Hot swap your PCI Express boards

The PCIeExt16HOT PCI Express (PCIe) live-insertion bus extender board lets you test and debug PCIe boards without powering down your computer. It installs into any PCIe x16 motherboard slot and is compatible with x1, x4, x8, and x16 boards.

The extender board has current-sensing shunt resistors and instrumentation amplifiers on the +3.3-V, +12-V, and +3.3-V auxiliary power supplies that provide voltages proportional to the current drawn by the board under test. You can use the 1-V/A outputs to connect to oscilloscopes and meters so you can monitor current. The PCIeExt16HOT also has overload LEDs that illuminate when a board under test draws excessive current. If any power supply exceeds 4.9 A for more than 0.5 s, the extender will cut power to the board.

The extender board contains a three-way switch that directs it to deliver either full 3.3-V and 12-V supply voltages to the board under test, or to deliver 95% or 90% of these values, which lets you identify questionable boards.

Price: $495; quantities of two or more—$445.50 each. Furaxa, www.furaxa.com.