7600GT in a PCI-E x16 (4x speed mode) (ASUS P5VDC-X), works?

[hfernandes]

Hi everyone, this is my first post ! :lol: :lol: :lol:

My question is:
I have a mb with a AGP 8X and PCI-e 4X slots
I have a eVGA 7600Gs in my AGP slot and i think to migrate PCI-e plataform with a eVGA 7600GT PCI-e. The 7600GT will work in a PCI-e 4X slot ?

Because is there 7800GS AGP card (400@1250) then i think that 7600GT PCI-e (500@1400) works too !!!!! Right ?

Anyone here already tried this setup ???

Help me guys, this doubt is killing me .... :roll: :roll: :roll:

thx in advance !

 

[jerrardo]

I will not really answer you're question and say that I'm pretty sure it will work.

The real question is are you seriously "upgrading" from a 7600GS to a 7600GT?

I think there is something in here http://shsc.info/PCIExpress that will answer your original question.

 

[hfernandes]

The real question is are you seriously "upgrading" from a 7600GS to a 7600GT?

I'm upgrading from a 7600GS AGP to a 7600GT PCI-e because in my country (BRAZIL) the price is the same for both cards ! And believe or not, the price is about U$230 (because of taxs :x :x :x )

Here in Brazil GF70 cards for AGP are very expensive, so i was thinking that maybe worth migrate do PCI-e

But the only condition to do that is that my mobo supports the 7600GT.

(Sorry about english errors .. )

 

[darkstar782]

PCIe x4 is about half the speed of AGPx8, so you wont gain any advantage just from the fact that it is PCIe.

At the same time, it wont really hurt your performance.

A 7600GT is not much of an upgrade from a 7600GS however, you are better off saving up to do a more significant upgrade.

Is the slot an actual x4 slot, or a x16 slot with x4 connections?

It will definately work in a x16 slot with x4 connections. Some x4 physical slots are open ended, so it will work in them, the card will simply hang out the end.

Its possible to get a x16 card to work in a x1 or x4 closed end slot, if you are willing to void your motherboard warranty. You simply have to cut the plastic of the slot at the end so that the card will fit in.

Yes, this will work, before someone trys to say it wont. PCIe cards will autonegotiate down to however many lanes are availible.

 

[hfernandes]

Is the slot an actual x4 slot, or a x16 slot with x4 connections?

From ASUS manual:
"This motherboard supports PCI Express x16 and AGP8X slots to provide ultimate flaxibility for ghaphics card upgrade. The PCI Express x16 slot running at PCI Express x4 speed outperforms PCI interface with its exceptional high bandwidth up to 2GB/s"

PCI-E is 2x 2GB/s because of two-way transfer, so is 4GB, the same as AGP.

There will be improvements migrating from 7600GS to 7600GT, even if installed in x4 spped mode ????

 

[jerrardo]

No problem on the English. It's fine. It's just that, as another poster mentioned, going from a GS to a GT is now much of any upgrade. You may get a few more FPS, but at $230 that is a total waste of money. I don't think you are going to get a powerful enough AGP upgrade to justify the cost of a new card. A top of the line 7 series PCI-e might be worth it, but at this point your best bet is to wait a few months and pick up a low end DX10 card when the ATI and low end Nvidia 8 series hit the market.

 

[darkstar782]

PCIe x16 is 4GB/s in each direction (full duplex).

Each PCIe lane transfers 250MB/s Full duplex.

PCIe 4x is 1GB/s in each direction. 2GB/s total.

Therfore, it has half the total bandwidth of AGPx8, and AGPx8 is not locked to 2GB each way, it can shift 3GB/s down and 1GB/s up if needed (common for Gfx cards).

However, if you put a 7600GS in each slot, the difference would be around 3%, with AGPx8 being the faster option.

Gfx cards just dont utilise the availible bandwidth these days.


Yes, there will be improvements going from 7600GS to 7600GT, but not much. Not because PCIe x4 is slower than AGPx8, but because the 7600GT is not much faster. The GT uses the same core, albeit at a higher speed (but the GS can overclock to GT speeds with the right voltage), the main difference is the RAM.

Its not really a worthwhile upgrade imho. Normally the 7600GT is about 30% faster than the 7600GS, but if you overclocked them both, that would reduce dramatically as they would hit about the same core speed. The PCIe x4 interface would also reduce the benefit, so you might get a 10-15% boost from it, assuming you can overclock.

Thats not enough to justify the cash outlay imho, far better to save up for an x1950XT, or a 7950GT, which will give you more than a 100% performance advantage.

 

[hfernandes]

Thx everyone for the answers !! i really appreciate !

A card like 7950 here, costs about U$465.00 and in Brazil this is a lot of money! The 8800GTX is about U$1,165.00 !!! Just because of taxes. Buy a 8800 here is almost impossible !!!

I already have a 7600GS, the price was about U$232.00. Migrating to 7600GT i'll spend about U$20.00. Is it worth (remember that my PCI-e slot is x4)?

I had already thought about the wait for the low-end GF80, but here in BRAZIL the prices will be very high, even for low-ends, look the prices above !!!

 

[Track]

Thx everyone for the answers !! i really appreciate !

A card like 7950 here, costs about U$465.00 and in Brazil this is a lot of money! The 8800GTX is about U$1,165.00 !!! Just because of taxes. Buy a 8800 here is almost impossible !!!

I already have a 7600GS, the price was about U$232.00. Migrating to 7600GT i'll spend about U$20.00. Is it worth (remember that my PCI-e slot is x4)?

I had already thought about the wait for the low-end GF80, but here in BRAZIL the prices will be very high, even for low-ends, look the prices above !!!

Yeh, I know about the prices. 8800 GTX costs around 1000$ here.. is it really 1165$? Cause Im pretty sure the prices here are the worst. Im going back to the US.. u should try doing the same.

Anyway..

1. According to an article on THG, an X1950 Pro will suffer no performance reduction in the transfer between PCIe x8 and PCIe x4.

2. A 7600 GS and a 7600 GT are the exact same card, except that the GT is clocked higher and may have GDDR3 memory instead of DDR2. So u could just overclock the 7600 GS instead of paying 250$ for the same card overclocked 150Mhz.

 

[hfernandes]

Anyway..

1. According to an article on THG, an X1950 Pro will suffer no performance reduction in the transfer between PCIe x8 and PCIe x4.

2. A 7600 GS and a 7600 GT are the exact same card, except that the GT is clocked higher and may have GDDR3 memory instead of DDR2. So u could just overclock the 7600 GS instead of paying 250$ for the same card overclocked 150Mhz.

With article? Send me the link .. please ...

And I already have the 7600GS AGP :lol: