PCI express vs. AGP

**Just_Another_Noob** · 05-13-06, 11:43 PM

I'm looking into upgrading my video card. My current set up is as follows:

mother board:
Gigabyte GA-K8NS PRO Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 ATX AMD
video card:
GAINWARD Ultra/1100XT,GS Geforce FX5900XT 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X
ram:
CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) X2
hard drive:
SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series SP1213C 120GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 X2

my question is: If I choose to upgrade my vid card is it worthwhile to go ahead and upgrade my mother board also for PCI express. Granted money is tight and anything I can save is great.

**HeavyG** · 05-14-06, 08:44 AM

If you do, you will want to get a socket 939 board for AMD. There are some motherboard companies that offer mutiple socket setups. That way you can upgrade your processor another year from now, and you will already have the motherboard.

I definately think PCI express is the way to go, however if you do not have the money, you can still find some decent AGP cards.

I currently have an ASUS ATI X850XT Platinum Edition AGP card. My processor is a P4 3.4 Prescott overclocked to 3.8ghz. On 3DMark05 I have been scoring between 8100 and 8200. I do not remember the exact.

It all depends on what you want to spend. If you are happy with your processor/MB/memory, then get the AGP. It will save you money for now. But if you are willing to spend the extra cash, go ahead and get the newer technology.

**LethaL_ImpuLse** · 05-14-06, 07:33 PM

PCI-E is the way to go these days, no denying it. Upgrading to AGP today is just.... not worth it, imo. I would suggest you get a whole new build with a new motherboard; you can build a decent gaming rig for about 500-800 bucks. If you want me to I can lead you to a nice setup my friend built for less than a $1,000.

Then again, if you're just asking for suggestions for a video card and not a whole new setup, you can just slap me.

**rwaggie** · 05-14-06, 10:28 PM

Also depends on whether you plan on buying a scalable card. If you think you may benefit from later down the road with 6800's instead of one bigger single card may put you in favor of buying PCI-E.

**Axman** · 05-15-06, 07:40 PM

Before you ditch your board and upgrade three major components at once, what processor do you have? If you have an Athlon 4000 or something, you're not going to be able to get a comperable CPU for cheap.

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