Old system, new life: upgrading PCI-E 1.0 to 2.0

lebowski123

Junior Member
Oct 9, 2009
2
0
0
Looking for some advice. Can I upgrade my video editing workstation to a decent gaming system?

I have 2.5 year-old Xeon quad 2.66 (Cloverdale) workstation/server with a Quadro FX1500 graphics card and a Tyan S2696a2nrf motherboard. The Intel 5000X chipset appears to be PCI-E 1.0a compatible (based on spec sheet on Intel's web site).

I'm thinking about upgrading the video card with a goal of being able to play a few upcoming games at better-than-average (but not necessarily highest) settings without buying a new i7 system. Looking at the Sapphire 100279-1GL Radeon 4870 ($150 at Newegg), for example.

I know they are supposed to be compatible, but will a new PCI-E 2.0 card be limited by my motherboard's PCI-E 1.0a slot? My expectation is that the performance improvements would be very noticable and "worth it" - especially for games but also generally in Windows 7. Is there anything else I should check or keep in mind? I've done a little homework on this topic and know the stats above, but I really don't know a lot about components and systems overall.

Thanks in advance for any input!
 

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
221
106
Originally posted by: lebowski123
Looking for some advice. Can I upgrade my video editing workstation to a decent gaming system?

I have 2.5 year-old Xeon quad 2.66 (Cloverdale) workstation/server with a Quadro FX1500 graphics card and a Tyan S2696a2nrf motherboard. The Intel 5000X chipset appears to be PCI-E 1.0a compatible (based on spec sheet on Intel's web site).

I'm thinking about upgrading the video card with a goal of being able to play a few upcoming games at better-than-average (but not necessarily highest) settings without buying a new i7 system. Looking at the Sapphire 100279-1GL Radeon 4870 ($150 at Newegg), for example.

I know they are supposed to be compatible, but will a new PCI-E 2.0 card be limited by my motherboard's PCI-E 1.0a slot? My expectation is that the performance improvements would be very noticable and "worth it" - especially for games but also generally in Windows 7. Is there anything else I should check or keep in mind? I've done a little homework on this topic and know the stats above, but I really don't know a lot about components and systems overall.

Thanks in advance for any input!

Some of the tests using P55 mobos with dual HD58xx running on x8 PCI-E 2.0 bandwidth don't show much slow down.

Since PCI-E 2.0 x8 bandwidth is equal to PCI-E 1.x at x16 I don't think there would be much if any performance loss.......even with HD58xx.

Someone correct me if I am wrong on this.
 

dflynchimp

Senior member
Apr 11, 2007
468
0
71
If you keep up with the benchmarks you'll know that at max PCI 1.0 will experience a 2% performance hit with the current generation of graphic cards. For me at least that's not enough to warrant upgrading to 2.0, since bandwidth isn't what the current cards are lacking.
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
3,204
0
76
Originally posted by: firewolfsm
You could buy a PCI-E 1.0 to 2.0 adapter. I think it would help you tremendously.

What are you talking about?
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
3,204
0
76
Originally posted by: Zaitsev
Originally posted by: error8
Originally posted by: firewolfsm
You could buy a PCI-E 1.0 to 2.0 adapter. I think it would help you tremendously.

What are you talking about?

I think he was making a funny.

When there is someone totally unexperienced about these sort of hardware stuff, posting here for support, making jokes like that will not help him in any way.
 

lebowski123

Junior Member
Oct 9, 2009
2
0
0
Thanks everyone! And yes, I realized the adapter thing was a joke... and not a really bad one either. Just didn't think I'd sounded that dumb.

@dflynchimp: I'd get a newer, better 1.0 card if there was such a thing but everything's 2.0 now. I get your point though - thanks.
 

Bill Brasky

Diamond Member
May 18, 2006
4,345
1
0
Originally posted by: error8
Originally posted by: Zaitsev
Originally posted by: error8
Originally posted by: firewolfsm
You could buy a PCI-E 1.0 to 2.0 adapter. I think it would help you tremendously.

What are you talking about?

I think he was making a funny.

When there is someone totally unexperienced about these sort of hardware stuff, posting here for support, making jokes like that will not help him in any way.

I agree. No need to add confusion.