Z77 chipset and PCI-E 3.0

[alex_123_fra]

Hi,

I am due to replace my current Q6700/Asus maximus formula system with a Z77 chipset/Ivybridge i5.

I am totally confused about some of the motherboard offerings from the main manufacturers in terms of PCI-E 3.0 and the number of x16 slots they offer.

An example is the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 3 and Asus P8Z77 WS. Both these boards claim to support 4-way-SLI and Xfire setups but reading through the specs it seems that only 2-way SLI or Xfire would utilise the x16 bandwidth and if you install 4 cards the best you get is x8 from each PCI-E slot.

My question is, what is the point of having PCI-E 3.0 cards in 4-way SLI or Xfire when the bandwidth is x8? Doesn't this just mean that you will have 4 cards with reduced performance (and virtually no gain over 2-way SLI) if you go down this route?

Are there any Z77 boards that support true 4-way x16 PCI-E 3.0 slots? Is this necessary? I am thinking about the longevity of the system I will build.

Any input appreciated.

 

[anikhtos]

Hi,

I am due to replace my current Q6700/Asus maximus formula system with a Z77 chipset/Ivybridge i5.

I am totally confused about some of the motherboard offerings from the main manufacturers in terms of PCI-E 3.0 and the number of x16 slots they offer.

An example is the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 3 and Asus P8Z77 WS. Both these boards claim to support 4-way-SLI and Xfire setups but reading through the specs it seems that only 2-way SLI or Xfire would utilise the x16 bandwidth and if you install 4 cards the best you get is x8 from each PCI-E slot.

My question is, what is the point of having PCI-E 3.0 cards in 4-way SLI or Xfire when the bandwidth is x8? Doesn't this just mean that you will have 4 cards with reduced performance (and virtually no gain over 2-way SLI) if you go down this route?

Are there any Z77 boards that support true 4-way x16 PCI-E 3.0 slots? Is this necessary? I am thinking about the longevity of the system I will build.

Any input appreciated.

the version of pci-e 3 vs the 2 is that has 2 times the speed
so even in quad the x8 will be equal to a x16 version 2.0 pci-e
still there are not any gpu to support the new pci but later there will be
going from x16 to x8 even at the version 2.0 was a decrease in perfomance about 5% so not that much.

 

[JAG87]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5458/the-radeon-hd-7970-reprise-pcie-bandwidth-overclocking-and-msaa

 

[rgallant]

Hi,

I am due to replace my current Q6700/Asus maximus formula system with a Z77 chipset/Ivybridge i5.

1- I am totally confused about some of the motherboard offerings from the main manufacturers in terms of PCI-E 3.0 and the number of x16 slots they offer.

2- An example is the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 3 and Asus P8Z77 WS. Both these boards claim to support 4-way-SLI and Xfire setups but reading through the specs it seems that only 2-way SLI or Xfire would utilise the x16 bandwidth and if you install 4 cards the best you get is x8 from each PCI-E slot.

3- My question is, what is the point of having PCI-E 3.0 cards in 4-way SLI or Xfire when the bandwidth is x8? Doesn't this just mean that you will have 4 cards with reduced performance (and virtually no gain over 2-way SLI) if you go down this route?

4- Are there any Z77 boards that support true 4-way x16 PCI-E 3.0 slots? Is this necessary? I am thinking about the longevity of the system I will build.

Any input appreciated.

1 - yes , MAX. 16 3.0 lanes
2- you only will have x16 3.0 pci-e lanes data to the cpu - mb uses a new plx chip to switch the on mother board wiring\data to the gpu's installed [before going\coming] to the x16 3.0 cpu= to x32 3.0 lanes [load\data balance] between cards on the mb
3- no cards should max. x8 pci-e 3.0 for a long time.
4- no, no -if one card needs more than x8 3.0 bandwidth , two cards would be more than the bandwidth x16 3.0 of the cpu.

just rambling.

-ib/z77 will be the first pci-e 3.0 package to be released , Intel still does not rate any x79 cpu's as 3.0 , so the 2.0 vs 3.0 test could be a mute point at this time.
-someone did a data test on the x79 cpu's and found the speed of the return data from the cpu to gpu was below pci-e 3.0 spec.[apox. 75%], data from gpu to cpu was in spec.[100%]

that being said ,
to day the Sniper 3 is at the top of my z77 list for me for the reasons you have listed.[even better if your color blind]

-the extra cost for a lane switching plx 8747 chip mother board is pocket change re the high end x79 boards. or the cost of gpu's so why not.
-won't give you more than x16 to the cpu Limit of the IVYB chip., but should use the x16 lanes better for multi gpu's.
-seems like the ocing [vrm's \ bios] on the Sniper 3 could be more ROG like ,than the ASUS WS.

-in real life ,depends on the number of cards you are planning to run also.

-one of any card won't matter ,I seem to always end up with two.

-2 x gtx 680's sli at x8x8 vs x16x16 pci-e 3.0 should be the same min. fps.needs benching when ib comes out.-what counts
[but some people have reported the same cards running cf ran better in their x79 system than in their sb system ,re min.fps \ stutter with high res. gaming .2.0 x8x8 vs x16x16 3.0]

-3 x gtx 780 [4Q 2012] at x4x4x4 vs x8x8x8 not sure
-2 x gtx 880 [2013] at x8 x8 not sure.
-2014 ?

 

[alex_123_fra]

Thanks guys. Makes a lot of sense. So currently only the G1 Sniper 3, Asus P8Z77 WS and ASrock Z77 Extreme9 support dual PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots and quad SLI/X-fire.

I think although the difference with most current video cards is minimal between x8 and x16, choosing a z77 board with a Plx 8747 chip will provide some more longevity to the setup and is probably worth the extra cost.

 

[Magic Carpet]

X79 for the win. No bandwidth "issues", whatsoever. Quad-channel memory. Longevity-wise, this is, clearly the best choice for you. 1155 is a dead-end. 2011 will have outlived it by a long shot. Desktop Haswell-E looks to be set for 2011. Grab 3820 now, upgrade to a six-core later. Also, only with X79... can you get a new, higher-quality ALC898 onboard sound processor.

 

[psolord]

X79 for the win. No bandwidth "issues", whatsoever. Quad-channel memory. Longevity-wise, this is, clearly the best choice for you. 1155 is a dead-end. 2011 will have outlived it by a long shot. Desktop Haswell-E looks to be set for 2011. Grab 3820 now, upgrade to a six-core later. Also, only with X79... can you get a new, higher-quality ALC898 onboard sound processor.

What's so special about the ALC898?

Just asking out of curiosity since I saw it on the specs of the Asrock Fatality Z77 I am planning to buy.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Fatal1ty Z77 Professional&cat=Specifications

 

[Rvenger]

X79 for the win. No bandwidth "issues", whatsoever. Quad-channel memory. Longevity-wise, this is, clearly the best choice for you. 1155 is a dead-end. 2011 will have outlived it by a long shot. Desktop Haswell-E looks to be set for 2011. Grab 3820 now, upgrade to a six-core later. Also, only with X79... can you get a new, higher-quality ALC898 onboard sound processor.

How is 1155 a dead end when IVB wasn't even officially released? How do you know that Haswell is even on schedule for next year? For all we know they could push that back another year at the rate Intel is going.

 

[Magic Carpet]

What's so special about the ALC898?

Just asking out of curiosity since I saw it on the specs of the Asrock Fatality Z77 I am planning to buy.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Fatal1ty Z77 Professional&cat=Specifications

To be frank, I don't know. I have yet to read a datasheet from Realtek. But, it looks like a beefed up ALC889 version with some of the features of ALC892 and excellent signal-to-noise ratios. Perhaps, somebody else could chime in, on this matter.

How is 1155 a dead end when IVB wasn't even officially released?

I doubt, the retail samples will turn the overall picture around. Hardly an upgrade for the existing platform owners.

How do you know that Haswell is even on schedule for next year?

Hey, I know as much as you. But my gut feeling tells me so. Put it this way, you can get a 3820 for about the same price as 2700k and still have decent upgrade path after that, be it 3960x or next-gen.

For all we know they could push that back another year at the rate Intel is going.

It can happen. For the same reason, 2011 platform is looking more attractive to me, albeit more expensive. Having said that, I just made two Z77 builds, mainly for $ reasons. But, cheap isn't always best, you know.