Difference between PCI Express x16 and PCI Express 2.1 x16?

Eddy767

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Apr 5, 2012
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Hey, Does it matter when buying a graphic card to check the PCI? my motherboard has x1 PCIe x16 slot,
the (ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3)but I'm uncertain if its compatible with PCI Express 2.1 x16. that's the complicated question I've been stuck on..
I'm looking to buy the ASUS EAH6770 DC SL/2DI/1GD5 Graphics card - 1 GB - GDDR5 SDRAM, But am unsure if it will work.

I'm really new at this, and honestly haven't got a clue what to do, so any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated! :bounce:


All i have is a motherboard, i need to buy a CPU and a Graphics Card. what would you recommend for general gaming, such as Battlefield 3, and command and conquer, a lot of first person shooters games and strategy games I'm really into.


Motherboard:
ASUS - M5A78L-M/USB3
AM3+ based Motherboard with EPU power optimization.

Form Factor: uATX Form Factor
 

Arlen10

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Jan 9, 2012
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2.1 has a larger bandwith, so it's a bit faster, hardly noticeable difference.. But your card will work on it either way.
 

Arlen10

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He said x16 vs 2.1
I'm assuming he meant x16 as 1.0. Yeah 2 and 2.1 are the same.
 

Eddy767

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Apr 5, 2012
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bros. u couldn't understand how naive I've been over computers, i literally know nothing about computers and I'm in the deep end lol the Asus website and curry's website just tells me this and it doesn't help, i had to Google "mobo" for what it stands for

Expansion Slots 1 x PCIe x16
1 x PCIe x1
2 x PCI

then when i looked at graphic cards it comes up with with PCI 2.0 and others so i don't know really... this maybe going to turn into a loooong mission trying to do... just picking what items work with what is so confusing, and why is their like 10million CPU's all with different prices? whats that about and what processor do you guys use or suggest would work best with my mobo! :p
 

daysyang

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Mar 14, 2012
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if your graphics card comes with pcie 2.x or new pcie 3.x and you put it into a mobo with graphics slot pcie 1.x it will run at 1.x...

pcie's are backwards compatible you just won't unitizing its full potential and may bottle neck.
 

Arlen10

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Thank you, I understand.
 

Eddy767

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Apr 5, 2012
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so basically the mobo is 1.0, and the latest out is 3.0? so i need a new mobo to upgrade the graphics potential? :O! or can people buy a 2.1 or 3.0 connector? and upgrade it buy changing that part over? thx!
 

daysyang

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Mar 14, 2012
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yes if your mobo is pcie 1.x you would want to get something that is gen3/pcie 3.0 for graphics card with pcie 3.0... but it will be okay on pcie 2.x...

no you just cant buy a connector because its built into the chipset of the mobo