PCI or AGP ?

nonstop301nonstop301 51° 27' 24.87" N // 0° 11' 38.91" W Member
edited January 2007 in Hardware
My ATi 9550 bid its final farewell today so I'm trying to decide whether I should go down the AGP path again or switch to PCI in my search for a replacement.

The motherboard I use on this computer doesn't support PCIexpress so that category isn't an option.

The AGP performance of the ATi 9550 wasn't remarkable but it met the requirements of most of the software I'm using on this machine. I'm not sure whether a PCI alternative would be just as good or perhaps better since I have never tried one of them before.

The software I use on this computer isn't very demanding in terms of 3D graphics performance and gaming isn't on the agenda either.

Any advice as to what would be more appropriate is greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance for the comments you wish to provide.

Comments

  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    PCI is a step down from AGP and AGP is a step down from PCI Express... Go AGP or bite the bullet and buy a new motherboard with PCIe and get a PCIe GPU...
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    For your current application, it really makes no difference whether you have AGP or PCIe. What does make a difference is the future, in that any new system will most certainly require PCIe. If you plan selling/giving away your current system as a complete unit when you upgrade, then AGP would be just fine for your needs. If you plan on transferring components from the present system in the future for an upgrade or rebuild, PCIe is the way to go.
  • nonstop301nonstop301 51° 27' 24.87" N // 0° 11' 38.91" W Member
    edited January 2007
    Thanks for the input from both of you QCH2002 and Leonardo.

    I have considered the motherboard upgrade so that I could get a PCIexpress card but that would probably be a bit too much of an upgrade for a Socket 754 with a Sempron processor on it :)

    I have a computer with better specifications than this one and it uses a Socket AM2 motherboard with a couple of PCIexpress slots available.

    I think for this Socket 754 box, a PCI or AGP would be more than enough and it seems the AGP once more would be the way to go unless there are any decent 3D PCI cards still available that can match the AGP.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    nonstop301 wrote:
    Thanks for the input from both of you QCH2002 and Leonardo.

    I have considered the motherboard upgrade so that I could get a PCIexpress card but that would probably be a bit too much of an upgrade for a Socket 754 with a Sempron processor on it :)

    I have a computer with the better specifications than this one and it uses a Socket AM2 motherboard with a couple of PCIexpress slots available.

    I think for this Socket 754 box a PCI or AGP would be more than enough and it seems the AGP once more would be the way to go unless there are any decent 3D PCI cards still available that can match the AGP.

    Since upgrading that particular box doesn't seem like an option I would recommend going on price point. You would also need to consider the uses of that box. So if it is not used for 3D or any gaming activity I would go with a cheap "White Box" card of either flavor!
  • nonstop301nonstop301 51° 27' 24.87" N // 0° 11' 38.91" W Member
    edited January 2007
    Thanks for your reply Mt Goat,

    Just basic 3D functionality (if there is such a thing :) ) is what I'm after so that it permits a normal operation of certain software I use whose minimum requirement is a 32 MB RAM 3D card. I think both PCI and AGP cards would probably perform well with these less intensive 3D applications so as you point out it's down to the price in the end.

    I'm not sure what the "White Box" card is though unless you mean the proverbial no-name brand :)
  • zero-counterzero-counter Linux Lubber San Antonio Member
    edited January 2007
    Well, if it's any help at all...I am selling an AGP 5700LE for about $40 shipped O.B.O.
    This card supports minimum requirements and then some.
  • V-PV-P State College, PA Member
    edited January 2007
    A bit off topic here, but could someone list all AGP and PCI(E) in order from slowest to fastest. I know first is PCI and then AGP and then PCI-E and PCI-E x16 but I think there's some stuff in between and I also heard they came out with AGP x8 or something....
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    PCI
    PCI-X
    AGP 1-8x
    PCI-E
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited January 2007
    What about AGP-Pro?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    It was no different than AGP 1-8x. It simply had more power pins to run professional-level cards.
  • nonstop301nonstop301 51° 27' 24.87" N // 0° 11' 38.91" W Member
    edited January 2007
    Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions and additional information you have provided :)
    zero.counter wrote:
    Well, if it's any help at all...I am selling an AGP 5700LE for about $40 shipped O.B.O.
    This card supports minimum requirements and then some.

    Thank you for the offer zero.counter and I'm considering your option because it's the sort of card I'm after for this computer and such older cards are hard to come by these days. I'll keep in touch with you about the card, if you still have it :)
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