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I understand that PCI Express 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCI Express 1.0 slots, so I know that those cards will at least function on my motherboard, but perhaps at a lesser speed.

My question is whether that means that there would not be a reason to get a high-end 2.0 card, and should instead opt for a mid-range one. Is there a decent way to determine whether the video card I'm looking at will be significantly hampered by being in a PCI Express 1.0 slot?

The specifics:

  • Motherboard: ASUS M2N SLI Deluxe
  • Video Card I'm thinking of getting: Radeon HD 6850
  • Current video card is GeForce NVIDIA 8800 GT
  • Current CPU is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+, which I'm also considering upgrading.
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More info needed. What are you using the computer for would at least help. For all we know, it could be your space heater. In that case, a 2.0 card would probably produce more heat. . . – surfasb Sep 24 '11 at 2:02
The upgrade is for gaming. Computer works fine, but I've experienced some crashes during Portal 2 and Civ 5 that I think are video card related, and I'm also interested in beefing things up for newer games (Deus Ex, Skyrim). – Moskie Sep 29 '11 at 0:25
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