How many PCI slots?

[FBrann]

I'm planning on building a computer myself and have been looking at
quite a nice motherboard as far as I can see - the Gigabyte
GA-K8NXP-SLI. It seems like one of the better motherboards for an
Athlon 64 bit processor. The only problem I can see would be the lack
of PCI slots.

I've been told by friends to get as many PCI slots as possible, but
(from what I can make out) the gigabyte only has 2 normal PCI slots and
2 PCI Express which (correct me if I'm wrong) aren't compatable with a
normal PCI card. What would I be using PCI cards for other than
usb/firewire e.t.c. ports and a sound card? Apparently most modern
graphics cards use PCI express. How many PCI slots should I be looking
for in a card?

Thanks!

 

[BlastUK]

hard to say, i'd say keep 1 or 2 pci-e slots and have at least 3 normal
pci, get a bigger board if you're worried.. but if you don't plan on
upgrading then leave it as it is

pci-e and normal pci are not compatible

 

[Russell S]

We use this board for our Bistro4-SLiT system
(http://tastycomputers.com/bistro_menu/systems/bistro4sli.htm), and it's a
great motherboard. There are 2 PCI-Express x16 slots for graphics cards (1
card or 2 identical cards for 2 x 8x SLi graphics configurations), 2
PCI-Express x1 slots for new PCI-Express cards (very few on the market yet,
but ready for them when more are released), and 2 PCI (PCI 2.3 compliant)
standard slots for the majority of other cards. Since this motherboard has
plenty of onboard USB, FireWire, LAN, sound and SATA/PATA base/raid ports,
really no need for any PCI cards at all, unless you want a legacy internal
modem for telephone line internet access/faxing, or a premium sound card
solution in lieu of the onboard 7.1 channel sound.

Good luck to you in your new build!

 

[FBrann]

Thanks for the advice guys! Unless anyone can come up with another use
for PCI ports with this card I guess I'll go ahead! Now if anyone has
advice about Ram, types of athlon processor, video card, sound
card......

Btw, I definately wouldn't need an agp port with pcie would I?

Thanks again!

 

[Russell S]

AGP and PCI-Express cards/slots are NOT compatible with one another. Newer
graphics cards are shifting to PCI-Express, and this motherboard doesn't
have an AGP slot. As far as a processor, you need a 939-pin Athlon CPU, and
you should either get an Athlon64 or an Athlon64 x2 dual core. Memory
amount is up to you; 1 GB or more will give you great
performance...definitely get at least 512 MB at a minimum from a tier one
manufacturer such as Mushkin or Corsair. Dual packs of low latency ram are
best for best performance. Video depends on your intended use and budget;
I'd go for an SLi-ready GeForce card if you plan on utilizing SLi now or in
the future with dual cards. If not, an ATI-based X300 or higher card, or
GeForce 6200 or higher card will be compatible. Sound is up to
you...there's already a good Realtek AC'97 codec 7.1 channel onboard sound
solution with this board, but if you're an audiophile and your budget allows
it, you could opt for a 3rd party PCI soundcard such as an Audigy 2/4 series
card for great sound with low CPU utilization.

At the end of the day, you should consider your intended present/future use
for the system, and set up a budget for it. You can always upgrade various
components down the road with this board if your needs change.

 

[John Doe]

(e-mail address removed) wrote:

....

I've been told by friends to get as many PCI slots as possible,

That is probably outdated advice.

normal PCI card. What would I be using PCI cards for other than
usb/firewire e.t.c. ports and a sound card?

Why would you need PCI cards for USB?

Apparently the mainboard has built-in (software) sound, so you
might not need a sound card immediately.

http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-K8NXP-SLI.htm#

 

[John Doe]

We use this board for our Bistro4-SLiT system...

I was wondering why you were recommending a different mainboard
when the question was about how many standard PCI slots should be
included, and your recommendation has no more than the mainboard
originally specified.

Then I realized that's not a "board", that's advertising for your
web site. If it were a mainboard, it would have a manufacturer
name and model/part number

I also just noticed that the original author's is apparently his
first post to usenet. But my guess is that's not related.

... Since this motherboard has plenty of onboard USB, FireWire,
LAN, sound and SATA/PATA base/raid ports,

So does the mainboard originally specified.

http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-K8NXP-SLI.htm#

 

[John Doe]

Oh, I see, apparently the system advertised uses the same mainboard
is the original author's plan.

 

[Ruel Smith]

I'm planning on building a computer myself and have been looking at
quite a nice motherboard as far as I can see - the Gigabyte
GA-K8NXP-SLI. It seems like one of the better motherboards for an
Athlon 64 bit processor. The only problem I can see would be the lack
of PCI slots.

I've been told by friends to get as many PCI slots as possible, but
(from what I can make out) the gigabyte only has 2 normal PCI slots and
2 PCI Express which (correct me if I'm wrong) aren't compatable with a
normal PCI card. What would I be using PCI cards for other than
usb/firewire e.t.c. ports and a sound card? Apparently most modern
graphics cards use PCI express. How many PCI slots should I be looking
for in a card?

Possible WiFi card comes to mind, as well as maybe a BlueTooth card, if you
needed such an item. Personally, most boards offer enough Firewire and USB
ports that I doubt you'd need more.

Most likely, you might use 1 or 2 PCI slots at a time. Motherboards are just
loaded with most features you'll ever need these days.

 

[BP]

I use two slots for network cards (the second one could be on-board , mine
is not), another for a dial up modem (personal insanity), one is rendered
useless by the gargantuan 9800 Pro video card. I might want to add more EIDE
devices with a card, but not likely. If I was intersted in WiFi that would
require another slot. I've got 4 USB ports ( I could have 8), can't see the
need for any more (yet).
The idea is, and always has been, to have more options open to you. You may
never need them, but they're there if you do. I don't understand why that is
obsolete thinking all of a sudden. It's like the rush to kill off the floppy
disk drive. "Who needs it?" (until you need to repair a bad BIOS flash).

 

[BP]

Oh, and I've got people snickering at me because I burn music with on-board
sound. They insist that only a "good" sound card is worthy of music
reproduction. I tell them to go pound sand, but you may submit to peer
pressure and need a slot for that too!

 

[FBrann]

Hey, thanks again for all the advice! I think I'm gonna stick with the
onboard sound for the time being, and, as my budget is being busted
with all the core components, I'm not going to be worrying about WIFI
and BlueTooth right now (you can get those kind of componants
externally with usb attachments anyway right?).

While looking at RAM however, I have noticed that this motherboard only
seems compatable with 184 pin type. Does this mean that I wouldn't be
able to add DDR2 in the future? (I have only been able to find DDR2 in
240 pin) One of my main considerations with this computer is
future-proofing. Is this a valid concern or am I just being pedantic?

Thanks again for all the advice!!

 

[FBrann]

I have found another motherboard - the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (nForce 4
SLI) - that has an extra PCI slot, resolving the issue. Is this a
superior board to the Gigabyte?

 

[BP]

I have found another motherboard - the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (nForce 4
SLI) - that has an extra PCI slot, resolving the issue. Is this a
superior board to the Gigabyte?

ASUS is considered by many as the industry leader. They make products on the
bleeding edge of technology and pack them full of features for a reasonable
price. Gigabyte is arguably #2 in the wow-factor market. I think they are
about equals. I bought an ASUS mainboard and an ASUS video card for my
newest build based upon all the good buzz about the company. They both
failed. ASUS replaced them with no questions. But those parts are sitting on
a shelf and I have a Intel mainboard and an ATI video card in the box now.
Would this have happened with Gigabyte? I can't tell you. Just my
experience. Purchase by features, price, and reliability ratings. Forget
brand names.

 

[Justice]

ASUS is considered by many as the industry leader. They make products on the
bleeding edge of technology and pack them full of features for a reasonable
price. Gigabyte is arguably #2 in the wow-factor market. I think they are
about equals. I bought an ASUS mainboard and an ASUS video card for my
newest build based upon all the good buzz about the company. They both
failed. ASUS replaced them with no questions. But those parts are sitting on
a shelf and I have a Intel mainboard and an ATI video card in the box now.
Would this have happened with Gigabyte? I can't tell you. Just my
experience. Purchase by features, price, and reliability ratings. Forget
brand names.

I kind of agree forget brandnames like INTEL for mother boards. The only
motherboard I have Hade fail on me was a INTEL socket 370, since then I
have bought and used ASUS, and GIGABYTE.

 

[Justice]

I kind of agree forget brandnames like INTEL for mother boards. The only
motherboard I have Hade fail on me was a INTEL socket 370, since then I
have bought and used ASUS, and GIGABYTE.

Also I forgot to mention you can forget abut using Intel or Amd 'cuse
they are brand names better get a ppc or sparc procesor becouse there
are not brand names

 

[BlastUK]

i've had a gigabyte board, hasn't failed on me, runs like a
motherboard.. can't really tell the difference from others, i now have
an asus board that's been running constantly for over a year and i only
turn my computer off completely about once every 2 months for upgrades
or troubleshooting.

just go with the board that has more features you want.

ddr and ddr2 are not the same
can't give any advice on it though

 

[Praxiteles Democritus]

ASUS is considered by many as the industry leader. They make products on the
bleeding edge of technology and pack them full of features for a reasonable
price. Gigabyte is arguably #2 in the wow-factor market.

Definitely arguable. That spot is taken by Abit - hands down.

 

[BP]

I kind of agree forget brandnames like INTEL for mother boards. The only
motherboard I have Hade fail on me was a INTEL socket 370, since then I
have bought and used ASUS, and GIGABYTE.

Every satisfied citizen is happy with the country they live in. And
vice-versa.

Besides, I don't think the OP is going to find an Intel board for an AMD
processor!

 

[No One]

Definitely arguable. That spot is taken by Abit - hands down.

Abit? As in "Wow. What a piece of crap" factor?