Originally Posted by
mr. nails
i've never messed around with pci-e at all. haven't even touched one. so, my question is how do u get TRUE 16x pci-e? i've seen mb's that state dual 16x and dual true 16x. what's the difference?
Different mobo manufacturers implement PCI-e well,differently.
The end result is the same though.
Early designs (and even still, the new DFI Expert board) use PCI-e slot #1 to implement 16x while PCI-e slot#2 is 2x.
Until you implement SLI- then they both run at 8x.
Newer boards allow 16x on either slot, but even so, when SLI is in place they both run at 8x.
The advantage to the latter design is the ability to mount a single card in either slot and still get 16x bus speed.
also, what is or even why do u need 1x pci-e? sounds like a waste of money. when getting a pci-e mb with 16x pci-e why would u want 1x slots, 4x slots, or even 8x slots on ur mb?
Sooner or later many addon devices (think network cards, etc) will be designed for the 1x & 4x slots so they will ultimately become useful. Right now, they aren't.
is pci-e plug in play?
Yes.
just install 2 exact cards on the mb then link them on top of cards and it auto recognizes both cards and ur running sli?
You are confusing SLI with PCI Express.
SLI refers to two vid cards working together...PCI-e is just the bus they are plugged into.
SLI is getting simpler to implement, but nVidia keeps undermining the concept by releasing new cards that singly outperform the previous gen's performance in SLI.
For instance, a 7800GT's performance alone is very nearly equal to twin 6800GTs in SLI. Maybe even better.
Given the extra cost (TWO cards AND the extra power required and heat) SLI makes less and less sense unless you are a rich, hardcore gamer.
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