PCI Express 2.1?

[Hotpeppa1]

So I have a 5 year old prebuilt computer here with a i7 860 (2.8ghz), its running with a ATI Radeon HD 5570 1gb, since I dont know what pci express interface it uses, I searched up the card on google and found this. (Picture attached)

So I am assuming its PCI express 2.1.

My question is, would I be able to buy a PCI Express 3.0 card and use it here? I know some cards require pci express 2.0 x16 or later....but I am not to sure.

 

And yes, I know I should change the power supply before I do anything....

[Mew]

Yes, it'll work fine because it's backwards compatible. However, do check if your motherboard bios whitelists video cards and check if your power supply can deliver enough power.

[Enderman]

yes 3.0 is backwards compatible with 2.0. or 2.1 whatever that is

[Hotpeppa1]

2 minutes ago, kurahk7 said:

Yes, it'll work fine because it's backwards compatible. However, do check if your motherboard bios whitelists video cards and check if your power supply can deliver enough power.

What do you mean by that? My motherboard is a Acer H57M01.

[Hotpeppa1]

2 minutes ago, Enderman said:

yes 3.0 is backwards compatible with 2.0. or 2.1 whatever that is

Also, would I be losing potential performance?

[-rascal-]

7 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

Also, would I be losing potential performance?

No, PCI-Express version 2.x with X16 or X8 lanes is still plenty of bandwidth for even something like a GTX 970 or 980.

 

Heck, I am running a AMD R9-Fury on a PCI-Express 2.0 motherboard -- not a problem.

[Hotpeppa1]

20 minutes ago, kurahk7 said:

Yes, it'll work fine because it's backwards compatible. However, do check if your motherboard bios whitelists video cards and check if your power supply can deliver enough power.

Pls dont leave me hanging.......

18 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

What do you mean by that? My motherboard is a Acer H57M01.

 

[Mew]

2 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

Pls dont leave me hanging.......

 

Sorry. I've heard that certain manufacturers are known to code their bios to prevent your computer from booting up if you install an unapproved video card. It's not that common (more common with wifi cards and laptops) but it's good to do research before upgrading.  

[Hotpeppa1]

4 minutes ago, kurahk7 said:

Sorry. I've heard that certain manufacturers are known to code their bios to prevent your computer from booting up if you install an unapproved video card. It's not that common (more common with wifi cards and laptops) but it's good to do research before upgrading.  

I literally cannot find anything on the internet about my motherboard bios....(And its alright, I was a little too anxious for a response)

[Godlygamer23]

10 minutes ago, kurahk7 said:

Sorry. I've heard that certain manufacturers are known to code their bios to prevent your computer from booting up if you install an unapproved video card. It's not that common (more common with wifi cards and laptops) but it's good to do research before upgrading.  

I'm almost certain that there is no whitelist for motherboard manufacturers when it comes to graphics cards. They usually just work - they might have "increased compatibility for XXX" in BIOS release notes, but that's vague and doesn't really specify what it's really doing. 

[David_K]

Well, From the looks of it its an Foxconn board, so no reason the bios would be locked. In anyway, from what I see you live in canada, I assume you have half decent return policies, In anyway a better thing to worry about is your PSU, the ones that come from big companies are decent (usually) but they are weak as usually this systems have no GPU, or a very weak one. 

 

What GPU do you want to buy ? and what PSU you have (also check your case if there is a size limitation length wise for the GPU. 

[Hotpeppa1]

1 minute ago, David_K said:

Well, From the looks of it its an Foxconn board, so no reason the bios would be locked. In anyway, from what I see you live in canada, I assume you have half decent return policies, In anyway a better thing to worry about is your PSU, the ones that come from big companies are decent (usually) but they are weak as usually this systems have no GPU, or a very weak one. 

 

What GPU do you want to buy ? and what PSU you have (also check your case if there is a size limitation length wise for the GPU. 

I didnt really look at it but it has a 80+ bronze sticker on it , As for the GPU I was thinking, 750ti, r7 370 4gb, r9 380...

[Mew]

17 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

I literally cannot find anything on the internet about my motherboard bios....(And its alright, I was a little too anxious for a response)

 

12 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

I'm almost certain that there is no whitelist for motherboard manufacturers when it comes to graphics cards. They usually just work - they might have "increased compatibility for XXX," but that's vague and doesn't really specify what it's really doing. 

I remember reading about it somewhere but can't seem to find it anymore. Oh well.

8 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

I didnt really look at it but it has a 80+ bronze sticker on it , As for the GPU I was thinking, 750ti, r7 370 4gb, r9 380...

The 750ti is best if you don't want to upgrade your psu. Alternatively, the 75w version of the 950 is also good. The 380 is the fastest of course.

[Hotpeppa1]

Would my i7 860 at 2.8ghz be a bottleneck to something like a 380? And it like never turbos to the "max" of 3.4ghz, and the settings for turbo is turned on in the bios. @kurahk7 @David_K @Godlygamer23 @-rascal- @Enderman

 

[Naeaes]

58 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

So I have a 5 year old prebuilt computer here with a i7 860 (2.8ghz), its running with a ATI Radeon HD 5570 1gb, since I dont know what pci express interface it uses, I searched up the card on google and found this. (Picture attached)

So I am assuming its PCI express 2.1.

My question is, would I be able to buy a PCI Express 3.0 card and use it here? I know some cards require pci express 2.0 x16 or later....but I am not to sure.

 

And yes, I know I should change the power supply before I do anything....

-snip-

Where exactly did you get this info? That looks like AMD.com layout, but the site says it's PCI-E 2.0 http://products.amd.com/en-us/search/Desktop-Graphics/ATI-Radeon™-HD-5000-Series/ATI-Radeon™-HD-5500/ATI-Radeon™-HD-5570/41 I'm almost positive, you got some misinfo on your hands. 

PCI-E 2.1 was a server-only tech. It's technically not backwards compatible, which is why it never made it big on consumer side.

 

But to answer your question, yes. PCI-E 3.0 GPUs are compatible with PCI-E 2.0 motherboards and processors.

[Hotpeppa1]

2 minutes ago, Naeaes said:

Where exactly did you get this info? That looks like AMD.com layout, but the site says it's PCI-E 2.0 http://products.amd.com/en-us/search/Desktop-Graphics/ATI-Radeon™-HD-5000-Series/ATI-Radeon™-HD-5500/ATI-Radeon™-HD-5570/41 I'm almost positive, you got some misinfo on your hands. 

PCI-E 2.1 was a server-only tech. It's technically not backwards compatible, which is why it never made it big on consumer side.

 

But to answer your question, yes. PCI-E 3.0 GPUs are compatible with PCI-E 2.0 motherboards and processors.

I got my info from here, in the specs tab. Thanks anyways

[Naeaes]

10 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

I got my info from here, in the specs tab. Thanks anyways

That's so weird. If it was the only instance I'd go all out on claiming a typo but Google gives loads of product pages claiming the same. Well, in any case, you're fine.

[Hotpeppa1]

19 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

Would my i7 860 at 2.8ghz be a bottleneck to something like a 380? And it like never turbos to the "max" of 3.4ghz, and the settings for turbo is turned on in the bios. @kurahk7 @David_K @Godlygamer23 @-rascal- @Enderman

 

 

[-rascal-]

20 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

Would my i7 860 at 2.8ghz be a bottleneck to something like a 380? And it like never turbos to the "max" of 3.4ghz, and the settings for turbo is turned on in the bios. @kurahk7 @David_K @Godlygamer23 @-rascal- @Enderman

 

The i7-860 should not be much of a problem for a R9-380.

 

Please keep in mind, the advertised 3.4 GHz Turbo Boost is "up to".

For an example, it could be like:

• 3.4 ghz if 1 of 4 cores is heavily used
• 3.2 GHz if 2 of 4 is heavily used
• 3.0 GHz if 3 of 4...
• Regular 2.8 GHz if 4 of 4 is used

Going from a 2010/2011 entry-level HD 5570 to a 2015/2016 mid-tier R9-380 is pretty massive upgrade.

[Hotpeppa1]

1 minute ago, -rascal- said:

The i7-860 should not be much of a problem for a R9-380.

 

Please keep in mind, the advertised 3.4 GHz Turbo Boost is "up to".

For an example, it could be like:

• 3.4 ghz if 1 of 4 cores is heavily used
• 3.2 GHz if 2 of 4 is heavily used
• 3.0 GHz if 3 of 4...
• Regular 2.8 GHz if 4 of 4 is used

Going from a 2010/2011 entry-level HD 5570 to a 2015/2016 mid-tier R9-380 is pretty massive upgrade.

Oh, I am planing to build a PC later on so that solves that, but the i7 860 should hold up for now...right?

[-rascal-]

1 minute ago, Amit27_ said:

Oh, I am planing to build a PC later on so that solves that, but the i7 860 should hold up for now...right?

Yes, even though the i7-860 is getting a little on the old side, it should hold up with a R9-380.

 

** MAKE SURE your Power Supply is sufficient for a R9-380 **

Depending on which particular R9-380 you get, you will need a 500W ~ 550W PSU with either:

• One PCI-E 8-pin power connector or,
• Two PCI-E 6-pin power connectors

Your existing HD 5570 does not need any extra PCI-E power connectors, and just draws power form the PCI-E X16 slot (which can supply up to 75W).

[Hotpeppa1]

4 minutes ago, -rascal- said:

Yes, even though the i7-860 is getting a little on the old side, it should hold up with a R9-380.

 

** MAKE SURE your Power Supply is sufficient for a R9-380 **

Depending on which particular R9-380 you get, you will need a 500W ~ 550W PSU with either:

• One PCI-E 8-pin power connector or,
• Two PCI-E 6-pin power connectors

Your existing HD 5570 does not need any extra PCI-E power connectors, and just draws power form the PCI-E X16 slot (which can supply up to 75W).

Would something like this do?

[-rascal-]

2 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

Would something like this do?

Yes, the EVGA 500B will do...though I would recommend something else with slightly higher build quality if possible.

Are you dead set on getting the your computer part(s) from Canada Computers, or will you consider some other places, such as:

• Memory Express
• NCIX
• etc?

[Hotpeppa1]

4 minutes ago, -rascal- said:

Yes, the EVGA 500B will do...though I would recommend something else with slightly higher build quality if possible.

Are you dead set on getting the your computer part(s) from Canada Computers, or will you consider some other places, such as:

• Memory Express
• NCIX
• etc?

Dead set at Canada Computers

[-rascal-]

6 minutes ago, Amit27_ said:

Dead set at Canada Computers

Okay, EVGA 500B it is then!

 

The 'Seasonic' design XFX 500W XT is another good alternative...NCIX, though:

http://www.ncix.com/detail/xfx-500w-xt-series-500-db-128726-1219.htm