Thread: PCI Express

My comp was manufactured around 2007. It's an HP Pavilion. I know it's got PCI ports but not positive whether it has a PCI express port and how that works.

I don't want to unplug my computer and dig around to find out, so could somebody tell me if it's likely that my computer, being manufactured recently, has a PCI express port or not?

Well, I got mine about 2 or 3 years ago and mine has one PCI-E card.

But, before you go and buy one, make sure your Power Supply can support it. I had to buy a 500W power supply.

I heard that 450W would be good enough.

Originally Posted by slayer

Well, I got mine about 2 or 3 years ago and mine has one PCI-E card.

But, before you go and buy one, make sure your Power Supply can support it. I had to buy a 500W power supply.

I heard that 450W would be good enough.

Go out and buy what?

The Power Supply is the thing in the back of your computer that you plug the power cord into.

It has a fan in it.

Go find the box your motherboard came in and look it up there.
Better yet, find the manual for your motherboard.
Throwing that out isn't a good idea, so I hope it's still lying around.

If that's not an option and you're under Windows, right–click My Computer, click Manage, and then click Device Manager.

Look around in there for anything with a name including "PCI Express" ("PCI Express Root Port", etc.), likely under the "System Devices" category. Your chipset should be specified in there as well, along with a number of other characteristics.

In response to an above post, a 500w power supply is no necessary. My brother is running a dual core, PCI-E card witha 350W supply without problems. Like the above poster said, look at your manual, or google your motherboard.