--- title: 6 upgrades that fit in the tiny PCIe x1 slot nobody uses description: The small PCIe x1 slot on most motherboards sits unused but can power several useful upgrades. It carries about 985MB/s on PCIe 3.0, roughly double that on... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/6-upgrades-that-fit-in-the-tiny-pcie-x1-slot-nobody-uses-2nz9y1a0m twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: 6 upgrades that fit in the tiny PCIe x1 slot nobody uses | daily.dev og:description: The small PCIe x1 slot on most motherboards sits unused but can power several useful upgrades. It carries about 985MB/s on PCIe 3.0, roughly double that on... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/6-upgrades-that-fit-in-the-tiny-pcie-x1-slot-nobody-uses-2nz9y1a0m og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/2nz9y1A0m.png og:image:alt: 6 upgrades that fit in the tiny PCIe x1 slot nobody uses og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # 6 upgrades that fit in the tiny PCIe x1 slot nobody uses **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The small PCIe x1 slot on most motherboards sits unused but can power several useful upgrades. It carries about 985MB/s on PCIe 3.0, roughly double that on PCIe 4.0, which is enough for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth add-in cards, 2.5GbE or 5GbE network cards, 5 Gbps USB expansion, an M.2 storage adapter capped around 1 to 2 GB/s, a PCIe capture card for 1080p60 recording like Elgato's HD60 Pro, or a dedicated sound card. 10 Gbps USB and 4K capture cards generally need a wider x4 slot instead. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How much bandwidth does a PCIe 3.0 x1 slot actually provide? A PCIe 3.0 x1 slot provides roughly 985MB/s of bandwidth, and a PCIe 4.0 x1 slot provides about twice that. This is enough for Wi-Fi 7 cards, 2.5GbE or 5GbE network adapters (which need 312MB/s and over 600MB/s respectively), 5 Gbps USB cards, M.2 storage adapters capped near 1GB/s, and 1080p60 capture cards needing about 250MB/s. _Planning a PCIe upgrade? daily.dev surfaces hardware comparisons so you pick a card that actually fits your slot._ ### Why isn't my Intel BE200 Wi-Fi 7 card working on my Ryzen PC? Ryzen owners have reported that Intel's BE200 Wi-Fi 7 module doesn't work on their systems, suggesting a platform compatibility issue. Additionally, using these Wi-Fi 7 modules requires Windows 11 version 24H2 or later, so an older Windows build could also be the cause of failures. _Troubleshooting flaky hardware compatibility? daily.dev collects real-world reports like these before you buy._ ### Do I need a PCIe x4 slot for a 4K capture card instead of x1? Yes, 4K60 capture cards typically need a PCIe x4 slot because 4K60 video carries about four times the pixel data of 1080p60, reaching roughly 1GB/s before HDR adds more. That's why cards like Elgato's 4K60 Pro require x4, while 1080p60 capture cards like the HD60 Pro fit comfortably in a PCIe x1 slot, even on PCIe 2.0. _Comparing capture card specs before a build? daily.dev helps you line up hardware requirements against your setup._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Stop ignoring your spare PCIe x1 slot — it's more useful than half the upgrades you buy](https://daily.dev/posts/stop-ignoring-your-spare-pcie-x1-slot-it-s-more-useful-than-half-the-upgrades-you-buy-d8rcenboh) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your motherboard's worst PCIe slot might be the most useful one in your build](https://daily.dev/posts/your-motherboard-s-worst-pcie-slot-might-be-the-most-useful-one-in-your-build-crhmbfurz) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [The unused PCIe x1 slot on your motherboard is the cheapest way to upgrade your PC](https://daily.dev/posts/the-unused-pcie-x1-slot-on-your-motherboard-is-the-cheapest-way-to-upgrade-your-pc-ur9igdeml) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [5 expansion cards for that spare M.2 slot on your motherboard](https://daily.dev/posts/5-expansion-cards-for-that-spare-m-2-slot-on-your-motherboard-5rxdlzbnv) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your PC's unused PCIe slot beats M.2 for expansion — and it's not even close](https://daily.dev/posts/your-pc-s-unused-pcie-slot-beats-m-2-for-expansion-and-it-s-not-even-close-ctlrlwqxk) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#hardware](https://daily.dev/tags/hardware), [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking), [#storage](https://daily.dev/tags/storage) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/6-upgrades-that-fit-in-the-tiny-pcie-x1-slot-nobody-uses-2nz9y1a0m) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"6 upgrades that fit in the tiny PCIe x1 slot nobody uses","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/6-upgrades-that-fit-in-the-tiny-pcie-x1-slot-nobody-uses-2nz9y1a0m","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/6-upgrades-that-fit-in-the-tiny-pcie-x1-slot-nobody-uses-2nz9y1a0m"},"datePublished":"2026-10-27T11:02:18.803Z","dateModified":"2026-10-27T11:06:43.065Z","description":"The small PCIe x1 slot on most motherboards sits unused but can power several useful upgrades. 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