Nic88 wrote :
Quick question: will the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme X79 fully support PCI-E 3.0?
I might upgrade to a 3-SLI 680 configuration in the future.
Also, for PCI-E 3.0 will there be a difference between Ivy and Sandy-E? If yes, what will it be?
The R4E is PCIe 3.0 compatible, the original SB-E spec (was) PCIe 3.0 (8 GT/s), the AMD 7000 series runs PCIe 3.0 on the SB-E, currently nVidia has disabled PCIe 3.0 on the SB-E -- BUT there are registry modifications where it will run PCIe 3.0.
The IB 16 lanes of PCIe 3.0 vs SB-E 32 lanes of PCIe 3.0 on AMD & 32 lanes of PCIe 2.0 on nVidia. AFAIK the IB 'should' be validated PCIe 3.0 by nVidia and I hope to see the same on SB-E since (see below) it clearly can run PCIe 3.0.
This is a copy/paste from another similar post I replied to:
The issues:
1. Most LGA 2011 have some sort of BIOS PCIe 3.0 update, requiring an update:
X79 Extreme9 (BIOS version 2.0 is the latest, but no ref to PCIe 3.0 update) -
http://www.asrock.com/mb/download. [...] me9&o=BIOS
2. nVidia must validate PCIe 3.0 on SB-E. To date it's limited to PCIe 2.0:
"*GeForce GTX 680 supports PCI Express 3.0. The Intel X79/SNB-E PCI Express 2.0 platform is only currently supported up to 5GT/s (PCIE 2.0) bus speeds even though some motherboard manufacturers have enabled higher 8GT/s speeds."
The hack may or may not work...
Frankly, PCIe 2.0 vs PCIe 3.0 on today's GPU's does zip *, and with 2-WAY PCIe 2.0 x16/x16 on LGA 2011 is the same bandwidth as 2-WAY PCIe 3.0 x8/x8 on IB + LGA 1155 with GEN3 or Z77's. PCIe 3.0 becomes relevant once 4K Monitors became available to the 'Consumer' and in mass production, but by then it's going to be time to upgrade your PC & GPU(s).
PCIe 3.0 vs 2.0 -
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/for [...] ew-21.html
* EXTREME PCIe 3.0 vs 2.0 -
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx [...] print=true
Registry fix (hack) to force the GTX 680 to run in PCIe 3.0 mode; see -
http://*******.com/7awc9lv (RMPcieLinkSpeed, DWORD = 0004, etc).
The HD 7000 series does run in PCIe 3.0 mode on LGA 2011.
You may also want to read -
http://www.techpowerup.com/162942/ [...] stems.html
GeForce GTX 680 supports PCI Express 3.0. It operates properly within the SIG PCI Express Specification and has been validated on multiple upcoming PCI Express 3.0 platforms. Some motherboard manufacturers have released updated SBIOS to enable the Intel X79/SNB-E PCI Express 2.0 platform to run at up to 8GT/s bus speeds. NVIDIA is currently working to validate X79/SNB-E with GTX 680 at these speeds with the goal of enabling 8GT/s via a future software update. Until this validation is complete, the GTX 680 will operate at PCIE 2.0 speeds on X79/SNB-E-based motherboards with the latest web drivers.
Ivy Bridge and Z77 Chipset (Panther Point):
HD 7900 Series running PCIe 3.0 on SB-E:
GTX 600 Series running PCIe 3.0 on SB-E (fix applied):
Message edited by Jaquith on 04-24-2012 at 03:26:22 PM
but the whole decrease in asic has stumped me
