Latest and best NON PCI-E Mobo???

[Jason65]

Hi,

Does anyone still make Mobo's with PCI slots (not PCIe) ??? Whats the lastest and bestest Mobo with PCI slots?

I have a PCI Matrox Quadhead video card that I am unwilling to part with, but need to upgrade from a PIII 1.2Ghz system to as good as I can go with PCI. Any suggestions??

thanks in advance...


Jason in Brisbane

 

[mesarectifier]

Almost all motherboards come with PCI slots still.

AGP has been repaced by PCIe for graphics cards, but PCIe expansion cards are not commonplace yet. Most motherboards will come with at least 2 or 3 PCI slots still.

If you're upgrading from a PIII system (which is basically un-upgradeable due to age of parts) you're going to be replacing all components (except perhaps hard disk/DVD drive) so that Matrox card will become the bottleneck.

Post another thread and ask about how to combine the use of a new PCIe graphics card with an older PCI card.

 

[Jason65]

Thanks for the advice mate. Yes, I was thinking replacement, and the mobo I had my heart set on was the A8N32 SLi Deluxe, mainly because of the silent set up, and I wanted to run an AMD Dual core, but I sadly realised its got no PCI.

I don't mind the Quadhead being a bottleneck, if it gets to that, as I'm not really after gaming performance, rather quietness and the capability to at least run more than 4 monitors for what I'm doing, and I'm not really happy about losing the QH given how much it cost me and the trouble it took me to get one.

I suppose the A8N32 is a bit of overkill, but geez, its a nice board. Is there another mobo maybe, that would keep me happy? Maybe a VIA K8T800 Pro...


cheers,

Jase

 

[mesarectifier]

If you're running PCI graphics then I'm guessing SLi isn't going to be an issue.

Look for something perhaps like the A8V-XE? I think the A8N32-SLi Deluxe does have PCI slots, but I wouldn't go for that board unless you're going with SLi.

Have a look at http://www.asus.com.tw/products2.aspx?l1=3&l2=15 for Asus boards on socket 939 - the pictures should tell you which ones have PCI and PCI-e slots.

 

[Jason65]

OK. How can I tell PCI from PCIe just by looking at the pics? They all seem to be PCIe, going by the stats, and I'm pretty sure the A8N32 Deluxe is as well.

cheers,

 

[mesarectifier]

PCI slots are the white ones in the pictures. The slot furthest to the right in the picture is the grapics slot (PCI-e)

The PCI-E slot will either be dark (brown/black) or blue.

For example, in this picture http://www.asus.com.tw/prog_content/middle_enlargement.aspx?model=744 the slots (from the right hand side) are as follows:

PCI-E (short, for future expansion cards. Black)
PCI-E x16 (Long, for graphics cards. Blue)
PCI
PCI
PCI-E x16 (Black)
PCI

Hopefully that helps!

 

[Jason65]

So she's got 3 x PCI slots as well as 3 x PCIe. Far out! They don't mention PCI-only slots in the literature. Thats what had me confused. I'm sold.

Thanks for the help mate. Love the Mesa Rectifier amps too. Classy.

Jase.

 

[mesarectifier]

(The best amps money can buy, for sure)

Yeah, they tend not to mention the fact that they're still using PCI in the 'features' list any more because it's been around for so long and I guess the industry is kinda embarressed that they're using the same expansion socket they were 10 years ago.

 

[Jason65]

Well if thats the case, I've planned myself a sweet system based around this board. If all goes well, I may post some pics

thx again,

 

[mesarectifier]

Be sure to post all specs to a thread before buying anything as Asus AMD boards are notorious for being a bit picky when it comes to RAM and PSUs - I'm no expert on the subject so I can't help you that much but there are people who can.