pci-e that is as fast as a 9800 pro

[Dirty Harry]

Hi guys, I'm upgrading my system but I don't have a load to spend on a video
card right now. Right now I have an agp 9800 but I need to go to pci-e for
the new mobo. What's gonna be at least as fast and not cost an arm and a
leg? All I play is some BF2 so I dont need a monster card. Thanks!

 

[Dirty Harry]

Can be ATI or Nvidia, what ever is most cost effective.

 

[James]

Can be ATI or Nvidia, what ever is most cost effective.

An X800 GTO sells in the US for just over $100. A X1600 may be slightly
slower but supported latest shader models etc for about the same price.

From nVidia the 7600 GS is again just over the $100 mark.

For a little more money I would go for an x850 XT.

James

 

[Barry Watzman]

There may not be any PCI-X card that is as SLOW as a 9800 pro. The 9800
pro is an old card. An X1300 or something like that should run rings
around an AGP 9800 pro.

See this article:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1945704,00.asp

for some specific suggestions, but for about $100 or so you can get a
great card that will exceed the 9800 pro.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Thanks for that, I needed to get up to speed...its been while since I've
upgraded.

 

[Tom Scales]

PCI-e, not PCI-X. PCI-X is a server standard. Never seen a PCI-X video
card.

 

[Barry Watzman]

I've seen it both ways, both "e" and "x" (caps or lower case) for "Express".

 

[Tom Scales]

But they're not the same. PCI-X is a completely different connector and
card.

 

[Tom Scales]

I'm not trying to be a jerk -- just trying to make sure someone doesn't buy
the wrong card.


A little more information:

PCI-X http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pci-x

PCI-e http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pci-e

Quoting from the first:

"PCI-X is often confused with PCI-Express, commonly abbreviated PCI-E or
PCIe. While they are both high-speed computer buses for internal
peripherals, they differ in many ways. The first is that PCI-X is a parallel
interface that is directly backward compatible with all but the oldest (5
volt) PCI devices. PCIe is a serial bus that offers no compatibility with
older buses. In the future PCI-X and PCI buses may run off a PCIe bridge,
similar to the way ISA buses ran off of PCI buses in some computers. This
should not be confused with compatibility. PCIe also matches PCI-X and even
PCI-X 2.0 in maximum bandwidth. PCIe x1 offers 250 MB/s in both directions,
and currently supports up to an x16 standard at 4 GB/s. PCI-X like PCI is a
half-duplex bidirectional bus."

 

[Barry Watzman]

No jerkiness taken, but while it may indeed be incorrect, lots of people
are using PCI-X to refer to PCI Express ... even if it's not really
correct. [Kind of like I get on people's cases ... A LOT ... for
continuing to refer to PCMCIA cards, when the correct terminology is "PC
Cards"].

Fact is, the card that PCI-X referst to (to quote your own referenc)
"has not been implemented on a large scale (as of 2006)". And the
abbreviation of "Express" by "x" makes at least as much sense as
abbreviating it by "e". So even if it's wrong, people are using PCI-x
to refer to PCI-Express. But I accept that PCI-E is the correct
terminology.

 

[Tom Scales]

Oh I agree with you. Guess I'll just not worry about it

No jerkiness taken, but while it may indeed be incorrect, lots of people
are using PCI-X to refer to PCI Express ... even if it's not really
correct. [Kind of like I get on people's cases ... A LOT ... for
continuing to refer to PCMCIA cards, when the correct terminology is "PC
Cards"].

Fact is, the card that PCI-X referst to (to quote your own referenc) "has
not been implemented on a large scale (as of 2006)". And the abbreviation
of "Express" by "x" makes at least as much sense as abbreviating it by
"e". So even if it's wrong, people are using PCI-x to refer to
PCI-Express. But I accept that PCI-E is the correct terminology.

I'm not trying to be a jerk -- just trying to make sure someone doesn't
buy the wrong card.


A little more information:

PCI-X http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pci-x

PCI-e http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pci-e

Quoting from the first:

"PCI-X is often confused with PCI-Express, commonly abbreviated PCI-E or
PCIe. While they are both high-speed computer buses for internal
peripherals, they differ in many ways. The first is that PCI-X is a
parallel interface that is directly backward compatible with all but the
oldest (5 volt) PCI devices. PCIe is a serial bus that offers no
compatibility with older buses. In the future PCI-X and PCI buses may run
off a PCIe bridge, similar to the way ISA buses ran off of PCI buses in
some computers. This should not be confused with compatibility. PCIe also
matches PCI-X and even PCI-X 2.0 in maximum bandwidth. PCIe x1 offers 250
MB/s in both directions, and currently supports up to an x16 standard at
4 GB/s. PCI-X like PCI is a half-duplex bidirectional bus."

 

[Tom Carman]

There may not be any PCI-X card that is as SLOW as a 9800 pro. The 9800
pro is an old card. An X1300 or something like that should run rings
around an AGP 9800 pro.

When deciding on a replacement for my 9800AIW, I read a lot of card
comparisons; many don't cover the older cards. One that stuck in my mind
included the 9800Pro, the x1600 and x1300. For pixel-pumping capacity, the
x1600 was slightly faster than the 9800Pro. The x1600 was clocked higher and
had more memory, but the 9800Pro had a 256-bit memory interface to the
x1600's 128-bit; both have 8 pipes. The x1300 only has 4 pipes. Pipes make a
big difference. I found that out comparing the 9800Pro to a 9550: 8 pipes
and 256-bit interface MORE than compensated for higher clock and double the
RAM with 4 pipes and 128-bits.

 

[555]

When deciding on a replacement for my 9800AIW, I read a lot of card
comparisons; many don't cover the older cards. One that stuck in my mind
included the 9800Pro, the x1600 and x1300. For pixel-pumping capacity, the
x1600 was slightly faster than the 9800Pro. The x1600 was clocked higher and
had more memory, but the 9800Pro had a 256-bit memory interface to the
x1600's 128-bit; both have 8 pipes. The x1300 only has 4 pipes. Pipes make a
big difference. I found that out comparing the 9800Pro to a 9550: 8 pipes
and 256-bit interface MORE than compensated for higher clock and double the
RAM with 4 pipes and 128-bits.

I've got a x1300 and a 9800pro, the pro is faster, but the x1300
isn't all that bad if you stay with 1024x768 and older games.