--- title: The unused PCIe x1 slot on your motherboard is the... description: With GPU, RAM, and SSD prices at record highs, an unused PCIe x1 slot offers a cheap way to add features to an old PC. A 5 GbE Ethernet card needs only a PCIe... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-unused-pcie-x1-slot-on-your-motherboard-is-the-cheapest-way-to-upgrade-your-pc-ur9igdeml twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The unused PCIe x1 slot on your motherboard is the cheapest way to upgrade your PC | daily.dev og:description: With GPU, RAM, and SSD prices at record highs, an unused PCIe x1 slot offers a cheap way to add features to an old PC. A 5 GbE Ethernet card needs only a PCIe... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-unused-pcie-x1-slot-on-your-motherboard-is-the-cheapest-way-to-upgrade-your-pc-ur9igdeml og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/uR9igDEML.png og:image:alt: The unused PCIe x1 slot on your motherboard is the cheapest way to upgrade your PC 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. # The unused PCIe x1 slot on your motherboard is the cheapest way to upgrade your PC **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary With GPU, RAM, and SSD prices at record highs, an unused PCIe x1 slot offers a cheap way to add features to an old PC. A 5 GbE Ethernet card needs only a PCIe 3.0 x1 slot and costs $30, while a 10 GbE card works with PCIe 4.0 x1 for about $50. A PCIe Wi-Fi card runs $25 to $35 for motherboards without onboard wireless. PCIe x1 slots can supply up to 25W, and PCIe cards generally cool better than cramped M.2 cards, which get only 5 to 10W and can thermal throttle under a large GPU. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What can I add to my PC using a spare PCIe x1 slot? A PCIe x1 slot can host a 5 GbE Ethernet card for about $30, a 10 GbE card for around $50 if the slot supports PCIe 4.0, or a Wi-Fi card with high-gain antennas for $25 to $35. These upgrades boost networking without replacing the motherboard, GPU, or CPU. _daily.dev surfaces budget hardware upgrade tips like these for PC builders watching component prices._ ### How much power can a PCIe x1 slot supply compared to an M.2 slot? A PCIe x1 slot can supply up to 25 watts, though most x1 cards use far less. PCIe x8 and x16 slots can deliver up to 75 watts. M.2 slots top out at only 5 to 10 watts, which limits the expansion cards they can reliably power and cool. _developers tuning home server or desktop builds can track hardware tradeoffs like this on daily.dev._ ### Why are PCIe expansion cards better than M.2 expansion cards for things like Wi-Fi or extra ports? PCIe cards have a larger physical footprint than M.2 cards, which makes passive cooling more efficient and avoids thermal throttling. M.2 cards crammed below a large GPU can overheat and lose performance, while M.2 slots also deliver much less power than PCIe slots. _daily.dev keeps hardware tinkerers current on practical component comparisons like PCIe versus M.2._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [6 upgrades that fit in the tiny PCIe x1 slot nobody uses](https://daily.dev/posts/6-upgrades-that-fit-in-the-tiny-pcie-x1-slot-nobody-uses-2nz9y1a0m) · 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 - [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 has a 1GbE port, and adding a $15 2.5GbE PCIe card changes everything about your network](https://daily.dev/posts/your-motherboard-has-a-1gbe-port-and-adding-a-15-2-5gbe-pcie-card-changes-everything-about-your-ne-glbouqwqo) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your PC's second M.2 slot can do more than you think, and it costs almost nothing](https://daily.dev/posts/your-pc-s-second-m-2-slot-can-do-more-than-you-think-and-it-costs-almost-nothing-xfrb0mhua) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#hardware](https://daily.dev/tags/hardware) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-unused-pcie-x1-slot-on-your-motherboard-is-the-cheapest-way-to-upgrade-your-pc-ur9igdeml) ```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":"The unused PCIe x1 slot on your motherboard is the cheapest way to upgrade your PC","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-unused-pcie-x1-slot-on-your-motherboard-is-the-cheapest-way-to-upgrade-your-pc-ur9igdeml","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-unused-pcie-x1-slot-on-your-motherboard-is-the-cheapest-way-to-upgrade-your-pc-ur9igdeml"},"datePublished":"2026-10-25T20:31:12.453Z","dateModified":"2026-10-25T20:31:49.679Z","description":"With GPU, RAM, and SSD prices at record highs, an unused PCIe x1 slot offers a cheap way to add features to an old PC. 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