Too many things called "PCI express"

killerbonzai

Geek Trainee
Hi..

I need help understading some of theese GFX card types since my old one is very far from working well atm..

From asustek.com (about my motherboard):
Expansion Slots:
1 x PCIe x16 (Support PCIe 2.0 / 1.0 Architecture )
2 x PCIe x1
3 x PCI 2.2

not a brand new one.. but it still works :)
anyway.. my old GFX card was a GeForce 7600 GT (using PCI Express)..

here comes my problem..
at the place I would like to buy my GFX card they tell me they got all of theese PCI Express version (below this line), but I got no clue what is what :(

PCI Express
PCI Express 2.0
PCI Express 2.0 x1
PCI Express 2.0 x16
PCI Express x1
PCI Express x16
PCI Express x8

plz tell me what types I can use :)



killerbonzai
 
PCI Express 2.0 x16 would be best :)
Agreed.

"PCIe" and "PCI Express" denote the same thing. The numbers following it (2.0, 1.0...), denote the version of the PCIe slot. 2.0 is the most current one and fastest one. The numbers following the version (x8, x16...), denote speed and is what you should look at. Typically, VGA cards use the fastest PCIe slot, which is the x16 slot.

Check out this site for info on version speeds and the soon to be released PCI 3.0!
 
Get a PCIE 2.0 x16card cause its backward compatible means it will run fine wit ur mobo. Also its a better idea considering future upgrade u will do wit ur mobo. Then u can by a PCIE 2.0 x16 slot MB. Also get at least 450W PSU cause these new cards are gonna eat.
 
it's backwards compatible to work with pci-express x16 1.0 but all it means it has a lower bus cap of 2GB/s knows as pci-express x8 mode.

if you upgrade your motherboard in the future make sure it's pci-express x16 2.0 (4GB/s) bus cap.
 
Back
Top