Pci - Express 2.0 X16 Graphic Card and Pci - Express Motherboard compatibility.

[Lucky Luke]

Guys, I need help here. My current mother board model is an ASUS P5GC-MX/1333 - motherboard - micro ATX - i945GC. This motherboard Graphic Card slot is a PCI-e X16 type. There is no 1.0 or 1.0a extension type. Just PCI-e X16 . I am considering of buying a Radeon 4870 X2 in the future,but I noticed that the card requires a PCI-e 2.0 X16 type of slot. So,my question is...is there a significant difference between PCI-e X16 and PCI-e 2.0 X16? Will my motherboard be able to support that card? Any penalty if I insist on installing the card? Thank you for the time. =)

[hdantman]

PCI Express 2.0 is both backwards and forwards compatible. I'm not sure whether or not you'll see decreased performance out of the card--it's not out yet. I wouldn't worry though, since many of the current generation cards make adequate ports to the old AGP 8x with bandwidth headroom to spare. Bandwidth really won't be the constraint here--power requirements will be. Since 2.0 offeres 150 watts of power versus 75 watts in 1.1, you will need to have the power cables from your PSU connected in order to provide the card with adequate power. I'm assuming it will have a similar design to the 3870x2, and will require both an 8pin and a 6pin power connector to get enough power. Make sure you have both.

I hope this answers your question.

PCI Express 2.0 is meant for future-proofing, not the current generation of products.

[aliquidparadigm]

You'd be hard-pressed to notice a difference from 1.0 to 2.0. Sure, there is one, but I had a 3870 on an old ECS KA3-MVP board, and it performed just about the same as it did when I upgraded to an MSI K9A2.

[ultima]

your 3870 was only based on the old format

so it wouldn't benefit from 2.0

[aliquidparadigm]

http://ati.amd.com/products/Radeonhd3800/index.html

You should let AMD/ATI know that the 3800 series aren't PCIe 2.0, chief, 'cuz they seem to think otherwise.

[hdantman]

Yep, I actually raised the comparison of the 3870 x2 specifically because it is a very close example of a PCI 2.0 card that is similar to the 4870 x2. I have both a PCIx2.0 mobo and a 1.0a mobo, and can tell NO difference in performance with the 3870x2. Even benchmarks run almost identically. It can chew threw anything I throw at it with ease, and it is now in the 1.0a mobo. I suspect the 4870x2 will be no different. Just make sure your CPU is adequate.

[Lucky Luke]

Ok Guys. Thanks a lot for your replies. It was a quick one. Hope that there is really no significance performance drop. I will just ask the salesman again later on to finalise my purchase. They said the Radeon 4870 X2 is out at the end of this month like what this website said.

By the way, I have another doubt. The 4870 X2 is using a GDDR5 memory. Currently, I am using a X1950 Pro which is utilizing a GDDR3 and it seems to have no problem to me. Will there be a conflict between GDDR3 and GDDR5? I can't seem to find my ASUS motherboard spec regarding this limitations. Thanks for the time.

[hdantman]

Absolutely no conflicts whatsoever. The type/speed of GPU RAM is an on-chip issue, and will in no wise affect or be affected by your motherboard (at least from a compatability standpoint).

Without going into the details of graphics card memory, I'll keep a short story short--

You have nothing to worry about. Buy your new card with no fears, and enter into gaming bliss.

If you want to know how graphics memory works, or how it affects your gaming experience, open up another thread and ask--I would love to give you the nerdy, long answer.

[Lucky Luke]

Haha. It's okay, Hdantman. I trust you anyway. So, I will purchase the card when it becomes available then and enter into a gaming bliss. =). Thanks for your info,dude.