PCI Express 4x limit the GTX 260?

[comet_786]

Greetings,

I was wondering if I intend to SLI with two GTX 260's - but my motherboard does only 1 x16 PCI-E and another 1 x4 PCI-E. So will the 4x lane limit the GTX 260? Can anybody show me some calculations?

PCI 4X: 1000MB/S in one direction

 

[homerdog]

Yes (it will be a bottleneck), but that aside I don't know of any SLI compatible motherboards with 4x PCIe slots. What board is it?

 

[lambofgode3x]

what kind of motherboard is it? the only ones i know that have a 16x slot and a 4x is the crossfire motherboards with p35 chipsets.

 

[Nik_I]

pci-e x4 is roughly equal to agp 8x. but are you absolutely sure it's x4 and not maybe x8? i've never heard of x16 and x4 before.

 

[comet_786]

Sorry you guys are correct - its 16X and 8X respectively.

A8N SLI Premium
4200+ X2 @ 2.2Ghz OC'd to 3.0Ghz
OCZ 4GB DDR 500 OC'd to DDR 540
1x BFG OC 8800 GTS 640MB
Total HD space 1TB
OCZ 1KW Elitestream PS

 

[Nik_I]

Sorry you guys are correct - its 16X and 8X respectively.

A8N SLI Premium
4200+ X2 @ 2.2Ghz OC'd to 3.0Ghz
OCZ 4GB DDR 500 OC'd to DDR 540
1x BFG OC 8800 GTS 640MB
Total HD space 1TB
OCZ 1KW Elitestream PS

well in that case, you won't have a huge bottleneck, but i think your cpu may hold back the cards a bit.

 

[lambofgode3x]

edit: nevermind...

but now my question for you, are you planning to try to sli the gts 640 with the gtx 260? why not put it in the top 16x slot?

 

[themyrmidon]

I'd do it.

 

[comet_786]

I was under the impression that in order to do SLI, the cards have to be identical?

 

[comet_786]

The problem is that if I use 8800 GTS with the GTX 260, the 260 would be limited by the 8800GTS. So its best I get two GTX 260's... what do you guys think.

 

[invisik]

ya it would be best to get 2 gtx260. i have that setup and im really happy with my gaming needs with those cards. finally crysis is playable @ 1680x1050 all very high and 16aa avg 30+. (might have a slight edge since both my cards running at x16) but trust me in sure ull be pleased with the configuration.
=]

 

[B-Unit]

The cards have to be the same model (I.E. GTX260 or 8800GTS) The memory sizes can be different, and they can be from different suppliers, but the key thing is that they be the same model.

 

[comet_786]

I am looking at the EVGA GTX 260 Superclocked for $259CAD. So if I put those two in SLI, and running at 1920x1200 res, do you think my system can hold around 24fps (no AA)?

 

[comet_786]

To clarify above post: In Crysis at high settings (no AA and no AS)...

 

[invisik]

yes i have the same evga superclocked it will have much higher then 24fps. 16aa takes more resource then increase the resolution i believe.
wait i just looked at ur spec it seems like the ram is going to be a bottleneck and the cpu might slightly hinder performance. but u should get around 24fps avg.

 

[comet_786]

I am actually thinking now of not going ahead with the two gtx 260's... because my processor is really slow (I checked benchmarks and the core 2 is about 50% faster).

invisik, you are using a 500W PS with two GTX 260 SLI?

 

[invisik]

well at 3ghz it shouldnt be much of a bottleneck.
haha yes i got my q6600 oc at 3.2ghz and 2gtx 260 in sli oc at 710/1230
on a 500w. still much more room to oc. =]
ppl exaggerate these days on psu wattage.