Installing System Components 119
• Three full-height, half-length PCIe x4 (slots 1, 4, and 5)
To identify expansion slots, see Figure 6-1.
Expansion Card Installation Guidelines
Observe the following notes and guidelines regarding the expansion-card 
slots:
• The expansion-card slots are not hot-swappable.
• PCI Express Generation 2 and Generation 1 expansion cards are supported 
in all slots.
• Although slots 1, 4, and 5 are physically PCIe x8 connectors, they function 
only as PCIe x4 link slots.
• Slots 2 and 3 support full-length expansion cards; slots 1, 4, and 5 support 
half-length expansion cards.
• The system supports up to two SAS or PERC expansion cards (in addition 
to the integrated storage controller) to manage internal tape drives or 
external storage.
  CAUTION: To ensure proper cooling, no more than two of the five expansion 
cards can have a power consumption of greater than 15 W (up to 25 W maximum 
each), not including the integrated storage controller. 
• Table 3-1 provides a guide for installing expansion cards to ensure proper 
cooling and mechanical fit. The expansion cards with the highest priority 
should be installed first using the slot priority indicated. All other 
expansion cards should be installed in card priority and slot priority order.
Table 3-1. Expansion-Card Installation Order
Card 
Priority Card Type Slot Priority
Max 
Allowed
25-W 
Card?
1 PERC 5/E controller 4,5 2 Y
2 PERC 6/E controller 3,2,5,4,1 2 Y
3 10 Gb NIC 4,5,1,2,3 2 Y
4 All other Dell storage cards  3,2,4,5,1 2 Y
5 Non-Dell storage cards 4,5,1,2,3 5
1
N
2
6 All other NICs 4,5,1,2,3 5
1
N
2
book.book  Page 119  Tuesday, September 15, 2009  10:08 AM