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markofmayhem
Why not now?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-08
Pittsburgh, PA

markofmayhem to aurgathor

Premium Member

to aurgathor

Re: Is pcie 3.0 really worth it?

said by aurgathor:

A few exceptions don't make a rule. I don't have any hard data on how many people use then, but I'm fairly certain that SLI/Crossfire with more than 2 cards is way below 0.1%.

And if you did have this "hard data", what context does it relate to this topic?

Without an obtuse extreme hardware configuration, PCIe 3.0 isn't "worth it" over PCIe 2.0, but doesn't harm anything if your hardware has it included as it is no additional cost.

---or---

I found one! One person it makes a difference for out of billions who has the newest, top line gear shoved into a single configuration!

They are the same concept...

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

said by markofmayhem:

Without an obtuse extreme hardware configuration, PCIe 3.0 isn't "worth it" over PCIe 2.0, but doesn't harm anything if your hardware has it included as it is no additional cost.

We're drifting far away from the original question, which was reasonably well defined and specific:
quote:
I can see pcie 3.0 being worth it in 5 ,maybe even 4, years, but today is it really worth it for desktop or laptop with only 1 monitor @ 1080p or less?

markofmayhem
Why not now?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-08
Pittsburgh, PA

markofmayhem

Premium Member

said by aurgathor:

said by markofmayhem:

Without an obtuse extreme hardware configuration, PCIe 3.0 isn't "worth it" over PCIe 2.0, but doesn't harm anything if your hardware has it included as it is no additional cost.

We're drifting far away from the original question, which was reasonably well defined and specific:
quote:
I can see pcie 3.0 being worth it in 5 ,maybe even 4, years, but today is it really worth it for desktop or laptop with only 1 monitor @ 1080p or less?

No drift at all, you didn't read the link. It shows what ridiculous stress must be placed on PCIe 2.0 before 3.0 results in measurable gains. I know not what else to do to help you see that my posts agree with yours and am confused why you are arguing that your assumption was correct while I posted data to back it up, which you did not. You also clearly missed this:

Down to the nitty gritty; if you run a single GPU, yes; a single 16x speed PCI-E 2.0 slot will be fine. When you start to run multiple GPU's and/or run these new cards at 8x speed, especially in Surround/Eyefinity, make sure to get PCI-E 3.0.

So, in 4 to 5 years, yes, yes it will be worth it. Today @ 1080p, no, no it is not. Why? Well, because 4 quad SLI GTX 680 PCIe 3.0 cards running at 3600 x 1920 resolution across three monitors is the only test showing measurable gains.

What is learned from this test?

That x16 PCIe 2.0 is still not capped. It only becomes hindered when reduced to x8 PCIe 2.0 lanes as is the case with SLI and CrossfireX. Even then, though, it requires a third or fourth card limited to x8 PCIe 2.0 before the fill rates begin to choke the GPU utilization below 100%. PCIe 3.0 enables an x8 lane slot to run with the performance of a PCIe 2.0 x16 lane slot relieving the choke when three to four cards deep.