The current technical documentation of the DZ68BC only lists PCI-E 2.0 as supported (but they are also not updated for Ivy Bridge CPUs yet..). Other motherboard vendors claim explicitly that their mobo's have special PCI-E 3.0 quick switch ICs to support the PCI-E 3.0 interface of the i5-3xxx and i7-3xxx. Intel does however state that their DZ77GA-70K board supports PCI-E 3.0. If you compare both Block Diagrams it seems that the DZ77GA-70K has a PCI-Express switch and the DZ68BC doesn't.
I would be carefull and assume that the DZ68BC doesn't support PCI-E 3.0 until Intel explicitly states this in the technical docs.
I was thinking same thing, even tho the option is open in a way, i asked in a forum and someone explained that technicaly it is very much capable but added that probubly only one slot would be PCI-E 3.0 capable, and yet again is that hou the PCI-E 3.0 lanes in the Ivy bridge are with one card operates at full x16 with two cards x8, x8 with three cards x8, x4, x4. wich is kinda same as what he was saying, in a way he says most boards with Ivy Bridge will support PCI-E 3.0 even without switches by a BIOS update that will also let the RAM DIMMS operate at 1600mhz as standard if using Ivy Bridge
Can Intel representative please answer this question.
I found this clip on you tube and it points out that Intel DZ68BC Supports PCI-E 3.0
i still need a solid answer to this question.
What if i use only the first PCI-E slot on the motherboard while running Ivy Bridge CPU will the slot operate at full 3.0 if a 3.0 device is installed? My answer i say yes it will tho i haven't tried.
From many explanations the PCIE 3.0 switches are mostly if running in sli or cross fire so that the other slot can get high bandwidth too, but what if you only use one PCI E slot then i guess it should run in 3.0 x16 mode....?
No switches needed i have proof
I remember starting a thread several months ago before Ivy Bridge was released here
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=163772
I'm happy to inform all of you that i don't think the switches are needed as i originally suspected.
I have Intel Desktop Board DZ68BC Extreme series
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/...rd-dz68bc.html
which is not stated or indicated by Intel to run PCI-E 3.0, but it does and i have proof of it, apparently all i needed was as i stated in the original thread, I only needed an Ivy Bridge processor and a PCI-E 3.0 capable device
I got the processor Core i7-3770 back in July 10th 2012
And my PCI-E 3.0 capable graphics card EVGA GTX 670 FTW 2GB on October 22nd 2012
The GPU operates @ PCI-E 3.0, all that was needed are the PCI-E 3.0 lanes from the Ivy Bridge processor.
Man I'm really happy that you are able to run your graphic card at PCI-E Gen 3. However, I have the DX79SI mobo & it clearly states that it supports the PCI-E 3.0. So I bought it with the Gigabyte 680 SOC
As for the the VGA card running in PCI 3.0 mode it should run without a hitch. The VGA specs clearly states that they are PCI Gen 3.0 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125437, so does the MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121534&Tpk=dx79si
I wonder why the GPUZ reports that it is running in PCI 2.0, that is so weird.
dx79si its fully 3.0 pcie but your cpu (all Sandy bridge-E) simply cannot enable this function and limit the pcieexpress socket to 2.0, you need a new "Ivy-E" cpu. There are no performance boost from 2.0 to 3.0 with all vga cards already released this year.
It x79 can ran PCI-E 3.0 with Sandy bridge E
Here try this for the x79
techPowerUp! - The latest in hardware and gaming
Vega's *Heavyweight* display and computer; edition 2012
x79 works check the GPU-Z screen shots on the overclock.net link above.
Hey Stephen,
I saw your rig & all I can say is WOW
Just so you'd know I downloaded the file you told me about & now the VGA is working in PCI-E Gen 3
Thanks a lot man. However, I do have a couple of questions.
*Upon operating in PCI-E 3.0 the card utilization dropped from peak to 60~70%. I might sound a little dull but which is better??
* I have a Gigabyte GTX 470 SOC Newegg.com - GIGABYTE Super Overclock Series GV-N470SO-13I GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
would you advise me to use this card as a dedicated PhysX card? Surely No SLI or there is no need?
Thank you for the complement.
It's nice to see that you got it all working. About the dedicated physX card it is not necessary at all the performance gain is negligible, you are better off selling the card or using it in another rig, plus not a lot of games use physX, so it would be unnecessary power draw from your PSU if you add it. The GTX680 can handle physX very well on its own actually it is said that Geforce 600 series Kepler based GPUs have their own inbuilt dedicated way of handling physX no extra card is needed. Even the previous gen cards geforce 500, 400, 300, 200, 9 & 8 series could handle physX by them selves but they used to safer some performance hit that's why people got dedicated physics cards back with those cards, note it was only feasible for people running cards lower than mid range to get a physX card.
Currently no need to use a dedicated physX card with your GTX680, you are better of selling the GTX470 then add some money and get a second GTX680 for a proper SLI configuration and you will get overall increased performance well above 70% increase in performance.
Check out this thread it will helpful The Dedicated PhysX card FAQ - Read this before asking any questions! - techPowerUp! Forums
