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AGP/PCIe converter?

G

garry26

Gawd
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Messages
641
I was googling and found that there's an PCIe-to-AGP converter out there.
http://www.albatron.com.tw/english/news/news_detail.asp?news_id=167
The idea being that it extends the life of those $300+ on a high end AGP cards ppl bought right before the PCIe boards came out.

Im in the reverse situation. I bought a PC with an AGP 8x slot and I cant upgrade to a stronger PCIe card. Is there an AGP-to-PCIe converter out there? I missed out on a few deals cus my PC (board) doesnt support it.
 
no.

Just upgrade your motherboard.

if such a adapter did exist it would be probably 150 or so dollars, well above the price of a new motherboard.
 
garry26 said:
I was googling and found that there's an PCIe-to-AGP converter out there.
http://www.albatron.com.tw/english/news/news_detail.asp?news_id=167
The idea being that it extends the life of those $300+ on a high end AGP cards ppl bought right before the PCIe boards came out.

Im in the reverse situation. I bought a PC with an AGP 8x slot and I cant upgrade to a stronger PCIe card. Is there an AGP-to-PCIe converter out there? I missed out on a few deals cus my PC (board) doesnt support it.
Click to expand...

There's no such thing as a $300 half height AGP card that people actually bought before PCIE came out.
 
It's an interesting question, though, isn't it? I can't imagine such an adapter would be very difficult to make, and a company would make a killing on them. Hell, they could stop making AGP cards entirely if adapters existed.
 
It's not easy to make. Because of the differences between the interfaces, you can't just stick an AGP slot on a PCI-E card. You need a bridge chip, which is the thing covered by the heatsink on the adapter card you linked. They also wouldn't make much money off of it, since most people with older systems don't need a better video card, and new systems either have PCI-E graphics ports or none at all.
 
I know a lot of people who would be getting new video cards if they could simply buy a converter to make their AGP slot a PCI-E slot. They can't upgrade their motherboards because that would mean a new processor slot and a new Ram slot.
 
raynich said:
I know a lot of people who would be getting new video cards if they could simply buy a converter to make their AGP slot a PCI-E slot. They can't upgrade their motherboards because that would mean a new processor slot and a new Ram slot.
Click to expand...

What processor are you talking about? Pretty much every slot is covered as far as pci-e goes. I even found an old celeron slot with a pci-e x16 slot on it.
 
According to the article, "The "ATOP"(AGP-To-PCIe) bridge card will allow a user to use their existing AGP-8x VGA card in a mainboard designed for PCI-Express resulting in considerable savings in upgrade expenditures." The idea is that the person saves $$ so the converter has to be cheaper than a new card or motherboard.

I dont know how to install mobos because Im not tech savvy. All I know to install are sticks & vid cards. So a converter, if it exsists, would be perfect for me.
 
It's just not that feasible. Here's some numbers for your pleasure. Assume the ATOP costs $50.

Option 1:
PCIe Graphics card -- $110 (low profile, because you can't use a full height card in the ATOP)
ATOP -- $50
Total -- $160 (and you're still limited in the choice of PCIe cards you can use)


Option 2:
New PCIe motherboard - -$100
PCIe Graphics Card -- $110 (same card as Option 1)
Sell old AGP motherboard -- -$50
Total --$160 + the capability to upgrade to a new high performance GPU.
 
garry26 said:
According to the article, "The "ATOP"(AGP-To-PCIe) bridge card will allow a user to use their existing AGP-8x VGA card in a mainboard designed for PCI-Express resulting in considerable savings in upgrade expenditures." The idea is that the person saves $$ so the converter has to be cheaper than a new card or motherboard.

I dont know how to install mobos because Im not tech savvy. All I know to install are sticks & vid cards. So a converter, if it exsists, would be perfect for me.
Click to expand...

If you can put ram and a videocard in a slot and know enough to download/install the drivers, then you can install a new motherboard alone with no problem.
 
It doesn't say if it offers the full performance for your AGP 8x. Most things like this cripple the performance of the video card since it is not running on a true AGP 8x buss, but instead a PCI buss.

Another thing, what cards come in half height? Crapolistitic 6200 and X300 type of cards. I would just be cheaper to buy another crapolistic card in PCI-E flavor then to buy one of these adapters.
 
ryan_975 said:
It's just not that feasible. Here's some numbers for your pleasure. Assume the ATOP costs $50.

Option 1:
PCIe Graphics card -- $110 (low profile, because you can't use a full height card in the ATOP)
ATOP -- $50
Total -- $160 (and you're still limited in the choice of PCIe cards you can use)


Option 2:
New PCIe motherboard - -$100
PCIe Graphics Card -- $110 (same card as Option 1)
Sell old AGP motherboard -- -$50
Total --$160 + the capability to upgrade to a new high performance GPU.
Click to expand...

Wtf are you talking about? Did you read the thread? Its for a PCI-E to AGP adapter.. not agp to pci-e
 
lloose said:
Wtf are you talking about? Did you read the thread? Its for a PCI-E to AGP adapter.. not agp to pci-e
Click to expand...

PTOA then. Did you notice I said PCIe card and PCIe motherboard? What I gathered is that the post doesn't want o buy a new motherboard and is limited to AGP cards. So he is wanting an adapter that would let him install PCIe cards into his AGP slot.

Did you even read my post or did you just see ATOP in there and decide to jump on me?
 
Did you even read my post or did you just see ATOP in there and decide to jump on me?
Click to expand...

nope.. we posted at the same time :)
Anyways, no harm done.. im just pissy today. We all make mistakes every now and then.
 
I've accually seen one before, but i just cant find it. But the real problem is that there are no half height "high end" PCIe cards that are any better than the AGP cards you can get.

But you might consider, AGP cards, of the same spec, are usualy much more expensive than PCIe cards.

Like the consensus above is, just upgrade to PCIe, much more cost effective, and upgrading an AGP PC is just throwing money at an old technology, you wont get much out of it, and it wont last.
 
How much you wanna bet that bridge card costs as much as a pci-e video card comparable to your "high end" agp card.

IE you have a 6800gt... instead of paying $100 for that bridge card, just get a 7600gt.
 
ryan_975 said:
It's just not that feasible. Here's some numbers for your pleasure. Assume the ATOP costs $50.

Option 1:
PCIe Graphics card -- $110 (low profile, because you can't use a full height card in the ATOP)
ATOP -- $50
Total -- $160 (and you're still limited in the choice of PCIe cards you can use)


Option 2:
New PCIe motherboard - -$100
PCIe Graphics Card -- $110 (same card as Option 1)
Sell old AGP motherboard -- -$50
Total --$160 + the capability to upgrade to a new high performance GPU.
Click to expand...
My situation: PC bought 1yr 4mo's ago.
AMD64 3400, 2gb PC3200 DDR (just upgraded), Lightscribe 16x DVD, 200gb hd, 8x agp slot. Getting a new board means paying $80 to have it installed or risk DIY and breaking something which will cost even more $$. Plus the cost of the board and possibly new ddr2 if the board requires it. The new PCIe card too. Option #2 is $210 if you cant sell the old board cus ppl want a PCIe board. Plus the board on my rig probably isnt good enuff that I can get $50 for it.

A $40-$50 converter that lets me use a PCIe card on my AGP board would save me tons of $$.

If you can put ram and a videocard in a slot and know enough to download/install the drivers, then you can install a new motherboard alone with no problem
Click to expand...
My main fear is all those cables from the power supply that go to the board and drives. I dont know what goes where. I also broke a computer installing an ethernet card even though I had phone support. It wouldnt go in (virgin pci slot?). So I have a phobia of breaking expensive equipment.

Did I mention my PC cost me $300ARs? Im almost better off getting a new one at a similar price this Black Friday/Weekend that has the slot.
 
Hahaha at the virgin PCI slot! I've taken lots of slot's virginities (6)


Uhm yeah... These bridge cards just won't work... Even if they DO make one, The maximum PCIe speed you'd be able to cram into an AGP slot would be about 4x... As AGP slots are pretty "one way only" in the way they accept/transfer data.

A 4x PCIe slot really isn't enough to do anything good, sadly.

Additionally, the bridges get really HOT, and they add latency like nobody's business.

It's not going to happen. If it does happen it's not going to happen very well.

There should be an X1950XTX in AGP form coming out soon... if things go well. Just wait for that.
 
Arcygenical said:
Hahaha at the virgin PCI slot! I've taken lots of slot's virginities (6)


Uhm yeah... These bridge cards just won't work... Even if they DO make one, The maximum PCIe speed you'd be able to cram into an AGP slot would be about 4x... As AGP slots are pretty "one way only" in the way they accept/transfer data.

A 4x PCIe slot really isn't enough to do anything good, sadly.

Additionally, the bridges get really HOT, and they add latency like nobody's business.

It's not going to happen. If it does happen it's not going to happen very well.

There should be an X1950XTX in AGP form coming out soon... if things go well. Just wait for that.
Click to expand...


You mean X1950 Pro. ;)
 
Arcygenical said:
There should be an X1950XTX in AGP form coming out soon... if things go well. Just wait for that.
Click to expand...

You sure you don't mean the X1950 Pro, Arcy? It's out already for around $300.

Damn, nobi was quicker on the trigger than I was.
 
Arcygenical said:
Hahaha at the virgin PCI slot! I've taken lots of slot's virginities (6)


Uhm yeah... These bridge cards just won't work... Even if they DO make one, The maximum PCIe speed you'd be able to cram into an AGP slot would be about 4x... As AGP slots are pretty "one way only" in the way they accept/transfer data.

A 4x PCIe slot really isn't enough to do anything good, sadly.

Additionally, the bridges get really HOT, and they add latency like nobody's business.

It's not going to happen. If it does happen it's not going to happen very well.

There should be an X1950XTX in AGP form coming out soon... if things go well. Just wait for that.
Click to expand...

Actually you'd get PCIe x8 since PCIe x16 and AGP 8x have about the same bandwidth in one direction.

AGP is bidirectional, but only at half-duplex (can send or receive, but not both at once). Whereas the PCIe is bidirectional and full duplex (can send and receive at the same time)
 
chris.c said:
What? pciex16 is 4gb/s, agp8x is 2gb/s.
Click to expand...

Sorry I meant same bandwidth "one way", but since AGP is only half duplex, it's cut down to PCIe x8's total bandwidth.


(fixed)
 
My main fear is all those cables from the power supply that go to the board and drives. I dont know what goes where. I also broke a computer installing an ethernet card even though I had phone support. It wouldnt go in (virgin pci slot?). So I have a phobia of breaking expensive equipment.
Click to expand...

Nah, its not hard at all. I was intimidate too with my first build, way back when. But if you can hook up a nintendo, you can install a new motherboard. Follow the directions that came with the motherboard and you are set to go.. all you need is a screwdriver.

Ps. lol, my first build I had everything in place and connected.. I went to turn it on and NOTHING happened.. I freaked out and was about to fall on my knees and scream. Then my room mate walked into the kitchen and hit the power switch on the back of my psu :)
 
ryan_975 said:
Actually you'd get PCIe x8 since PCIe x16 and AGP 8x have about the same bandwidth in one direction.

AGP is bidirectional, but only at half-duplex (can send or receive, but not both at once). Whereas the PCIe is bidirectional and full duplex (can send and receive at the same time)
Click to expand...

Assuming we live in an

A) perfect world where there are no losses in a conversion of one interface type to another. Since PCIe 6x doesn't exist, I'm assuming the manufacturer would fall back to a slower speed, rather than risk cramming data where it can't fit...

B) Where PCIe cards don't need to talk back to the processor (Yeah, 8x AGP and PCIe are the same bandwidth... but AGP is only half duplex, as you said... Therefore, if data needs to be transferred in both directions at once, there would be a major loss of thoughtput).

yeah, I meant half duplex by "one way only," ...

And installing motherboards really arn't that hard... Everything is really well labeled these days.
 
Arcygenical said:
And installing motherboards really arn't that hard...
Click to expand...

Regardless, it's still the hardest PC component to "swap out". And if he can't even install a network card... :D
 
Let's be honest: Even for people who know what they're doing, installing a new motherboard and moving over all the components is a huge, time-consuming pain in the ass. Selling computer components is also a PITA, by the way, and you're running the risk of dealing with someone who's going to try to stiff you, and having to go through the whole complaint process. So while it might technically be cheaper and better to get a throwaway PCI-E mobo and a PCI-E video card, a lot of people would rather pay the extra money and save the hassle.
 
arthur_tuxedo said:
Let's be honest: Even for people who know what they're doing, installing a new motherboard and moving over all the components is a huge, time-consuming pain in the ass. Selling computer components is also a PITA, by the way, and you're running the risk of dealing with someone who's going to try to stiff you, and having to go through the whole complaint process. So while it might technically be cheaper and better to get a throwaway PCI-E mobo and a PCI-E video card, a lot of people would rather pay the extra money and save the hassle.
Click to expand...

Most people are leaving out the fact that alot of those same people would need to purchase a new processor, ram, and possibly even a new power supply for the new rig. And dont forget to factor in whether or not they have upgraded to serial ata (not a requirement but necessary :p)

Since im currently using a 3.4 ghz p4, i cant invision upgrading just yet at least for another year, as i seriously feel i would just be spending too much money. Cutting edge components = a waste of money for me and im all about squeezing the most i can out of what i have.
 
Anyone with a half decent AGP gpu, PC2700 / 3200 ram, some IDE peripherals, who wants to eventually upgrade to PCI-E and sata...

wouldn't go far wrong buying an Asrock 939 or 775 Dual motherboard - with both AGP and PCI-E.

The 775 also has an upgrade path to DDR2 (but there's not much point over PC3200) and the 939 Dual has a cpu upgrade slot for AM2 and DDR (but there's not much point).
 
markintosh13 said:
Anyone with a half decent AGP gpu, PC2700 / 3200 ram, some IDE peripherals, who wants to eventually upgrade to PCI-E and sata...

wouldn't go far wrong buying an Asrock 939 or 775 Dual motherboard - with both AGP and PCI-E.

The 775 also has an upgrade path to DDR2 (but there's not much point over PC3200) and the 939 Dual has a cpu upgrade slot for AM2 and DDR (but there's not much point).
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, the ASRock 775 Dual also is the only lower-end C2D-ready mobo (which allows a rather unusual C2D/AGP/DDR400 configuration option); the biggest problem is actually *finding* the beasties in stock (at least locally).
 
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