PCI-E version 1 vs 2

Oct 3, 2004
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Long story short, my 4-year old setup (A64+ 3500 agp/ddr1 based) pretty much went bananas so I got some some old pieces from a friend.

A64 x2 4200+
2gigs of ddr2
Asus M2V (KT890 based)

Unfortunately the graphics card he had was a horrible 7300 LE (my old one was a 6800gt). I don't really play new games at all and gaming-wise my pc is used only for WoW so I really don't need something really powerful. Though 7300 just won't do it. So I'm in search for a low/mid-class card. Something in the lines of 2600/3650/8600 or 8800 (they go pretty cheap second hand nowadays). I understand that 2600 is using PCI-E v1 while atis 3xxx and nvidia 8xxx use PCI-E v2.

The mobo has a PCI-E 16x version 1 slot. For starters, would a PCI-E v2 card work to begin with? And if yes, would it work properly or be severely bottlenecked? Again, keep in mind I only play WoW and not Crysis :)

One last thing, I'm still using my old PSU which is a first generation NeoPower 480. It has a PCI-E 6-pin connector. Should do the trick, right? (with the cards mentioned above).

Thanks in advance guys.

P.S. Before someone suggests something like getting a new mobo/cpu/psu, if I could afford it I would but right now I cant :p
 

KIAman

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2001
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Single card solution, you are fine using a PCI-E v1 even using a GTX280. A GPU advertised with PCI-E v2 is actually saying it is compatible with with v2 but can run fine with 1 or 1.1. The only bottleneck would come from the number of lanes and 16x is the max. No bottleneck.

Your PSU is fine for the GPUs you listed.


 
Oct 3, 2004
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Thanks for the fast reply :)

Obviously it'll be a single card solution. I found a 2900GT for less than 30 pounds Obviously it'll be a single card solution. I found a 2900GT for less than 30 pounds (link) and I think price/perfomance ration is really good. My only concern now is that I read it requires an 8pin PCI-E power connector and my psu only has a 6-pin one :/ Can I assume Sapphire throws a molex->pci-e 8pin adaptor in there? :S
 

KIAman

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2001
3,342
23
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You probably cannot assume that it will come with the adapter. From my personal experience, it could come with a 4pin molex to 8pin PCI-E connector (my HD4850 came with them). I'd ask to make sure :)
 
Oct 3, 2004
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Did some searching around. While card has an 8-pin connector it works fine with a 6-pin one and includes a molex-to-6pin. Though if you run it on a 6-pin overdrive is disabled. Not a big deal for me and I guess I could buy an adaptor at a later point. Right now I just need a card that can play a 4-year old game, go figure.