Discussion
Just (finally) getting round to the details of my new system. I understand PCI-E is the way forward, but all the high-spec 'gamers' GFX cards seem to be AGP.
Is it worth forgetting PCI-E and going for an AGP MoBo/GFX combo? I want a machine that'll last 5 years, won't need upgrading etc.
Is it worth forgetting PCI-E and going for an AGP MoBo/GFX combo? I want a machine that'll last 5 years, won't need upgrading etc.
Last I heard PCI-E is still getting rolled out and as such it'll be a while before high-end graphics cards are available, wide-spread in the format.
Last for 5 years? It seems unlikely that you will be able to make a PC that is capable of running all the new games in 5 years time. I have a machine I built back in 2001 (1400tbird, GF4400ti, 512 PC133) and I simply can't run something like Doom3...
Last for 5 years? It seems unlikely that you will be able to make a PC that is capable of running all the new games in 5 years time. I have a machine I built back in 2001 (1400tbird, GF4400ti, 512 PC133) and I simply can't run something like Doom3...
I'm not a massive game fan right now (though I could get into it a little, part of the reason for the upgrade). My current PII-400 is now reaching it's 6th birthday. I think computers age at the same rate as cats, or actually rodents - this hamster is about to give up the ghost! 
Will probably get the best card I can find now (£150-worth, or so it seems) and look at upgrading if it's not up to the task.
Will probably get the best card I can find now (£150-worth, or so it seems) and look at upgrading if it's not up to the task.
docevi1 said:
Last I heard PCI-E is still getting rolled out and as such it'll be a while before high-end graphics cards are available, wide-spread in the format.
ATi Radeon X800 Pro and XT versions already widely available in the market in PCI-X format. You don't get much more high end in terms of gaming cards.
I want a machine that'll last 5 years, won't need upgrading etc. "
mmmm..think more a year or 2 max if you want to be able to play all the latest games.
High end graphics cards are around £300-350 for the top end Nvidia 6800 Ultras and ATI X800XTs in 256Mb - 512Mb due out soon.
no matter what you buy its out of date in 6 months
anyways - wouldnt worry tooo much about PCI express...its isnt offering that much more, and I think It will be a while to take off - you are limiting yourself by getting PCI express now with a 128MB graphics card etc...Id go more high end mainstream and stick with that (and have done)
mmmm..think more a year or 2 max if you want to be able to play all the latest games.
High end graphics cards are around £300-350 for the top end Nvidia 6800 Ultras and ATI X800XTs in 256Mb - 512Mb due out soon.
no matter what you buy its out of date in 6 months
anyways - wouldnt worry tooo much about PCI express...its isnt offering that much more, and I think It will be a while to take off - you are limiting yourself by getting PCI express now with a 128MB graphics card etc...Id go more high end mainstream and stick with that (and have done)
www.dabs.com seems to be the only place stocking top of the range PCI-E cards ATM. I didn't know they were available as Scan, Overclockers and Ebuyer don't list them at all!
www.microdirect.co.uk have some X600 cards in stock and are showing X800's on the trade pricelist so they should have those soon.
arcturus said:
Last I heard PCI-E is still getting rolled out and as such it'll be a while before high-end graphics cards are available, wide-spread in the format.
end in terms of gaming cards.
Ah, I didn't actually hear of these releases - I've been out of the market for a couple of months now... hence the "last I heard". Sorry.
There's nothing much on the PCI-e front that's a cutting edge package at the moment; a high-end AGPx8 card will still be walking all over the latest PCI-e cards at the moment in terms of outright performance. In all fairness, it tends to be the motherboards and chipsets that are letting the side down, not the graphics cards themselves.
PCI-e needles to settle down and become more 'marketable'; at the moment it's not convinving anyone because, for most, the jump to PCI-e also means the jump to DDR2 and Intels wonderful Socket 775. And AGPx8 still has plenty of bandwidth to feed modern-day processors.
On the basis that anything you buy will be out of date in 6 months time anyway, I would hold off on PCI-e for now. Most of the reviews I've seen of P4/PCI-e/DDR2/motherboard combos come out *significantly* worse off than the equivalent s478/754/939.
In short : it's new, and Intel are having a hard time of convincing anyone to move to the new technologies because, as yet, it still doesn't cut it against the old technology.
Give it a while
>> Edited by brumster on Monday 30th August 22:28
PCI-e needles to settle down and become more 'marketable'; at the moment it's not convinving anyone because, for most, the jump to PCI-e also means the jump to DDR2 and Intels wonderful Socket 775. And AGPx8 still has plenty of bandwidth to feed modern-day processors.
On the basis that anything you buy will be out of date in 6 months time anyway, I would hold off on PCI-e for now. Most of the reviews I've seen of P4/PCI-e/DDR2/motherboard combos come out *significantly* worse off than the equivalent s478/754/939.
In short : it's new, and Intel are having a hard time of convincing anyone to move to the new technologies because, as yet, it still doesn't cut it against the old technology.
Give it a while
>> Edited by brumster on Monday 30th August 22:28
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff