PCI-E and PCI-E 2.0 compatibility?

[destruct1214]

Hello,

Looking to upgrade my video card which is an Nvidia 8800 gts. My motherboard is an abit ab9 QuadGT and only supports PCI-E. I was wondering if it was possible to put a PCI-E 2.0 gfx card on this motherboard?

 

[Mousemonkey]

I'm using PCIe 2.0 cards on my PCIe 1.0 motherboard.

 

[destruct1214]

Ok, now that I know that PCI-E 2.0 cards are backwards compatible, can anyone make a recommendation for which video card I should buy? I was thinking about the Radeon HD 5770 but am concerned that it will just create a bottleneck and the performance that I get out of it won't be worth the $130 investment. Maybe something cheaper would be better? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[renz496]

Ok, now that I know that PCI-E 2.0 cards are backwards compatible, can anyone make a recommendation for which video card I should buy? I was thinking about the Radeon HD 5770 but am concerned that it will just create a bottleneck and the performance that I get out of it won't be worth the $130 investment. Maybe something cheaper would be better? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

what is the rest of your spec?

 

[destruct1214]

Windows 7 32 bit, 4gigs DDR2 memory, 620w psu, intel core 2 e6600 running at 2.4ghz.

 

[destruct1214]

Also, my monitor is 1680x1050 and I have no preference towards Radeon or Nvidia. Bang for my buck/compatibility/performance is what I care about.

 

[renz496]

for your budget you can look for HD5770 or GTS450 but performance wise 5770 is faster. regarding your processor i think it should be fine for both card but in case you worry about bottleneck then you can OC your card to 3.0-3.2Ghz. some piece of advice, you might want to upgrade your windows to 64bit one since you already have 4GB of RAM

 

[coozie7]

At that resolution and with your current CPU the HD5770 is probably the best balanced approach; A faster card will be held back by the CPU unless you load it up with large amounts of AA and AF.
This will not be a night-and-day upgrade, though:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-radeon-hd-6870-geforce-gtx-570,review-32094-7.html#Scene_1

And from my own experience with a E6600/HD5770 system, adding a better CPU cooler and some overclocking will further improve the performance gains. A good and inexpensive cooler is the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus.

 

[amjay1985]

yeah coozie is right

 

[amjay1985]

you can also go for GTX 460

 

[destruct1214]

I really appreciate the responses. I currently am using a Thermaltake Typhoon as my cpu cooler and previously had my cpu overclocked to 3.4ghz I believe (possibly 3.2). I brought it back down to 2.4 because at the time I built this computer, I had no need for the extra performance. But now, a few years have gone by and its probably a good time to overclock it again.

 

[coozie7]

^ Time start digging into those BIOS settings again.
As I recall the Typhoon was quite a decent cooler, looks like your foresight has just saved you a few drinking vouchers.
As Destruct1214 says, the GTX460 is also a viable option if you wish to stay with the Green team with the 1 Gb version probably being the fastest option that is not going to be held back by even an overclocked E6600. Just remember the GTX460 needs dual 6-pin PCI-E connectors to operate while the HD5770 only requires one.
As a side point, if your motherboard supports SLI, the PSU can handle it, and you go for a GTX460, I'd keep the 8800 and use it for Physx-no point in letting a perfectly good card go to waste, is there ?

 

[destruct1214]

My motherboard only supports crossfire. Also, the gtx 460 is more money than I was looking to spend. I am planning on building a completely new system near the end of 2011 or in early 2012 and I just need something to get me by until then.

 

[renz496]

this can fit into your budget after MIR:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390&cm_re=gtx460_768mb-_-14-121-390-_-Product

if you plan on getting new card when building your next rig this card should last you for a while. if you want to use your old 8800GT as dedicated physx then it should be fine as well since it does not require you to have SLI capable motherboard to do that.

 

[Guest]

I am in the same position as him, i NEED a new graphics card as i only have a onboard Nvidai 7100 atm.
I play starcraft 2 WoW and batman and would wish not to have any lag. My specs are quad core 2.5ghz 4 gb RAM, bout it. I just want a graphics card which will allow my to play the games with no lag and at a decent res.