AGP 8X and PCI Express 1x on the Same Board?

[tstone]

I'm trying to upgrade the processor + motherboard in my computer without having to replace any other parts. Read: If I have to replace any of my other existing parts I won't upgrade.

That said, I have in my posession a AGP 8X graphics card that more than exceeds my needs, a couple of PCI cards that I want to keep and a PCI Express 1x TV Tuner card.

Power and RAM aside, are there any motherboards available that will allow me to use all of these cards in the same system?



This also got me wondering if there is a database of motherboards out there anywhere that will allow you to search for MBs based on specs. Anyone?

 

[jt001]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157115

 

[caamsa]

I'm trying to upgrade the processor + motherboard in my computer without having to replace any other parts. Read: If I have to replace any of my other existing parts I won't upgrade.

That said, I have in my posession a AGP 8X graphics card that more than exceeds my needs, a couple of PCI cards that I want to keep and a PCI Express 1x TV Tuner card.

Power and RAM aside, are there any motherboards available that will allow me to use all of these cards in the same system?



This also got me wondering if there is a database of motherboards out there anywhere that will allow you to search for MBs based on specs. Anyone?

It would help if I knew more about your current system specs.

 

[elpresidente2075]

Well, you've got an example with the newegg link.

I recommend anything from the ASRock Dual series. I have owned a 939 Dual SATA II (now Dual VSTA) for 2 years now, and it's still great, even after some pretty serious overclocking. They contain both AGP and PCI express interfaces, allowing just the upgrade you are looking for. In the case of my board, both can be used simultaneously, although I'm not so sure of the other models.

 

[tlmck]

Go to Newegg.com. They have several search options.

I have never heard of any MB that has AGP and 1x PCIe slots.

 

[elpresidente2075]

tlmck, prepare to be amazed:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=939Dual-VSTA&s=939

 

[lunyone]

Where's the kitchen sink? Lol! Hopefully the OP has a s939 CPU and not something different.

 

[tlmck]

tlmck, prepare to be amazed:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=939Dual-VSTA&s=939

Ah, that explains it. I skipped the whole Socket 939 craze.

I knew if anybody made such a thing though, it had to be Asrock.

 

[_____A-L-E-X_____]

Well, I have the AsRock 4core dual- sata2 and it runs great with the 7950GT 512MB AGP card and Intel quad core Q6600. I can upgrade further to the 8800GTS 640MB or the HD 3870 512MB PCIe if I so chose.

Here is the new AsRock that supports the AMD Phenom Quad Core 9600 processors, up to 8GB of RAM, AGP 8x, FULL PCIe 16x and PCIe 1x as well as eSATA2:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=ALiveDual-eSATA2&s=AM2

 

[lunyone]

Wow! I thought that they couldn't fit anymore on a mobo, but that has alot of stuff on it. I've always wondered if the ASRock mobo's were reliable or not. Aren't they a division of Asus?

 

[_____A-L-E-X_____]

Yes, sort of like a low cost division lol. Mine seems to work great so far, there's a huge thread on HardOCP about people using 8800GTS/8800GT on these boards and getting 3DMark06 scores around 9K with the intel versions (which is a PCIe 16x thats electronically limited to 4x). The AMD versions are a full PCIe 16x, so that would be better and the Intel version is maxed out at 2GB, while the new Phenom version goes up to 8GB... only problem is the Phenoms dont seem to be as good as the Intel quad cores (The intel version of the board even supports the quad core extreme.) Besides all of the above, Ive been running the board without a glitch (***knocks on wood and crosses fingers*** lol.)

 

[_____A-L-E-X_____]

More info:

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2007/asrock/alivedual-esata2/g1.htm

"ASRock never fails to surprise me. Old chipset with new features and support for the latest processors. Based on the Defunct ULI 1695 and old NF3 250 chipset, ASRock has created another Dual series product which find a niche market in of it's own.

The ASRockDual-eSATA2 is this latest creation from ASRock which finds it's way to fame with acclaimed products like the 939Dual-SATA2 and 939Dual-VSTA which still has a strong following right till today.

In our tests, we do not see major performance problems with the board when paired up with a PCIe card or AGP card. [In games, it benched about the same as two other motherboards tested.] As NF3-250 is an old AGP chipset, drivers are no longer updated to support newer products. All NVIDIA based AGP cards should not have any issues after installing the GART driver available on the CDROM and Forceware driver. According to ASRock, if you use a Single Core, both ATI and NVIDIA AGP cards can work on the board. If you use a Dual Core CPU, it only works with NVIDIA AGP cards [UNDER VISTA. IN XP BOTH NVIDIA AND ATI CARDS WILL WORK.] Please refer to this page for more installation instructions.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/note/ALiveDual-eSATA2.html

The board also comes with other new features other than supporting Phenom X4. They include the Jmicon SATAII, eSATA port, WIFI header, 7.1ch HDA, PCIe x1 GbE."

 

[lunyone]

The only mobo manufacturer that makes what I like to call "crossover" mobo's. Allows you to "crossover" from AGP to PCI-e when you get the $ to do so.

 

[caamsa]

I have two AsRock boards the dual sata2/vsta boards for 939 and they have been great. Trouble free for two years now. I even used the upgrade plug-in board in one in order to use an AM2 cpu and DDR2 and it worked flawlessly. Cool beans.

 

[zenmaster]

You might want to just consider selling your AGP card.
AGP cards sell for more than their PCI counterparts.

You may be able to get a better PCI-E card in the exchange.

 

[oldscotch]

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=939Dual-SATA2&s=939

This one has an addon slot there for a CPU board that gives you an AM2 slot if you're having trouble finding a 939 processor.

 

[oldscotch]

Oh, actually the above quoted board has the CPU board thing too.

 

[tstone]

Thanks all. This information has been helpful.

I just don't get the brute force adaptation enforced by the limited number of MBs that still support AGP 8X. There are MANY AGP 8X graphics cards out there that still meet all of the desktop/gaming needs of most people. This whole quest boils down to my refusal to throw away a perfectly good card that I paid $350 for when it came out.

 

[elpresidente2075]

This whole quest boils down to my refusal to throw away a perfectly good card that I paid $350 for when it came out.

Unfortunately this is the situation many people are in these days, and have been for the last couple years. I was there in the beginning of '06, and got the 939 dual sata II and couldn't have been happier. These boards are for people looking for a segway between technologies, such as yourself.

Lesson learned? Don't buy $350 graphics cards...

 

[lunyone]

I've been running on my $250 1800xt 256mb GPU for about 2 years or so and couldn't be happier. This was the most that I was willing to spend for a GPU and haven't regretted buying it. It wasn't the best at the time, but 1-2 times below the best, so I think it was a smart decision at the time. It's probably only worth about $50-75 now, but I'm not giving up on it either.

 

[notherdude]

I held out a long time so I could keep using my NV 6800 GT I bought when it first came out and cost about $400. Finally I decided the conroe was reason enough to upgrade but I just couldn't see reusing the 6800 no matter how much I had paid for it. I'm glad now I made the FULL upgrade to c2d and the 8800 GTS.

Yes the Asrock will give you the option to upgrade the video card later but since that seems more or less inevitable and will probably come sooner than later why not just take the full plunge now?

You can also do what I did which was to get the Asrock dual board, put my good AGP card in it, and throw an Opteron 170 in and OC to 2.7 and now I got a very sweet second PC which friends can use to game on when they come over.

 

[oldscotch]

Thanks all. This information has been helpful.

I just don't get the brute force adaptation enforced by the limited number of MBs that still support AGP 8X. There are MANY AGP 8X graphics cards out there that still meet all of the desktop/gaming needs of most people. This whole quest boils down to my refusal to throw away a perfectly good card that I paid $350 for when it came out.

AsRock sold a lot of their 1695 boards for this reason. Full support PCIe x16 and AGP 8x without any performance compromise, a very reasonable price and good support. They were the perfect solution for people who already had good AGP card that wanted to upgrade and could save the AGP -> PCIe transition for later. And then the $30 addon to give yourself an AM2 slot is just gravy.