Question: PCI-E vs AGP

fastcasters · Oct 28, 2007, 06:02 PM

Hi, new here so apolos for the noob questions but I have been out of the loop a lot regarding keeping up to speed on the new PCI-E standard:

I currently run a XFX 7800GS (1.3 Ghz;440Mhz). It aint a bad old card but having just bought Race07 it strugggles in some settings - same in Rainbow6 Vegas and MOH Pacific Assault. It runs alongside a AMD Athlon 64 +3200. The card cost me around £200 when I bought it

My question is:

How much would I need to spend on a PCI-E card to see a marked improvement over my current card (I know I need a new mobo and CPU) - or is almost any PCI-E card going to be better? - Any card recommendations appreciated?

Thanks folks,

Simon.

BlueMak · Oct 28, 2007, 06:18 PM

Any modern PCI-E card over 8600GT and AMD Radeon 2800 should be way faster.

Just wait till you can afford a new system and get a PCI-E graphics card with it. No reason to spend money on that system, at least for gaming.

As for suggestions, you have to give a budget first.

OmegaRED · Oct 28, 2007, 08:28 PM

This week Nvidia is releasing a powerful new card which is quite cheap, the 8800GT, you should look into purchasing this video card if you upgrade in the next few months. Anything less than this won't be a significant upgrade.

As for a PCI-X motherboard, you need to decide if you want to upgrade to a AM2/Intel Core2Duo or stay with socket 939.

If you are on a tight budget:
Get a budget 939 board, 8800GT and keep your cpu or snap up a dual core for under $100

If your budget is over $800:
Scrap the old motherboard, ram and cpu for the latest technology, get 8800GT

Hope that helps

Matth · Oct 29, 2007, 01:36 PM

Definitely, look at the 8800GT reviews, it's going to change the entire price/performance landscape.

It also looks like a strong contender for SLI use, so worth considering an SLI capable solution, so an extra one could be added for a further boost.

fastcasters · Oct 29, 2007, 02:50 PM

thanks for the advice folks, much appreciated - i'll look into the 8800 card for sure. If I were to go for the 8800 card and keep my current CPU would that be a bottleneck? My preference woud be a new cpu as I would need a new mobo but budget could be limited (the lady indoors has a lot to say about expenditure on pc equipment versus expenditure on other household items

)

Thanks again,

Simon.

OmegaRED · Oct 29, 2007, 03:00 PM

Yes it will be a serious bottleneck. I would recommend picking up an entry level dual core cpu, the AMD X2 3800.

You're looking at around $150 for the cpu and a budget PCI-X motherboard. Sure, that could buy a few new lamps but maybe she'll understand

fastcasters · Oct 29, 2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

Yes it will be a serious bottleneck. I would recommend picking up an entry level dual core cpu, the AMD X2 3800.

You're looking at around $150 for the cpu and a budget PCI-X motherboard. Sure, that could buy a few new lamps but maybe she'll understand

hehe - I wish but I no she wont!

jp306 · Oct 29, 2007, 04:00 PM

I agree with Omega, with the exception of CPU choice. If you go the AMD route, I'd get a faster one than the X2 3800. It's the same speed as the A64 3200, but with 2 cores. Of course that will make a difference in games that take advantage of dual and muticore CPUs, but most still don't or don't take enough advantage. Don't get me wrong get at least a dual core, but get a faster one. I'd go the Intel route personally, but do what make the most sense for you. You should look into the Allendale Intel processors especially if you're willing to Overclock. Most hit 3g with little effort and that would make them faster than anything AMD has to offer.

***temeteus82*** · Oct 29, 2007, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

You're looking at around $150 for the cpu and a budget PCI-X motherboard. Sure, that could buy a few new lamps but maybe she'll understand

PCI-X ??? You mean Peripheral Component Interconnect Extended or PCI Express?

OmegaRED · Oct 29, 2007, 04:11 PM

Guess you never saw 'Extreme' spelt 'Xtreme'

I recommended an 8800GT which is Pci express so you can guess which.

***temeteus82*** · Oct 29, 2007, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

Guess you never saw 'Extreme' spelt 'Xtreme'

I recommended an 8800GT which is Pci express so you can guess which.

Yeah I did know what you were talking about but since PCI-X in really another bus standard I wanted just make sure that every one are on the same page

Mousey · Oct 31, 2007, 06:44 AM

Peripheral Circuit Interconnector - Express (PCI-E to the white man) Runs at 16x speed.
While it's running at 16x speed, there are 16 lanes for information to travel down, allowing more information to be processed at once, which ultimately results in better framerates and more flexiblity with development (i think, i could be wrong).
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP to the white man) Only runs at 4x speed or 8x speed depending on the age of your motherboard. Also, PCI-E Cards can draw more power from the PCI-E Slot itself, so it's footprint is normally smaller. When a new PCI-E Card is converted to AGP it often requires a lot of juice, if you take a look at the ATI Radeon X1550 from Sapphire especially, the PCI-E Version requires no additional power but the AGP Version requires a molex to be plugged into the card or you can risk damaging it.

Right... i'll stfu now