I would love to see option to insert DeckLink Duo 2 (mini) in to the case
I think people are talking about two different things in this thread.
Some folks are talking about having the slot itself open-ended, so that longer, 8X cards can be inserted, but will simply run at 4X speeds.
Others are talking about having an opening in the back of the Framework case, so that cards can be installed in the 4X slot, in the Framework case.
Just thought I’d clarify there, because some folks seem to be replying to points made about one thing, when they are talking about the other.
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From the parts list
Manufacturer: DEREN
Description: 564ZD4-005H13012 64P H11.25 PCIE4.0 P1
564ZD4-005H13012 is part of the following family of PCIE SMT parts.
Specifically : 564ZD4-005Hxx0xx
PCI express GEN4 SMT Type, W/T short Post&PEG(36\64\98pins)
However, there is an open ended version of this part, but it’s a through-hole part: 564ZD4-001Hxxxxx
PCI express GEN4 DIP Type, W/T Long Post&End Slot
While it would be amazing to have the slot version, I’m not sure how far they’re into their production cycle. As someone who works in PCBA contract manufacturing, it can be painful to change processes once you’ve started production. We could always look for an open ended SMT part that matches the original part pads from another manufacturer.
[Edit] I made a mistake when first linking to the actual part number. I changed post to correct this mistake
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OK, after a bunch of mistakes on my part, there was an SMT part with a slot…
PCIE SMT Family
Current Part : 564ZD4-005Hxx0xx
Possible open ended SMT part : 564ZD4-014Hxxxx
Matching the original part spec, it looks like the replacement part number with a slot would be 564ZD4-014H1312
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One option I’ve been looking at is a PCI x4 to x16 adapter. They look like they would raise the GPU up about the height of the pci slot (so maybe about 10mm or so?). If I went this route, then I’d have to include the appropriate connectors in the custom 3D printed case I’m designing. Which is sort of the feel of a skeleton case, but with enough protection for for the spinney fan elements and proper air flow considerations.
Now the purpose of this would be to get even faster LLM inference speeds. My theory is that if a large chunk of the model runs on the GPU, then the inference speed of what runs on the motherboard / iGPU would be faster because fewer layers are on that part. So for a 40 GiB model, 24 GiB is on the GPU, and 16 GiB is on the CPU / iGPU (I’m hoping ollama can use both GPU and iGPU, but the high memory bandwidth should be available to CPU-only code too). That would put the inference speed of deepseek 70B Q4 to about 16 tokens/sec.
Adding my vote to this - an open ended slot is really a must!
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Nirav explains why they chose not to go with an open ended slot. He sidestepped the electrical x4 with x16 connector followup question.
As mentioned by @Derek_Pressnall, I’m looking into an adapter so I don’t need to void the warranty.
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Thats dissapointing.
I guess theres always the x4 to x16 riser in a larger case workaround.
But i still cannot see why they just don’t fit an open-ended slot here…
The search on Amazon I used was “pci x4 to x16 adapter”, one of the products is a 4x card edge with a 16x slot above it. Problem with this is (even in a regular case) it raises the GPU up by about 10mm or so it looks like. So you would have to make (3d print) a shim to mount on the card edge slot on the case to make everything stable. And have enough clearance for the card. Or, do what I’m planning on, and 3d print a custom skeleton case.
Other options would be a similar adapter but one with a ribbon cable between the x4 connector and the x16 slot, connect it to the GPU and screw the GPU bracket on the case (in a slot opening beyond the MB), and have the card edge dangling underneath.
During the event Q&A that @FsOver2 linked, Nirav mae the point that they didn’t open the slot of case as they wanted to limit experimentation
It would still be possible to add a 4.0 x4 Oculink card tho, right, without any “spec” issues that he hinted at but didn’t elaborate on?
An OCuLink, SlimSAS, or MCIO port directly on the motherboard plus a riser would have been vastly more useful considering the limited number of uses for a x4 slot which has no corresponding opening in the official chassis…
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This is against the Framework ethos surely? I think they should be encouraging it not resricting it surely…
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It did seem an odd remark and of course, I may have misunderstood? I did get the sense that they were trying to manage the tension between their loyal enthusiasts and AMD … I may be reading too much into this, tho, as well??
“Others are talking about having an opening in the back of the Framework case , so that cards can be installed in the 4X slot, in the Framework case.” @BigT
This is definitely the issue I’m referring to! Do we know whether the Framework team has specifially considered this? I’m just imagining a situation where I need to add some ports of some variety, but can’t because there’s no opening on the case to let me add the card.
I think with their case they prioritized the compact size. But the motherboard can be purchased separately and put in any mini-ITX compatible case.
I ran into a similar issue when looking at compact PC’s a while back for a project. I needed an open PCIe slot, and all of the most compact designs had no provisions for them in the case, regardless of whether or not the motherboard did. The case I ended up with is moderately larger than Framework’s case, and it still only fits half-height cards (which worked for what I needed).
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Well, Nirav gives a pretty good reason in the Q&A video from the announcement show (can’t remember if that is the video back up this thread).
Whoops, I realize now I misunderstood the thread in a half-awake daze. Deleted my comment 
Not doing open-ended PCI for spec conformance is an acceptable reason
Here’s what I’m wondering:
- Let’s say there was an option to have an opening on the back of the Framework Desktop case where the PCIe 4x slot is at. Would the dimensions of the case even allow for a half-height PCIe 4x card to be installed there?
- Let’s say they keep the case as-is, and don’t allow for an opening where that slot is. What sorts of things could we install in that slot that don’t require an opening in the case? Just more storage?
It’s a standard board form factor, it doesn’t have to be used in the fw case.
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There are PCIe 4.0 4x to Oculink cards that have the port on the internal rather than the external end. Possibly unscrewing the end plate would allow them to fit.