BTX PCI Express Motherboards Query

[Jabout]

Will upgrading to a BTX PCI Express Motherboard later this year necessitate
chucking out all my cards e.g. modem, soundblaster and so on, or will it
just be a case of discarding the old AGP card?

 

[DaveW]

ALL slots will supposedly be PCI Express, which means all new cards.

 

[zalzon]

ALL slots will supposedly be PCI Express, which means all new cards.

oh sh*t. say it ain't so!

is that true?

isn't PCI Express backwards compatible with PCI like USB 2.0 is back
compatible with USB 1?

 

[Harry]

As far as I can tell the new PCI express will result in new slots for
PCIExpress cards.

However, I would think that Mobo makers will include some PCI slots
and PCI Express slots on new boards for the foreseeable future.
This is what they did with ISA and PCI.

I would think that you have at least 2 years worth of PCI left before
its deemed obsolete.

HTH

Harry

 

[We Live For The One We Die For The One]

PCI Express is 100% compatible with PCI you can plu any PCI card into
it and it will work just fine, DUMB ARSE.

Not sure if the boards will have AGP and if you cna run AGP and PCI
express cards at once though :-/

 

[Harry]

PCI Express is 100% compatible with PCI you can plu any PCI card into
it and it will work just fine, DUMB ARSE.

You thick plonker. He asked about PCI Express not PCI-X !!

PCI Express is a SERIAL interconnect technology, providing increased
bandwidth for newer, high performance graphics boards, Firewire, USB,
Network Appliances, and so on.

The older conventional PCI standard is a PARALLEL interconnect
technology. These devices, including PCI based graphics boards, will
NOT fit in a PCI Express slot. They are NOT compatible.

Some motherboards may include both PCI and PCI Express features.

PCI Express should not be confused with PCI-X. These two technologies
are mutually exclusive.

 

[We Live For The One We Die For The One]

Yes i am

You thick plonker. He asked about PCI Express not PCI-X !!

PCI Express is a SERIAL interconnect technology, providing increased
bandwidth for newer, high performance graphics boards, Firewire, USB,
Network Appliances, and so on.

The older conventional PCI standard is a PARALLEL interconnect
technology. These devices, including PCI based graphics boards, will
NOT fit in a PCI Express slot. They are NOT compatible.

Some motherboards may include both PCI and PCI Express features.

PCI Express should not be confused with PCI-X. These two technologies
are mutually exclusive.

 

[BarryNL]

Yes i am

PCI Express will be backwards compatible with current PCI boards. Read
this article at anandtech:

http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.html?i=1830&p=7

 

[Harry]

PCI Express will be backwards compatible with current PCI boards. Read
this article at anandtech:

http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.html?i=1830&p=7

So PCI Express cards can be plugged into existing PCI slots (with an
adapter), but PCI cards cannot be plugged into new PCI-Express slots.

Mobo makers should release boards with PCI and PCI Express slots (and
probably an AGP slot). Both PCI slots and PCI Express slots will be
able to co-exist and run together on these mobos.

 

[BarryNL]

So PCI Express cards can be plugged into existing PCI slots (with an
adapter), but PCI cards cannot be plugged into new PCI-Express slots.

Other way round. Future PCI Express mobos will still be able to take
current PCI cards.

Mobo makers should release boards with PCI and PCI Express slots (and
probably an AGP slot). Both PCI slots and PCI Express slots will be
able to co-exist and run together on these mobos.

Exactly what will happen (except for AGP which is basically a Norwegian
Blue now).

 

[Harry]

Other way round. Future PCI Express mobos will still be able to take
current PCI cards.

Really? Reading the Anandtech article, I understand it to mean that
existing PCI mobos that have the 3GIO adapters fitted will take PCI
Express and/or PCI cards.

For new PCI Express boards they will have to have original vanilla PCI
slots with the added 3GIO adapters fitted.

Full blown PCI Express slots (ie not PCI slot with adapter) still wont
take PCI cards.



Taken from
http://archive.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/07/24/020724hnpcispecs.xml

"PCI Express is software-compatible with PCI, but represents a new
direction for the hardware side of the technology, and PCI Express
cards will not work in PCI slots. It is designed to be scalable, and
is a serial I/O (input/output) technology."

ATI make it quite clear that PCI and PCI Express slots wont work.
http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4246.html