PCI-E or AGP?

[leon0098]

I'm finding a lot of debate on the subject. I was hoping someone could clear it up for me. I'm planning on building a new system and I need help on which way to go. I have on hand a AMD 3000+ and a BFG GeForce 6800 OC. Its my motherboard I need to decide on. SLI or AGP my current mobo is fried I had a MSI K8N Neo Platinum 754 socket. I don"t mind upgrading on everthing (cpu 939, mobo 939, video card, and even psu). I can give the graphics card to my kids PC. I have my eye on the sapphire radeon x800 GTO2 PCI-E but I'm hearing that SLI is a waste of money. Can anyone clear this up for me please?

 

[doomturkey]

Yes, SLI is pretty much a waste of money because when you buy a 2 card solution there is usually a better one card solution for the same price. This is because SLI or crossfire only give a maximum of a %50 improvement in fps.
So, what I think you should do is just get a mobo with a single pci-e slot and get something the GTO2 that you mentioned. BTW, what is your budget on a graphics card? That would greatly help because something like a 7900GT would be a great card to have.

 

[ikjadoon]

Agreed, SLi is only good for very high resolutions, 1600X1200+ Now how many people continually play on that resolutions, with AA/AF turned up? Not that many. I personally like to play at 1280X1024 with all the goodies turned up and maybe a little AA/AF on the side, if the gaming permits. Mostly in MP, you are busy with other things than concentrating on how jaggy that door frame looks.

~Ibrahim~

 

[leon0098]

Yes a 7900Gt would be nice but would that be a good choice with a AMD 3000+ cuz that's what I have on hand. If not I need to buy a new cpu,mobo and that only bcuz I would like a 939 socket. I have a buget of about $800 but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

 

[doomturkey]

Try this out:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081
$67
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539
$212
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130281
$299

Total: $578

The Asrock dual mobo lets you keep your existing AGP card for a little while longer if you so please, and you can use a pci-e card without having to upgrade your mobo. The A64 3700+ should last a while, and it wouldnt cause any bottlenecks. And if you wanted, you can get 7900GT for $300. This card will run most games very well and will last you awhile. There is still an extra $222 for you to spend (if you wanted) and this would allow you to maybe get a an A64 x2 or a better graphics card.

 

[leon0098]

thank you. that sounds great good price and everything. One question and it might sound stupid but are you saying I can run both my agp card and the 7900GT PCI-E at the same time.

 

[Henrik]

I wouldn't compare SLI vs. AGP. Rather, PCI-E vs. AGP. If you are building a new PC go with PCI-E (especially if you are using it for any kind of gaming). Spend the few extra bucks for a mobo that supports SLI (if you so wish to use SLI down the road).

I currently have a SLI ready mobo with a 7800GTX. I'm very happy with the way it is performing at the moment and I don't really plan on moving to SLI until programs (especially games) are optimized for it. Will I move to it eventually? Don't know yet... but is PCI-E better than AGP... Yes. Hands down.

 

[doomturkey]

thank you. that sounds great good price and everything. One question and it might sound stupid but are you saying I can run both my agp card and the 7900GT PCI-E at the same time.

No you cant run both cards at the same time just one or the other. Any other s939 mobo should also do fine, but i would suggest this one if you wanted to keep your 6800 a little while longer and down the line upgrade to something like a 7900gt, without getting a new mobo.

And btw I agree with Henrik, AGP and SLI arent comparable as SLI is 2x pci-e and AGP is a different interface.

 

[MarkG]

Agreed, SLi is only good for very high resolutions, 1600X1200+ Now how many people continually play on that resolutions, with AA/AF turned up?

I agree that SLI is silly unless you have money to burn, but I play most games in 1600x1200 with 4xAA and really noticed the jaggies last night when the card randomly decided not to turn AA on.

FEAR is about the only exception since it chugs a bit at 1600x1200 so I couldn't even consider running it at high resolution with AA... 1280x960 is about the limit to have a decent frame-rate at all times.

As for the original question, AGP is dying fast. While a combined AGP/PCI-Express system would make some sense in the short term to re-use an old AGP card, even if companies continue releasing AGP cards in future, they'll be more expensive and slower than the PCI-Express versions of the same cards.

 

[cleeve]

thank you. that sounds great good price and everything. One question and it might sound stupid but are you saying I can run both my agp card and the 7900GT PCI-E at the same time.

YES YOU CAN.

I've got this board and it's once of the selling features on the box...

"ASRock has given good thought to their slot placement. You can run two video cards with dual-slot cooling solutions and will still be able to use PCI cards."

"http://www.techpowerup.com/printreview.php?id=/ASRock/939Dual-SATA2"