PCIE x 16 Limitation??

[Ryan98]

I've been using the integrated graphics of my Asus P5G41T-M ( with Pentium E5700 + 2 gigs of DDR3 1066) for more than a year now. I usually do some online games most of the time by using the built-in graphics. I'm planning to install a low-powered graphic card (Geforce 220 or ATI 6450) for a change. (I'm not a hardcore gamer anyway and I have a tight budget). But I found out in the mainboard specs (& Intel) that the G41 chipset is PCI-E x 16 1.1 compliant, while some chipsets (P45) is PCI-E x 16 2.0 compliant. What's the difference between the two? Am I not getting a full bandwidth (x16) if I have a 1.1 compliant PCI-E lane? I'm a bit confused about these two specs. Thanks in advance for any answer.

[debs3759]

PCI-E 2.0 can transfer data at twice the speed of PCI-E 1.1. With an entry level GPU you probably won't notice any difference as even high-end cards don't saturate the lanes. The x16 refers to how many lanes there are.

PCI-E 1.1 x16 will be able to transfer 4 GB/s of data from CPCU to GPU.
PCI-E 2.0 x16 will be able to transfer up to 8 GB/s.
You will be limited to the lower speed, but as I said before I don't think you'll notice the difference.

[mavroxur]

With a GT220 or a 6450, you won't notice a bit of difference between a PCIe 1.1 and a PCIe 2.0 slot.