Graphic Cards Can a PCI-E card be put into any PCI-E slot?

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P.Ping Tom

Disciple
Yes, I know, n00b question - but I'm interested in learning how to assemble my own PC, so here it is.

If I'm using only one gfx card, does it matter which PCIE slot I put it in (x16, x4)? The reason I'm asking is that a lot of the mid-range and above cards like, say the 9600's and 8800's, are really long and tend to block some SATA ports/connectors on a number of motherboards. I know, for example, if I decide to purchase such a card it'll definitely be blocking the ports on my current Gigabyte mobo. I don't have an issue with the card taking up an extra slot as I don't need it. But if I wanna leave my SATA ports open, and I'm using only one card, can it be installed in the other slot? Thanks in advance. :)
And in case you guys were wondering, this is the card I'm looking at :D

Newegg.com - EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

It's a pretty big card, and in case I can't install it in my second PCIE slot, I'm just gona buy a stock 8600gt. Cheers.
 
which mobo u hav?? card blockin sata ports-wierd.....i dun think ny card is tht long tht it blocks all SATA ports...it may take up adjacent pci slots wen dual slot cards are used but SATA ports....nt sure...
 
^^not sure...

pci-e X16 and x1 are definitely different...

the use of the x4 slot generally is that if you use 2 graphics cards, the bandwidth gets split, ie, both become x8 slots

dont have any idea about using 1 card in the x4 slot though
 
P.Ping Tom said:
If I'm using only one gfx card, does it matter which PCIE slot I put it in (x16, x4)?
And in case you guys were wondering, this is the card I'm looking at :D

Newegg.com - EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

It's a pretty big card, and in case I can't install it in my second PCIE slot, I'm just gona buy a stock 8600gt. Cheers.
Click to expand...

No you can't put this card into any slot other than that of PCIe X16. From wikipedia:
PCIe slots come in a variety of physically different sizes referred to by the maximum lane count they support, ie. x1, x2, x4, x8, x16 and x32. A PCIe card will fit into a slot of its size or bigger, but not into a smaller PCIe slot.
Click to expand...

Moreover, even in budget mobos that carry two PCIE X16 slots for so called SLI or CrossFire, one slot often work at X8 or X4 speeds, providing a low transfer rate as compared to that of X16 slot.

I find it very peculiar that you are having this slot trouble on your mobo. Most of the good branded mobos, whether ATX or mATX, are designed keeping industry-wide standards in mind and as such very rarely create the sort of troubles that you are having.

Also, the card that you are eying is not a very good option nowadays.
:no:
In more or less same money you can buy these cards which will give you at least twice the performance of 8800 GTS (320)

1- Newegg.com - CHAINTECH GSE96GT GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

2- Newegg.com - POWERCOLOR AX3850 512MD3 Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

3- Newegg.com - ASUS EN9600GT/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

4- Newegg.com - EVGA 384-P3-N853-AR GeForce 8800GS Superclocked 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics
 
^^they wont give twice the performance...but i think the 9600gt would be your best bet at 150$

cool running card, single slot cooler so it may not block your ports, and high overclocking capability
 
if there is any confusion left let me confirm, that you cannot use your primary display graphic card in a secondary PCIE slot whether its x16, x8 or x4. Infact the bandwidth speed doesnt matter, none of the graphic cards are able to fully cap AGP slot bandwidth, let alone PCIe 2.0, for the ports thing, you can use the 90degree sata cables, which will be the ideal solution.
 
^^ who says so?

You can jolly well put a graphic card is a slot thats X8 electrical or even X4 electrical and it will boot and work fine.

With X8 you wont even notice much performance difference.

With X4, top of the line cards will degrade in performance.

I was able to boot with my card in any of the 3 PCI express slots on P35 and same on X38 board that i have.

The question is not if but how it will work. It will work but with degraded performance.
 
I'm running two ECS 9600GT cards in SLI. The cooler is two slots, and needs some airflow. Runs 50 idle and 65 load, there are 4 120mm fans blowing air from the side onto the cards. Without that temps rise to 80degrees+ but the cards still do fine.

Amazing VFM, similar performance to 9800GTX at just a little lower cost, and absolutely silent so no fan noise. Plus heat output is very, very low. Will hold me till the new cards are released and reach sensible prices by August.

To answer the question, X4 to X16 are electrically compatible, but X1 is not compatible either way. I've tried the cards in all the slot combinations and they work absolutely fine.
 
P.Ping Tom said:
Thanks guys - looks like the 9600's the winner. Found this asus on newegg - different from the asus 9600 recommended by Morgoth, but its got no reviews yet.

Newegg.com - ASUS EN9600GT TOP/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

Whaddaya guys think of this one? It's slightly over budget for me but if it's worth it - why not?
Click to expand...
of you are going to overclock the card yourself, you can take this one instead
Newegg.com - ASUS EN9600GT/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

its the same card with the same cooler, but at lower clocks
of you are not gonna overclock, your choice is perfect
 
sangram said:
I'm running two ECS 9600GT cards in SLI. The cooler is two slots, and needs some airflow. Runs 50 idle and 65 load, there are 4 120mm fans blowing air from the side onto the cards. Without that temps rise to 80degrees+ but the cards still do fine.

Amazing VFM, similar performance to 9800GTX at just a little lower cost, and absolutely silent so no fan noise. Plus heat output is very, very low. Will hold me till the new cards are released and reach sensible prices by August.

To answer the question, X4 to X16 are electrically compatible, but X1 is not compatible either way. I've tried the cards in all the slot combinations and they work absolutely fine.
Click to expand...

is dat the ecs with the artic cooler S1 or the active one? the passive doesnt seem fit for sli..
 
Passive (AC Accelero S2), and the SLI connectors fit just fine. Whatever you've heard is FUD. The fins separate quite easily and the connector is slipped between the fins. Anyone with brains can figure it out in two seconds. The Asus boards come with a flexible connector that can also go over the heatsinks, if the cards are in two consecutive slots (each cooler is double-slot). That config works too.
 
Pping tom,
please post some pics of your mobo/setup :)

And i don't think buying that card is a wise decison.
The 320MB ones was known to have certain memory bugs iirc and the 9600GT is a much much better card in the same price range afaik.
Doesn't really make sense fora new card buyer to look below the 9600GT/8800GT/8800GTS(G92) cards in the respective price ranges. :)
thebanik said:
if there is any confusion left let me confirm, that you cannot use your primary display graphic card in a secondary PCIE slot whether its x16, x8 or x4.
Click to expand...
:S
i think u meant u can?? :)
I could run a 6800GT, 6600 vanilla, 6600GT, 6200TC, 7300GS, 1900XT, ...
in the lower PCIe slot on the DFI nf4 ultraD that runs the card at 2x if sli jumpers haven't been moved. :S


I have also played HL2, Far cry, even FEAR :O pretty smoothly with a 6800GT/1900XT with it running at 2x though i didn't check for the fps i was playing at. :ashamed:
I don't remember very well but i don't think i had any issues running any card (at 8x iirc) in the lower slot of the DFI nf4 Expert sli mobo. :ashamed:
Running it at 16x is recommended though and running it in the lower speed slots might affect performance in gaming/3D apps unless they are 16x.
Dunno about newer PCIE2.0 cards as i haven't tried them on the same setup yet. :p
 
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