Video Card

[VodkaMan]

Well total newbie question for you guys. I am looking for a new video card but my Motherboard only has PCI slots I looked at newegg and saw a card that used PCI-Express. How does PCI ex differ from PCI. Also any recomendations for a card in the 150.00 or under range . Thanks for any help

[Todd a]

The PCI-E is the next after AGP.. You know... the latest and greatest. PCI was befor AGP... you know.. VERY slow.

PCI is usually about 2-3 generations behind and likely will not see too many new cards likely EVER again. About the bast I can find is a GeForceFX 5700LE for $87:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...140-041&depa=1

[wetling]

Originally posted by Todd a
PCI is usually about 2-3 generations behind and likely will not see too many new cards likely EVER again.

I disagree, there have always been motherboards without AGP slots and PCI is so wide spread that it's not going away any time soon (look how long ISA has lasted) so there will be new cards for quite some time.

[VodkaMan]

Thanks for your fast help Todd. Also thanks for the link and your recomendation.

[Todd a]

They will still make them, but the newer cores will soon stop making it to PCI. If they stick with supporting slower slots, they might switch over to a 1x PCI-e instead and Intel still insists on pumping cheap boards with intigrated graphics and not graphics slots.

Really only nVidia has made a small attempt to update the PCI cards. ATI is still back at the Radeon 9200 cards and usually all you can find is the SE version which sucks. I think there was a GeForceFX 5800, but was only in Europe for some reason. Come on nVidia and ATI are hesitant to put their latest cards on AGP let alone PCI. All current cores now from both companies are PCI-e native and will need a convertor chip just to run AGP. I can not see them spending the money to develope a PCI-e to PCI bridge chip. They would rather have you buy the junk already made for PCI and not worry about that small part of the market.

[Ultim8_Evil]

I have got the GeforceFX5700LE, albeit the AGP card and not PCI. It's not a great performer, and by no means even middle-of-the-range, but it plays Unreal Tournament 2004 at 1280x1024x32 like a dream.
And it overclocks really well...

P.S. Ignore my negativity at the beginning of the above link, just keep reading down