PCIe 3 vs PCIe 4 Gaming Performance using RTX 3060

Our RTX 3060 PCIe 3 vs PCIe 4 Gaming Performance will show us the actual performance difference between these two technologies.

So what is a PCIe? PCIe is an interface that lets you connect faster chips on your motherboard. Various PCIe types include x1, x2, x4, x8 and x16. These slots function as a data traveller from one peripheral to the other. The PCIe Gen 3 is their last generation interface, and the PCIe 4 is a new current generation interface, and their primary difference is the speed.

Remember that the PCIe interface is backwards compatible, i.e. I can use a PCIe 4.0 GPU on a PCIe 3.0 Slot, and it will run without any issues, but make sure you are putting the GPU inside an x16 Slot so that you can get the fastest bandwidth. But will using a PCIe Gen4 GPU on a Gen3 slot affect performance?

To find that out, we have tested out the Gaming performance between the PCIe 3 vs PCIe 4

PCIe 3 vs PCIe 4 Gaming Performance- GPU Specs

Here are the specifications of the Nvidia RTX 3060 12GB GPU we used for benchmarking.

PCIe Express version	1x 3.0 1x 4.0
Video Memory	12GB
Base Clock	1320 MHz
Boost Clock	1777 MHz
Memory Clock	1875 MHz with 15 Gbps Effective
Memory Bus	192 bit
Bandwidth	360 GB/s
TDP	170 W
PSU	450 W
DirectX	v12.2 Ultimate

GPU Technology version 3.0 and 4.0- Test System details

Here are the details of the test system we used to test the RTX 3060 Graphics Card using the PCIe Gen3 and PCIe Gen4 GPU technologies.

Processor	Intel Core i9-13900K CPU
Graphics Processor	RTX 3060 12GB Graphics Card
Motherboard	ASUS Z790 Maximus Hero
Memory	Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB RGB DDR5 6000 MHz
Storage	2 TB SAMSUNG EVO M.2 NVMe SSD
Power Supply	EVGA 1600W 80+ Gold Fully Modular
CPU Cooler	Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 mm
Operating System	Windows 11 Pro 64bit

PCIe 3.0 vs PCIe 4.0 Gaming Performance- Gaming benchmark outcomes

Here are the outcomes of the PCIe 3 vs PCIe 4 Gaming Performance test results. All of the games were tested at 1080p in ultra-high settings.

Game Name	Nvidia RTX 3060 PCIe 3	GPU Temperature	CPU Temperature	Nvidia 3060 RTX PCIe 4	CPU Temperature	GPU Temperature
Forza Horizon 5	84 FPS avg	63 degrees Celsius	58 degrees Celsius	85 FPS avg	59 degrees Celsius	59 degrees Celsius
Hogwarts Legacy	55 FPS avg	63 degrees Celsius	62 degrees Celsius	56 FPS avg	59 degrees Celsius	62 degrees Celsius
Atomic Heart	87 FPS avg	63 degrees Celsius	59 degrees Celsius	87 FPS avg	64 degrees Celsius	58 degrees Celsius
Hitman 3	149 FPS avg	63 degrees Celcius	63 degrees Celcius	153 FPS avg	61 degrees Celcius	60 degrees Celcius
Red Dead Redemption 2	56 FPS avg	60 degrees Celcius	56 degrees Celcius	59 FPS avg	60 degrees Celcius	77 degrees Celcius
Cyberpunk 2077	59 FPS avg	64 degrees Celcius	76 degrees Celcius	60 FPS avg	63 degrees Celcius	73 degrees Celcius
Microsoft Flight Simulator	54 FPS avg	63 degrees Celsius	49 degrees Celcius	54 FPS avg	63 degrees Celsius	52 degrees Celcius
Marvel’s SpierMan	66 FPS avg	62 degrees Celcius	64 degrees Celcius	67 FPS avg	63 degrees Celcius	67 degrees Celcius

PCIe Express 3.0 vs PCIe Express 4.0 Technology- Final Verdict

From the above chart, we can see no difference between PCIe 3 and PCIe 4 gaming performance. When testing the same system, we used the same GPU model on two different PCIe versions of motherboards, and we got the same fps performance. Only two games, Hitman 3 and RDR 2, have minimal performance difference but not much. Gamers can still use this RTX 3060 on an older PCIe Gen3 motherboard, but that will not affect their performance.

So this was all about PCIe 3 vs PCIe 4 Gaming Performance. Let us know in the comments below if you think we missed anything.

That’s all, Folks!

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