Video output for a server

[MotorMouth]

I'm building a home server/NAS, and I've painted myself into a corner with respect to the video output. My CPU has no video output, but I've already filled most of the PCIe slots with SSDs.

I've found myself in a position where seemingly the best option is buying a brand-new e-waste GPU like the kind Linus always rants about. Do you think there's a better option?

 

Requirements:

- must remain stable and functional even if only provided with a single lane (PCIe gen2 x1)

- must output HDMI or something that can be adapted to HDMI like DVI or DP (it's going into a PiKVM, so VGA is a hassle)

- must fit into a single slot and not cook itself if it's sandwiched right between two other things

- must only use the power from the slot because I don't want to use another PCIe power connector off the PSU if I can help it

 

Preferences:

- easy Linux drivers (so I'd prefer not to use an Nvidia card for this if I can help it)

- ideally still getting driver updates, or working well enough with the stock VGA drivers that I don't have to care

- less than $100 would be preferable

- used is totally fine with me

- doesn't need to render anything more complex than a command-line, so I don't care at all about graphics performance

 

The best thing I can find for my application is this ASUS GT 730 which only needs a single PCIe lane...but it looks like it might cook itself, sandwiched between two M.2 carrier cards and starved for air. It's also an Nvidia card, so I've got to deal with Nouveau (which I guess is fine, but still).

Can you folks think of a better way?

[ToboRobot]

Used AMD cards? 

[Electronics Wizardy]

I have a a gt 710  x1 card that works great for this use case. That 730 should work fine, and they don't make much heat so don't worry about cooling. 

 

I woudln't worry about drivers, basically all the opensource drives on these older cards are plenty for a terminal/basic gui output, and I don't think compute will matter here from what you said.

 

There are also a good amount of nvs x1 cards on ebay pretty cheap.

 

You should also be able to get a cheap card and cut the slot to x1. Something like a. 5450 or a gt 210.

[Dutch_Master]

Intel ARC? No idea if they accept a single/dual PCIe lane input though nor if they're available where you live.

 

As for cooling: you may need to do some crafting and create a funnel out of a large cereal box to direct some cool air to the GPU.

[Needfuldoer]

40 minutes ago, MotorMouth said:

I've found myself in a position where seemingly the best option is buying a brand-new e-waste GPU like the kind Linus always rants about. Do you think there's a better option?

An older, single slot workstation GPU like a Quadro P400 or AMD FirePro something-or-other would be a less expensive option. 

[manikyath]

GT710, radeon HD5450, or literally any second hand workstation card that's half height PCIe. (the boil-y ones tend to be full height PCIe)

[MotorMouth]

These are some good suggestions, thank you!

As I'm deciding -- how can I know whether a card will be OK if I only give it one lane? (The card I linked is the only one I can find that wouldn't extend out of the back of an x1 slot, but I know sometimes cards work fine if you don't give them a full-length slot.)