Will a PCI Express x16 card work with a PCI Express x1 Slot

[smitbret]

I have a friend that bought a Compaq and just added a widescreen monitor. His video card won't put out any usable frame rates, so we need to upgrade. His computer specs say that he is running with a PCIE x1 bus but the slot is a full size PCIE x16. Will he see any performance degradation if he picks up an ATI x1900xt and puts it in the PCIE slot of this motherboard, or should I just tell him to get a new MB, too?
-Brett

 

[SunnyD]

It depends on whether the slot itself is a PCIe x16 slot. Is the card in there physically a x1 card or an x16 card?

 

[smitbret]

He's been using a standard PCI card. The slot is a full size PCIE slot, but the specs on Compaq's site say it is just PCIEx1. I know it will fit, but I was wondering if he is going to see any benefit to getting a higher end card or if the bus will be a limiting factor.
-Brett

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: smitbret
He's been using a standard PCI card. The slot is a full size PCIE slot, but the specs on Compaq's site say it is just PCIEx1. I know it will fit, but I was wondering if he is going to see any benefit to getting a higher end card or if the bus will be a limiting factor.
-Brett

putting it in a x1 slot will definitely limit performance...x4 would be much better if possible

 

[mancunian]

Originally posted by: thilan29
putting it in a x1 slot will definitely limit performance...x4 would be much better if possible

Correct. PCI-Ex4 would provide 5-10% less performance than a regular PCI-Ex16 slot.