Upgrading bios for pcie 2.1, any dangers ?

[GreenDutchAlien]

Hello.
I have bought a second hand pc for my son with apparently a PCI-E 1.0 mobo.
I tried a GTX 560 ti in it without a problem but with a HD 6870 it won't go. ( only beeping, than it boots i believe, but no pic. )
I know you can update the bios for this but some friends say this is dangerous and when the bios flash goes wrong the mobo is gone.
Or even if the bios works it could be to much for some parts of the mobo because of the higher volts (?), is this correct, are there any risks ?

Btw ; i don't want to use the 560 in it, that one comes out of my own pc.

 

[rolli59]

If there is a BIOS upgrade for the board then go for it, there is a small change that the flash goes wrong but the thing about the volts is wrong. I have updated BIOS a few times and never had any issues.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Ok.
Don't know anymore if it was volts he was talking about. He said something like the electronic parts ( capacitators ? ) of the mobo are designed for 1.0 and when you up it to 2.0 and use a high end card it could be to much and they could fail. No risk of that ?

 

[rolli59]

There is a lot of people using 2.0 cards in 1.x version slots without issues there is no electrical difference between 2.0 or 2.1 or 1.x they can all provide the card 75watts, if more needed then it has to come directly from the PSU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

 

[jaguarskx]

^^^

There have been a few cases where a PCI-e 2.1 card will not function in a motherboard with a PCI-e 1.x slot.

Some people attribute it to the PCI-e 1.x slot not being implemented properly by the mobo's manufacturer. It can be an actual hardware issue or related to the BIOS. A few manufacturers have released BIOS updates for a few old mobo's, but most manufacturers have not released such a BIOS update. Whether that is due to no hardware or BIOS issues at all or simple indifference / neglect is beyond me.

Sadly, my mobo is manufactured by Abit and that company no longer exists. Therefore, I am not even sure if my mobo with a PCI-e 1.0 slot is compatible with a PCI-e 2.1 card.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Damned that 2.1 version sh...
Allready was a little bit of a nvidea fan, this BS doesn't make my appreciation for AMD higher. MEH !
Think i'm gonne try to change the 6870 for a 460 or a 260/290 on the net or something.
If nobody wants to switch i'll try the bios flash. ( still a bit scared to do that )

Thanks for the replies !

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Best answer selected by robjordy.