pci vs pci express video cards

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PiG$$ - 07 Aug 2007 23:58 GMT

Obtained a new computer recently (HP DX7300) that I want to
install HL2, CS:S etc on. Silly person who bought the PC didn't
research the expansion slots and assumed there would be an AGP
slot (that would be me :-( ). There isn't. Only PCI and PCI
Express slots. The video adapter is just an on-board one up to
256Mb of memory.

Installed Steam, HL, and CS fine. They didn't run with OpenGL,
but D3D works kind of OK but not as good as I'd like
(performance-wise and eyecandy-wise). HL2 and CS:S won't even
start.

I have a preference for nVidia cards over Radeon, just because I
have a long and wonderful history with them.

So finally my question - considering I'm restricted to only PCI
or PCI Express cards, which one of those 2 performs better? And
do you recommend a card and why?

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PiG$$ - 08 Aug 2007 00:02 GMT

* PiG$$ is quoted & my replies are inline below :

> Obtained a new computer recently (HP DX7300) that I want to
> install HL2, CS:S etc on. Silly person who bought the PC didn't
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> or PCI Express cards, which one of those 2 performs better? And
> do you recommend a card and why?

Sorry about following-up my own post. Just did some more
research and it seems PCI Express is the "newer" card with more
memory and more alternatives to chose from. I'll go with one of
those.

Still... any recommendations?

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Dan C - 08 Aug 2007 02:17 GMT

> Sorry about following-up my own post. Just did some more
> research and it seems PCI Express is the "newer" card with more
> memory and more alternatives to chose from. I'll go with one of
> those.

Indeed. That's the only (smart) way to go these days, especially if
you're looking for (gaming) performance.

> Still... any recommendations?

I've got a GeForce 7950 GT, and it absolutely rocks. I've had it a while
now, and there are even better ones available since it came out. Haven't
bothered to check lately, but this model may be at the "sweet spot" of
pricing these days, and it won't disappoint you.

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Jim - 08 Aug 2007 14:07 GMT

Dan C wrote on 8/7/2007 9:17 PM:

>> Sorry about following-up my own post. Just did some more
>> research and it seems PCI Express is the "newer" card with more
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> bothered to check lately, but this model may be at the "sweet spot" of
> pricing these days, and it won't disappoint you.

Check out www.tomshardware.com He has a comparison of cards for
different price ranges. I would vote for the 8800 if you are price
conscious like me.

Jim

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Andrew - 08 Aug 2007 07:19 GMT

>So finally my question - considering I'm restricted to only PCI
>or PCI Express cards, which one of those 2 performs better?

PCI Express is the latest standard for graphics cards.

> And do you recommend a card and why?

What budget?

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PiG$$ - 08 Aug 2007 07:38 GMT

* Andrew is quoted & my replies are inline below :

>>So finally my question - considering I'm restricted to only PCI
>>or PCI Express cards, which one of those 2 performs better?
>
> PCI Express is the latest standard for graphics cards.

Thanks for the confirmation.

>> And do you recommend a card and why?
>
> What budget?

Good point. Was hoping to keep it under AU$200.

Another thing I've discovered while looking around is that my
monitor is a DSUB/VGA, not DVI. Most of the newer PCIe cards are
DVI only :-(

This seems to restrict me to the 7 series or older, and of the
ones available seems the 7600GS is the best performer. I had a
6800GT which was great, but it was AGP so can't use in this new
box :-(

Thanks.

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Andrew - 08 Aug 2007 07:53 GMT

>Another thing I've discovered while looking around is that my
>monitor is a DSUB/VGA, not DVI. Most of the newer PCIe cards are
>DVI only :-(

Most cards will come with a DVI-SVGA adapter, or if they don't provide
one, you can probably buy one cheaply.

>This seems to restrict me to the 7 series or older, and of the
>ones available seems the 7600GS is the best performer. I had a
>6800GT which was great, but it was AGP so can't use in this new
>box :-(

I got a 8600GT for a slightly more than your budget recently, but the
7 series cards are probably your best bet for a cheaper card.

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PiG$$ - 08 Aug 2007 08:05 GMT

* Andrew is quoted & my replies are inline below :

>>Another thing I've discovered while looking around is that my
>>monitor is a DSUB/VGA, not DVI. Most of the newer PCIe cards are
>>DVI only :-(
>
> Most cards will come with a DVI-SVGA adapter, or if they don't provide
> one, you can probably buy one cheaply.

Aah, I'll look into that. Good idea.

>>This seems to restrict me to the 7 series or older, and of the
>>ones available seems the 7600GS is the best performer. I had a
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> I got a 8600GT for a slightly more than your budget recently, but the
> 7 series cards are probably your best bet for a cheaper card.

That would be my preference - an 8600GT or similar.

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