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Sacrifice GPU PCIe lanes for PCIe Wifi Adapter?

Tags:
  • fiber
  • network
  • adapter
  • WiFi
  • PCI Express
  • Wireless
  • pcie
  • x8
  • GPUs
  • Graphics
  • Internet
  • Performance
  • x16
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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December 13, 2013 8:55:32 AM

Hi, I'm usually helping people in this forum, but now I find myself in a dilemma and need help with a decision.


I'm currently using the Gigabyte G1 Sniper M3 Z77 board and it has an unorthodox PCIe layout.

You can see my board here http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=...

So the problem is that my Sapphire 7950 installed in the top slot, is so large that it blocks the x1 and second 16 lane slot under it, leaving only the last 16 lane slot available for use. It so happens that the last slot is an x8 and shares lanes with the one my 7950 is using. So if I put anything in it, my card will run at only x8 speed.

I intend to get an Asus PCE-AC66 wireless dual-band ac adapter and it requires a PCIe slot. Because I'm shifting my desktop to another room where it is not possible to wire an ethernet cable there, I have no choice but get my internet access wirelessly. My internet service is a 300mbit/s fiber optic plan and I have a dual-band 5Ghz N router at the fiber optic access point where my desktop used to be.

Reason why I want that overkill wifi adapter is because it has reportedly excellent throughput and I will not tolerate getting anything less than the full 300mbits to my PC. The adapter antenna would be less than 10 metres away from the router and has direct line of sight.

So I'm concerned about losing GPU performance if I were put the adapter card into the last PCIe slot and limiting my card to x8 bandwidth. I play all the latest and demanding titles like BF4 and Arma3.

I know of the option to get a USB adapter instead, but I hear they are not reliable for high speeds and I'm worried of not getting the full internet speed I subscribed to. If you suggest an USB adapter please recommend me specific models that have good reviews because it would be a relief if I have an alternative that can assure me of what I want.

Please advise. Thanks in advance.

More about : sacrifice gpu pcie lanes pcie wifi adapter

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December 13, 2013 9:05:07 AM

You will not suffer any performance loss with 8x Lanes of PCIe 3.0 rather than 16x.
Even if you had a HD 7990 in that 8x slot, there would still not be a PCIE bottleneck.
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December 13, 2013 9:18:48 AM

Just a suggestion. In order to improve the internet performance and still use the x16 slot. Could you get a powerline ethernet adapter? Essentially you plug it in the wall and connect it to your PC via ethernet cable.
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December 13, 2013 9:26:23 AM

Thank you for your feedback azathoth. I am aware that in theory the PCIe 3.0 x8 would be the same speed as PCIe 2.0 x16, so my situation would be akin to running 2.0 vs 3.0 with all lanes available. Also that there is very small, if any at all, loss in performance from the change.

I would like to know of any alternative adapters that can get the job done without affecting my GPU's PCIe speed.

Also, I am not a technical expert on PCIe, but would there be by any chance that my GPU can still go beyond x8 with the PCIe adapter installed? Because the adapter only requires a x1 slot, maybe my GPU can still keep the excess x7??
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December 13, 2013 9:30:35 AM

envy14tpe said:
Just a suggestion. In order to improve the internet performance and still use the x16 slot. Could you get a powerline ethernet adapter? Essentially you plug it in the wall and connect it to your PC via ethernet cable.


Yes I have thought of the powerline solution very early in the course of my planning, but according to user feedback and reviews, they seem to have very underwhelming performance. I also don't have faith in my house's power cabling.
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December 13, 2013 9:43:35 AM

ok. How about a 30m cable that runs along the corner of the walls to your modem? That's exactly what I do right now. I didn't like the wifi way so had to get a long cable.
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December 13, 2013 9:50:57 AM

I actually would really like to have a cable run to the new location of my pc because I know ethernet is unbeatable. Unfortunately my family members seriously disapprove of it because it is not only ugly, but also poses a trip hazard that which I understand. Wiring around the corner of the walls would mean the cable being ridiculously long and would be so ugly even I don't want that.
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December 13, 2013 9:58:22 AM

Can you move the modem to your room? I have been in your shoes where I had wireless but ended up using the cable down the hallway method and I'm really happy with the more stable result.
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December 13, 2013 10:05:07 AM

huilun02 said:
Thank you for your feedback azathoth. I am aware that in theory the PCIe 3.0 x8 would be the same speed as PCIe 2.0 x16, so my situation would be akin to running 2.0 vs 3.0 with all lanes available. Also that there is very small, if any at all, loss in performance from the change.

I would like to know of any alternative adapters that can get the job done without affecting my GPU's PCIe speed.

Also, I am not a technical expert on PCIe, but would there be by any chance that my GPU can still go beyond x8 with the PCIe adapter installed? Because the adapter only requires a x1 slot, maybe my GPU can still keep the excess x7??


Again, as I said before there will be no performance difference at all.

"Also that there is very small, if any at all, loss in performance from the change."

You have even agreed in your own statement, I do not understand what you are still worried about. You can even test it yourself beforehand with some tape if you wish.

For reference as to how*
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pci-express-scaling...


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December 13, 2013 10:22:19 AM

Yes I understand your point azathoth. I just don't feel at ease if my GPU has half of its pizza taken away no matter how big it is. Which is why I want to wait for suggestions of alternative adapters (especially the USB ones). I'm just hoping to find news of one that is reliable enough to give all 300mbits over wifi.

As for envy14type, I think moving the router wouldn't be any different from having ethernet wire run all the way to my PC, because it needs to be connected to the fiber access point which cannot be moved without even more cabling. Thanks for the suggestion though.
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December 13, 2013 10:58:47 AM

huilun02 said:
I actually would really like to have a cable run to the new location of my pc because I know ethernet is unbeatable. Unfortunately my family members seriously disapprove of it because it is not only ugly, but also poses a trip hazard that which I understand. Wiring around the corner of the walls would mean the cable being ridiculously long and would be so ugly even I don't want that.

If run properly it is safe and nearly invisible.
But WIFI works ok, the main disadvantage is slightly higher latency.

Oh and 300M/s is unimaginable

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December 13, 2013 6:25:54 PM

Has anyone achieved minimum 300mbit/s of downrate throughput through the wireless connection with an adapter? (not the internet, just between router and adapter) If you have, please tell me what adapter/bridge/device you used on the receiving end.

Because I'm looking for alternative adapters. I have another thread in the Wireless Networking forum, and one mod pointed out the possibility of using an Asus ac router as a bridge. It's here http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1927693/usb-wifi...
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December 13, 2013 7:03:22 PM

Also, if I were to use the PCIe adapter, would my GPU be able to use more than 8 lanes because the adapter only uses PCIe 1x? Or will it be forced to a limit of only x8?
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December 13, 2013 7:39:09 PM

Which Sapphire 7950 do you have that eats up 3 slots? Most of them just eats up two slots, the only card I saw that eats up 3 is Asus Matrix.
Best option would be the grab a USB 3.0 Wireless AC adapter.
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December 13, 2013 7:46:24 PM

It's a Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7950 Boost/OC. The fault is mainly due to the board being mATX, and it has an unorthodox PCIe layout such that the last PCIe slot is an x8 meant for Crossfire or SLI with the first PCIe slot. Gigabyte did that because they know a big fat card would block use of 2 expansion slots under it.

Maybe suggest me a good USB adapter? Reviews of USB adapters look worryingly unreliable and don't give very good throughput.
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December 13, 2013 9:50:04 PM

Why not just grab the cheapest USB 3 wifi AC adapter. If it works great then you basically save your save some cash.
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December 13, 2013 10:06:16 PM

A word of warning. I had a Belkin USB wireless wireless adapter and I got alot of connection drops.
Not saying that all of them are like that but I would use caution.

And stay away from power line ethernet, it causes more problems
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December 13, 2013 10:23:21 PM

I had 2 USB wifi adapters than they work fine. No drops or what's so ever, but it's a ancient model only 802.11G.
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December 14, 2013 6:54:43 AM

Ok I got my problem solved. I got a PCIe x1 riser today and it managed to fit into the second x4 full length PCIe slot that my GPU was blocking. That slot has it's own dedicated PCIe lanes so I don't have to worry with a PCIe adapter anymore! Now I just have to wait for the adapter to be available at a local store. They sell like hotcakes.


Thanks everyone for your input :) 
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December 15, 2013 3:46:48 AM

Can you send a link. I'm curious to see what it is.
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September 23, 2014 1:07:59 PM

It may be a little late, but if you had a second mediocre box you could of done a gigabit crossover cable to it and had that computer have the wireless card in its pcie slot.
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!