PCIe 2.0 in a non-2.0 Slot

[Mobius1]

I'm looking at upgrading my 8800GTX (THIS ONE) to a GTS 250 (THIS ONE) and I"m wondering if it will be worth it? I have 680i SLI board that has only the PCIexpress 1.0 x16 slots instead of the 2.0 slots, but from what I've heard it still works with a bit of a bottleneck, but I just wanted to see what people's opinions were before making the leap.

 

Thanks for any advice.

[JLZ]

IIRC:

GTS 250 is renamed 9800GTX+

9800GTX+ is 8800 in 65nm

 

I'm not sure if it would be huge performance boost with new GF.

 

For PCIe 1.0 vs 2.0...

I think there wouldn't performance issues but you should check manufacturer web site and forums for any issues your MB could have with new GF (or if you need new BIOS or some specifics prior installation of new GF).

[Silent Warrior]

I asked someone the very same question once (maybe that was in the flesh, though). The answer I got was that it WILL work, no problem at all, but the fancy new stuff PCIe 2.0 brings to the table over 1.0 (... Like what, exactly? Anyone?) will, obviously, not be available to you.

Like JLZ says, you're likely better off concerning yourself with hunting for compatibility reports.

 

My 9600GT is capable of running Mass Effect 2 (demo, sheesh!) at moderated settings, so I don't think you'll have to worry about performance with either card.

[Mobius1]

Sounds good, thanks guys. I think I'll wait for now and see how things go with the next module release, then decide if I should upgrade.

[JLZ]

I asked someone the very same question once (maybe that was in the flesh, though). The answer I got was that it WILL work, no problem at all, but the fancy new stuff PCIe 2.0 brings to the table over 1.0 (... Like what, exactly? Anyone?) will, obviously, not be available to you.

Like JLZ says, you're likely better off concerning yourself with hunting for compatibility reports.

 

My 9600GT is capable of running Mass Effect 2 (demo, sheesh!) at moderated settings, so I don't think you'll have to worry about performance with either card.

 

PCIe 2.0 theoretically brought double data throughput. Maybe it was something important for double-headed graphic cards. I can't recall.

 

Mobius1, good luck :)

[EtherealN]

IIRC:

GTS 250 is renamed 9800GTX+

9800GTX+ is 8800 in 65nm

 

Not to be overly picky, but:

 

9800GTX+ is a G92 die shrunk to 55nm - the original G92 was 65. 9800GTX+ dies are called G92b. However, do note that not all 8800's were built on the G92 core.

 

Whether there will be a noticeable performance boost depends heavily on which 8800 it is. If, for example, it is one of the last 8800's put onto the market the difference would be remarkable. If it's another one there would be a minor difference due to some memory differences and so on. Also, obviously, there might be differences (though mostly not dramatic) of even the same 8800 "type" depending on producer, due to possible edits to the chipset.

 

Basically, the "8800" line is a terrifyingly twisted maze of wildly different cards collected under the same marketing name with various (and sometimes the same!) suffix. There is for example two very distinct "8800 GTS" that are really completely different cards with different cores and different pretty much everything. As somewhat of an nVidia "fanboy" I tend to get confused by ATi's huge amount of different number combinations for cards, but I must say I prefer that to shenanigans like nVidia pulled with the 8800's.

 

But in the case of the GTX I'd probably say: wait for something newer to come down to the 250 price point. Myself I am considering an ASUS Radeon 5850 right now (though it is on the somewhat expensive side). Some of those overclock very nicely and good overclocking is something I am willing to defect from nVidia for. ;)

Edited July 8, 2010 by EtherealN

[JLZ]

55nm then. Good point.

 

You can see what exactly card Mobius1 have. He put link in his first post. It's GTX with 384bit memory bus and 768MB.

 

All I can remember is that I liked it more then newer 8800 bcs of wider memory bus. I can't recall which one was better performer.

[EtherealN]

The newest one was one of the worst, if my memory serves.

 

And yeah, I actually managed to not see the specification before writing my post. I blame sleep deprivation since I am almost at 24 hours of "uptime". :P

[TheMoose]

FYI

I’ve upgraded my old 8800GTS for a GTX280 on my PCI express, Asus P5K, couple years back, when the GTX280 was the “prime”, paid 550$ at the time. No worries it’s should be backward compatible on your PCI express slot. It should also say so on the box. Was it worth it? Heck yes :D I'm still satisfied with it as well ;)

[EtherealN]

Well, the performance difference between the 8800GTS (both of them) and the GTX280 is a lot greater than the difference between 8800GTX and GTX250 (practically none).

[GaryIKILLYOU]

8800 = 9800 = 250 = why upgrade?