PCI or PCI Express?

[Eirgorn]

I know this is probably a very elementary hardware question - but what can I say, Im a newbie!

Im trying to pick out a new graphics card for my brother for Christmas, and Im not sure how I can tell what he can use. I was going to give him my old card, but its AGP and Im fairly certain he has a PCI card.

I told him to run dxdiag and look at the video section, and he said it has a GeForce 2 blah blah something PCI. Does that mean I can only get a PCI card to replace it (not a PCI Express)? Or are they compatible?

Let me know if I need to call him and get more information. Im only planning on buying him a 128-256mb card (maybe the 7600GS for $50 in the Hot Deals section) so I dont think the PSU or mobo would limit the choice - but of course I could be wrong.

Thanks for the help!!!!

 

[jim1976]

Good luck finding a PCI card...
Mate IF he still has a PCI system then he needs a total upgrade not just a video card.. Even AGP is considered old news nowadays, don't even bother with "ancient "PCI cards..

 

[Eirgorn]

Well Newegg has a Radeon 9250 and a couple other PCI cards, I was just wondering if there is a way for me to confirm that my brother needs a PCI and not a PCI Express.

Is there anywhere I can tell him to look in the computer to tell? Was I right to have him check the dxdiag?

I think the pin connections to the mobo are different between the PCI and PCI-e right? Even though I think he would be scared to open his box hehe.

 

[jim1976]

There are many ways on how you can check this..

First of all the card itself is different than an AGP if it is a PCI. So tell him to make a photo of the card and send it to you..

Also you can use dxdiag or a 3rd party program such as Sisoft Sandra and through those he can provide you a full report of his PC..

All you have to do is check his specs and see for yourself..

 

[Eirgorn]

Ok thank you for the replies, Im going to see if he can email me his dxdiag file so I can look at it first hand.

THanks again!

 

[Paratus]

If he only has PCI look into getting an X1300 in PCI. It's the fastest card available for PCI

 

[dderolph]

Hmmm, I've seen several references to dxdiag here and it doesn't make sense because the DirectX Diagnostic Tool that starts by running dxdiag does NOT show the type slot for a video card installed in the computer.

If you want a thorough report on what's in that system, I suggest using EVEREST Free Edition 2.20

 

[Matthias99]

Hmmm, I've seen several references to dxdiag here and it doesn't make sense because the DirectX Diagnostic Tool that starts by running dxdiag does NOT show the type slot for a video card installed in the computer.

No, but it does tell you what kind of card it is. If it's a video card that only exists in PCI, then you have a PCI video card (although that doesn't mean you don't maybe have an AGP slot.)

Everest works well, but needs to be downloaded. dxdiag is on every system.

 

[dderolph]

Well, many cards were made for both PCI and AGP slots, so your point is rather meaningless. For example, I have a PCI card (used to run a second monitor) that has a nVidia GeForce4 MX440 GPU but, since the MX440 was also commonly used in AGP cards.

Do you have a definitive list somewhere of which type cards every GPU was ever used on?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: dderolph
Well, many cards were made for both PCI and AGP slots, so your point is rather meaningless. For example, I have a PCI card (used to run a second monitor) that has a nVidia GeForce4 MX440 GPU but, since the MX440 was also commonly used in AGP cards.

Do you have a definitive list somewhere of which type cards every GPU was ever used on?

Not handy, no. Tom's Hardware has published a lot of very extensive GPU lists, though, as has XBitlabs. You can also look in Device Manager and see if you have an AGP controller listed as part of your motherboard devices.

Seriously, though, it's a little nuts that you can't easily tell this sort of thing from within Windows. I blame Microsoft!

 

[Captante]

How about having him pull the side off of his case & either take a look himself or take a picture of the motherboard & send that to you?

The question you need to answer isn't only if he has a PCI or AGP card, he may have an available AGP slot that isn't being used.

 

[Steve]

Have him download, install and run Belarc Advisor. When the report comes up in IE, have him save the file and send it to you in an email.

 

[Eirgorn]

Wow thanks for all the replies everyone!!!

I just got my new X800GTO in the mail today, so Im just going to replace my old 9700 agp with it tonight. I was hoping to give him my old card. I'll get him to run one of the above programs to see if he has an agp slot - if he has trouble with that I'll just head over there after work tomorrow and look at it first hand.

Thanks again everyone! ATForums FTW!