4 replies to this topic

[AIGuy]

I am thinking about buying an nvidia geforce 210 which has a PCIe interface. The computer I would like to install it in only has PCI buses. Will I just lose some bandwidth or will the thing actually not work?

[Alexander]

I am afraid only PCI-e is compatible downwards with itself, in fact the speed of the PCI bus can be calculated with the following formula: = 33Mhz (South bridge PCI frequency) x 32 bits = 133MB/s, the 220 requires atleast 25.3 GiB per second to reach optimal transfer rate, which is a tad high!

[AIGuy]

:). cool. but not good.

thanks a million.

here is another question though. Even if a PCIe device will not be compatible with a PCI bus, will a PCI device be able to plug into a PCIe bus? (for when I buy a new computer)

[lethalwire]

I believe no, as far as GPUs go.
They layout of the two designs is completely different.

With other types of devices:
Most modern motherboards have both PCI-e and PCI slots.
Some of the newest motherboards only have PCI-e slots.

Example:
Intel LGA1155 motherboard with PCI-e and PCI slots
Newegg.com - MSI H61MU-E35 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel LGA1155 motherboard with only PCI-e slots
Newegg.com - ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard

[AIGuy]

ok. thanks. :)