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PCI-E x16 /x8 speed question

T

TheBelgian

n00b
Joined
Jan 12, 2008
Messages
9
Hi everybody,
i've been out of the hardware loop for some time and i've been reading up on it because, well, i need a new system :)

I was browsing around for motherboards and SLI setups and since i haven't got an unlimited budget i've been looking at nForce 650i boards. However i've noticed that a lot of boards (in general, in the same pricerange) drop from one PCI-E at x16 to dual PCI-E at 8x. Now I have mixed feelings about this. Will this damage performance when using a dual 8800 GTS G92 setup? Will the cards be slowed by the x8 speed? I've read that it shouldn't and that there is enough bandwidth available, but i'd like some opions from people who may or may not have seen this scenario in action.
Also, it seems these cards are PCI-E 2.0, will they even work properly on "older" PCI-E slots at these speeds?

Thanks for reading, you've been a great audience :)
 
It'll only impact performance by 5%, maybe 10%, when the mobo drops down to x8 speeds in SLI mode. Yes PCI-E 2.0 is backwards compatible with PCI-E 1.1 or the older PCI-E x16 slots.

Also, you don't need SLI unless you're playing at a resolution of 1920x1200 and are willing to get BOTH cards at the same time.
 
Well i'm planning on playing om my 24" , so high-res would be fine :) What do you mean with "are willing to get BOTH cards at the same time." ? Serial numbers on cards need to be close together?
 
TheBelgian said:
Well i'm planning on playing om my 24" , so high-res would be fine :) What do you mean with "are willing to get BOTH cards at the same time." ? Serial numbers on cards need to be close together?
Click to expand...


Not as big of a deal as in the old 6XXX days.
 
TheBelgian said:
What do you mean with "are willing to get BOTH cards at the same time." ? Serial numbers on cards need to be close together?
Click to expand...

The serial number isn't the reason. I think this quote(Slightly modified a bit with a newer card) best explains why I recommend getting both cards at the same time:

enginurd said:
SLI is also a horrible upgrade path. By the time you think you need an extra boost in GPU performance, there will be new GPUs out that would outperform two of the older GPUs. By then, it would be more cost effective to sell your old card, and pickup a newer one.

I'll use myself as an example. If I wanted a boost right now, a 2nd 7800GT would cost me around $150 off of eBay. The GPU refresh rate is so quick, that my card is now discontinued, so eBay is my only choice. I could drop $150 for that 2nd card, or I could sell mine for around $150. If I sold it for $150, that would make my budget for a new card $300. I could get an 8800GT for less than that, and it would outperform 2 78GTs in SLI. So, SLI as an upgrade path isn't worth it unless you also upgrade the monitor.
Click to expand...
 
Well, Danny, thank you for the given insight on the matter, you have made it all quite clear for me what my options are in selecting parts for my new system , i thank you :)
 
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