Please help me identify this PCI-card

[whabang]

Being the scavenger that I am, I found an old dual-CPU server in the garbage room today.
Inside it there was a PCI-card with no ports, no ICs, only a text saying: "Power card 5v to 3.3v"

A JPG og the card can be seen HERE.

Can anyone tell me what the function of this card is (Well converting 5v to 3.3v obviously), and why it is needed?

[Karlos]

By the look of it, this card simply boosts the current of the 3.3v rails (pumping it back into the system via the PCI bus) in the system by converting some of the juice on the 5v line.

I expect you might need this on systems where the 3.3v line from the PSU doesn't deliver a lot of current. For systems that might have dual 3.3v CPU I can see it being useful.

-edit-

On an AT PSU there is also no standard 3.3 or other voltage lines. An AT system that makes heavy use of 3.3v might use cards like this to take some strain of motherboard voltage converters (they can dissipate a lot of heat)

[gnarly]

Damn! This system is screwed, nothing, nada!
Ah, I see I was in error not to regularly fix it when it was working. Damn, I still haven't got the hang of "thinking different" enough!

You aren't bitter about that at all are you? ;-)

[asian1]

Hi
Is this the AJC card?

http://access1.sun.com/certify/reports/25/ASUS/ASUS-MOTHERBOARD_P54NP4D_PCI-I_P-100.html

Add-in Board Vendor:    AJC
  Model :               POWER CARD 5V TO 3.3V
  Board Type:           Other
   Type:                Single I/O
   Located in slot num: 4
   Bus Type:            PCI
   Bus Master Board?:   No

Is it possible to convert PC AT Power Supply Unit  to PC ATX using this card?
Who is AJC? What is their address?
Thx.

[whabang]

@Asian1

Well, it is really a dual P100 card, so that's possible. Thanks for the info guys!

[Karlos]

gnarly wrote:

Damn! This system is screwed, nothing, nada!
Ah, I see I was in error not to regularly fix it when it was working. Damn, I still haven't got the hang of "thinking different" enough!

You aren't bitter about that at all are you? ;-)

When discussing system choices in my new job I had to put up with "why macs are superior to everything else, why we use them, why we'll never ever use a non-mac platform" and similar  long-term mac afficionado bull. Still theyre artists and I'm a developer. What would I know about systems?

Today just proved how overhyped it all truly is. Given a non-trivial job like running a server, linux laughs down on it from such a lofty height it's barely audible :-)

/resumes regular topic...

[JimS]

It could be that the original PC didn't even have 3.3v. I understand that early PCI busses didn't use it. So this card could be a way to power 3.3v cards from the 5v supply.

[adz]

@whabang

Can't say I've ever seen a card like that ever, an interesting piece of hardware though. You know what you have to do now, take it home and throw it into your machine, just for fun :-D :-D :-D

[gnarly]

take it home and throw it into your machine, just for fun :-D :-D :-D

[color=ff0000]BANG!!![/color][/b][/i] ;-)