Do I need a Ivy Bridge CPU in order to run a PCIE 3.0 Card in a PCIE 2.0 slot?

[Ninjask]

There's the question. I was thinking of buying a new computer some time ago, but instead it would be better to upgrade my older PC. Anyways, I want to upgrade my graphics card but I was confused about these ports.
My CPU is a AMD Anthlon II X4 630.
Thanks for your help.

 

[iliketrainz98]

No, PCIE 3 cards work fine in PCIE 2 slots - whatever the CPU.

My experience - I have done it

Tom

 

[jaraldo]

Many cards don't use PCI-E 3.0 to their full capacity anyways and run equally as good in PCI-E 2.0 slots.

http/www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Intel/Ivy_Bridge_PCI-Express_Scaling/24.html
It's a long test thread with lots of good details.

You will find the same results if you google PCI-E 3.0 or PCI-E 2.0.

 

[Weak1ings]

No, my Q6600 with Legacy PCI-Ex16 ports runs my GTX 660 without bottlenecking (generally thanks to OC)
Be wary of bottlenecks when you do upgrade.

 

[Ninjask]

Thanks for your help guys I appreciate it.
One more question, I was thinking of buying a EVGA GTX 650 TI 1GB, is this a good card for my CPU?
If it's not, can you recommend me a good card for Casual gaming?
Thanks for your help!
I forgot to mention I have 6 GB of RAM, if that helps.

 

[jaraldo]

The 750ti would be the best card you can get for an old system.

If that's too much ($139), then get a GTX 750($110) as they are the same price as the 650.
http/gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-vs-GeForce-GTX-650

The GTX 750
http/www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=94333&vpn=01G-P4-2751-KR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1264

Don't worry about power, either card runs off the PCI-E slot in the motherboard and so they use very little power

You may experience a small bottleneck (slowdown) in game because of the CPU, but that can be fixed by reducing settings/resolution slightly.
http/www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2034057/amd-athlon-630-gpu.html

 

[Weak1ings]

The 750 ti and 750 would be a much better choice and are around same price as a 650 ti. Here is going to be a good list for you: Some older generation AMD cards dominate in value such as the HD7870 Ghz edition for $130.

http/pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/#c=118,132,114,113,163,164,142,81,82,110,71,70,112,122,168,154,147,167&sort=a8

This is a list I quickly compiled that should help you find the best value quickly for your budget. As you can see there are 750 tis for cheaper than the cheapest 650 ti. However, there is also a XFX HD7870 Ghz edition for $130. This card will provide you with the best performance as it beats all cards up to the GTX 760. I would recommend it if your PSU feels up to it.

http/pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/evga-video-card-01gp42751kr%2Cmsi-video-card-n750titf2gd5oc%2Cxfx-video-card-fx785aznl4%2Cxfx-video-card-fx787acdbc/
^A comparison between a few select cards.

In total on that list the 750 ti or HD 7870 Ghz edition are going to be the best values with the 7870 being much better. I saw a PNY GTX 660 which is faster than the 750 ti for $145 if you are interested. It only needs one 6 pin which is great for it.

As I mentioned before: be ready for bottlenecks until DX 12 as all the nvidia options I mentioned have it. Even a GT 520 will support it!

****EDIT****
I saw in that list a MSI N660 (GTX 660) for $140. This is the BEST value on the chart minus the 7870 Ghz edition and that card is usually friendly to low end PSUs if they have atleast one 6-pin connector.
I will recommend this card above all the others mentioned and if you can, buy it.
(for get the low prices mentioned you need a rebate in general.)

 

[jaraldo]

^----Agree with most of this

It's too bad though, as there was a 750ti on for $100 the past few days. The 7870 would be great, but we have no idea about the PSU, not even the watts; let alone the brand/model.

The other thing to care about is the CPU bottle necking the system, the 7850 can potentially do this.
http/forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2288611
http/www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1897324/amd-athlon-630-processor-bottleneck-radeon-hd7850-2gb.html

A 750ti would be the better option if it could be found around $100-115, if not go with the 7850. Still need to know the PSU though.

 

[Weak1ings]

Something to keep in mind is games are growing more demanding on VRAM and 1 GB cards such as the HD7850 or GTX 750 or some 260Xs are going to soon become obsolete without that added buffer. Plus it also makes modding skyrim more fun

What is your PSU? Most should support a GTX 660, some may support a HD7870 Ghz edition and all will support a GTX 750 ti, keep this in mind.

 

[Ninjask]

Yeah, Im not so sure what my PSU is. Since my PC is store bought im not sure what the actual PSU is. I've opened my computer to check but I don't see something that can clearly indicate it's PS.
I think im going to buy a GTX 750 ti, but im not so sure about buying the SC edition.
I will open up my PSU and type in what I see.

 

[jaraldo]

You don't have to worry about the PSU if you buy the 750ti, it has such low a low peak watt that many cheap 400-500w can run it.

The most important things we need from your PSU are the watts, the brand/model and the +12v.

 

[Weak1ings]

Are you aware of what Computer pre-built you have?
This will help us give you advice and identify your PSU.
The GTX 660 and 750 ti are going to be your best bets as both require less than 500 watts to work. Both will be comfy at 450watts and the 750 ti will want much less. If you plan to go for super clocked versions there won't be much difference between a 660 and that card due to power.
You can't make a bad choice between the two.

 

[jaraldo]

Yup either one is good. I think the 660 is just slightly ahead of the 750ti, but really, go with whichever is cheaper.

One thing to keep in mind since we are still stumped on the PSU,
http/www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
The 660 needs a 6 pin connector while the 750ti does not. I've seen some really cheap power supplies not have the 6-pin.

Edit: going by this, it looks like the 750ti is the best option. ($30 cheaper than a 660)
http/pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/#c=114,164&sort=a8

 

[Ninjask]

OK, I think my computer is a HP Pavilion P6310f, I'm not completely sure if this is the correct model since they remake the same case with different components. It says it had a power supply of 300-400w (Different sites say different things). Im not sure what you mean about the +12v
Here are the Power supply specs that I found in a site.
http/www.911forpcs.com/p6310f.html
Hopefully that helps.

Edit: One question, will the 750ti bottleneck my PC?

 

[jaraldo]

If it's an HP power supply and all you have is an old athlon processor, then it should be good.

HP power supplies are surprisingly good. Your PSU has 25a on the +12v rail, nice 😉

As mentioned before , it may bottle neck your CPU, but it's not worth getting anything less than a 750ti.

 

[Ninjask]

Is there any way to stop it from bottle necking? or am I just gonna have to live with it?
I really don't want my PC bottle necking in the middle of a game I really like :_:

Edit: In the end of all this, should I go with 750ti SC or 750ti?

 

[jaraldo]

hehe, well don't worry, you can fix the bottleneck by playing at some slightly lower settings.

What are the price of the 750ti SC, 750ti and 660 that you are seeing? I actually can't find much about the SC in north america. I'm assuming it's just slightly better.

 

[Ninjask]

Here is the SC version:
http/www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclock-Dual-Link-Graphics-02G-P4-3753-KR/dp/B00IDG3IDO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1404337816&sr=1-1&keywords=GEforce+gtx+750ti+SC

And here is the Normal version:
http/www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Dual-Link-Graphics-02G-P4-3751-KR/dp/B00IDG3PRI/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1404337869&sr=1-2&keywords=GTX+750TI

As you can see, they have a 10 dollar difference, which I don't really mind. As for the bottle necking I don't mind lowering the settings a bit, I just want to be able to RUN the game 😛

Thank you all for helping me solve my problem. If I need any more questions, I'll ask them but for now I'm all done

 

[jaraldo]

Idk, I googled the 750ti SC and only was getting flipkart.com (india) links lol (maybe should have just put superclocked? xD )

Anyways, as I said, the 750ti will be able to run any games with a good CPU in ultra 30+fps. So if you went on to high, even medium there would be no bottleneck.

I know that with a G3220, there would only be a slight bottleneck trying to play on ultra with the 750ti.
http/cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-G3220-vs-AMD-Athlon-II-X4-630
I think you would be more than fine on high settings with a 750ti SC

Get it and enjoy the better gaming 😉

 

[Weak1ings]

The build you have only has a 300 Watt PSU which means the 750 and 750 ti are going to be your only options. The Superclocked versions may require a 6-pin connector for power so, based on these facts I will recommend this product:

http/pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx750tioc2gd5

Do not worry about the 6-pin connector if you don't have a 6-pin plug on your PSU, it is optional for this card.
This card will be equivalent to the super clocked as Maxwell is excellent in this area. You can also push overclocking on it as Direct CU II is great.

In the end my final suggestion is this:
Mod as much as you can to offload that CPU. (games that support them)
If you ever want help in future upgrades I can help you, just send me a PM