[lqqkitzti]

im planning on getting a video card for around $150 or under. ive narrowed it down to 2:

BFG - GeForce 6200 OC Graphics Card
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1108124982622

or

BFG - 3DFuzion GeForce 7300 GS Graphics Card
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1140391860712

they both come in pci and pci-e but the only version i can find of my store was agp format. i know that pci and pci-e is faster than agp but i figured since its a pretty decent video card, the format doesnt matter much right? meaning that theyll all perform pretty much the same regardless of whether they are agp, pci, or
pci-e...?

thanks in advance

[awdark]

You have to make sure your computer supports it.

Most motherboards either have AGP or PCI-E not both. They don't work with each other either.

Im really bad at video card advice, but I can tell you that you can spend about $20 less at Fry's or newegg and end up with a card thats much much faster (7600gt)

[OsiX]

Here's useful information:
PCIe is only 'better' in this sense. It has data moving 16X up & down (serial connection) at the same time while AGP(8X) moves 8X only one direction at a time. This increase in bandwidth is supposingly useful in the future with dual(and etc.) cards etc, however, in this moment in time there is no difference even in high end cards because the bandwidth isn't even fully used in AGP8X. In fact, sometimes you'd see AGP being marginally faster than PCIe but most of the time they're pretty much the same.

In regards to those two: The 7300 GT has 256MB @ (350/667) (1.4/10.7) (PCIe) 8 pixel shader units – 8 TMUs – 4 ROPs - 5 vertex shader units
It’s marginally slower than a X1600 Pro, thus it being a bit slower than a 6600 GT. The Slow GDDR2 memory cripples performance but it should still be faster than a 6200OC

[DanTat]

Hi, i have a question o_O

how can you tell the different between APG and PCI-E?

i think my motherboard only has APG but im not sure

If so, would i need a new motherboard in order to get PCI-E slots?

it seems like all the new / good graphics cards are all for PCI-E

[lqqkitzti]

Hi, i have a question o_O

how can you tell the different between APG and PCI-E?

i think my motherboard only has APG but im not sure

If so, would i need a new motherboard in order to get PCI-E slots?

it seems like all the new / good graphics cards are all for PCI-E

pci is your regular pci slot (it shud be white and average length like your networking card and such), agp is the short slot near it (i think its orange), and pci-e is the long green slot.

[awdark]

Best to google image search for a visual comparison


This is my mutant motherboard. One of the few with BOTH agp and pci-e slots

From the left
3 PCI slots
1 Brown AGP slot
1 1x pci-e slot (short stumpy thing... it looks like its about an inch long)
1 white PCI-e slot.

Then theres a weird connector for CPU upgrade ignore that.


How to best tell what you have?
Probably best to look up your motherboard or try out sisoft sandra as that can tell you what you have.

I can never remember how pcie looks compared to AGP. I think AGP slot is much shorter and has a weird pattern of pins (its like fat on top, fat on bottom, fat on top... while the PCIe is a direct line of pins that are straight)
Oh good example! http://twojepc.pl/html/pci_express_kontakt/agp-vs-pci_2.jpg

[DanTat]

^ thanks!

i used that program and it's really helpful

supposedly, i have a PCI-E slot, hurrah :-p

[tony]

i know that pci and pci-e is faster than agp

BTW, yes PCI-e is faster than AGP, but ACG is faster than the regular PCI.

[lqqkitzti]

okay guys i need your advice again. ive decided to get the ati radeon x1600 but now i dont know which one to get. theres one by Diamond, ATI, Sapphire, and a whole lot more (though those are the major ones i think). the only reason im not sure is because the price ranges for these same cards with the same specs are to wide. one end is $112 and the other is $199. is there a difference in them, for example reliabilty or overheating?

[tony]

I don't really like the x1600. I was considering buying that card myself. Its GPU is so much slower than the one in the x800. But if you want to, then you should get it on Black Friday. The ATI x1600 is only $99 at BestBuy.

[lqqkitzti]

^ thats when i was thinkn of gettin it but i dont know if i can wait 2 weeks lol

[DanTat]

^ thats when i was thinkn of gettin it but i dont know if i can wait 2 weeks lol

try newegg?, their stuff is way cheaper than bestbuy's

they have pleanty of x1600 models for around $90-150

[Jangoon]

how do i know if i have PCI or AGP

[Tepper]

Q:

how do i know if i have PCI or AGP

A:

Best to google image search for a visual comparison


This is my mutant motherboard. One of the few with BOTH agp and pci-e slots

From the left
3 PCI slots
1 Brown AGP slot
1 1x pci-e slot (short stumpy thing... it looks like its about an inch long)
1 white PCI-e slot.

Then theres a weird connector for CPU upgrade ignore that.


How to best tell what you have?
Probably best to look up your motherboard or try out sisoft sandra as that can tell you what you have.

I can never remember how pcie looks compared to AGP. I think AGP slot is much shorter and has a weird pattern of pins (its like fat on top, fat on bottom, fat on top... while the PCIe is a direct line of pins that are straight)
Oh good example! http://twojepc.pl/html/pci_express_kontakt/agp-vs-pci_2.jpg

[Adionik]

Whoa, why would you ever consider BB for your GPU needs? =X (You'll get screwed over bad most of the time. 299.99 for an 6100?)

Nonetheless, you don't...game very hard, do you?