4870 1GB on PCI Express 1.0

[Krossfyre]

I am going to purchase an ATI 4870 1GB card off of Newegg to upgrade my computer. My current motherboard has a PCI Express 1.0 lane (runs at full x16 speed). I want to know exactly how much performance loss I should be expecting by using pci-e 1.0 instead of 2.0, if I will experience any loss at all. I've looked all around the internet for some kind of comparison, but nothing has told me what I've wanted to know. I'm not looking to Crossfire the card in the future, nor do I want to upgrade my mobo and deal with uninstalling drivers and such. I also don't need any suggestions as to a different card I should buy. I'm going to get this card regardless (as a friend is selling it to me for $50 since he bought a GTX 295), I just want to know the performance in a PCI-E 1.0 slot. Thanks for your answers in advance!

 

[neon neophyte]

i want to say none.

 

[uncfan_2563]

Fifty dollars! thats a good friend

yeah you should be fine with the pci express x16 slot, its probably only multi-gpu cards which can come close to saturating that slot.

 

[FlorinR]

you will be fine. Tom's did something like a test in the past (with Crossfire) and the loses were minimal.

 

[mactronix]

Yea no worries

Mactronix

 

[Krossfyre]

To you 3 that have answered, thank you! If anybody else wants to add their input, it will be appreciated.

 

[neon neophyte]

3? o.0

 

[laytons]

i want to say none.

don't think your advice went without a good thorough look over. this was obviously taken into consideration. hehe

 

[g3force]

Heres the article that FlorinR is talking about
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-pci-express,2095.html

If you look through the article, you'll notice that you wont take that much of a performance hit (3% average in conclusion) with a PCI-E 1.0 x16 slot, but will definitely lose performance in crossfire or if using an x8 slot.

So if your sticking with a single card solution, your good to go

 

[Krossfyre]

Thanks g3force. That article has really helped me!

 

[Krossfyre]

Has anybody seen any articles about the 1GB version???

 

[g3force]

Has anybody seen any articles about the 1GB version???

The 1GB model will give an advantage at higher resolutions (1920 x 1080 and above), but as far as I know, it does not take up any additional bandwidth. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find an article supporting this theory.
If your friend is giving you the 1GB model, I wouldn't see any reason to switch to a 512MB version. But if your still concerned, try out the card and check your framerates against benchmarks which can be found in the Tom's Hardware charts section.

P.S. Have fun with your new 4870!

 

[uncfan_2563]

i actually remember seeing a benchmark with the 1 gb giving a couple of frames in 1280x1024 in Crysis