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Finally... => Life Advice => Topic started by: Lord Shonus on January 20, 2011, 04:12:11 pm

Title: PCI Express slots
Post by: Lord Shonus on January 20, 2011, 04:12:11 pm

How do I find out what kind of PCI express slot I have in my box? I just bought this computer in November and I need to upgrade the video card, but Newegg has 4 different categories of PCI express and I don't want to get the wrong kind and waste time and money. I can't find my specific mobo on Asus's site.

Title: Re: PCI Express slots
Post by: Dwarf on January 20, 2011, 04:20:15 pm

AFAIK, they've different lenghts. Some program checking you're computer's components might help, but I'm lost there. Not a Windows user.

Title: Re: PCI Express slots
Post by: Eagle_eye on January 20, 2011, 04:33:24 pm

Iirc, if you have an Nvidia card, you can check the slot through the graphics card settings program...

Title: Re: PCI Express slots
Post by: Lord Shonus on January 20, 2011, 04:44:53 pm

I never noticed that before. Is PCI Express x16 Gen2 the same as PCI express 2.0? (I miss ISA and plain old PCI. Much less confusing.)

Title: Re: PCI Express slots
Post by: Dwarf on January 20, 2011, 04:49:27 pm

You won't miss the speed of regular PCI.

Title: Re: PCI Express slots
Post by: Frajic on January 20, 2011, 04:50:14 pm

Quote from: Lord Shonus on January 20, 2011, 04:44:53 pm

I never noticed that before. Is PCI Express x16 Gen2 the same as PCI express 2.0? (I miss ISA and plain old PCI. Much less confusing.)

Generation 2 probably means 2.0/2.1. So yeah; get a PCIe 2.0 card.

Title: Re: PCI Express slots
Post by: Lord Shonus on January 20, 2011, 04:58:36 pm

Excellent. The lack of a decent video card is the only downside to this PC for the price. (Came with a crappy onboard, threw in a $35 8800 as a standby measure.)

Title: Re: PCI Express slots
Post by: Fayrik on January 20, 2011, 05:32:15 pm

If push comes to shove, grab a screwdriver and mesure it.
Though, if you can find out the name of your mo'board then looking that name up may have some faster results.

Title: Re: PCI Express slots
Post by: SolarShado on January 21, 2011, 11:43:25 pm

Quote from: Fayrik on January 20, 2011, 05:32:15 pm

grab a screwdriver and mesure it.

This would be my first instinct...
But I'm quite comfortable taking computers apart :)