Moving a card from x16 to x8

WhiteLotus · Jun 16, 2011, 10:24 AM

How screwed would I be when I move my 4850 (yes I know it's old, it's getting on a bit but it's getting me by for now) from the x16 PCI-e slot to the x8 PCI-e slot on my board??

I ask because now at the moment my sound card is in the PCI slot that sits right underneath it, and all the hot air gets sandwiched in between these cars making the card fan go batty when ever I want to play the simplest of games.

A picture of what I mean is incoming.

Red_Machine · Jun 16, 2011, 10:36 AM

Can you not move the sound card?

You might also want to block those open slots ad they mess up the airflow inside the case.

Fourstaff · Jun 16, 2011, 10:38 AM

Shouldn't affect much, do it!

2DividedbyZero · Jun 16, 2011, 10:38 AM

could you not make room by moving some of that dust out the way

WhiteLotus · Jun 16, 2011, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red_Machine

Can you not move the sound card?

You might also want to block those open slots ad they mess up the airflow inside the case.

Na there is only one PCI slot on the mother board for the sound card to fit into

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourstaff

Shouldn't affect much, do it!

Ok then, at the moment i'm only playing Trine, and will soon play Sins of the Solar empire

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2DividedbyZero

could you not make room by moving some of that dust out the way

Yea I did not realise it was that dusty inside. I'll get some compressed air and have it later on in the week.

Yukikaze · Jun 16, 2011, 11:06 AM

The effect will be under 5%, if it even exists. Much more powerful cards suffer tiny <5% loss of performance on an X8 link, so don't worry.

WhiteLotus · Jun 16, 2011, 11:11 AM

So what's the point in having different slots?!?

sapetto · Jun 16, 2011, 11:11 AM

Why do you even need a sound card if you only play trine or Sins of the Solar empire

No srsly you can just remove the sound card

95Viper · Jun 16, 2011, 11:12 AM

Just some FYI...

Quote from a Bit-Tech review:
"Don't expect to run SLI or CrossFire in this motherboard though, because the second PCI-Express slot is only an x4, and it's bandwidth is just 2.5GT/s, not the faster 5.0GT/s of PCI-Express 2.0."

The second PCIeX4 slot is shared with JMicron controller and the LAN controller, also.
See block diagram in the manual on page 8.

Info from Gigabytes website:

*1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) (Note 5) (The PCIEX16 slot conforms to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
*1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) (Note 6)

(Note 5) For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot.
(Note 6) The PCIEX16 slot operates at up to x4 mode when ATI CrossFireX™ is enabled.

But, as far as, your heat problem... I, believe, from looking at the pic, it is a case of incorrect/lack of/poor airflow.
You need to seal up the gaps/slots, install an exhaust fan in the back of the case and an intake fan directed at the GPU on the side panel(if the panel allows). Looks like the CPU cooler took priority and is just blowing hot air around the case and on the back of the GPU.
Just my observation from the pic.

Red_Machine · Jun 16, 2011, 11:12 AM

+1 ^^

Yukikaze · Jun 16, 2011, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiteLotus

So what's the point in having different slots?!?

What's the point in PCIe 3.0, SATA3 and so on ?

Future proofing. And there are devices out there than can eat up this bandwidth, just not most GPUs it seems.

95Viper · Jun 16, 2011, 11:39 AM

If you want another option... you could move it (the sound card) with a riser card or cable.

"PCI 32X Riser adapter with Flex Cable"
Risers @ Global America

I in no way endorse or vouch for these stores. The links are for informational purposes only.

__________________________________________________ ___________________________

Just my opinion, though, I would fix the air flow in the case.

WhiteLotus · Jun 16, 2011, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 95Viper

Just some FYI...

But, as far as, your heat problem... I, believe, from looking at the pic, it is a case of incorrect/lack of/poor airflow.
You need to seal up the gaps/slots, install an exhaust fan in the back of the case and an intake fan directed at the GPU on the side panel(if the panel allows). Looks like the CPU cooler took priority and is just blowing hot air around the case and on the back of the GPU.
Just my observation from the pic.

Thanks for the info, the case is pretty small, and the CPU did take priority. I do like near silent setups, so I think I will look into adding a side exhaust. I am building a new setup in a few months so I am not going to poor money into a system that is only going to get replaced. I think I have a few case fans laying about somewhere anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 95Viper

If you want another option... you could move it (the sound card) with a riser card or cable.

"PCI 32X Riser adapter with Flex Cable"
Risers @ Global America

I in no way endorse or vouch for these stores. The links are for informational purposes only.

__________________________________________________ ___________________________

Just my opinion, though, I would fix the air flow in the case.

Those flex cables may come in handy, and yea, if it does become unbearable i'll look into getting one.

And yea, the air flow is pretty shite, I really hate working with this case, but it'll do for a few more months.

aameghoo · Jun 18, 2011, 07:18 PM

you really should see almost no performance loss, I had a thread awhile back where I was testing my x16/x4 MB to see how an addition 6950 in crossfire would be affected so I tested my card in both slots and benched and the results were very negligible, and that was with a flashed 6950 which I'm sure would use more bandwidth AND that was a x4 slot

Jun 16, 2011, 10:24 AM	#1
WhiteLotus Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Plymouth, UK Posts: 4,798 (2.26/day) Thanks: 529 Thanked 856 Times in 682 Posts System Specs	Moving a card from x16 to x8 How screwed would I be when I move my 4850 (yes I know it's old, it's getting on a bit but it's getting me by for now) from the x16 PCI-e slot to the x8 PCI-e slot on my board?? I ask because now at the moment my sound card is in the PCI slot that sits right underneath it, and all the hot air gets sandwiched in between these cars making the card fan go batty when ever I want to play the simplest of games. A picture of what I mean is incoming. __________________ “Sorry but I cannot respond now, I am running a full virus scan on the internet.” -brandonwh64 Last edited by WhiteLotus; Jun 16, 2011 at 10:32 AM.

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Jun 16, 2011, 10:36 AM	#2
Red_Machine Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Marlow, ENGLAND Posts: 1,454 (1.51/day) Thanks: 149 Thanked 279 Times in 226 Posts System Specs	Can you not move the sound card? You might also want to block those open slots ad they mess up the airflow inside the case. __________________ Alienware M11x R1 Netbook: 1.3GHz Core2 Duo U7300 (OC'd to 1.7GHz) \| 8GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz \| nVIDIA GeForce GT 335M 1GB/Intel GMA 4500MHD Hyrbid Graphics System \| Western Digital Scorpio Black 500GB \| Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician \| CompTIA A+ Certified Heatware

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Jun 16, 2011, 10:38 AM	#3
Fourstaff TPU Janitor Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Science Museum, Londinium Posts: 5,954 (4.70/day) Thanks: 261 Thanked 1,457 Times in 1,208 Posts System Specs	Shouldn't affect much, do it!

Jun 16, 2011, 10:38 AM	#4
2DividedbyZero Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: in retarded hell Posts: 765 (0.44/day) Thanks: 31 Thanked 202 Times in 146 Posts	could you not make room by moving some of that dust out the way __________________ RETARDS

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Jun 16, 2011, 11:06 AM	#6
Yukikaze Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 2,121 (1.25/day) Thanks: 213 Thanked 481 Times in 347 Posts System Specs	The effect will be under 5%, if it even exists. Much more powerful cards suffer tiny <5% loss of performance on an X8 link, so don't worry. __________________ Cameron: Core i7 2600K 4.5Ghz, MCR220, 2xMCR120, MCP655, ASRock P67 Extreme4, 4GB DDR3, 2xOCZ Vertex 30GB RAID0, GTX470, 2xHD5670, Modu82+ 625W, TT Xaser VI. Neuromancer: Core i7 975, DFI DK X58-T3eH6, 12GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL6-6-6-15-1T, 3x9600GSO 384MB, Hiper 880W, TT Xaser VI. Administrator of a 40 core Hadoop cluster.

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Jun 16, 2011, 11:11 AM	#7
WhiteLotus Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Plymouth, UK Posts: 4,798 (2.26/day) Thanks: 529 Thanked 856 Times in 682 Posts System Specs	So what's the point in having different slots?!? __________________ “Sorry but I cannot respond now, I am running a full virus scan on the internet.” -brandonwh64

Jun 16, 2011, 11:11 AM	#8
sapetto Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bulgaria Posts: 371 (0.20/day) Thanks: 98 Thanked 48 Times in 35 Posts System Specs	Why do you even need a sound card if you only play trine or Sins of the Solar empire No srsly you can just remove the sound card

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Jun 16, 2011, 11:12 AM	#9
95Viper Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: στο άλφα έως ωμέγα Posts: 3,838 (2.28/day) Thanks: 2,032 Thanked 1,416 Times in 1,115 Posts System Specs	Just some FYI... Quote from a Bit-Tech review: "Don't expect to run SLI or CrossFire in this motherboard though, because the second PCI-Express slot is only an x4, and it's bandwidth is just 2.5GT/s, not the faster 5.0GT/s of PCI-Express 2.0." The second PCIeX4 slot is shared with JMicron controller and the LAN controller, also. See block diagram in the manual on page 8. Info from Gigabytes website: 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) (Note 5) (The PCIEX16 slot conforms to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) (Note 6) (Note 5) For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. (Note 6) The PCIEX16 slot operates at up to x4 mode when ATI CrossFireX™ is enabled. But, as far as, your heat problem... I, believe, from looking at the pic, it is a case of incorrect/lack of/poor airflow. You need to seal up the gaps/slots, install an exhaust fan in the back of the case and an intake fan directed at the GPU on the side panel(if the panel allows). Looks like the CPU cooler took priority and is just blowing hot air around the case and on the back of the GPU. Just my observation from the pic. __________________ Heatware: 95viper TECHPOWERUP GEAR!

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Jun 16, 2011, 11:12 AM	#10
Red_Machine Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Marlow, ENGLAND Posts: 1,454 (1.51/day) Thanks: 149 Thanked 279 Times in 226 Posts System Specs	+1 ^^ __________________ Alienware M11x R1 Netbook: 1.3GHz Core2 Duo U7300 (OC'd to 1.7GHz) \| 8GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz \| nVIDIA GeForce GT 335M 1GB/Intel GMA 4500MHD Hyrbid Graphics System \| Western Digital Scorpio Black 500GB \| Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician \| CompTIA A+ Certified Heatware

Jun 16, 2011, 11:39 AM	#12
95Viper Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: στο άλφα έως ωμέγα Posts: 3,838 (2.28/day) Thanks: 2,032 Thanked 1,416 Times in 1,115 Posts System Specs	If you want another option... you could move it (the sound card) with a riser card or cable. "PCI 32X Riser adapter with Flex Cable" Risers @ Global America I in no way endorse or vouch for these stores. The links are for informational purposes only. __________________________________________________ ___________________________ Just my opinion, though, I would fix the air flow in the case. __________________ Heatware: 95viper TECHPOWERUP GEAR!

Jun 18, 2011, 07:18 PM	#14
aameghoo Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 35 (0.04/day) Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts System Specs	you really should see almost no performance loss, I had a thread awhile back where I was testing my x16/x4 MB to see how an addition 6950 in crossfire would be affected so I tested my card in both slots and benched and the results were very negligible, and that was with a flashed 6950 which I'm sure would use more bandwidth AND that was a x4 slot

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