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Pci-2 motherboards fiting Radeon 4870 and XPC

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Hi, i know this is noobish but please bear with me.

Ok, so i want to get a new video card: Radeon 4870: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...

Thing is that that card has a 2.0 pcie thing and my motherboard is still at 1.0. I know that I will still be able to run it, but I heard that using 1.0 versus 2.0 represents a huge loss of potential performance. A) Is that true?

Second, in case that that was true: what do I do? I've got a Shuttle XPC that runs very well and I dont intend on replacing it, but from what I understand, I have to get a new motherboard. So B) what motherboard with pcie 2.0 would work for this PC (model is SN27P2)? Or do I really have to get a new case all-together.

I also noticed that the video card im interested in has gddr 5, unlike most cards that use ddr 3. I don't need to know what it means, but C) is that something to consider in choosing a new motherboard?

Btw my intention here is to game (much) better. Also, If you make suggestions, factor price in heavily.

Don't be afraid to tell me if I'm way off.

Thanks a million if you had the patience to read and answer.

More about : pci motherboards fiting radeon 4870 xpc

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Motherboard Expert
Graphics card Authority

Yes, a PCIe 2.0 device will work just fine in a PCIe 1.x slot and vice verca.

Also, save your self some cash and get a 5770.
Performance is about the same, power consumption is lower, you get DX11 support and a few other nifty features.

Ok thanks.

But would the vid card with PCI-e 2.0 render significantly better performance with a PCI-e 2.0 motherboard than a 1.0 mother? Like what I want to know is if im loosing a lot of potential performance by using a 1.0 mother instead of a 2.0.

Thanks in advance

Best solution

Motherboard Expert
Graphics card Authority

Nope, with this level of GPU there will be NO performance difference between 16x PCIe 2.0 and 16x PCIe 1.x.
The only difference between the two standards is that PCIe 2.0 gives twice the bandwidth and twice the power through the slot.
As such, a 16x PCIe 1.x slot will give you the same bandwidth as an 8x PCIe 2.0 slot.

With that in mind check out this review: PCI Express And CrossFire Scaling.
As this review is testing a much more powerful 5870, your GPU will have even better scaling.
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