pci express compatibility with agp games

[johnmmcparland]

if i were to build a new machine with pci-express only, would it play
my agp game: pro evolution soccer 2005?

also am i right in thinking that pci-express is going to be the new
standard graphics interface instead of agp?

i don't play a great deal of games but i still fancy building a pc that
is quite upgradeable. does anyone have any hints about what's going to
happen in hardware?

also how do i choose a motherboard to use? i notice a lot seem to give
processor types when I look at them - is this their preferred on the
processor they have on them or the one i have to buy?

thanks in advance

 

[Guest]

if i were to build a new machine with pci-express only, would it play
my agp game: pro evolution soccer 2005?

Yes, because of things like DirectX and OpenGL that sit between the software
and the hardware, it shouldn't make any difference whether you have AGP or
PCI-Express

also am i right in thinking that pci-express is going to be the new
standard graphics interface instead of agp?

Yep

i don't play a great deal of games but i still fancy building a pc that
is quite upgradeable. does anyone have any hints about what's going to
happen in hardware?

Depends on how much you want to spend. Do you want to go Intel or AMD?
Single core or dual core? Crossfire or SLI? There are sooo many variables it
is really down to personal choice. Try reading up as much as possible and go
from there.

also how do i choose a motherboard to use? i notice a lot seem to give
processor types when I look at them - is this their preferred on the
processor they have on them or the one i have to buy?

Again, the choices involve the CPU manufacturer, type of CPU socket, the
chipset used on the motherboard, whether u want to plan ahead and look at an
SLI or crossfire rig and so on. Again, suggest you read as much as you can
on sites like hexus, toms hardware, guru3d, tech report, etc and go from
there.

Good luck!

 

[johnmmcparland]

thanks SpamBox

those websites look particularly good - i've been trying to find some
sites that give real hardware advice without going into bleeding edge
or marketing rubbish and those seem to fit.

as far as cpu type: not really bothered what i get, although i suppose
with motherboards having specified types of sockets and chipsets i'll
need to choose one or the other.

ultimately ill need to do a lot of reading up before deciding anything
i think.

thanks again,

john

 

[Conor]

thanks SpamBox

those websites look particularly good - i've been trying to find some
sites that give real hardware advice without going into bleeding edge
or marketing rubbish and those seem to fit.

as far as cpu type: not really bothered what i get,

Stay away from AMD Sempron, Intel Celeron and VIA C3 CPUs if you're
going to be gaming.

 

[johns]

Tom's Hardware is eat up with marketing rubbish. I've really lost
faith in their video card reviews. They are just plain wrong.
I recommend a Gigabyte mobo with nForce4 chipset for AMD
939 socket. Good all around buy right now is AMD Athlon 64
3700, and 2 gigs Kingston ddr400 ram. nVidia 6800s are a
tad underpowered .. 7800s and 7900s have noisy fans, but
that is easy to fix. Just takes money.

johns

 

[johnmmcparland]

what makes a CPU good for gaming (or what makes it bad for gaming?)

thanks for all the advice

johnmcparland

 

[Conor]

what makes a CPU good for gaming (or what makes it bad for gaming?)

Cache, memory bandwidth, a good FPU and extensions such as 3DNow/SSE.