Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > trouble choosing pci-e x1 or pci
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skervy   11-27-2007 at 08:18:14 PM

ive looked around everywhere and found somewhat helpful but out of date info. i know its not a great computer for gaming but its the only option right now. its a dell dimensions 3100 my only choices are pci or pci-e x1. ive found cards for sale but the only pci-e ones ive found are 64bit for example this one and its not the one im looking to buy i found one cheaper this one was still open
http://www.directron.com/h155hmf256edde.html

i cant find any comparisons of x1 vs pci so im asking here for help. would it be better just to get a x1550 pci card or the pci-e x1

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Habeed   11-27-2007 at 08:22:44 PM
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Are you sure your computer doesn't have a conventional PCI-e x16 slot? I recently purchased a $300 e-machines bottom of the barrel machine that had an available PCI-e slot.

As for paying $142 for that out of data POS graphics card....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

You could pay $225 and get an 8800GT, which is basically the fastest graphics card available! The difference in price is small considering the performance difference is at least a factor of TEN.

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skervy   11-28-2007 at 03:33:03 AM
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the one i was looking at was like 70 or 80 i think it was a radeon x1550 and yes it only has pci-e x1 the other choice is a x1550 pci version for like 50 i was just wondering if there would be a huge difference in the 2 thatd make it worth spendin a lil more. and this isnt for extreme gaming just general low settings long as it runs decent

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imrul   11-28-2007 at 03:44:02 AM
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64bit hardware do not have compatiblity issues with 32bit windows,
pci-e x1 is a bit faster.. but it seems ur getting ripped off cuz the price per performance is terrible

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lakedude   11-28-2007 at 03:49:26 AM
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Habeed wrote :

Are you sure your computer doesn't have a conventional PCI-e x16 slot?

From Dell:

Quote :

Your Dell™ computer provides the following slots for PCI and PCI Express cards:

* Two PCI card slots

* One PCI Express x1 card slot



and

Quote :

PCI 2.3 two 120-pin connectors

PCI Express x1 36-pin connector




and finally a pic of the motherboard:

http://support.dell.com/support/ed [...] #wp1052309

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lakedude   11-28-2007 at 04:03:19 AM
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This ATI PCI isn't too bad a deal:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161204

 

A 1550-PCI for $50 is the way to go if you have found one.

 

All the cards I saw for PCIx1 were all a ripoff.

 

Avoid the nVidia 5xxx series like the plague. nVidia and M$ got into a spat over the X-box during the time of the 5000 series. ATI cards were much better during those years.

 

Read about it here:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVIDIA

  


Message edited by lakedude on 11-28-2007 at 06:08:40 AM
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skervy   11-28-2007 at 04:26:37 AM
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ya ill only use ati but would the performance difference be noticable enough from the x1 and pci to get the x1 card instead. from what i read the x1 has 250mb transfer whatever and pci hd 133 so i figured it might be enough to make t worth getting the x1

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Habeed   11-28-2007 at 04:58:27 AM
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Those transfer rates are abysmal, and useless for gaming. PCIe x16 is 4000 mb/sec. That would be like trying to play Doom 3 with a 486DX.

Just junk the motherboard and get another one. They have motherboard/cpu combo deals that for about $80 would give you a faster CPU than you currently have, and a motherboard with a usable socket.

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choirbass   11-28-2007 at 06:52:03 AM
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knowing dell, the psu and case more than likely wont allow a standard atx/matx mb to be used. the case can 'maybe' be made to work, but if the psu doesnt offer the essential connections (4pin cpu power, 20/24pin atx power), it would be a waste anyhow... and even then if the psu did offer those connections, it might not be powerful enough to drive much better hardware (better gpu primarily).

given Habeeds suggestion, and the money the OP is considering spending on a very outdated pci-e gpu, that you really shouldnt spend more than ~$20 on anyhow, given what else is available. i would say to save up another $80-100, and purchase a whole new budget system (case w/psu, mb combo deal w/dc cpu), and carry over your hdds, optical drives, etc, so you can cut down costs as much as possible. and if you have an OS install cd already, all the better

you can go for the pci-e card, but as it is, youre already overspending, imo... which makes the idea of a replacement budget priced system not such a bad idea.


Message edited by choirbass on 11-28-2007 at 06:58:23 AM
------------------------------ Folding@Home
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lakedude   11-28-2007 at 09:12:54 AM
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Dell has come a long way. I had no trouble swapping the PSU in my Dell 530. Upgraded the PSU, slapped in a 8800 and viola instant game rig on the cheap.

If skervy could get away with only a new MB (that took his P4 and had a x16 slot) it might be worth doing. If he is going to need a new cpu, and mb, and case, and psu, it really wouldn't be worth the trouble.

So my question is does the 3100 use a standard PSU? Anybody know?

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skervy   11-28-2007 at 10:48:13 PM
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its not my computer actually its my cousins and it was just a quick fix to make it run games at low settings it wont be playin any new outrageous stuff. the add for the card is just one i had open hes only gonna be spending 50-80 tops for a card.

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skervy   11-28-2007 at 10:51:39 PM
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oh one more quick question i already have a radeon 9250 pci that i put it in for now but we havent tried to install any games really but diablo andguild wars which run fine for now. is the x1550 worth upgrading to from the 9250

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starcraftfanatic   11-28-2007 at 11:20:58 PM
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not really. You'd be better off saving for a few more months or a year and buy a new computer from bestbuy or some place for $400-500 and buy a X1950Pro from newegg or some other place.

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lakedude   11-29-2007 at 12:06:56 AM
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skervy wrote :

is the x1550 worth upgrading to from the 9250

I thought you said you could get a PCI-1550 for $50? For $50 it might have be worth it but the PCI-1550s I'm seeing are $100 which wouldn't be worth it IMO. Glad to hear the 9250 is getting you by.

The method starcraft-dude suggested is works pretty good actually if your budget can handle it. That is basically what I did with my Dell. I spent a little over $400 on a basic Core-2-duo system and added a $300 video card. A game console might also be a way to game on the cheap. If you do end up getting a computer and need a video card check back here for advice. By the time you buy the situation will have changed so there is no point in suggesting a pcie-x16 card for you at the moment.

If you do get a new box make sure it has a pcie-x16 slot and make sure it has a good enough PSU or at least a standard ATX PSU that can be upgraded.

The cool thing is that all the newest superfast video cards actually take LESS power because of new, smaller die processes.

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