Reposted: Wait for PCI-E 3.0 support?

[mazuren]

As the last thread is getting old and my question still stands unanswered, then here is again:

I'm going to build a new single GPU PC either when:

1. GTX 600 Series is released
2. Ivy Bridge is released

My concern is, if I should wait for the second choice to gain PCI-E 3.0 chip support.
The PC is going to last 3-5 years, with GPU's being the only replaced component over time (3-4 replacements)

This is a question about future use of PCI-E 3.0

 

[geekapproved]

It's up to you if you want to wait, are we supposed to have some magical answer to make up your mind?

If your ready to buy now, who cares about pci 3.0? Buy.

If you want to wait for Ivy Bridge, then wait for Ivy Bridge. It's only 2 months away.

Pci 3.0 cards will work fine in pci 2.0 boards.

 

[mazuren]

yes you are?! its an easy question:

Will PCI-E 3.0 become relevant within that time period?

... Please come with some serious answers and not the kind of crap from Addict

 

[CaedenV]

What matters is bandwidth, not the standard you use.
PCIe2 is 500MB/s/lane, and the fastest 590 doesn't max out the bandwith available, and the 580 only takes up about 60-70% of the available bandwidth. The 680 (or whatever equivalant comes out to the 580) WILL NOT saturate a PCIe2 16x slot. If you were running 2 cards there would be a bottleneck issue running in an 8x8 configuration, but as a single card system you do not need PCIe3 to get full enjoyment from a high end 6xx card. Only a 690 style card would fully saturate and bottleneck a PCIe2 slot.

That being said; If you are waiting for Ivy Bridge, it and the 600 series will be released within a month of each other, so there should be no problem waiting for both to be released. Or you could go for a SB-E system which has PCIe3 already (and can do 16x16 mode to boot! Which Ivy Bridge will not be able to do.). If you really want to keep the same base system for 5 years running high end cards then you will want to have a PCIe3 interface.

 

[mazuren]

Thank you very much