PCI Express And SLI Scaling: How Many Lanes Do You Need?

[ekoostik]

I've seen a lot of speculation about the performance of a x16, x4 P55 setup based on this article. Keep in mind that for the P55s that do not split into x8, x8, that x4 slot is not running at full PCIe 2.0 spec. It's transfer rate is halved, it is running at the PCIe 1.1 spec. Same goes for H55 and H57.

If you're interested, give this article a re-read: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p55-pci-express-scaling,2517.html

Less surprising was the horrific performance of the x4 slot available on many P55 motherboards through the chipset’s PCIe hub. These lanes offer only PCIe 1.1-class bandwidth regardless of their PCIe 2.0 labeling, dropping 26% behind even the x4 slot available on similarly-priced X58 motherboards. A slot that slow might be useful for adding a graphics card, but only if that card is used for lower-performance applications, such as a dedicated PhysX processor or 2D desktop expansion.

 

[Guest]

Disappointing test results for a 6 core cpu but on the other hand I don't see any advantage a 6 core cpu would have over a 3 core cpu. It just multiple cpus on chip and multiple graphics cards on a motherboard until gamer vendors or video encoders/decoders can take advantage of multi-core cpus and multi-graphics cards.

 

[Guest]

killer review Congrats !

I,ve been wondering this and after this reading there is no doubt that the difference between 16x vs 8x is just a tech promotion in more cases.

Thanks

 

[Guest]

Glad I read this article. I want to change the stock coolers on my Crossfire MSI 4890 setup cause their sound is annoying. But it means I will be using a x16 and x8 slot to keep the cards separated. The 25c temp difference between the stock and Artic Cooling Twin Turbo Pro is huge.

 

[dur_trix]

Have to say that the GFX industry is pushing technology into a new ear... WD nice article

 

[User69]

I would also like to see games that have high graphical settings, like Metro 2033 which eats performance.