ASRock PCI slot question

[mojothehut]

Hey all.
So I have a quick question about my ASRock H77 Pro 4-M motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157301
I'm using a single gpu setup and was wondering if I'd have any performance loss if i put the card in the second pci-e 16x slot instead of the first one?
I cant fit it on the first one due to the front panel audio header connector.
My case's audio cable blocks the pci e slot =(

I guess the only difference is the first slot is 3.0, the second one 2.0.

I'm using an Nvidia 650 ti Boost 2gb
along with an ivy bridge i5 3470
If that makes a difference..

 

[Sheep221]

If you put 2 cards in the first slot is x16 and second is x8, but if you use only one card, it will work as x16 in the second slot too.
So no, there won't be performance decrease.
Btw, that cable is so short that it can't be wrapped around something or led to audio header through some different place in the case?

 

[UaVaj]

even if there was a different - a 650ti will never notice the differnce much less ever saturate the slower pcie2.0 slot.

 

[SPBHM]

the second slot is x4 PCIE 2.0, connected to the PCH (H77), so yes, you are going to loose some performance.

 

[Smoblikat]

the second slot is x4 PCIE 2.0, connected to the PCH (H77), so yes, you are going to loose some performance.

Only on paper, in real life that slot has way more bandwidth than the card could ever hope to use.

@OP: You wont lose any real performance.

 

[SPBHM]

Only on paper, in real life that slot has way more bandwidth than the card could ever hope to use.

@OP: You wont lose any real performance.

I think your conclusion is problematic, the 4x slot have higher latency, and it shares the same "DMI 2.0 interface" with the rest of the PCH remember, it's not just 4x 2.0 vs 16x 3.0, it's also CPU vs PCH

for crossfire, using that slot can make some damage,

now, I don't know if the conclusion of this card needing "less bandwidth" is entirely accurate, I guess if it's running out of memory or something it could be even worse than with a high end card?

anyway, it's a potential way of lowering your performance, so I think you should find a different solution.

 

[UaVaj]

you are correct in terms of extra latency via pch vs via cpu.

however given that gpu is only one 650ti. again. will not make any "real world" difference. only difference is when benchmarking. even so. difference would be insignificant.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I think your conclusion is problematic, the 4x slot have higher latency, and it shares the same "DMI 2.0 interface" with the rest of the PCH remember, it's not just 4x 2.0 vs 16x 3.0, it's also CPU vs PCH

I'll just add that the DMI 2.0 interface is nothing but a PCIe 2.0 4x link with a few proprietary extensions. That 4x link also has to be shared with everything else connected to the PCH, f.x. SSD, HDD, LAN, USB3 etc.

 

[UaVaj]

keep the 650ti on the pcie3.0 slot. buy a audio header extension off fleabay for $5 and call it a day. if you have too. bend the audio header pins at an angle. will not hurt anything.