The fact that the AD106 and AD107 GPUs in the RTX 4060 Ti and RTX 4060 graphics cards only utilize 8 lanes of the PCI Express bus is well-known. Despite this limitation, manufacturers continue to use a full-sized connector for these cards. Although the extra 8 lanes are not electrically connected, the wider connector serves as structural support, preventing GPU sagging and providing other benefits. This is particularly advantageous for graphics cards with large triple-fan designs that were originally intended for the 115W-class graphics card.
Palit currently offers two models, DUAL and StormX, both featuring a dual slot design with either one or two fans. These models are priced as the cheapest options from Palit, and there’s a valid reason behind it. To attract consumers, these models are manufactured at a lower cost while still providing relatively decent thermal performance. However, reviews suggest that the DUAL model tends to run warmer than other RTX 4060 models when under heavy load, indicating that its cooling capabilities are not its strong suit.
These cards possess an intriguing “feature” in the form of a reduced PCI Express interface. Instead of employing a full-sized interface with 16 lanes, these cards, including the Dual and StormX models and their clones like the Emtek Dual, utilize 8 lanes instead. It’s worth noting that this reduction in lanes has no impact on performance since all RTX 4060 cards available in the market don’t utilize the full extent of the PCIe slot’s lanes.
Nevertheless, GPU manufacturers have chosen to maintain the full size of the PCI Express interface, primarily to enhance the stability of heavier GPUs. Alternatively, it is also possible that they aim to maintain a mid-range visual representation of their GPUs. It’s worth noting that all X60 class models released in the past 15 years had utilized the full 16 lanes of the PCI Express interface.
物理的に×8なってるやん pic.twitter.com/FAIedoLyLx
— Fおじ (@fpsojisan_yt) July 13, 2023
Via Palit
Image Source: @fpsojisan_yt