| True Gen3 v.s. Fake Gen3 |
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Motherboards supporting the latest PCI-E Gen3 motherboards are arriving thick and fast at the moment. Choosing a new motherboard is quite a commitment. With dozens of PCI-E 3.0 motherboards flooding the market, how to buy a mobo that buy into the merits is a critical task. Since ASRock has unveiled several TRUE PCI-E Gen3 motherboards based on Intel Z68 and P67 chipsets, you don’t have to spend a fortune to pick up PCI-E 3.0 motherboard anymore. To enjoy the TRUE PCI-E 3.0 performance, PC requires next generation Intel 22nm processor, PCI-E 3.0 VGA card and PCI-E 3.0 motherboard. What will PCI-E 3.0 mainboards have to offer and how are they going to work? Taken reference to ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 and GA Z68X-XX3H-B3, you will see the difference between two boards. |
Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 |
GA Z68X-XX3H-B3 |
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| In the shape of ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, PCI-E 3.0 lanes (x8) are directly supplied from next generation Intel 22nm processor to PCI-E Gen3 slot A while other PCI-E 3.0 lanes (x8) are linked to PCI-E Gen3 Quick Switch IC. Through the PCI-E Gen3 Quick Switch IC, ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 mobo can provide PCI-E 3.0 X16 bandwidth on PCI-E Gen3 slot A when single PCI-E 3.0 VGA card is installed; or PCI-E 3.0 X8/X8 bandwidth on PCI-E Gen3 slot A and B when dual VGA cards are installed. | In terms of GA Z68 Motherboard, PCIE-3.0 lanes are sourced from next generation Intel 22nm processor to PCI-E slots via Quick Switch IC. It is interesting to note that this board is equipped with PCI-E Gen2 Quick Switch IC, so the bandwidth wil be limited by the Gen2 Quick Switch IC. Although the users are using next generation Intel 22nm processor and PCI-E 3.0 VGA cards, the motherboard can only always perform PCI-E 2.0 bandwidth (single card at Gen2 X16 or dual cards at Gen2 X8/X8). |
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 (Sourced from GA Z68X-XX3H-B3 user manual) (click to enlarge the picture) |