PCI vs AGP 4X

[jeece]

Hi!
I'm wondering if I should upgrade my AGP 4X Radeon 7000 32mb in my 2nd PC/server/(maybe htpc in the future).

I'd have the opportinuty to buy a "cheap" Radeon 7500 64mb, but PCI. This card definitely has better specs, sure. Higher clockspeed, 128bit memory interface instead of 64... Not that my current card is terrible (ran Halo, SimCity 4 and NFS underground in 1024x768, medium/low settings, and that's when I had my Duron 850 instead of the Tbird!), but I'd like to have more "punch".

But, can the PCI thing somewhat "degrade" speed though? (compared with my AGP 7000?) And is there gonna be a noticeable difference?

Oh, here's the main system specs:
T-Bird 1333
Asus A7V133-C (AGP4x maximum)
512mb PC133

Thank you guys!

 

[Jason711]

Originally posted by jeece
Hi!
I'm wondering if I should upgrade my AGP 4X Radeon 7000 32mb in my 2nd PC/server/(maybe htpc in the future).

I'd have the opportinuty to buy a "cheap" Radeon 7500 64mb, but PCI. This card definitely has better specs, sure. Higher clockspeed, 128bit memory interface instead of 64... Not that my current card is terrible (ran Halo, SimCity 4 and NFS underground in 1024x768, medium/low settings, and that's when I had my Duron 850 instead of the Tbird!), but I'd like to have more "punch".

But, can the PCI thing somewhat "degrade" speed though? (compared with my AGP 7000?) And is there gonna be a noticeable difference?

Oh, here's the main system specs:
T-Bird 1333
Asus A7V133-C (AGP4x maximum)
512mb PC133

Thank you guys!

pci does not have the bandwidth to do games or anything similar in nature.

 

[Monkey34]

Jason711 said:

pci does not have the bandwidth to do games or anything similar in nature.

Dont generalize, it makes you seem un-educated.

jeece - here's my advice, stay agp. There are lots of good deals around, you can find a nice upgrade for cheap enough money, without holding the bandwidth back.
Jason711's statement is a half truth. I played plenty of games on a geforce2mx PCI...the most recent was Max Payne I think. So really, the answer is: can you? yes , SHOULD you? no, not unless you HAVE to.

 

[jeece]

Well, thanks monkey.

I knew the PCI would bottleneck the whole thing, but just not at which level. And since I don't know if I'll ever play games with this PC, I think I'll keep my options open and stick AGP.

 

[ameoba]

The bigger question here is wether or not it's worth spending money on a 7500...

 

[Ocean]

why do they make a 5200 fx 256meg pci?

 

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Monkey34

Dont generalize, it makes you seem un-educated.

actually, he's dead on. Of course, you *can* play games using a PCI video card, but you can also play doom 3 on a turing machine (given a turing machine deigned for doom 3).

btw, uneducated is 1 word


In your case, jeece, you might see a small difference in speed, but that's just because your AGP card is so slow. I would say that you're better off watching the hot deals forum and Sunday ads to find a smoking deal on a newer AGP card. Right now, the best deal I can see is a refurb newegg card:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-244R&type=Refurbish

 

[V0ltage]

Originally posted by Ocean
why do they make a 5200 fx 256meg pci?

for stupid people with old comps that think the more ram a card has the better it will be.

 

[Zoner]

why do they make a 5200 fx 256meg pci?

For people that need to run 4, 6, or even 8 monitors. And with PCI you want extra security that everything you render with fits on the card since its so slow to upload in realtime.

 

[Monkey34]

Not bad on the 8500 for $40 at newegg, but dont they "use" the refurb buyer as a "test facility"? Ive heard that they dont check the rma's, and drop them right into the refurb spot, in case some are really ok.

 

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Monkey34
Not bad on the 8500 for $40 at newegg, but dont they "use" the refurb buyer as a "test facility"? Ive heard that they dont check the rma's, and drop them right into the refurb spot, in case some are really ok.

hmm, I've never heard of problems with newegg refurbs (except that one comment someone put on the card). But I guess it's good to be a little wary about anything you buy that's not new. Just make sure you look into the warranty they put on it.

 

[Jason711]

Originally posted by Monkey34
Jason711 said:


Dont generalize, it makes you seem un-educated.

jeece - here's my advice, stay agp. There are lots of good deals around, you can find a nice upgrade for cheap enough money, without holding the bandwidth back.
Jason711's statement is a half truth. I played plenty of games on a geforce2mx PCI...the most recent was Max Payne I think. So really, the answer is: can you? yes , SHOULD you? no, not unless you HAVE to.

well.. its your problem that you played on a geforce2mx pci... tell us what resolution you were playing at? im positive the framerates where barely playable at best. intentending to game on a pci card is absolutely stupid.

 

[jeece]

Originally posted by ameoba
The bigger question here is wether or not it's worth spending money on a 7500...

Lol I know. My idea was to wait and gather some more cash, buy a 8500 or even 9000, maybe an AIW model in between. Anything more would be too damn overkill for my current needs, or future needs on this PC for that matter... I'll just upgrade the whole computer when it'll get obsolete.

I just asked because I found a PCI 7500 for "cheap", and it'd cost me around 10-15$cdn after I'd sell my 7000. I was just curious about the performance issues, though card is more powerfull, PCI being slower and all.

Anyways, It wouldn't matter right now if I upgraded even for a 9800, the PC being a naked server and its case is a work-in-progress. Plus I have my main PC to play DVDs.

 

[TwiceSliced]

Just so you know, 8500 > 9000.

 

[Monkey34]

well.. its your problem that you played on a geforce2mx pci... tell us what resolution you were playing at? im positive the framerates where barely playable at best. intentending to game on a pci card is absolutely stupid.

Mmm...I suppose you could see it as a problem.....but it really was the first computer I bought (I was the uneducated one THEN ), and it did'nt have an AGP slot, so pci was the only way to go. It really played pretty well considering.........of course to be playable, I didnt go over 800x600 (details dialed down a bit, depending on the game), but the framerates were good....not much in the way of lag.
BTW: I dont really think anyone INTENDS to game via PCI, unless you dont have the money for a new comp, and want to just install a card.

 

[Mloot]

Originally posted by Ocean
why do they make a 5200 fx 256meg pci?

Because Nvidia needed some competition for the 256mb 9200 PCI's and with 256mb of RAM that card totally owns. PCI luvin', baby!

 

[Wixard]

For video pci is a last resort.

However that doesnt mean pci is crazily slow. With a decent proc you can kind of makeup for it. To an extent. Any game i can thinkof will be "playable" at low rez and low settings. This isnt a big deal for some people. However, expect new games arrivign now to really put the hurting on it. So if you plan on playing new games the life of the card may be short lived. If you dont play games at all you wont notice the differance between a radeon 9800xt at 8x agp, or a gf2mx pci.

 

[Grandmasta_J]

Not bad on the 8500 for $40 at newegg, but dont they "use" the refurb buyer as a "test facility"? Ive heard that they dont check the rma's, and drop them right into the refurb spot, in case some are really ok.

I bought a Gainward 5900 Ultra from newegg refurb and it was DOA (bad memory). The RMA letter from the first buyer said it was the "wrong" product. Just be very careful when dealing with refurbs. I got lucky and Gainbward sent me a 5950 Ultra back.