stuck w/only a PCI slot, can i play games at all?

[urmother]

so i recently picked up an emachine for what i thought was a good price. i checked the motherboard specs to make sure it had a PCI-E x16 slot and it did! but it turns out the actual motherboard had the slot (and a few RAM slots) taken out for some reason.

so no AGP and no PCI-E x16. totally bummed.

so can i play decently new games at all? if so, what video cards should i consider? not looking for crazy specs obviously, just the ability to play some newer stuff.

also, there's not any way to add an AGP or PCI-E x16 slot is there? the space for the PCI-E x16 is still there, but w/all the pinholes filled. also, i've got a short PCI-E x1 slot if i can do anything w/that. thanks for any help anyone can offer. and if i'm just SOL i guess i'd appreciate hearing that too.

 

[amd64freak]

There a couple of pci-e x1 gpu's out there, but none of them or any of the pci gpu's out there will be able to play any modern games and are mostly only still being sold for servers and stuff like that.

There's always minesweeper

 

[urmother]

There a couple of pci-e x1 gpu's out there, but none of them or any of the pci gpu's out there will be able to play any modern games and are mostly only still being sold for servers and stuff like that.

There's always minesweeper

where's the nearest sword i can find to fall on?

i knew i wasn't getting some ridiculous rig, but it was sooooo cheap, and i thought w/a couple upgrades it'd serve me well for games too.
P4 3.06ghz, 1gb ddr2, 160gb sata hd and dvd-r for <$230.
so i can't complain, it just sucks. maybe i can get a mobo from a friend looking to soup up their comp up i guess.

are all the PCI cards out there are going to be pretty comparable to the craptastic integrated graphics already in the machine?

 

[amd64freak]

Just sell the parts on ebay and you could actually end up making a profit from this

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

think about it this way, while they make an FX5700LE, GF6200 in PCIe variants they likely won't play better than either a PCI R9250 or the integrated X200 and GF6100 / 6150.

They are so held back by the PCI bus I would suggest get a new mobo with either the X200 or GF6150 so you can game now, and then also have the option to upgrade later (just be sure to get a mobo with a newer connector).

Sounds like you got DELL'ed or eMachine'd, etc.

If you can try to sell the mobo, but your only gaming option is new gear IMO, just like A64F said.

 

[carpcmelee]

fx5500. nuff said

 

[pauldh]

fx5500. nuff said

ooooh, a budget card from 3 generations ago. Yummy! That thing is a toy; playing todays games on that is about as enjoyable as taking a power-wheels to the race track. :roll:

 

[mpjesse]

It's time to sacrafice your rig to the computer gods. Only then will you be rewarded with good health and a new motherboard.

 

[urmother]

well, i can't totally sacrifice the rig for a new one as this is the new rig. (pathetic i know, but i'm poor). any recommendations for a new, fairly cheap mobo? i checked out the mobo section here, but i'll be honest, i've got no clue what they're saying. (i'm at the can install an extra harddrive/ram/videocard level of tech know-how, ie. -- not that much). i assume going step-by-step and installing a new mobo is a reasonable DIY?

P4 3.06ghz, 1gb ddr2, 160gb sata hd, 300gb ata hd, dvd-r (ata), 2 monitors
vidcard -- i'm thinking about the geforce 7600 gs (on the recommendation here)

massive upgradabilty isn't a huge issue for me. this thing'll probably last me 2-3 years or so and be done. cost and reasonable performance are the main things i'm looking for.

 

[chocobocorey]

fx5500. nuff said

ooooh, a budget card from 3 generations ago. Yummy! That thing is a toy; playing todays games on that is about as enjoyable as taking a power-wheels to the race track. :roll:

hahaha

 

[scorch]

Your in the same boat I was in. We bought my daughter the Chronicals of Narnia game for Cristmas along with a Dell 2.8 Ghz (the Dell was very a cheap buy from a friend and it keeps her off of my comuter...LOL) anyways she couldn't play the game because the onboard graphics wouldn't support it. So I do the reaserch to find out what to get but low and behold no AGP or PCI-E. So I checked around and found a BFG GEFORCE fx5500 PCI that matched the specs the game was looking for. The game plays fine, maybe not up to the hard core gamer but for a 10yr old she is happy. I played the game and it is not too bad considering the rig it is being played on.

 

[jaguarskx]

well, i can't totally sacrifice the rig for a new one as this is the new rig. (pathetic i know, but i'm poor). any recommendations for a new, fairly cheap mobo?

Unfortunately, you're going to be saddled with an AGP card since your CPU is socket 478, which is before PCI-e became a standard.

Since I don't know if you have an ATX or micro-ATX motherboard I will recommend a couple of both. m-ATX mobos are the smaller of the two. They are around 9" by 8" and will only have at most 3 PCI slots. ATX mobos are larger and will have more PCI slots. A m-ATX mobo will fit in a ATX or m-ATX case.

Cheap m-ATX mobos:

BIOSTAR P4M80-M4 - $51 shipped

MSI PM8M-V - $50 shipped

ASUS P4P800-MX - $66 shipped


Cheap ATX mobos:

ASUS P4S800D-X - $61 Shipped

MSI 865PE NEO2-V - $69 shipped

 

[jaguarskx]

i'm thinking about the geforce 7600 gs (on the recommendation here)

Here's a list of GPUs to consider since the 7600GS AGP is not out yet:

SAPPHIRE Radeon X800GTO 100131L - $145 shipped & after rebate - A previous generation GPU, but none the less pretty powerful for an AGP at that price.

SAPPHIRE Radeon X850PRO 100152SR - $193 Shipped & after rebate - Even faster than the above card, but it does cost $48 more.

If you are on a real budget, you might want to consider the SAPPHIRE Radeon X1600PRO 100148L - $106 shipped & after rebate. - This is based on a current generation GPU, but it's not really a card I would recommend since performance is mediocre and may only last you a year if you are a little demanding on visual effects.

In any case, since you are stuck with AGP, you're gonna be screwed by a small selection of mediocre to decent GPUs within a small budget.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Unfortunately, you're going to be saddled with an AGP card since your CPU is socket 478, which is before PCI-e became a standard.

While S478 was the standard before PCIe, he's not saddled with AGP, he can go with PCIe as there are S478 solutions with PCIe;

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=12&l3=0&model=425&modelmenu=1

They are hard to find but worth looking for as an upgrade path IMO.

There' is an MSI @ NewEgg, which is a little pricey, but if you are upgrading anyways, the premium is about the saem as the AGP pemium on most cards (the X1600P being an exception), here's the OEM version which is $40 cheaper at least;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130539R

While there is the note about PM, they work on 400/533mhz desktop chips as well (check the web there are lots of reviews/tests/testimonials).

AND FORGET AGP!

Get a GF7600GT or X1800GTO if you can afford them, otherwise the GF7600GS is 'ok', all the AGP options are either crippled or outdate or overpriced.

 

[jaguarskx]

While S478 was the standard before PCIe, he's not saddled with AGP, he can go with PCIe as there are S478 solutions with PCIe;

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=12&l3=0&model=425&modelmenu=1

They are hard to find but worth looking for as an upgrade path IMO.

They have been discontinued, and therefore no longer available ANYWERE, except maybe e-Bay.

There' is an MSI @ NewEgg, which is a little pricey, but if you are upgrading anyways, the premium is about the saem as the AGP pemium on most cards (the X1600P being an exception), here's the OEM version which is $40 cheaper at least;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130539R

While there is the note about PM, they work on 400/533mhz desktop chips as well (check the web there are lots of reviews/tests/testimonials).

I don't know, seems kinda of iffy because while both Pentium M and Pentium 4 has 478 pins on the CPU, they are arranged differently so that they are not swappable. That's why Pentium Ms are usaually referred to as socket 479.

You should provide links to some review using the P4.

 

[TheMaster]

You're right, i rember asus had a converter for 478-> 479 if you wanted to put a mobile chip in there.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune...
next time look inside the case before you buy!

If you can find the P4GPL-X, that i have, its a decent 478 PCIE mobo.
Only downside is that it only has 2 DIMMS of memory.

Looks like you're in luck:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Motherboard-ASUS-P4GPL-X-socket478-Retail-BOX_W0QQitemZ6889601530QQcategoryZ99245QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-P4GPL-X-ASUS-MOTHER-BOARD_W0QQitemZ6889874291QQcategoryZ80158QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[jaguarskx]

If you can find the P4GPL-X, that i have, its a decent 478 PCIE mobo.
Only downside is that it only has 2 DIMMS of memory.

Looks like you're in luck:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Motherboard-ASUS-P4GPL-X-socket478-Retail-BOX_W0QQitemZ6889601530QQcategoryZ99245QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yep, just what I though. It is on sale at e-Bay.

Yes, you can buy and sell almost anything on e-Bay. Maybe I'll try selling toe jam.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

They have been discontinued, and therefore no longer available ANYWERE, except maybe e-Bay.

Depends on the shops. The GF6800GT is discontinued and yet it's still in many stores as well. Just and example of 1 of about 6 S478 MoBos that offered the option. Meaning he's not FORCED to do anything if he can find alternatives, and a true GF7600GT is better than the other options he faces in AGP if he can avoid them. Personally I'd even take my chances on eBay over the other options.

and another ASUS to look for on eBay;
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=12&l3=27&model=167&modelmenu=1

I don't know, seems kinda of iffy because while both Pentium M and Pentium 4 has 478 pins on the CPU, they are arranged differently so that they are not swappable. That's why Pentium Ms are usaually referred to as socket 479.

Actually the S479 is the PentiumM, S478 is P4NorthwoodMobile which is pin compatible with the desktops, according to the description this board uses a header/adapter for the S478s like theMaster mentioned.

You should provide links to some review using the P4.

Well it's been a while since I bothered with these, I'd actually have to spend time looking for them (which I don't have as much time to do) but I may have confused this with the Albatron we went over this so long ago it's hard to remember which is which;
http://www.albatron.com.tw/english/it/mb/specification.asp?pro_id=160

Which was the other S478+PCIe they used to sell. Can't keep track of them all. :tongue:

Anywhoo the point is there are other options out there if you're willing to look for them.

Yes, you can buy and sell almost anything on e-Bay. Maybe I'll try selling toe jam.

Nah, try an outdated X8 series card. :roll: What's with the 'tude bud? TM was just showing that they are still available to the guy.