Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Using a PCIe 2.0 GPU in a PCIe slot

Using a PCIe 2.0 GPU in a PCIe slot

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Using a PCIe 2.0 GPU in a PCIe slot

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
MykC   01-26-2009 at 05:23:37 AM

Using a PCIe 2.0 GPU in a PCIe slot. Is it possible? What are the drawbacks?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm looking at get a mATX board and the PCIe 1.0 boards are about $90 cheaper than the next 2.0 boards (from ASUS).

Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
chedrz   01-26-2009 at 05:30:45 AM
- 0 +

It's fine. The theoretical bandwidth is reduced, but it typically doesn't matter, as most graphics cards (if not all) can't even use the full bandwidth of PCIe 1.0 to my knowledge. Some of the upper-level cards (like the GTX280 and above) might be slightly limited, but it typically doesn't make a difference.

Reply to chedrz
megamanx00   01-26-2009 at 08:00:06 AM
- 0 +

You should be fine as PCI-E 2.0 cards can operate in 1.0 slots as they are backwards compatible. Even though there is a slight performance penalty anything from a 4850 or 9800GTX+ on down will only suffer slightly, if at all depending on the card you choose. You only really get a noticeable penalty on the faster cards.

------------------------------ Playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine Athlon 64 X2 5000+ @3.24 Brisbane | GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 | 4GB Mushkin DDR2 1066 | Plextor 760A| 2x 3850 512M CF| WD 1TB Black| Fortron Blue Storm II 500W | APEVIA X-Dreamer Black | Win XP Pro & Vista Buisness 32bit
 Reply to megamanx00
jitpublisher   01-26-2009 at 02:10:25 PM
- 0 +

Make sure it is version 1.0, and not 1.0a.
All PCIe 2.0 cards are backwards compatable with version 1.0.
Some PCIe 2.0 cards do have problems with the 1.0a slot.
The 8800GT is one of them for instance, so double check if the board is really cheap, it is NOT version PCIe 1.0a.

Reply to jitpublisher
average joe   01-26-2009 at 09:10:08 PM
- 0 +

I have a 8800gt running in on a 965 express chipset board. It a 1.0 board its working fine.

Reply to average joe
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Using a PCIe 2.0 GPU in a PCIe slot
Go to:

There are 978 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.326 seconds
Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
How do I win badges?