Question Difference between PCIe 4 and PCIe 3 ?

[TheNewbie6]

My current build is:
i7-12700
MSI Mortar B660M
HGC Antec 850W
4 x 8GB RAM
GTX 1660 Ti

I was thinking about an upgrade for my graphic card and I decided that I would get the Intel Arc A750 but the thing is that although I have a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, it is blocked because the mobo is small and the cooler is blocking that slot and the only slot that I am left that I can mount GPU on is PCIe 3.0 X 4.
So my question is will I be missing out on a lot of performance to the point that it will be a waste to get that new GPU and install it on that PCIe slot or no?

 

[punkncat]

Not much as of the last time I checked on it.

 

[TheNewbie6]

Not much as of the last time I checked on it.

So is it a good idea to go for the upgrade in general?(Like will it be worth it for the performance that I get)

 

[punkncat]

I have not been keeping up with the driver development on Arc. Last I was there were supposed improvements happening as driver dev matured. Just on spec alone the a750 is going to be faster than the 1660ti on a level that should be "seat of the pants" noticeable.

 

[thestryker]

It's not really a good idea to use non-CPU PCIe slots for video cards. What kind of cooler do you have that blocks a PCIe slot?

 

[hotaru.hino]

If we presume the performance of a GTX 1660 Ti or A750 is less than, if not equal to, a GTX 1080 (I'm under no presumption this is true), then the performance drop off isn't really that bad:


Though honestly, I'd figure out the cooler situation if you plan on at least one more upgrade. Most coolers, when installed as intended, don't block the top PCIe slot because it's assumed that's where the video card would go.

 

[NedSmelly]

What CPU cooler are you using? A run-of-the-mill 120mm tower cooler shouldn't be blocking the GPU x16 PCIE slot on a Mortar B660M Micro-ATX.

 

[thestryker]

If we presume the performance of a GTX 1660 Ti or A750 is less than, if not equal to, a GTX 1080 (I'm under no presumption this is true), then the performance drop off isn't really that bad:

You can't ignore that the other slot is off of the chipset and the chipset on that board is connected by DMI with 4 lanes and everything is sharing that connection.

 

[CountMike]

My current build is:
I7 12700
MSI mortar b660m
HGC Antec 850W
4x8 GB ram
GTX 1660 ti
I was thinking about an upgrade for my graphic card and I decided that I would get arc a750 but the thing is that I have 1 PCIe 4.0 x16 but that slot is blocked because the mobo is small and the cooler is blocking that slot and the only slot that I am left that I can mount GPU on is PCIe 3.0 X 4.
So my question is will I be missing out on a lot of performance to the point that it will be a waste to get that new GPU and install it on that PCIe slot or no?

That x4 is double whammy considering it's also v3.0 That's potentially 1/4 of PCIe x16 v4 throughput. That would cripple any GPU.

 

[Viking2121]

A 3.0 x4 lane is not ideal, especially chipset lanes, sure the performance looks fine on paper, but in real world its not great, its much more stuttery, lower lows than a CPU connected lane, I personally wouldn't do it unless its just for a little while to hold you over, My experience with GPU's in chipset controlled slots has never been great when it comes to gaming.

 

[geofelt]

First of all, it looks to me that an ARC750 is not much of an upgrade, over a GTX1660ti, based on TOM's gpu hierarchy chart:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

Unless your gpu upgrade is significant, you are apt to be disappointed.

If you can fit a GTX1660ti in the main x16 slot, why not the arc 750?

What cooler are you using?
The i5-12700 is a 65w TDP processor that does not need aftermarket cooling. The stock cooler is fine.

But, to answer your question, gpu performance difference when installed in pci3 vs. 4 is minimal.

 

[SkyNetRising]

So is it a good idea to go for the upgrade in general?(Like will it be worth it for the performance that I get)

I'd say - not worth it.
You'd get ~ 140% fps compared to 1660 ti.
For a significant upgrade look for something, that would give you at least 2x performance.

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-gtx-1660-ti.c3364

 

[TheNewbie6]

First of all, it looks to me that an ARC750 is not much of an upgrade, over a GTX1660ti, based on TOM's gpu hierarchy chart:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

Unless your gpu upgrade is significant, you are apt to be disappointed.

If you can fit a GTX1660ti in the main x16 slot, why not the arc 750?

What cooler are you using?
The i5-12700 is a 65w TDP processor that does not need aftermarket cooling. The stock cooler is fine.

But, to answer your question, gpu performance difference when installed in pci3 vs. 4 is minimal.

Using nocuta NH-d15

 

[TheNewbie6]

What CPU cooler are you using? A run-of-the-mill 120mm tower cooler shouldn't be blocking the GPU x16 PCIE slot on a Mortar B660M Micro-ATX.

Nocuta NH-d15

 

[TheNewbie6]

First of all, it looks to me that an ARC750 is not much of an upgrade, over a GTX1660ti, based on TOM's gpu hierarchy chart:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

Unless your gpu upgrade is significant, you are apt to be disappointed.

If you can fit a GTX1660ti in the main x16 slot, why not the arc 750?

What cooler are you using?
The i5-12700 is a 65w TDP processor that does not need aftermarket cooling. The stock cooler is fine.

But, to answer your question, gpu performance difference when installed in pci3 vs. 4 is minimal.

Nocuta NH-d15

 

[TheNewbie6]

It's not really a good idea to use non-CPU PCIe slots for video cards. What kind of cooler do you have that blocks a PCIe slot?

Nocuta NH-d15

 

[geofelt]

NH-D15 is an outstanding cooler, and it IS large.
But, it should not impact anything mounted in the first pcie X16 slot.
Here is noctua's check on that:
https://ncc.noctua.at/motherboards/model/MSI-MAG-B660M-MORTAR-WIFI-DDR4-5550

There may be a fitment issue with tall ram and the front fan.
But, that can be fixed by sliding the front fan up a bit or removing it entirely.
I don't understand how you can fit a GTX1660ti and not anything else.

Perhaps uploading a photo of the fitment issue could make things clearer.

 

[NedSmelly]

Nocuta NH-d15

Something isn’t right here because a properly installed NHD15 shouldn’t block the slot on your motherboard.

Have you installed it rotated, Threadripper-style, with the fan axis in vertical orientation?

Where is your GTX1660Ti currently installed then?

 

[TheNewbie6]

NH-D15 is an outstanding cooler, and it IS large.
But, it should not impact anything mounted in the first pcie X16 slot.
Here is noctua's check on that:
https://ncc.noctua.at/motherboards/model/MSI-MAG-B660M-MORTAR-WIFI-DDR4-5550

There may be a fitment issue with tall ram and the front fan.
But, that can be fixed by sliding the front fan up a bit or removing it entirely.
I don't understand how you can fit a GTX1660ti and not anything else.

Perhaps uploading a photo of the fitment issue could make things clearer.

https://imgur.com/TgqUL42

View: https://i.imgur.com/TgqUL42.jpeg

 

[TheNewbie6]

Something isn’t right here because a properly installed NHD15 shouldn’t block the slot on your motherboard.

Have you installed it rotated, Threadripper-style, with the fan axis in vertical orientation?

Where is your GTX1660Ti currently installed then?

https://imgur.com/TgqUL42

View: https://i.imgur.com/TgqUL42.jpeg


That silver port is the PCIe 4 slot and the GTX is installed down there in the PCIe 3 slot.
I really do not understand the types of installation that you mentioned but I saw a guide and installed the cooler accordingly

 

[NedSmelly]

Bit hard to tell due to optical parallax… but looks like the towers clear the slot but the fan is getting in the way. Might just need to nudge the fan up a bit to clear things.

 

[geofelt]

Your photo is worth the proverbial thousand words.

The middle fan is not positioned correctly.
Rotate the fan so that the square corner does not interfere with the slot.

 

[SkyNetRising]

That silver port is the PCIe 4 slot and the GTX is installed down there in the PCIe 3 slot.

You can use PCIE 4.0 riser cable to install graphics card in first PCIE slot,
if cpu cooler is causing obstruction.

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/cases/accessories/riser-cable-pcie-40-x16-300mm/

 

[Viking2121]

Or just get a new cooler, can get a the Thermalright Phanom Spirit for like 40 bucks, its a bit smaller, has 1 extra heat pipe, so its pretty much on par with the NH-D15, Or the Thermalright Peerless Assassin, the cheaper option but performs slightly worse. Can still sell that NH-D15.