There's not much of a choice out there. You'll have to measure how much space is available and then try a real single slot card if you want it internally. Many cards they are calling single slot really aren't. The trick is to look at the front view. If there is anything hanging out from the faceplate, it is Not a real single slot card. This one would be good, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487045 as far as height goes.
Most of the others have overhang, http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007709+600419828&Page=1
But you'd still have to remove the end plates from those x8 closed PCIe slots in the Dells.

I wouldn't even consider a commercial expansion box for those Dells, too expense for the worth of the machine. It would be much better to just piece one together from spare parts.

Yes, I know where that image came from. I also know what you said in your above post, http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=76467&postid=1625305
Now you know what he did. His post does say what he did, "..but by testing several mobo's, graphic cards etc.."
He just failed to mention what type of mobo's he was testing...

I get it, sorry. I was trying to prevent confusion for anyone else who might come along and read the thread.

Another thing I've been toying with is maybe getting an external PCIe expansion box but now we're suddenly going from a couple of free servers and couple of hundred pounds for some extra processing power to a couple of thousands of pounds for a PCIe expansion bay (unless someone has one to donate to me :) ) and then more still for the graphics cards...

I still think, as I mentioned earlier, that using a PCIe x8 to x16 cable & removing one of the risers is your best bet. One of those adapters should only get you back £5-15. Then if you can't get the card to work in the server you could put it in one of your current machines to upgrade it?

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SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
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... Another thing I've been toying with is maybe getting an external PCIe expansion box but now we're suddenly going from a couple of free servers and couple of hundred pounds for some extra processing power to a couple of thousands of pounds for a PCIe expansion bay (unless someone has one to donate to me :) ) and then more still for the graphics cards...

Yes, I looked at those things a while ago. They are so expensive and even more so for suffering the bus bandwidth divided down to be shared amongst the hosted cards...

I went for multiple entire systems and hooked them all together over 1Gbit ethernet... A lower price for greater CPU + GPU grunt!

(Shame I can't put them onto Boinc in their spare time... :-( )


Happy fast crunchin'!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

With this kind of PCIe extension you could use an external PSU & have the cards outside the servers. You could be fancy and put them in a rack mounted shelf or just lay them on top of the servers I suppose.

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SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

i have ordered 4 of these cables since i have to fit the cards into a 2U server

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-Express-PCI-E-4X-4X-16X-8X-8X-16X-Riser-Card-Ribbon-Extender-Extension-Cable-/281343049306?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item41815a3e5a

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I came down with a bad case of i don't give a crap

Those last 2 posts have a couple of lovely pieces of advice.

I realise the downsides to doing something like that, mainly the loss of processing power/speed due to bus constraints, but something is better than nothing and they give me a way to do something nice and cheaply (which face it, is the point here!)

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~W