PCI-E x1 or 2.0 or 2.1 ?

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R

Revolution

Senior member
May 24, 2000
209
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Please help me.
My friend's video card is dead.
He want to buy a new card.
He will mainly use it for gaming @1280x720.
His motherboard has PCI-E x1 interface

His rest of the spec ATM:
Intel E2180@2.0GHz(NO OC) CPU
Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L (rev. 1.0) Motherboard
2x2GB DDR2 RAM
Samsung DVD+RW SATA
320GB WD Blue HDD SATA
250 GB Seagate HDD SATA
22" LCD@1920x1080
2x120mm Fan
Corsair VX450W

So,which is suitable PCI-E interface for his motherboard ?
PCI-E x1 or 2.0 or 2.1 ?
He does not want his motherboard to be a bottleneck.....:(
But,I'm afraid PCI-E x1 is very hard to find these days.
Only 2.0 and 2.1 available.

Thanks.....
 
nenforcer

nenforcer

Golden Member
Aug 26, 2008
1,767
1
76
PCI-E is backwards compatible so he can place a PCI-E 1.0 x16 graphics card into a PCI-E 2.0 or 2.1 slot and it will function fine.

I am doing the opposite, my motherboard is older and only supports PCI-E 1.0 spec and I am running 2 X 9800GT PCI-E 2.0 cards in SLI on it.

PCI-E 3.0 has just been approved and should appear in motherboards next year.
 
MentalIlness

MentalIlness

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2009
2,383
11
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What video card died ?

Your not referring to that extremely small pci e slot are ya ?
 
R

Revolution

Senior member
May 24, 2000
209
0
0
Thanks for replies guys.
His Palit 9600GT died.
I did not know it was 1.0 or 2.0 version.
Card got physical damage so there will be no warranty .....:(
And another problem is I can't find the exact version cos he lost the serial no.
So,don't know PCI-E 1.0 or 1.1.
Only got "Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L (rev. 1.0)" from the box.
 
Qbah

Qbah

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2005
3,754
10
81
PCI-e x1 is not the same as PCI-e 1.0.

1.0, 2.0 and 2.1 describe the version. You shouldn't really concern yourself with that as all are mutually compatible.

However x1, x4, x8/x16 describe the number of lanes (and usually the physical size, but not always). A x1 slot is usually very small, for stuff like WiFi card or sound card. Graphics cards are usually put into the x8/x16 slot.



So all modern graphics cards will fit fine in your friend's computer (provided the case is big enough!). It really depends how much money he can spend. For 1280x720 I'd say either a GTS450 or a HD5770 will both do fine. Both will be a bit overkill for the CPU though. If you need cheaper, then the HD5670 will be a great card. All will fit fine and will work fine with the PSU.
 
R

Revolution

Senior member
May 24, 2000
209
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0
F

fuzzymath10

Senior member
Feb 17, 2010
520
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I'm using an overclocked Radeon HD 5750 in a PCI-E 1.0 slot that is physically x16 but only does x4 transfers. Runs very well - miles better than an HD 3450 in a full PCI-E 1.0 x16 slot (that was a stupid comparison but just to illustrate that a fast card on a slower interface is probably going to beat a slow card with a faster interface in most situations except extremes)

You'll probably be ok with any sub $150 (even $200) card. Your CPU is a bit older which could bottleneck in many situations too. The two you listed are fine.
 
Qbah

Qbah

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2005
3,754
10
81
Revolution said:
Sorry,I'm kinda noob.
So,may be I have made some confusion.
Yea,I'm taking about the above(1st in the pic from left) PCI-e x8/x16 slot.
Will it be bottleneck if I use any 2.1 video card ?
Can we able to get full raw of any new video card power from that slot ?

Foe example:
HD5550(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131355)
or HD5670(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150504)
Both got PCI Express 2.1 x16 Interface.....
Click to expand...

It will work fine. A HD5670 is roughly the same speed as a 9600GT and will work fine with this motherboard :thumbsup:
 
R

Revolution

Senior member
May 24, 2000
209
0
0
Thanks for clearing the confusion.
I thought 2.1 video cards don't work PCI Express 1.0 x16 Interface.....
 
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