where do you live? I may have a few old PCIe x1 video cards, I may be able to ship you one. But first I need to see if I actually do have one.

 

[NugentS]

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[samarium]

Got one of those from aliexpress recently, waiting for DVI HDMI adapter to test.

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Still, most of those old PCIe x16 cards are going to end up a ewaste anyway, so if filing a few notches in the card means it is usable, then that is a good thing, loath as I am to just butcher a card. Saw a recent ebay flisting or 8x old x16 passive heatsink DVI cards, < USD 50.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I'm wondering if you can get a old but working x16 card, and nibble away the card where the x1 slot ends, and also cut any traces if required. Should be much cheaper that finding x1 cards, so maybe look for old x16 card like a nvs290/nvs300, 1 slot wide, passive heat sink. A pity to butcher it, but that is what you would be buying it for. I've been keeping my eye open for x1 cards cheap enough with postage to be worth buying, but they are rare, especially posting out of the US. There seem to be a few geforce x1 available on ebay for a reasonable price, and even more available for unreasonable prices.

There's an easier way, just cut out the back of the x1 slot.

PCIe x1 slot mod - Fit x16 card straight into x1 slot.

I cut open the back of a x1 slot on my motherboard to allow me to fit a full size GPU.

www.youtube.com

 

[samarium]

Sure that is another option, however if you have other components in the way, like caps, batteries, or maybe m.2 slots, you might have to trim the card anyway to get appropriate clearance.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Everyone's favorite YouTube tech, Linus, cut the slot:

Personal Project - Make a PCIe 1x Slot Compatible with Longer Cards Linus Tech Tips

Ever wondered how you can jam a PCIe 16x card like a video card into a PCIe 1x slot?Now you know.Please do not try this at home...

www.youtube.com

But yeah, if your card doesn't fit use a bench grinder to remove everything in the way!

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Ewwwww.....found another solution, and it's really cool:

Building the $100,000 PC Pt. 2 - SO MANY PCIe CARDS

Check out Videoblocks at https://www.videoblocks.com/LinusTechTipsBuy Titan X on Amazon: http://geni.us/ShukACheck out One Stop Systems' server gear: http://...

www.youtube.com