Recommendations? PCI 1x vs. PCI

Greetings,

I would like to upgrade video in a Dell OptiPlex GX520 (specs at http://support.dell.com/support/ed [...] #wp1133451)

What are the advantages of PCI 1x over PCI? I am looking at these two cards:

EVGA 256-P1-N399-LX GeForce 6200 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130289

HIS Hightech H155HMF256EL1N-R Radeon X1550 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x1 Low Profile Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161197

The only differences are:

ATI vs. Nvidia.
I prefer Nvidia because they support Linux, I can work with generic ATI drivers if I have to. This card will go into a dual-boot system - Ubuntu/Windows XP Home. The reason for upgrading is primarily to play World of Warcraft and Everquest (the only reason why Windows is on this machine) at reasonable speeds which has not been possible with the on-board Intel graphics.

The Nvidia PCI card has a Core clock of 300MHz, ATI's PCI 1x card is 550MHz.

The Nvidia PCI card has a Memory Clock of 533MHz , ATI's PCI 1x card is 800MHz.

Price - Nvidia PCI card is $45.99 and the ATI PCI 1x is $99.99.

Max resolution for both cards is much higher than anything that will be needed.

So how much does Core clock and Memory clock speeds impact video performance? Is there a clear advantage in using PCI 1x over PCI?

I appreciate your comments!

I think PCIe x1 has about twice the bandwidth of PCI, but at the low end, bandwidth isn't super important.

the ATI card is better than the nVidia

I put that money toward a new mobo, if thats a standard AXT or micro ATX case

Ah if it were just a matter of the motherboard only . . . . with that purchase I'd end up having to buy a video card as well. Can't see the advantage there but thanks for the reply just the same.

newer OBG will outdo those overpriced and hobbled cards

No you cannot just plug a PCIe 16X card into a 1X slot.

You would need an adapter like one of these;
http://kuroutoshikou.com/modules/display/?iid=1033

Even then they are buggy and only work with some cards, and for the price, might as well buy a new MoBo.

And the bandwidth for PCIe 1X is effectively 4 times as much as PCI (and bi-directional), and the difference is pretty significant. It probably wouldn't matter as much for the GF6200 as the X1550, but it does make a difference.

Here's a quick easy representatio of the bandwidths involved;


Anything above a low end GF8600/HD2600 will be chocked by PCIe 1X, and PCI would turn it into something comparable to the 780G intergrated chipset.

Either get an updated mobo with a solid GF8200/9100 intergrated VPU (since you use Linux and thus intel or AMD IGP is little benefit) or else get the X1550.

Now if I could just get Christopherr to cough up some real links to those cheap boards he says are out there :-)

If I get a motherboard with integrated video they are all DDR2 667 or DDR2 800, what I already have is DDR2 533.

So my question is if I purchase a new MB can I use the RAM I already have?
Is it backward compatible?