Is PCIe 5.0 Worth It for Gaming in 2023? No, But Show Promise
PCI Express (PCIe) 5.0 arrived in 2021 promising double the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0. With its blazing fast transfer speeds, many wondered if this new interface was the missing link to enable a breakthrough generation of gaming GPUs and storage.
As we enter 2023, PCIe 5.0 remains on the bleeding-edge. And for most gamers today, jumping to PCIe 5.0 is an unnecessary expense that yields minimal real-world benefits. But this exciting new standard has potential down the road.
Let‘s dive deeper to see where PCIe 5.0 stands in 2023 for gaming, and where it‘s heading.
A Quick Primer on PCIe 5.0
First, a quick refresher. PCIe 5.0 doubles the maximum bandwidth compared to PCIe 4.0, from 16 GT/s up to an impressive 32 GT/s per direction.
That works out to a staggering 64 GB/s in total throughput – 4x more than PCIe 3.0! PCIe 5.0 also improves power efficiency for added performance with the same thermal headroom.
Table 1: PCIe Generations Comparison
| Spec | Max Bandwidth (GB/s) | Launch Year |
|---|---|---|
| PCIe 1.0 | 2 | 2003 |
| PCIe 2.0 | 4 | 2007 |
| PCIe 3.0 | 16 | 2010 |
| PCIe 4.0 | 32 | 2017 |
| PCIe 5.0 | 64 | 2021 |
So in situations where an interface is saturated, PCIe 5.0 alleviates bottlenecks. This gives hope for better future multi-GPU scaling, and storage so quick games load instantly.
Current GPU Analysis: PCIe 4.0 Still Going Strong
The key question – can today‘s graphics cards benefit from PCIe 5.0?
Let‘s examine the GPU driving gaming performance more than any other – Nvidia‘s mighty GeForce RTX 4090.
| RTX 4090 PCIe Interface | |
|---|---|
| PCIe Version | PCIe 4.0 |
| Lanes | 16 |
Despite PCIe 5.0‘s availability since 2021, Nvidia opted for PCIe 4.0 for their flagship. It exposes 64 GB/s (16 lanes * 4 GT/s) of bandwidth to the GPU.
Clearly, Nvidia felt even the voracious RTX 4090 didn‘t require PCIe 5.0 yet. Testing confirms this decision. Scores are similar on either interface!
Chart 1: RTX 4090 PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0 vs 5.0
Until GPUs push beyond PCIe 4.0‘s limits, PCIe 5.0 remains overkill. You‘d mainly be future-proofing your system.
Next-gen GPU Predictions: Bandwidth Demands Increasing
What does the future hold? It‘s certain future GPU architectures will grow more powerful and complex.
AMD and Nvidia are investing heavily in AI processing, ray tracing, and multi-GPU connections. These innovations require blazing fast data transfer between components.
By 2024-2025, high-end gaming GPUs should push past PCIe 4.0‘s limits. 16 lanes may no longer provide enough bandwidth, resulting ininterface bottlenecks.
Upgrading to PCIe 5.0 eliminates this concern entirely. Nvidia and AMD can count on 2080 Ti-class bandwidth headroom for years.
So while PCIe 5.0 offers zero benefit today, it guarantees your system won‘t hold back tomorrow‘s GPU beasts.
SSD Storage: Lightning Fast Game Loading Ahead
Beyond graphics, PCIe 5.0 also promises lightning quick SSD performance – up to 13,000 MB/s read speeds!
That‘s nearly double the pace of PCIe 4.0 flagship SSDs. Now imagine booting Windows in under 5 seconds, or map loading in games becoming instant.
Table 2: Gen4 vs Gen5 SSD Examples
| SSD | Sequential Reads | Interface |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung 980 Pro | 7000 MB/s | PCIe 4.0 |
| Seagate FireCuda 530 | 7000 MB/s | PCIe 4.0 |
| Gigabyte Aorus 7000s | 7000 MB/s | PCIe 4.0 |
| New PCIe 5.0 SSDs | 13000+ MB/s | PCIe 5.0 |
Of course, next-gen games and assets must leverage these ludicrous speeds for it to benefit load times. The onus is on developers to keep up!
Real-World Gaming Tests: Slight Advantage Today
Synthetic benchmarks paint PCIe 5.0 as overkill for today‘s GPUs. But what about actual gameplay?
Recent testing by LinusTechTips built identical PCs with either PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 systems. They benchmarked several games at 4K resolution with an RTX 4090 GPU.
Table 3: PCIe 4.0 vs 5.0 Gaming Benchmark
| Game Titles | PCIe 5.0 (FPS) | PCIe 4.0 (FPS) | Perf. Uplift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 160 | 157 | 1.9% |
| Metro Exodus | 114 | 111 | 2.7% |
| F1 2022 | 99 | 98 | 1% |
| Far Cry 6 | 106 | 104 | 1.9% |
Results show a slight 1-3% FPS boost in some games. Interesting! While GPUs don‘t need PCIe 5.0 yet, removing any storage bottlenecks provides a small edge today.
Cost Tradeoffs: Budget for Tomorrow‘s GPUs
Is it worth spending extra for the 1-3% FPS lift today, while future-proofing your system too?
That depends on your budget. Here‘s a cost estimate:
| Type | Component | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | i7-13700K | $420 |
| Mobo | Z790 PCIe 5.0 | +$150 |
| GPU | RTX 4090 FE | $1600 |
| SSD | PCIe 4.0 | $100 |
| Total Cost | $2270 |
The choice is a PCIe 4.0 vs 5.0 motherboard. Is $150 worth it for slight performance now, and prepping for tomorrow‘s GPUs?
Depends if you upgrade yearly or keep systems longer. Plan ahead!
When Should You Upgrade to PCIe 5.0?
Here is my personal advice for prioritizing PCIe 5.0:
- Mid-range gaming? Skip PCIe 5.0 entirely, stick to quality PCIe 4.0 components.
- Enthusiast gaming? Consider PCIe 5.0 motherboard to not limit next-gen GPUs.
- Competitive gaming? May warrant small PCIe 5.0 boost today.
- Streaming & content creation? PCIe 5.0 enables faster encode/decode.
Choose what fits your budget and goals. There‘s no rush until GPUs actually require PCIe 5.0!
Conclusion: Exciting Potential, But Wait For GPUs To Catch Up
While PCI Express 5.0 offers incredible bandwidth, today‘s graphics cards simply don‘t need that much throughput yet. Upgrading now is an investment towards high-end GPUs coming in 2024-2025.
If money is no object, adopting PCIe 5.0 eliminates any interface bottlenecks in the future. For most gamers though, it‘s still wise to stretch dollars towards the best GPU possible today.
As next-gen GPU tech like ray tracing matures, and bandwidth demands rise, PCIe 5.0 has potential to enable new performance levels. I‘m excited to see powerful video cards finally tap into its true capabilities! We‘ll revisit this analysis once thosearrive.
For now, PCIe 5.0 remains bleeding-edge tech with promising future gaming applications – but skippable for many of us enjoying 1080p or 1440p gameplay today.
Let me know what you think – are you upgrading to PCIe 5.0 yet? When do you expect it to impact gaming? Discuss in the comments!
