djstevieb Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 AGP or PCI-Express?I'm not a massive gamer but I treated myself to a new game today, installed it and then found out my graphics card wasn't quite good enough to run the game. I have a GeForce 6200 and it wanted the Geforce 6600 and above, typical isn't it!I thought a while ago about upgrading my computer but have put it off until now. I currently have the Asus K8N mother board running a AMD Sempron 3000+ and the Geforce 6200 grpahics card as I mentioned above.I have been looking at parts to build a new PC and will probably end up getting the following mother board and processor: -Mother Board = Asus A8V-XE S939, PCI-E, SATA2, Lan, 5.1Snd, ATXProcessor = AMD Athlon64 3700+ Socket 939 (Sandiago) CPU -Retail Box-My problem lies with the fact I know nothing at all about these new PCI-E graphics cards. I know my way around a computer inside and out, but I just havn't needed to know anything about the PCI-E therefore I don't. I know AGP is being phased out and PCI-E is to be its replacement, but thats about all I know. Can someone explain to me (in plain english) what the main differences are between AGP and PCI-Express (apart from they are different slots)?Is there any speed difference between a 256mb AGP graphics card and a 256mb PCI-Express grpahics card for example?Any recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripken204 Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 they are essentially the same performance wise. pci-e has a higher bandwith tho which means it has the potential for higher performance. since ur getting a pci-e mobo, you will need a pci-e vid card. i would recommend a 7600gt or a 7900gs/7900gt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstrelecki Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 PCI-E is a serial bus technology that moves data in two directions at the same time, while AGP is a parallel technology that moves data in one direction at a time.PCI-E is designed to be faster than AGP and is featured in most modern motherboards.Virtually all the new video chipsets are available ONLY in PCI-E form.AGP is the past and PCI-E is the future. Good luck with that new system. Seems we have LOTS more choices now than ever before....see this page for more info: http://www.directron.com/expressguide.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djstevieb Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 (edited) Thanks for the posts guys!So basically AGP cant go any further than it has, so PCI-E is the next step up?Theres not much difference (if any) between a 256mb AGP graphics card and a 256mb PCI-Express graphics card?Am I right in presuming PCI-E will go further than AGP ever did, otherwise there wouldn't be much point in changing to PCI-E?----I've just been looking at the 7600gt, 7900gs and 7900gt, but they are a bit out of my price range at the moment. I've had a look and theres loads of PCI-E graphics cards ranging from £10 to over £300. All I'm looking for is a decent 256mb+ graphics card with TV out and a £50 price limit. I've been looking at Eclipse Computers as thats where I'm getting the rest of my parts from. If anyone could point me in the direction of a card from there I'd be grateful! Edited October 8, 2006 by djstevieb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripken204 Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 well whats your price range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djstevieb Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 All I'm looking for is a decent 256mb+ graphics card with TV out and a £50 price limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripken204 Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 ah sry, i was looking thru what u said before and i guess i just missed that. well then for nvidia i would be looking at the 7300gt but also the 7600gs/gt if u can pay a little more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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