PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0 query

[StevieP]

I've been toying with the idea of changing from my existing Vega 56 to a 5700 XT but I've noticed that the 5700 XT is listed as being "PCIe 4.0" and I'm pretty sure that my Gigabyte Aorus Elite B450 motherboard only has PCIe 3.0 !

From reading up it appears as though the performance difference is nominal but am I right in assuming that there is no physical difference between the two? (ie. a 5700 XT will still slot onto motherboard and work fine, albeit at PCIe 3.0 speeds?)

 

[Tetras]

There's no physical difference, yes.

 

[BUDFORCE]

Sorry to jump in, but does this mean PCI-E 4.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCI-E 3.0 boards?

I appreciate this is going back a bit but my current rig, my motherboard only supported PCI-E 2.0 cards and I had to flash the BIOS to put a PCI-E 3.0 card in.

 

[Joxeon]

Sorry to jump in, but does this mean PCI-E 4.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCI-E 3.0 boards?

Yeah, they work fine in pcie3 boards and with no loss of performance either.

Pcie gen 4 for gaming Gpus is more a marketing gimmick since none of them are even close to maxing out pcie gen 3 in games and only a couple max out gen 2.

 

[StevieP]

Thanks guys!

A further question arises then - would my Ryzen 5 2600 be a bottleneck if I were to upgrade to a 5700 XT GPU?

 

[Joxeon]

Thanks guys!

A further question arises then - would my Ryzen 5 2600 be a bottleneck if I were to upgrade to a 5700 XT GPU?

Maybe a bit if you play at 1080p but should be fine for anything higher.

 

[StevieP]

Maybe a bit if you play at 1080p but should be fine for anything higher.

I tend to game at 1440p so am thinking the 5700 XT might serve me a bit better than the Vega!