Both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards supporting PCI-Express 4.0 are available.
All graphics cards with Nvidia's GeForce RTX 30 and RTX 40 series GPUs support PCIe 4.0.
AMD's Radeon RX 5000, RX 6000, and RX 7000 series GPUs all support PCIe 4.0.
Nvidia GPUs
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000 Series | GeForce RTX 4090, RTX 4080, RTX 4070 Ti |
---|---|
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).
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC
- 8 GB 256-bit GDDR6X Memory
ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC Edition Check Price on Amazon Amazon Affiliate Link
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 OC
- 12 GB 384-bit GDDR6X Memory
ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 OC Edition Gaming Graphics Card Check Price on Amazon Amazon Affiliate Link
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC
- 8 GB 256-bit GDDR6X Memory
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC 8G Graphics Card Check Price on Amazon Amazon Affiliate Link
Bandwidth
The key benefit of upgrading to PCI-Express 4.0 is the increased bandwidth. Each version of PCIe roughly doubles the bandwidth available per lane.
PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 4.0 | |
---|---|---|
x1 Bandwidth | 1 GB/s | 2 GB/s |
x2 Bandwidth | 2 GB/s | 4 GB/s |
x4 Bandwidth | 4 GB/s | 8 GB/s |
x8 Bandwidth | 8 GB/s | 16 GB/s |
x16 Bandwidth | 16 GB/s | 32 GB/s |
Any devices which were designed for PCIe 4.0 can benefit from the increase in available bandwidth.
Devices designed for PCIe 4.0 could mean faster storage speeds (video and game loading) and faster graphics (video games and rendering).
However, some devices may not even be reaching the limits of PCIe 3.0 yet. The low bandwidth usage by some devices means that it's only necessary to upgrade if:
- You are using the latest and fastest storage devices and video cards, which make use of the PCIe 4.0 lanes.
- You want to free up PCIe lanes by using PCIe 4.0 devices, which won't need as many lanes for the same bandwidth.
- You want to future-proof your system.
Storage
The component which can benefit the most from PCIe 4.0 is NVMe storage. The latest top-performing NVMe SDD and add-in card (AIC) storage devices can benefit from both the higher throughput and the throughput available per lane.
Lanes
With each PCIe version doubling the bandwidth per lane, newer devices can reduce the number of needed lanes. For example, if even the top tier of graphics cards no longer need the full 16 lanes to meet their needs, they can use 8 or fewer lanes. By using fewer lanes, it frees up more lanes for other devices. Using fewer lanes is important because CPUs provide a limited number of lanes, which need to be distributed among the devices.
The same is valid for storage. If your storage devices no longer need as many lanes, PCIe add-in card (AIC) adapters can connect more NVMe M.2 SSDs.
For networking, a single lane could now provide enough bandwidth for 10 Gbps Ethernet.
Future-Proofing
If you are building a new system, it may make sense to do the upgrade to 4.0. In particular, future graphics cards and storage devices may further take advantage of this available bandwidth. In this case, you might consider how long you plan to use this computer. For example, will you upgrade your storage and graphics card over the next few years or wait to replace the entire system?
It is worth the upgrade to PCIe 4.0 for gaming if you:
- Use the fastest NVMe storage devices for loading games, which will make use of the speed
- Have a PCIe 4.0 graphics card, which may see a slight performance improvement
- 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?.
The latest available version of PCI-Express is PCIe 5.0. PCIe 5.0 CPUs are available from Intel and AMD.
Intel's 12th and 13th generation Core CPUs currently provide PCIe 5.0 support for CPU lanes (i.e., one x16 or two x8 PCIe slots) and PCIe 4.0/3.0 speeds for the remaining lanes.
AMD's Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs are their first to support PCIe 5.0.
PCIe versions such as 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 are sometimes informally referred to as PCIe Gen 3, PCIe Gen 4, and PCIe Gen 5. This naming is based on them being the third, fourth, and fifth generations of PCI-Express.
PCIe 5.0 graphics cards and storage devices are not currently on the market.
Learn more in my PCI-Express article.
Most of AMD's Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series, Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series, and Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3000 series processors support PCIe 4.0. Intel's 11th generation processors, code-named "Rocket Lake," support PCIe 4.0.
Intel's 12th and 13th generation Core processors, code-named "Alder Lake" and "Raptor Lake," support PCIe 5.0. Intel 12th and 13th Gen Core CPUs use an LGA 1700 socket.
AMD Ryzen 7000 processors, released in Q4 2022, also support PCIe 5.0. AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs use an AM5 socket.
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?.
Want to brush up on other new technologies to consider when building a computer? Check out these articles:
- Cases:
- CPUs:
- The Best CPUs for Gaming
- 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:
- The Best CPUs for Gaming
- CPU Coolers:
- Storage:
- Memory:
- PCI-Express:
- Motherboards:
- Graphics Cards:
- Power Supplies:
- Keyboards:
- Monitors:
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