Originally posted by: Bateluer
Getting a mobo with a PCIe support would give you much more longevity with the system overall. I'd be surprised if we see AGP version of next gen graphics cards, honestly.
I couldnt disagree more. Think about it this way. NV and ATI want to sell. That is what they are in the buisness to do. How many people have PCI-e boards today? 10% or less? Thats about what I assume. How many do u think will be a year from now? Less then 50%? Im guessing so. If they were to make the decision to abandon agp, that would mean that atleast 80% of gamers would have to have PCI-E in their systems so that NV and ATI can sell their cards. The truth is that AGP will probably be around for a couple of years. Why did they stop making PCI cards? The bandwidth wasnt enough to support the higher end cards. AGP 4x is ample bandwidth for the majority of graphic cards today. The LATEST generation of cards (x800/6800) are just starting to see SOME benefit from AGP 8x. There were actually tests done with agp 4x vs 8x on a 9800xt and there was NO benefit from even using the "crippled" agp 4x mode. What does this mean? If the market is slow to adapt to pci-e as they have been, and the bandwidth is enough to support the higher end of cards, then nv and ati WILL have to make their cards in an agp form for their next gen (and i dont mean refresh) which will probably be around next year. Basically im saying that ur pretty safe with agp if you dont plan on upgrading until mid 2006 or whenever the generation AFTER the NEXT gen comes out, comes out.
-based on the above info, you are getting more then enough bandwidth for your card to use. You probably are barely even using agp 4x with your aged geforce 4.
-the benfits of pci express are the following:
-more future proof slots
-more bandwidth for video editing (4x) more bandwidth for gaming (2x) (4.2g/s up + 4.2g/s down)
-lack of need for molex connectors on graphics cards
-SLI (note that none of those motherboards support it that u mentioned)
-the drawbacks of pci express (on just setups that uve debated buying aka intel):
-costly for new archetecture in price/performance comparison
-slower then the similarly priced/performing a64 system (even more so in gaming)
-more power requirements (less juice for those future graphic cards)
-more heat emitted from processor (as compared to a64)
-less of a choice in graphic cards
-Intel seems to be lacking in their speed upgrades on processors lately and upgrade paths may change
-brittle pins on LGA775
-what i would do:
1) If i were u, id just upgrade my cpu to anything 3.0 gigs or above and get a 6800gt. This will be well under your budget, probably 1/2. Then, next year build a new rig if u still have that bug.
2) You could also build an A64 3500+ system on socket 939 and get the 6800gt and meet your budget. This is one of the fastest combinations u can have today and will stop that annoying itch to upgrade.
3) Stay away from intel. Intel seems to be having diminishing returns on their speed upgrades and AMD has them beat especially in gaming. A64= gaming chip. Its archetecture is designed in a way that gamers benefit HIGHLY on framerate.
4) Wait for the amd pci express boards to come out. U can use old ddr memory (which performs JUST AS FAST as ddr 2 memory at similar speeds) and u will have the benefits of pci express, without the drawbacks of an intel system in terms of gaming performance. This is expected out near the end of this year. Until then u could experement with your system by overclocking it and it may satisfy that bug long enough for the wait. You also could then take advantage of SLI by purchasing a board with 2 x16 pci-e slots and later, when u get the bug again, u would then just add another card
-I hope this helps some. I'm out of time or id list more reasons/ pros / cons / opinions. If you have any questions just reply to the message and ill msg on here more later
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