You may be wondering whether to hold off on buying a new graphics card while you upgrade the rest of your system. If you are considering upgrading, you may be able to save a little by selling your old graphics card.
Let's dig into whether you can keep using your old graphics card in your new system.
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Can I Use a PCIe 3.0 Graphics Card in a PCIe 4.0 Motherboard Slot?
An older PCIe 3.0 graphics card will work in a PCIe 4.0 motherboard slot at PCIe 3.0 speeds. Similarly, an old PCIe 2.0 graphics card will work in a PCIe 4.0 motherboard slot at PCIe 2.0 speeds.
For PCIe 4.0 graphics cards, maximum graphics throughput can only barely exceed that of PCIe 3.0. For this reason, the benefits of upgrading your graphics card to PCIe 4.0 will be minor. However, other differences between PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0 graphics cards could impact performance, unrelated to the PCI-Express version.
PCI-Express
versions are backward compatible, meaning that you can use a PCIe 4.0 graphics card or storage device on a PCIe 3.0 or PCIe 2.0 system. However, PCI-Express will use speeds based on the lowest of the two versions for communication. For example, if you use a PCIe 4.0 video card with a PCIe 3.0 system, the video card would be running at PCIe 3.0 speeds.
Reducing the PCIe version would halve the max potential bandwidth. However, you may not experience a performance impact if your device is not using the available bandwidth.
You can refer to the following table to determine the bandwidth limit and decide whether that is adequate for your needs.
| x1 Bandwidth | x2 Bandwidth | x4 Bandwidth | x8 Bandwidth | x16 Bandwidth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCIe 1.0 | 250 MB/s | 500 MB/s | 750 MB/s | 2 GB/s | 4 GB/s |
| PCIe 2.0 | 500 MB/s | 1000 MB/s | 2 GB/s | 4 GB/s | 8 GB/s |
| PCIe 3.0 | 1 GB/s | 2 GB/s | 4 GB/s | 8 GB/s | 16 GB/s |
| PCIe 4.0 | 2 GB/s | 4 GB/s | 8 GB/s | 16 GB/s | 32 GB/s |
| PCIe 5.0 | 4 GB/s | 8 GB/s | 16 GB/s | 32 GB/s | 63 GB/s |
| PCIe 6.0 | 8 GB/s | 16 GB/s | 32 GB/s | 63 GB/s | 126 GB/s |
PCIe versions are also forward compatible, meaning that you can use a newer PCIe device with an older system. Similarly, PCI-Express will use speeds based on the lowest of the two versions for communication.
Intel has released their PCIe 5.0 CPUs. Check out Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 5.0? and Is PCIe 5.0 Worth It? for details.
CPUs that support PCIe 5.0 also support PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0 devices.
Recommended PCIe 4.0 Nvidia GeForce GPUs
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC
- 8GB 256-bit GDDR6X Memory
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- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 OC
- 12GB 384-bit GDDR6X Memory
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- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC
- 8GB 256-bit GDDR6X Memory
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Is PCIe 4.0 Worth It for Gaming?
The performance improvement when upgrading graphics to PCIe 4.0 from PCIe 3.0 is currently pretty minor.
It is worth the upgrade to PCIe 4.0 for gaming if you:
- Want to get every bit of extra performance out of a PCIe 4.0 graphics card
- Want to future-proof your system
- Want to free up PCIe lanes for other devices
Check out the complete list of CPUs supporting PCIe 4.0 in Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?.
Check out the complete list of CPUs supporting PCIe 5.0 in Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 5.0?.
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Which Desktop Graphics Cards Support PCIe 4.0?
Both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards supporting PCI-Express 4.0 are available.
All graphics cards with Nvidia's GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs support PCIe 4.0.
AMD's Radeon RX 5000, RX 6000, and RX 7000 series GPUs all support PCIe 4.0.
List of GPUs That Support PCIe 4.0
Nvidia GPUs
|
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000 Series | GeForce RTX 4090, RTX 4080 |
|---|---|
|
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 Series | GeForce RTX 3060, RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070, RTX 3070 Ti, RTX 3080, RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 3090, RTX 3090 Ti |
|
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 Series | GeForce RTX 3050 |
|
Nvidia RTX Ax000 Series | RTX A2000, RTX A4000, RTX A5000, RTX A6000 |
|
Nvidia GeForce 20 Series | GeForce MX450, MX550, MX570 |
|
Nvidia GeForce 30 Series | GeForce RTX 3050, RTX 3050 Ti, RTX 3060, RTX 3070, RTX 3080 |
Find PCIe 4.0 Nvidia Graphics Cards on Amazon (affiliate link).
AMD GPUs
|
AMD Radeon RX 7000 Series | RX 7900 XT, RX 7900 XTX |
|---|---|
|
AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series | Radeon RX 6700 XT, RX 6750 XT, RX 6800, RX 6800 XT, RX 6900 XT, RX 6950 XT |
|
AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series | Radeon RX 6600, RX 6600 XT, 6650 XT |
|
AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series | Radeon RX 6400, RX 6500 XT |
|
AMD Radeon RX 5000 Series | Radeon RX 5600, RX 5600 XT, RX 5700, RX 5700 XT, RX 5700 XT 50th Anniv. Ed. |
|
AMD Radeon RX 5000 Series | Radeon RX 5300, RX 5300 XT, RX 5500, RX 5500 XT |
|
AMD Radeon Pro 5000M Series | Radeon Pro 5300M, Pro 5500M, Pro 5600M |
|
AMD Instinct Series | Radeon Instinct MI60, AMD Instinct MI100, AMD Instinct MI250, AMD Instinct MI250X |
Find PCIe 4.0 AMD Graphics Cards on Amazon (affiliate link).
Multiple PCIe Versions for CPU/Motherboard
Some CPUs and motherboards provide PCI-Express lanes at multiple PCIe versions. In these cases, you can choose which devices need the most bandwidth to decide which should be connected to the highest version PCIe lanes. While laying out your system, keep in mind that PCIe speeds will be based on the lowest PCIe version between the slot/port and the device.
Can I Use an x4 or x8 Card in an x16 PCIe Slot?
You can use PCIe cards of a lower lane width (e.g., x2, x4, or x8) in a higher lane width slot (e.g., x16).
PCI-Express will negotiate how many lanes will be used, and your card will work at its full speed, assuming the PCIe slot has the same or higher PCIe version.
Other Considerations When Building a PC
Want to brush up on other new technologies to consider when building a computer? Check out these articles:
- Cases:
- CPUs:
- Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 5.0?
- Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?
- LGA 1700 CPU List
- LGA 1200 CPU List
- Look up an Intel or AMD CPU on TechReviewer for related recommendations:
- Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 5.0?
- CPU Coolers:
- Storage:
- Memory:
- PCI-Express:
- Motherboards:
- Graphics Cards:
- Power Supplies:
- Keyboards:
- Monitors:
Learn More About PCI-Express
Want to brush up on the latest PCIe products, versions, and features? Check out the articles in this PCI-Express series:
- What is PCIe?, What is PCIe 5.0?, and What is PCIe 4.0?
- Is PCIe 5.0 Worth It? and Is PCIe 4.0 Worth It?
- Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 5.0?
- Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?
- Which Motherboards Support PCIe 5.0?
- Which Graphics Cards Support PCIe 4.0?
- How Fast is PCIe 5.0? and How Fast is PCIe 4.0?
- Is PCIe Backward Compatible?
- Can I Put a PCIe x4 or x8 Card in an x16 Slot?
- Can I Use a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD in a PCIe 3.0 Motherboard Slot?
- Can I Use a PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD in a PCIe 4.0 Motherboard Slot?
- Can I Use a PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card in a PCIe 3.0 Slot?
- Can I Use a PCIe 3.0 Graphics Card in a PCIe 4.0 Slot?
- What is the Latest Version of PCIe?
- PCI vs. AGP vs. PCIe? Time to Upgrade!