Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 compatible with PCIe 1.0a spec?

[Vilanova]

Hi everyone,

I've just updated my old desktop with an AsRock motherboard: ALiveDual-eSATA2. Now I'm considering upgrading my old and disappointing GeForce 6200 to a Radeon HD 4670 1Gb and here they come my doubts.

I've read that most of PCIe 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCIe 1.x motherboards. Most... is mine one of these?
I've also read in an internet review that my motherboard does not support PCIe 2nd gen...

What's your experience/knowledge on this? Is it compatible? If not, could you recommend me another card with similar features?

Thanks guys,

Vilanova

 

[shadow187]

http://forum.ocworkbench.com/2007/asrock/ALiveDual-eSATA2/b9.htm

Pros

* eSATA
* AGP and PCIe support
* Phenom Support
* GbE

Cons

* Passive cooled; chipsets are a bit too hot
* Certain ATi AGP cards might have compatibility issues
* NO PCIe Gen 2

Sorry mate.

 

[Vilanova]

Thanks. Indeed, that's the review I was talking about... although I was looking for some first hand experience.
Any recommendations for a new graphic card?

 

[pcworm]

I was running a 9800GT on a GA-g31-ms2l for more than 1 year (PCIE2 card on PCIE1 slot), your board does not support PCIE2, but putting a PCIE1 card on it wouldn't be a problem
the only problem might be that your old mobo has less bandwidth available for the card, which in turn wouldn't be a problem for a 4770, since it doesn't use even half the bandwidth of a PCIE2.0 slot
dont worry, buy the card and install it

 

[megamanx00]

A PCIE-2.0 card will run in a PCI-E 1.0 slot at reduced speeds. The problem is that very early PCI-E boards were rather quirky and may present problems for modern cards. It should be o.k. I would update the BIOS beforehand though.

 

[Vilanova]

Thanks!

pcworm: I've heard about a lot of people using 9800GT in 1.0 motherboards with no problems. That's good news. ;-) Would you recommend it rather than 4670 (not 4770, do you know if they share the same bandwith behavior)??
megamanx00: I'll do so. Thanks. Although no one can ensure me it will work afterwards... could you recommend me another card?

 

[Mousemonkey]

A PCIE-2.0 card will run in a PCI-E 1.0 slot at reduced speeds. The problem is that very early PCI-E boards were rather quirky and may present problems for modern cards. It should be o.k. I would update the BIOS beforehand though.

PCIe 1.0, 1.0a, 2.0 and 3.0 have different electrical specifications, it has nothing to do with speed or bandwidth.

 

[Vilanova]

PCIe 1.0, 1.0a, 2.0 and 3.0 have different electrical specifications, it has nothing to do with speed or bandwidth.

Hence, what would you recommend me? I don't want to blow up my board...

 

[Mousemonkey]

None of the cards on sale today (or tomorrow) will blow up your board, don't fret.