Oh No - Mobo PCI-Express x4 Width

[joshowen]

I'm in the market for a new Graphics Card, i've currently got an AGP ATI Radeon X1600 pro but want more FPS, I've been looking at the topics about the best card for your money and was thinking of going for one of the higher end Nvidia models.

After to looking at my mobo specs I noticed the PCI-E width only goes up to x4.

I'm assuming I would be wasting my time and money going for a higher end Card. Could someone in the know please enlighten me as to my options?

Is there a card that would give me the best bang for my buck given this limitation??

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

 

[aadamszc]

Firstly, welcome to the forums.

I'll be the first to say, I'm not the brightest about technical issues, but doesn't APG and PCI-E need two different motherboards?

To answer your question though, I believe that your performance would be limited.

 

[Slobogob]

Is there a card that would give me the best bang for my buck given this limitation??

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

As a rule of thumb you can take those cards that were released for AGP too. A 1950 Pro should work, even those 2600 or 8600 series cards. I would be more careful about the higher end cards, but the 3850 seems like a good deal, whether it is limited or not.

I'll be the first to say, I'm not the brightest about technical issues, but doesn't APG and PCI-E need two different motherboards?

Asus and Asrock made some motherboards that feature both AGP and PCIe x4. Its a nice idea for upgraders but quite some days past its prime.

 

[joshowen]

Thanks for your input guys,

Yeah it is a Asrock mobo with both AGP & PCI-E, thought I was future proofing by being able to use my AGP card until I was able to afford a decent PCI-E... Seem to have shot myself in the foot. Oh well!!

Any further info re limitations in this scenario or recomendations of cards which may work well would be gratefully recieved.

Thanks again.