Likely not in any noticeable way. I believe the only time you might hit PCIe 3.0 limits is if you are doing GPU Compute workloads with huge datasets, and even then it's usually between GPU and VRAM. I believe in gaming loads, even SLI/Crossfire, running in 8x vs. 16x was only about a 5-10% hit at most per single GPU. Gaming loads don't tend to have much need for PCIe bandwidth, at least until we get into the SSD-GPU direct transfers that will be coming soon to most game engines (I hope! Don't quote me on this, just my experience).
Yes the bandwidth of 4x 4.0 is equal to 8x 3.0 but since the card has only 4 physical lanes, if you run it at 3.0 it will run at 4x 3.0 which drastically reduces the performance of that card... even though its a low end card.
> 4x 3.0 which drastically reduces the performance of that card... even though its a low end card.
The *drastic* impact is on games + settings which stress the 4 GB memory capacity of that card. Reducing the settings a bit will yield performance that's not too greatly affected by PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0.
BTW, AMD's mid-range cards have a potentially similar issue, due to being x8. You have to go to the RX 6800 for full x16 connectivity.
For lower end GPUs 4.0 x4 is a better choice because it lets them go into laptops with mainstream Intel CPUs that have a small number of available PCIe lanes.
Nothing says you have to *use* all of the lanes a GPU offers. Their decision to offer only x4 was about reducing the footprint of their PCIe controller, in terms of die area.
AMD was really trying to make the RX 6400 and RX 6500 XT as cheap as possible. It's as simple as that. This could make them *very* affordable, depending on just how badly the dGPU market crashes.
RX 6400 and RX 6500 XT are basically laptop GPUs. They don't even have certain video decoders, because it's assumed that the APU already has that decoder.
> Does running at PCIe gen 3 even impact current gen cards?
Depends. As mentioned below, some cards are only x4. Others are just x8, such as AMD's RX 6600 and 6700 tier.
However, even the high-end x16 cards do show some sensitivity to PCIe speeds. Tech Powerup periodically does PCIe Scaling benchmarks, which are impressively comprehensive in the breadth of games and settings they cover. Unfortunately, the last time they looked at a high-end card, it was only a RTX 3080 and used a Ryzen 9 3900XT. A faster CPU + GPU should encounter greater PCIe bottlenecks. Even so, some of the outliers in their testing indeed show significant gains from PCIe 4.0. So, at the high end, it really comes down to the susceptibility of a particular game to PCIe bottlenecks.
Why are the requiring a receipt and limiting it to certain retailers? Shouldn't the fact that you poses a defective motherboard that they built be sufficient to qualify you for the replacement?
One way or another you are covered, at least if you live in Europe. If it was sold as part of a PC then the retailer is liable not just for the motherboard but for the labour in replacing it. Gigabyte should then be reimbursing the retailer.
This is pretty terrible, I have this board and was hoping for a BIOS fix. Unfortunately, looks like it's a hardware issue. Now, I have to dig up the receipt somewhere.
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Samus - Monday, May 16, 2022 - link
Does running at PCIe gen 3 even impact current gen cards?Drkrieger01 - Monday, May 16, 2022 - link
Likely not in any noticeable way. I believe the only time you might hit PCIe 3.0 limits is if you are doing GPU Compute workloads with huge datasets, and even then it's usually between GPU and VRAM. I believe in gaming loads, even SLI/Crossfire, running in 8x vs. 16x was only about a 5-10% hit at most per single GPU. Gaming loads don't tend to have much need for PCIe bandwidth, at least until we get into the SSD-GPU direct transfers that will be coming soon to most game engines (I hope! Don't quote me on this, just my experience).meacupla - Monday, May 16, 2022 - link
Yes it doesbut only the RX 6400 and RX 6500XT, which only have a x4 connection, and thus require the PCIe 4.0 to get the most performance out of it.
Samus - Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - link
Oh wow thats interesting they went with PCIe 4.0 x4, isn't that equal to PCIe 3.0 x8?TheWereCat - Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - link
Yes the bandwidth of 4x 4.0 is equal to 8x 3.0 but since the card has only 4 physical lanes, if you run it at 3.0 it will run at 4x 3.0 which drastically reduces the performance of that card... even though its a low end card.mode_13h - Thursday, May 19, 2022 - link
> 4x 3.0 which drastically reduces the performance of that card... even though its a low end card.The *drastic* impact is on games + settings which stress the 4 GB memory capacity of that card. Reducing the settings a bit will yield performance that's not too greatly affected by PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0.
BTW, AMD's mid-range cards have a potentially similar issue, due to being x8. You have to go to the RX 6800 for full x16 connectivity.
DanNeely - Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - link
For lower end GPUs 4.0 x4 is a better choice because it lets them go into laptops with mainstream Intel CPUs that have a small number of available PCIe lanes.mode_13h - Thursday, May 19, 2022 - link
Nothing says you have to *use* all of the lanes a GPU offers. Their decision to offer only x4 was about reducing the footprint of their PCIe controller, in terms of die area.AMD was really trying to make the RX 6400 and RX 6500 XT as cheap as possible. It's as simple as that. This could make them *very* affordable, depending on just how badly the dGPU market crashes.
meacupla - Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - link
RX 6400 and RX 6500 XT are basically laptop GPUs.They don't even have certain video decoders, because it's assumed that the APU already has that decoder.
mode_13h - Thursday, May 19, 2022 - link
> Does running at PCIe gen 3 even impact current gen cards?Depends. As mentioned below, some cards are only x4. Others are just x8, such as AMD's RX 6600 and 6700 tier.
However, even the high-end x16 cards do show some sensitivity to PCIe speeds. Tech Powerup periodically does PCIe Scaling benchmarks, which are impressively comprehensive in the breadth of games and settings they cover. Unfortunately, the last time they looked at a high-end card, it was only a RTX 3080 and used a Ryzen 9 3900XT. A faster CPU + GPU should encounter greater PCIe bottlenecks. Even so, some of the outliers in their testing indeed show significant gains from PCIe 4.0. So, at the high end, it really comes down to the susceptibility of a particular game to PCIe bottlenecks.
meacupla - Monday, May 16, 2022 - link
Well, at least this mobo doesn't catch fire, unlike 2021 products.nfriedly - Monday, May 16, 2022 - link
Why are the requiring a receipt and limiting it to certain retailers? Shouldn't the fact that you poses a defective motherboard that they built be sufficient to qualify you for the replacement?EnFission - Monday, May 16, 2022 - link
With the exception of policies like XFX's old double lifetime warranty program, RMAs have pretty much always been limited to the original purchaser.BedfordTim - Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - link
One way or another you are covered, at least if you live in Europe.If it was sold as part of a PC then the retailer is liable not just for the motherboard but for the labour in replacing it. Gigabyte should then be reimbursing the retailer.
sonny73n - Monday, May 16, 2022 - link
Most available GPUs on Newegg are Gigabyte's while demand is still high. Go figure.deepblue08 - Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - link
This is pretty terrible, I have this board and was hoping for a BIOS fix. Unfortunately, looks like it's a hardware issue. Now, I have to dig up the receipt somewhere.