# Need help in determining which processor for PCI express 3.0 comaptibility



## prabinpebam (Aug 26, 2012)

I'm planning to order the following items from Flipkart to assemble my new PC.
The prices indicated are what Flipkart is offering. I've already checked with some local shops
and in fact Flipkart is offering a pretty good deal in terms of prices and availability of the exact model I want.

Motherboard - Intel DX79TO Motherboard - Rs. 13801
Processor - Intel Core i7 3820 Processor - Rs. 18656
Graphics Card - Zotac NVIDIA GTX660 Ti 2GB AMP! Edition (PCI express 3.0) - Rs. 25826
Ram - G.Skill RipjawsX 8 GB RAM 1600 - Rs. 3996
Internal Hard Drive - WD Caviar Green 2 TB HDD Internal Hard Drive - 6 GBps - Rs. 6344
Cabinet - Corsair 400R Mid Tower Cabinet - Rs. 5869
Psu - Cooler Master Extreme II 625 Watts PSU - Rs. 4468

I've the following doubt.

The specified Motherboard supports 2 PCI express 3.0 slots for Nvidia SLI or ATI crossfire.
The graphics card I've chosen also supports PCI express 3.0
But the spec of the intel i7 3820 says that the PCI express revision is 2.0.
Does that mean my motherboard and graphics card won't be exploiting the PCI express 3.0 capabilities
until the processor is upgraded to a PCI express revision 3.0?

Non of the i7 processors compatible with this board supports PCI express 3.0 revision.
Only the Xeon processors (all of them cost around Rs. 60,000/-) supports PCI express 3.0.

Seems like my only option is to wait for them to get cheaper.


My plan is to buy a second graphics card of the the same make and model as soon as I can afford and exploit the SLI technology.
If there is any other problem you notice in the configuration, kindly let me know.

Thanks.


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## topgear (Aug 27, 2012)

Core i7 3820 is a SB-E cpu - so does not support pc-e 3.0 - pci-e 3.0 support only available with Intel IB cpus  - that's what the official infos on Intel's website look like but

the truth is core i7 3820 does support pci-e 3.0 but at the time of their release there's not a single pci-e 3.0 gfx card so Intel did not mentioned it - now if you need pc-e 3.0 support youi may need to update the bios or set prper settings under bios option and it works ok with AMD gpus - for Nvidia gpus you may need to apply a registry fix though.


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## prabinpebam (Aug 27, 2012)

Thanks a ton for the reply topgear.
Now you've given me some hope. I've done some research after your feedback and still unable to find how exactly I go about fixing the registry.
It would be awesome if you can share any site with the instructions if you are aware of any.

I got the following from Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Family - LGA-2011 Socket Datasheet, Vol. 1
Intel® Core? i7 Processor Family - LGA-2011 Socket Datasheet, Vol 1

- Support for PCI Express* 2.0 (5.0 GT/s), PCI Express* (2.5 GT/s), and capable of
up to PCI Express* 8.0 GT/s.
- Up to 40 lanes of PCI Express* interconnect for general purpose PCI Express
devices capable of up to 8.0 GT/s speeds that are configurable for up to 10
independent ports.

So, it does support upto 8.0 GT/s but they are careful not to use PCI express revision 3.0

I'll continue my research. Any additional help would be immensely welcomed.

Thank you.

******************************************************************
Results from my further research
******************************************************************

I did a lot of reading on this topic and I'm summarising my conclusion below just in case someone else faces the same problem and wants an answer. 

It's indeed possible to use a registry hack to enable pci express 3.0 in SB-E CPUs.
As I was doing my research on this topic, there were different stages where initially I thought this won't work after reading so many comments on how it will not work.
But I assure you, I've done enough reading and found so many people who are actually using this registry hack to achieve PCI express 3.0 on a Sandy Bridge - E CPU.
Most people who are saying it won't work are just speculating without trying it out themselves.

Overall, the situation seems like this.
Intel developed SB-E CPUs with 8.0 GT/s capabilities which is PCI express 3.0 spec.
Somehow they are not officially declaring it as PCI express 3.0 for God knows what. Some say it's a marketing thing to sell the New Ivy Bridge CPUs. Some say it's still got problem working in that spec.
Nvidia also decided to not support PCI express 3.0 for the SB-E as intel itself is not certifying the SB-E CPUs for PCI E 3.0. Some certified developer from Nvidia claims it's a genuine problem and Nvidia is trying to resolve it.

Whatever the reason, there are enough people out there using the hack successfully.
The only thing is that you can't blame neither Nvidia nor intel if it's not working that good.


Other things to note are:
Bechmark softwares like "3DMark11" and "Unigine Heaven" are reported to perform sluggish after the hack. But that doesn't mean that the performance is decreased.
You can read from this link to get more detail on the actual experience of one guy who's using it.
*www.evga.com/forums/fb.ashx?m=1608533




Here's the registry hack to enable PCI-E 3.0 using the REGEDIT function within the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system from the link below.
*www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?&m=1607292&mpage=1

I'ven't tested it myself but I'm pretty convinced it works.

These are instructions on how to enable PCI-E 3.0 using the REGEDIT function within the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system: 

Hardware requirements in order for these directions to work properly: 

Motherboard is PCI-E 3.0 hardware certified 
Graphics card (NVidia or AMD) is PCI-E 3.0 hardware certified (currently, NVidia 600 series cards and AMD 7000 series cards are PCI-E 3.0 hardware certified)

NOTE: I highly recommend you ensure the motherboard is updated to the most current BIOS version and that PCI-E 3.0 (GEN 3) is enabled within the motherboard BIOS settings. 

CRITICAL!! Back up your registry before proceeding! This will ensure that you can restore your registry should you enter an invalid value or conduct one of the steps incorrectly. 

Step 1: Update your graphics drivers to the latest version (doesn't matter if you use the WHQL or beta version) and restart your computer. 

Step 2: Download the latest version of GPU-Z: 
*www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/ 

Step 3: Run GPU-Z and verify that the “Graphics Bus interface” value shows PCI-E 2.0 for each card 

Step 4: Disable SLI -or- Crossfire (if enabled). If SLI -or- Crossfire are not enabled, skip to Step 5 

Step 5: Click on the Windows button (located on the lower left corner of the start bar) 

Step 6: In the search index entry window, type in “Regedit” (the Registry Editor window will open) 

Step 7: Select the following registry: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Video 

Step 8: Identify the correct registry folders for each of graphics cards you have installed. There will be one associated folder for each card installed. To identify the correct folder for each card, you will need to review the names of each folder within the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ CurrentControlSet/ Control/Video” registry directory. The folder associated with a graphics card will have three or more subfolders (depending on how many PCI-E slots available on the motherboard). The values listed for each subfolder will be 0000, 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, and Video. Review only the subfolders labeled as "0000". You will know you have selected the correct "0000" subfolder when you see a registry labeled “DriverDesc” with a value that matches the graphics card you have installed. Example, the value in my “DriverDesc” registry value reads “NVIDIA Geforce GTX 680”. 

Step 9: Right click on the folder labeled “0000”. Select “New”, then select “DWORD (32-bit) Value“, then enter “RMPcieLinkSpeed” for the name of the registry. 

Step 10: Right click the “RMPcieLinkSpeed” registry you just created, then select “Modify”, then enter “4” as the data value and verify that the “Hexadecimal” option is checked under “Base”, and then select “OK”. 

Step 11: Repeat steps 9 and 10 for each graphics card associated folder (named “0000”) 

Step 12: Once you have completed creating the RMPcieLinkSpeed registry for each card, close the Registry Editor window and restart your computer. 

Step 13: Once your system is back into Windows 7 operating system environment, run GPU-Z and verify that the “Graphics Bus interface” value shows PCI-E 3.0 for each card. 

Step 14: Re-enable SLI -or- Crossfire as needed. 

CONGRATULATIONS!! PCI-E 3.0 is now fully enabled within Windows 7 

*UPDATE*  Please note that if you update your graphics drivers, this registry hack will be undone and PCI-E 2.0 will be enabled again.  Due to this issue, I added a step at the very beginning of these instructions to have you update the graphics drivers BEFORE doing the registry hack.  Hopefully, this will save you a bit of time and hassle.


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## akky89 (Aug 27, 2012)

*@prabinpebam*
dude if i'm not wrong you want to enable pci 3.0 'cause you want to run gtx660ti without any bottleneck.
now i have 2 things i want to say..
1. pci 2.0 do not bottleneck gtx 660ti not even gtx 680. 
2. if you are going to use this build for gaming then cut some cash out buy using i3-3570k and z77 mobo and spend that extra 
   on the graphics it will improve the overall performance of the system and then you also don't have to worry about pci 3.0 cause 
   these boards natively supports pci 3.0.


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## topgear (Aug 28, 2012)

@ prabinpebam - nice re-search work there


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## prabinpebam (Aug 28, 2012)

akky89 said:


> *@prabinpebam*
> dude if i'm not wrong you want to enable pci 3.0 'cause you want to run gtx660ti without any bottleneck.
> now i have 2 things i want to say..
> 1. pci 2.0 do not bottleneck gtx 660ti not even gtx 680.
> ...



Hi Akky,
Thanks for the suggestion. I realized your point and have already reconfigured the spec.
I'm going for Asus Maximus V Gene (Z77 chipset) for the Motherboard and intel i7-3770 for the CPU.
Though that increase the cost by another Rs. 4000/-
But I'm senselessly greedy when it comes to these things and Flipkart is giving me a good emi deal.

I'm not just looking to make the GTX 660 ti work without a bottleneck.
In most likelihood, I'll upgrade my graphics card sometime in future and I want my CPU and motherboard to be ready to handle that.

Thanks a lot.


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## prabinpebam (Aug 28, 2012)

topgear said:


> @ prabinpebam - nice re-search work there



All thanks to the initial feedback I got from you. Otherwise I was lost.


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## akky89 (Aug 28, 2012)

*@prabinpebam*
nice choice with the mobo.. i am going for the same mobo next month with 3570k

and current gen top of the line gfx don't/barely get bottleneck by pcie 2.0 x8 (at least without sli/cfx one)
if you are thinking of a setup with top of the line gfx in sli/cfx then only you need pcie 3.0 other wise with one card there is no performance gain from pcie 2.0 to pcie 3.0

but ya thinking of future proofing is not a bad idea either...


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## mandarpalshikar (Aug 28, 2012)

MVG - Gr8 choice


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## akky89 (Aug 28, 2012)

actually *mandarpalshikar* talked me into buying MVG for my new build....


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## topgear (Aug 29, 2012)

prabinpebam said:


> Hi Akky,
> Thanks for the suggestion. I realized your point and have already reconfigured the spec.
> I'm going for Asus Maximus V Gene (Z77 chipset) for the Motherboard and intel i7-3770 for the CPU.
> Though that increase the cost by another Rs. 4000/-
> ...



I can smell a GTX 660 Ti SLI setup 



prabinpebam said:


> All thanks to the initial feedback I got from you. Otherwise I was lost.



you are welcome.


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## prabinpebam (Aug 29, 2012)

mandarpalshikar said:


> MVG - Gr8 choice


I feel so reassured that you guys aprove of this motherboard so much.
Thanks.



topgear said:


> I can smell a GTX 660 Ti SLI setup
> 
> 
> you are welcome.



You got it right *topgear*, the next thing is a GTX 660 Ti SLI setup.
It's been my childhood dream, Hmmm...... not actually childhood but my college days dream to own a SLI setup. 
Now, I've finally ordered it and can't wait to assemble it myself.

Another torture I'm going through is that Flipkart is sending all the parts as separate courier as they come from different warehouses. They are going to reach me one by one separately over a course of 4 to 5 days. Imagine having the Graphics card in hand and waiting for the motherboard to arrive for another five days. The horror... 

Anyway, the wait will be worth it.


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## akky89 (Aug 29, 2012)

prabinpebam said:


> Another torture I'm going through is that Flipkart is sending all the parts as separate courier as they come from different warehouses. They are going to reach me one by one separately over a course of 4 to 5 days. Imagine having the Graphics card in hand and waiting for the motherboard to arrive for another five days. The horror...
> 
> Anyway, the wait will be worth it.



first of all best of luck with the setup..
ya i can tell... cause i'm very impatient so this wait usually kills me...
and ya the wait will be worth more then you imagine 

do tell about the performance of the setup


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## topgear (Aug 30, 2012)

prabinpebam said:


> I feel so reassured that you guys aprove of this motherboard so much.
> Thanks.
> 
> 
> ...



they may send you all the package in a single day - recently saw this happening.


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## prabinpebam (Sep 9, 2012)

Hi guys, finally got the system and assembled it. I've posted it here My new system


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