Do current PCI Express 2.0 video cards perform better than comparable PCI Express x16 cards?

I just got an Asus P5E3 Deluxe motherboard (with wifi) and I'm trying to decide on a video card; preferably something in the GeForce 8800 series.



Right now I'm looking at an EVGA 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit card, which is not PCI-E 2.0, just PCI-E x16. From what I've seen, the cards with the PCI-E 2.0 interface don't have specs as good as many of the PCI-E x16 cards.



Am I better off going with a faster PCI-E x16 video card rather than a card with the newer PCI-E 2.0 interface (even though my motherboard supports 2.0)? Not only do the cards with the 2.0 interface have lower specs, but they are more expensive. Is this just because it's new technology, or is there a noticeable difference in performance?|||a faster PCI-E X16 card will be faster than a PCI-E 2.0 card with lower specs, but many PCI-E 2.0 cards are cheaper than the 8800 GTS 640 (like the 8800 GT) and are more powerful.|||PCI-E 2.0 was for the most part a change in the signaling method to allow for higher data transfer rates on the PCI-E bus.



For video cards for example, this allows SLI and Crossfire configurations to take advantage of two 16x PCI-E slots that can now, with PCI-E 2.0, actually run in full 16x mode. With PCI-E 1.1, when SLI or Crossfire technology was enabled, both 16x plugs would be reduced to 8x speed. PCI-E 2.0 has removed this barrier, and also allows all other PCI-E 2.0 ports (1x, 4x, 8x, and 16x) to attain speeds up to double the speeds achieved in PCI-E 1.1.



To read more about PCI-E 2.0 you can go here:

http://www.pcisig.com/news_room/faqs/pcie2.0_faq/



At current however, there is no video card or video cards that truly take advantage of the bandwidth PCI-E 2.0 makes available. However I can explain the price difference to you when it comes to the older PCI-E 1.1 cards, and the newer PCI-E 2.0 cards I believe.



Most of NVidia's older 8xxx series cards that use the old PCI-E 1.1 slot are based on the G80 or variations of the G80 graphics chips. The G80 is multiple times the size of the new G92 chips, runs hotter than the new G92 chips, and is also more expensive to produce than the G92 chips. With the switch to the new G92 chips, most NVidia products also made a switch to the PCI-E 2.0 bus in preparation for future hardware. In this case, you could call the G80 chips the stepping stones from which the G92 chips were created.



By only looking at specs (I'm guessing you're refering to clock speeds, memory speeds, pipeline counts, etc), you're missing half of the picture. I'd suggest you also look at the results (benchmarks, power consumption tests, noise tests, etc) before making your decision.



I would suggest checking with Tom's Hardware Guide and Anandtech for these reviews, they've never let me down yet:

http://www.tomshardware.com/us/

http://www.anandtech.com/



The EVGA 8800GTS 640MB card that you are looking at is based off of the older G80 chipset (I have one myself, I was one of the early adopters), however this card has since fell by the wayside of superior G92 based cards which both out perform it, and are cheaper or equal to it in price. For example, the Geforce 8800GT 512MB, the Geforce 8800GTS 512MB, and if you're willing to spend another 100 dollars or so, the Geforce 9800GTX 512MB.



To answer your question, no, these cards do not perform faster because of PCI-E 2.0. They perform faster because they are actually superior hardware. There aren't currently any cards that truly make use of the bandwidth made available to them by PCI-E 2.0.



As for price:

EVGA Geforce 9800GTX 512MB PCI-E 2.0 - $330

EVGA Geforce 8800GTS 512MB PCI-E 2.0 - $260

* EVGA Geforce 8800GTS 640MB PCI-E 1.1 - $230

EVGA Geforce 8800GT 512MB PCI-E 2.0 - $210



* The card you are considering.



(All prices were grabbed from the lowest costing EVGA cards of each type on Newegg.com.)



Considering how much the cards above cost, and by how much they out perform the card you're considering, the card you're suggesting is actually the expensive one.



I wish you good luck and happy shopping!|||atm theres no difference between 2.0 and regular however dont get the 8800gts 640mb. even the 8800GT beats the 8800gts 640. if you want the 8800GTS get teh 512mb (g92) dont get the 320 or 640 as they are not good at all.