amd 7000 series gpu info :O

[yassarikhan786]

Aye, a 580 should do you fine. I think I'd upgrade when the 580 isn't enough for the games I want to play, which could be in a year and a half, or in two years time. Might build a PC or do a project for my bday around May-time next year though

I think by that time the high end stuff will be out, plus nVidia will be competing properly with AMD (both on 28nm)

Yeh, I think it's a good idea to wait until both companies have released the high end cards and there are plenty of reviews to compare.

 

[MaddocksL]

Looking forward to seeing the range of cards that are on offer mid 2012. Need to upgrade a few people's systems around that time.

 

[cerbrus2]

Hmm. PCIe 3.0 Cards. Will they work on a maximus IV ???

 

[Natashaful]

Hmm. PCIe 3.0 Cards. Will they work on a maximus IV ???

All 3.0 PCIE Cards will work with 1.0 and 2.0 PCIE but they won't run at the rated speed, I don't think you'll see any speed differences anyways, Unless you run Quad GPU's

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

It's the other way around they are backwards compatible with PCI-E 2 but they are natively PCI-E 3, even if they don't max out the bandwidth.

EDIT: when run on PCI-E 3 the bandwidth is doubled so on PCI-E 3 at x8 x8 would it would be the same as x16 x16 on a PCI-E 2.

So yes they are PCI-E 3 but backwards compatible with PCI-E 2 but thanks for the negative rep anyway.

Sounds a bit pointless? Doubling the older gen after halving it just takes you back to where it was origionally?

Am I missing something or is this just an excuse for a revision like most graphics tech lately?

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

I also hope this back compatability with 2.0 isn't going to render the system useless if you chose to upgrade to a 3.0 motherboard like it does with using DDR2 and DDR3 CPUs and memory that don't match in the same system (at least that's what I've read)

 

[SieB]

PCI -E 3 also doubles the bandwith so if you have a board that does x8 x4 in SLI/CF or x4 x4 and if like Gigabyte, Asus motherboards etc can be updated to PCI-E 3, then your board turns into x16 x8 or x8 x8 in SLI/CF so that is one advantage another is PCI-E 3 uses less power not sure by how much less but it is less.

There has to be some other advantages to it, maybe not strait away but over time, I don't think they would bother if there wasn't some advantage to it especially when PCI-E 2 bandwidth hasn't been maxed yet.

Also, it's not costing any more for a PCI-E 3 board than it is for a PCI-E 2 board so there is no extra money being made from it so I can't see it being a gimmick and it being used to get people to buy new boards especially when PCI-E 2 boards can be converted to PCI-E 3 at no extra cost, so it's not a money making effort by motherboard manufacturers or else they wouldn't have given you the BIOS update they would have just made you buy a new motherboard.

As for compatibility PCI-E 3 is fully backwards compatible wit PCI-E 2 and 1.

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

PCI -E 3 also doubles the bandwith so if you have a board that does x8 x4 in SLI/CF or x4 x4 and if like Gigabyte, Asus motherboards etc can be updated to PCI-E 3, then your board turns into x16 x8 or x8 x8 in SLI/CF so that is one advantage another is PCI-E 3 uses less power not sure by how much less but it is less.

There has to be some other advantages to it, maybe not strait away but over time, I don't think they would bother if there wasn't some advantage to it especially when PCI-E 2 bandwidth hasn't been maxed yet.

Also, it's not costing any more for a PCI-E 3 board than it is for a PCI-E 2 board so there is no extra money being made from it so I can't see it being a gimmick and it being used to get people to buy new boards especially when PCI-E 2 boards can be converted to PCI-E 3 at no extra cost, so it's not a money making effort by motherboard manufacturers or else they wouldn't have given you the BIOS update they would have just made you buy a new motherboard.

As for compatibility PCI-E 3 is fully backwards compatible wit PCI-E 2 and 1.

Is an updated board as fast as a native 3.0 board though? No good updating to 3.0 and people have GTX 580s running at 15Mhz or something piddily

 

[SieB]

Is an updated board as fast as a native 3.0 board though? No good updating to 3.0 and people have GTX 580s running at 15Mhz or something piddily

All the BIOS update does is increase the frequency of the PCI-E chip on the motherboard to run at PCI-E 3 specifications. If you are running a 580 then it would run at PCI-E 2 because it's a PCI-E 2 card.

To run at PCI-E 3 you need an Ivy Bridge CPU and a PCI-E 3 GPU. Sandy Bridge CPUs have a PCI-E 2 controller on the CPU but Ivy Bridge CPUs will have a PCI-E 3 controller on the CPU.

So even if you had a PCI-E 3 GPU with a Sandy Bridge CPU and a motherboard that is Gen 3 or a PCI-E 2 P67/Z68 one that has been updated to PCI-E 3 you would still only be running at PCI-E 2 because of the controller on the CPU. But if you had a Ivy Bridge CPU which has the PCI-E 3 controller then you would run at PCI-E 3.

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

All the BIOS update does is increase the frequency of the PCI-E chip on the motherboard to run at PCI-E 3 specifications. If you are running a 580 then it would run at PCI-E 2 because it's a PCI-E 2 card.

To run at PCI-E 3 you need an Ivy Bridge CPU and a PCI-E 3 GPU. Sandy Bridge CPUs have a PCI-E 2 controller on the CPU but Ivy Bridge CPUs will have a PCI-E 3 controller on the CPU.

So even if you had a PCI-E 3 GPU with a Sandy Bridge CPU and a motherboard that is Gen 3 or a PCI-E 2 P67/Z68 one that has been updated to PCI-E 3 you would still only be running at PCI-E 2 because of the controller on the CPU. But if you had a Ivy Bridge CPU which has the PCI-E 3 controller then you would run at PCI-E 3.

So

(1)CPU = 3.0

Mobo = 3.0 native or updated to 3.0

GPU = 2.0/ 2.1

= 3.0 speed?

or

(2)CPU = 3.0

Mobo = 3.0 native only

GPU = 2.0/ 2.1

= 3.0 speed?

or

(3)CPU = 3.0

Mobo = 3.0 native or updated to 3.0

GPU = 3.0

= 3.0 speed

or

(4)CPU = 3.0

Mobo = 3.0 native only

GPU = 3.0

= 3.0 speed?

Which will work?

 

[SieB]

Basically if you have a PCI-E 2 card and your mother board is PCI-E 3 then it will run at PCI-E 2 speeds because it's a PCI-E 2 card, you need a PCI-E 3 card to run at PCI-E 3 speeds.

Now, if you had a PCI-E 3 card with a PCI-E 3 mobo but you only had a Sandy Bridge CPU it would run at PCI-E 2 speeds because Sandy Bridge only has a PCI-E 2 controller therefore can only do PCI-E 2.

But if you had a PCI-E 3 card a PCI-E 3 mobo and a Ivy Bridge CPU that has a PCI-E 3 controller then you would be running at PCI-E 3 speeds.

To summarize:

To run at PCI-E 3 you need

1. A PCI-E 3 Graphics card

2. A PCI-E 3 capable motherboard

3. A CPU with a PCI-E 3 controller eg Ivy Bridge

If you do not have one of the 3 things above then you will be on PCI-E 2.

As for AMD I have no idea about their motherboards or CPUs so I don't know how PCI-E 3 and AMD is going to work.

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

Basically if you have a PCI-E 2 card and your mother board is PCI-E 3 then it will run at PCI-E 2 speeds because it's a PCI-E 2 card, you need a PCI-E 3 card to run at PCI-E 3 speeds.

Now, if you had a PCI-E 3 card with a PCI-E 3 mobo but you only had a Sandy Bridge CPU it would run at PCI-E 2 speeds because Sandy Bridge only has a PCI-E 2 controller therefore can only do PCI-E 2.

But if you had a PCI-E 3 card a PCI-E 3 mobo and a Ivy Bridge CPU that has a PCI-E 3 controller then you would be running at PCI-E 3 speeds.

To summarize:

To run at PCI-E 3 you need

1. A PCI-E 3 Graphics card

2. A PCI-E 3 capable motherboard

3. A CPU with a PCI-E 3 controller eg Ivy Bridge

If you do not have one of the 3 things above then you will be on PCI-E 2.

As for AMD I have no idea about their motherboards or CPUs so I don't know how PCI-E 3 and AMD is going to work.

So you're only saving the expense of a motherboard? Not inclined to upgrade anytime soon then

Most AMD stuff is compatible but runs terribly

 

[SieB]

So you're only saving the expense of a motherboard? Not inclined to upgrade anytime soon then

Yep, Ivy Bridge and PCI-E 3 will work on any P67 and Z68 motherboards with no performance hit, the only difference between the new Gen 3 mobos and current ones is PCI-E 3 will be native and not done through a BIOS update. But at the end of the day whether it's native or not, if it works, it works.

It's a first for Intel though, they haven't done this with any other CPUs they have always forced a new Chipset meaning you had to buy a new motherboard.

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

Yep, Ivy Bridge and PCI-E 3 will work on any P67 and Z68 motherboards with no performance hit, the only difference between the new Gen 3 mobos and current ones is PCI-E 3 will be native and not done through a BIOS update. But at the end of the day whether it's native or not, if it works, it works.

It's a first for Intel though, they haven't done this with any other CPUs they have always forced a new Chipset meaning you had to buy a new motherboard.

Maybe they're trying to get on the compatability and gamer side now they've lured AMD into the power user and business end.

Though that said we're still waiting for good Radeon cards for folding

 

[Tenu]

Can't wait to see how crazy the 7990 is going to be....

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

Can't wait to see how crazy the 7990 is going to be....

Maybe it'll be bulkier if PCI-e 3 motherboards have more secure lanes/ longer lanes on them so it doesn't snap the board.

Maybe 7990 will have 3 or 4 GPUs, I hope so but I'm probably wrong