PCI-E 2.0 x16 (x4 mode) socket with a PCI-E x16 component

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
TheAntiPotato

TheAntiPotato

Reputable
Feb 26, 2015
23
0
4,510
I currently have two components for my upcoming [first :wahoo:] build that uses PCI-E x16. However, my motherboard only has one PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot and one PCI-E 2.0 x16 (x4 mode) slot, as this is a budget build. I have several questions. Can I plug my Xonar DX (I'm inserting my graphics card into the PCI-E x16 slot for faster data speed) directly into a x16 (x4 mode) socket? If not, where can I find an adapter? Also, how can I improve my build? The link to my build is here: Project Blu
 
Solution
Eximo
From what I understand, PCI-E x16 (x4 mode) is physically 16 PCI-E pins running at PCI x4 speeds. However, I am using a graphics card (EVGA GTX 760) and an ASUS Xonar DX sound card (which I may not at the time of the build, but soon after)
Click to expand...

Not entirely accurate.

x16/x8/x4/x1 are just form factors. How many lanes it uses can be quite different.

When an x16 slot is running only at 4x, that means it is only using 4 lanes. The other 12 are not electrically in use, and possibly physically in this case. (Most of the low end boards only offer a total of 20 PCIe lanes, so they may hard wire x16/4x)

A lot of SLI capable boards are wired for x16 or 8x/8x, the second slot usually only has the 8 lanes wired to it. Meaning there is a minor...
Sort by date Sort by votes
From what I understand, PCI-E x16 (x4 mode) is physically 16 PCI-E pins running at PCI x4 speeds. However, I am using a graphics card (EVGA GTX 760) and an ASUS Xonar DX sound card (which I may not at the time of the build, but soon after).

Also, is there any way I could improve my build? I'm currently using a $400 potato laptop (which I've had for forever) but I've done some serious research on computer building and parts, etc. I would like to use my new computer for gaming, light 1080p video editing, and schoolwork, which includes word processing, light coding, and web browsing (along with perhaps Skype). I've done my best to pick the right parts, but I would like some feedback on my build quality.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
From what I understand, PCI-E x16 (x4 mode) is physically 16 PCI-E pins running at PCI x4 speeds. However, I am using a graphics card (EVGA GTX 760) and an ASUS Xonar DX sound card (which I may not at the time of the build, but soon after)
Click to expand...

Not entirely accurate.

x16/x8/x4/x1 are just form factors. How many lanes it uses can be quite different.

When an x16 slot is running only at 4x, that means it is only using 4 lanes. The other 12 are not electrically in use, and possibly physically in this case. (Most of the low end boards only offer a total of 20 PCIe lanes, so they may hard wire x16/4x)

A lot of SLI capable boards are wired for x16 or 8x/8x, the second slot usually only has the 8 lanes wired to it. Meaning there is a minor performance hit running a single card in the second slot and not the first.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Okay, great.

But can somebody help me with my build? How can I make it better? (I am on a $1000 budget excluding the Audio-Technica ATH M40X headphones, Asus Xonar DX sound card, and Logitech Z200)

For reference, my build is as follows:

AMD FX-8320
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Arctic Silver 5 3.5g Thermal Paste
Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive
EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card
BitFenix Ronin ATX Mid Tower Case
Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Asus Xonar DX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card --- NOT BUYING YET
TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter
Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor
Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse
Sony ECM-C​S3 Omnidir​ectional C​ondenser L​avalier Cl​ip Microph​one
Audio-Tech​nica ATH-M​40X Profes​sional Stu​dio Headph​ones --- ALREADY BOUGHT
Logitech Z​200 --- NOT BUYING YET
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Here is an improved build. Better power supply, faster GPU, larger monitor (Though if you had that size in mind, go ahead and switch it back)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($136.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.99 @ Directron)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($100.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Ronin ATX Mid Tower Case ($71.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.99 @ NCIX US)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($81.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.19 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VE248H 24.0" Monitor ($169.46 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($27.89 @ OutletPC)
Other: Sony ECM-CS3 Omnidirectional Condenser Lavalier Clip Microphone ($13.75)
Other: Logitech Z200 ($29.99)
Other: Audio-Technica ATH-M40X Professional Studio Headphones (Purchased For $79.20)
Total: $1287.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-05 15:53 EST-0500

Went with a more expensive motherboard on this one with premium audio. Added a wireless AC card with a moveable antennae. Use it myself on my Gigabyte Mini-ITX board, no complaints and it supports all the modern frequencies and channels.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($136.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Killer ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($136.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($100.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($204.59 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Ronin ATX Mid Tower Case ($71.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VE248H 24.0" Monitor ($169.46 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($27.89 @ OutletPC)
Other: Sony ECM-CS3 Omnidirectional Condenser Lavalier Clip Microphone ($13.75)
Other: Logitech Z200 ($29.99)
Other: Audio-Technica ATH-M40X Professional Studio Headphones (Purchased For $79.20)
Total: $1273.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-05 16:01 EST-0500

 
Upvote 0 Downvote

I didn't look this over that well (I have to go really soon). Can you explain why and how you upgraded these parts? Also keep in mind I game in 1080p, currently in LoL, TF2, and Minecraft, but once I get this game I might consider Titanfall, CSGO, or similar.

Also, I am trying to keep the price down at about $1000, with $700 coming from my grandmother and $300 from my bank account. Also, I will probably buy June of this year or later (it's already decided), but I would like to decide on parts now so I don't have to worry about it later :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If your budget is really $1000 though, going to have to be some cutbacks. And the prices will be different in June.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($66.95 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($204.59 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Neos Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($135.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($27.89 @ OutletPC)
Other: Sony ECM-CS3 Omnidirectional Condenser Lavalier Clip Microphone ($13.75)
Total: $999.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-05 16:24 EST-0500

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
CX600 is a budget power supply. Great for a replacement part in your average business PC, not something you want in a gaming machine with a high wattage processor like the FX series.

GTX960 is faster, newer, and cheaper then the majority of GTX760.

Your wireless card choice was good, but there are cheaper options. Gigabyte's little wireless AC card is impressive for its price. Connects up to my smart TV for WIDI and all kinds of things, but also supports both 2.4 and 5GHz frequencies.

Audio cards aren't really necessary for the average person. I happen to have that particular ASUS card and it is better then the average realtek audio chipset, but not significantly so. Have to spend a lot more on a sound card to really tell a difference, and then you also need the speakers, amplifiers, etc to make it worthwhile. (I have one because there was a serious issue with my microphone input on my previous motherboard)

Monitors aren't purchased often. So whenever possible try to get the best monitor you can when buying. In AMD builds I think I went with a popular 24" monitor. On this Intel build I went with a 21.5" to get it in budget, but it is also a very fast response time monitor.

Intel is a better buy when it comes to gaming performance on the average. FX 8 cores are good when you exclusively play games that support multi-threading very well, or when you have non-gaming related activities that are multithreaded (or if you like game streaming, video encoding and stuff like that) Otherwises the faster IPC on the Intel cores gets you better FPS in games.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks everybody for the support in build making. I just want to mention I have a blue/black color scheme with white highlights. However, I'm pretty sure that vinyl dye is an option for offending components, so I'll look into it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Thanks for the build 😀 However, I must insist on a Seagate 2TB SSHD (for about $20 more than the Barracuda you have there) and a set of Z200 speakers (or similar).

FYI: I have access to $50 for computer parts right now and $300-350 more whenever I go to the bank so ... any suggestions on what I could/should buy now?

PS: Am I correct in saying the i5-4460 is not overclockable?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Okay. I have done the research, I'm not a total moron :). I went for the single-band adapter because my router is 2.4GHz (not much I can do; I'm not yet eighteen) and as I mentioned, my daily activities on this computer would be gaming, light 1080p video editing (long render times won't really be an issue for me as I don't really care all that much) and schoolwork, i.e. coding, word processing, web browsing, and the like.

The reason I went for a rather cheap monitor is that I'm used to a 15" 1366x768 monitor which I've had for 2-3 years, and before that a 10" 1028x600 netbook monitor, so any improvement is really a lot.

Also, I plan on including a Logitech G510 mouse and Corsair Vengeance K95 keyboard around Christmas time next year, and some kind of ergonomic gaming/editing/work chair for $150 or under. What do you think of something like the Boss Black LeatherPlus Executive, or the Staples Hyken?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Correct, not overclockable in terms of having an unlocked multiplier, but the maximum boost frequency is 34. You can force it to run that constantly, and possibly tweak the BCLK to get another 100 or 200 Mhz out of it. IPC wise increasing the clock doesn't make as huge a difference as the base IPC of the architecture. Not a huge noticeable difference between an i3, i5, or i7 of the same generation. Overclocking usually gets you between 10-15% overall performance increase at the expense of power and heat.

I was going with your list of what you were going to buy now versus later, assuming a $1000 total budget for the core system, including OS, keyboard, monitor, mouse. A cheap headset could tide you over until you can pick up the speakers, and you could remove the microphone (forgot that was still in there)

Hybrid drives are interesting I suppose. I prefer to have control over what data ends up on any flash memory. Normally I would go with a 128GB boot drive and possibly the 2TB for storage. That is again something that can be added at a later date.

Partitioning the 2TB into one 240GB partition and the rest for storage would make it easy to clone that partition over to an SSD at a later date. Once the cloning were complete, you could delete the partition and merge it into the larger one to recover the space.

A lot to throw out, but options are always nice.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote

That's great, however I would prefer a SSHD for a build like this as it extends the life of the drive itself, as well as having close to the performance of an SSD with much more storage. (Plus, I'm no expert with drive partitioning. 😛)

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Eximo, I run a Youtube channel and Twitch channel so I kind of need the microphone for voice-overs and I need the speakers for editing, gaming or doing things on the computer without needing my headphones on. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
This is just advice. Only you know your requirements in detail and what you simply must have.

Obviously the goal was to meet your budget despite the much higher budget of your posted build. That requires changes to cheaper parts, I thought that was clear on the description. Cases are more a matter of personal preference then anything else. Bitfenix Neos is a common budget recommendation. You get quite a bit for the money compared to sub-$30 cases available. If you want to work the Ronin into the design that is just fine. They even sell accessories for it, if I recall correctly, that will let you change the external appearance.

 
Upvote 1 Downvote


Thank you so much for helping!

I'm probably going to update this in the future with something like this (over time of course):


  • ■Logitech G502
    ■Corsair Vengeance K95
    ■Intel i7-4790K with a reasonable Z97 motherboard
    ■1440p or 4K monitor with 120Hz/1ms
    ■2-way SLI
    ■2TB HDD and quality 250GB SSD on top of my SSHD
    ■Audio-Technica AT2020+ USB
    ■Hardon Karmon sound sticks or other quality speakers

UPDATE: Here is the final (I think) build:
Project Blu, 4th Draft
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom