Lanparty Ultra-D PCI Clearance

Over the next week and a half I'll be replacing one of my current machines with an X2 based system, probably based off an LP Ultra-D. As part of this build I will be migrating over an LSI PCI-X U160 SCSI controller and its 15k drives to the new box. Those LSI PCI-X controllers happen to work quite happily when combined with 32/33 PCI slots, the only caveat being that the extra-long connector edge hangs off the back end of the onboard PCI slot and thus requires that area be free from obstruction. If the area is cluttered with raised objects the board will either not seat or potentially short out on whatever is in the way.

From looking at available images of the Ultra-D it appears as if that area is clear of high objects, but looking at pictures and looking at the board in person are different things. DFI SLI boards, while based on the same PCB layout, fill that same space with SATA connectors that would definitely ruin my day. On the Ultra-D it appears as though the connectors are appropriately left off the board and the traces remain unused. There is, however, at least one IC behind the PCI slots, a pair of jumpers to the North of the overrun area, and a fan connector just due South of the overrun area.

So, to those of you with the board, I ask if you've either tried sticking a 64/66 PCI-X board in one of its slots, or, if you haven't done that, let me know if there are any obstructions in that area directly East of the PCI slots that may make contact with a 64-bit PCI connector hanging there. Thanks for checking.

Wouldn't the card be seriously bottlenecked by the plain pci slot on the Lanparty?

Not particularly. A 64/66 PCI-X card has ~500MB/s of bandwidth to play with. A U160 controller will be limited by its own operational max of 160MB/s on a single channel. The two 15k drives on that channel each only operate at about 70MB/s at full tilt. So at best this configuration is only putting 140MB/s of pressure on a 32/33 PCI bus with 133MB/s of capacity, and that is only in very rare circumstances.

To answer my own question, yes, PCI-X cards fit just fine in both PCI slots with no clearance issues. There is a cap and a few jumpers close to where a PCI-X card overruns on the Northern slot, but there's still a couple centimeters of clearance.