PCI to PCIe conversion...?

[Fozzer]

Hello Chums.... ...!

In the unlikely event of me "upgrading?" from my AMD Socket A/PCI-AGP Mother board to an expensive AMD Socket AM2/939 PCIe Motherboard and Processor, what will become of all my various PCI cards, eg; Sound Cards, Modem Cards, TV Cards, LAN Cards, etc, etc....?

Are they compatible with the PCIe slots in the latest Motherboards...?

Or have I got to throw them all away, and purchase similar cards suitable for PCIe slots... ...?

Paul....AMD Socket A enthusiast!.... .....!

[dcunning30]

PCIe is only for your video card, all your other PCI stuff should still be good - provided your new mobo has enough PCI slots.

[Nick N]

Your fine Paul

The cards will work

What you are getting are ports that are able to transfer data faster and depending on the design, will work with the cards you have.

Here is the difference...

Newer cards may be designed for the better spec. In other words, let

[Fozzer]

Excellent...!

Many thanks Nick, for the explanation... ...!

My ideal would be an AMD, multi-slot PCIe board, with an AGP slot as well, for emergency back-up use for all my zillions of existing AGP Video cards... ...!

Paul....Gigabyte/AMD.... 8-)...!

[Nick N]

Excellent...!

Many thanks Nick, for the explanation... ...!

My ideal would be an AMD, multi-slot PCIe board, with an AGP slot as well, for emergency back-up use for all my zillions of existing AGP Video cards... ...!

Paul....Gigabyte/AMD.... 8-)...!

Hmmmm

those boards are having limited success Paul. I tried one from Asrock and it got returned. They either work or they dont work with stability problems. Also, they do not tend to allow the same bus speed as dedicated PCIe systems.


Some people have had success with them, others have found them to be a headache and much of it has to do with the brand and model of Video cards being mixed in the AGP/PCIe system.. just be aware of that  

[Fozzer]

...will do... ...!

Paul...Thanks again... 8-)...!

[legoalex2000]

PCIe is only for your video card, all your other PCI stuff should still be good - provided your new mobo has enough PCI slots.

i must interject to this comment and say your wrong.

PCIe has 4 variants: x1, x4, x8, and x16. the most common on new motherboards is x1 and x16. the latter for video cards. but x1,4,and 8 are designed to replace PCI. becuase PCIe is still relatively new, there are only a handful of cards such as NIC's and USB hubs available to the x1 and x4 market. i've yet to see anything with x8.

HOWEVER PCIe will REPLACE, no exchange with PCI. so no sticking things where they shouldn't go

Ramos

[Fozzer]

PCIe is only for your video card, all your other PCI stuff should still be good - provided your new mobo has enough PCI slots.

I must interject to this comment and say you're wrong.

PCIe has 4 variants: x1, x4, x8, and x16. the most common on new motherboards is x1 and x16. the latter for video cards. but x1,4,and 8 are designed to replace PCI. because PCIe is still relatively new, there are only a handful of cards such as NIC's and USB hubs available to the x1 and x4 market. I've yet to see anything with x8.

HOWEVER PCIe will REPLACE, no not? exchange with PCI. so no sticking things where they shouldn't go

Ramos

(Edit).

...well... ...

That has complicated the discussion even more... ... ... ...!

Paul... ...!

..with lots of various PCI/AGP cards...!

I "Interjected" once in public, and got arrested for indecent exposure... ....!

[Nick N]

PCIe is only for your video card, all your other PCI stuff should still be good - provided your new mobo has enough PCI slots.

I must interject to this comment and say you're wrong.

PCIe has 4 variants: x1, x4, x8, and x16. the most common on new motherboards is x1 and x16. the latter for video cards. but x1,4,and 8 are designed to replace PCI. because PCIe is still relatively new, there are only a handful of cards such as NIC's and USB hubs available to the x1 and x4 market. I've yet to see anything with x8.

HOWEVER PCIe will REPLACE, no not? exchange with PCI. so no sticking things where they shouldn't go

Ramos

(Edit).

...well... ...

That has complicated the discussion even more... ... ... ...!

Paul... ...!

..with lots of various PCI/AGP cards...!

I "Interjected" once in public, and got arrested for indecent exposure... ....!

I just re-read my post and I see where what I said may have not been clear.

PCI in a PCIe slot will not work, however, motherboards are not completely phasing out the PCI slot as of yet. Some will also have PCI-X (133mhz 64 bit) faster and are backwards compatible to PCI cards but will simply run slower with a standard PCI card in the slot..

The end statement I posted was to say you will need to verify the slots on the motherboard and compare them to your cards to be sure you have the support needed. Since most decent motherboards come with good onboard NIC (wireless on some) and some with excellent 5.1-7.1 surround sound solutions, those cards can be eliminated leaving room on the available PCI's for the TV and other card(s)

You will have to shop for your needs and confirm the support. Most will still run at the very least 2 slots that will run PCI fine.

Eventually PCI will be phased out completely but until the cards are on the market in wide availability I don't see them being removed from the motherboards for at least another year, except for the custom gamer motherboards that are desinged for that purpose only.

Sorry if my answer was a bit lacking or confusing

[Fozzer]

Sorry if my answer was a bit lacking or confusing    :)

No problemo, Nick...

..as long as you don't get arrested for interjecting in a public place... ...!

LOL... ...!

It looks as though I will have to fork out loads-money for a complete up-grade....
...bugger... ...!


What am I going to do with a whole room full of years of collecting PCI/AGP "stuff"... ...?

I will say though, that all the "stuff" listed in my spec below runs FS 2004, and all my other zillions of games, highly successfully!... ...!

Only FSX gives me untold grief with what I've got!...(uninstalled now).... ...!

Paul....3DFX Voodoo 2/3 Rules... 8-)...!
LOL...!

[ctjoyce]

There are always used hardware shops, or eBay Paul.

Cheers
Cameron

[Fozzer]

There are always used hardware shops, or eBay Paul.

Cheers
Cameron

...the trubble wiv me...

....is that I am a computer software/hardware collector freak going back to to 1970's, so you can imagine just how much "stuff" I've got, slowly filling up my house....
...and burying me under it all... ...!

LOL...!

Paul...I HATE getting rid of "Stuff"....LOL... ...!

...just stroking my Apple 2E's keyboard, lovingly.... ...!

[dcunning30]

PCIe is only for your video card, all your other PCI stuff should still be good - provided your new mobo has enough PCI slots.

i must interject to this comment and say your wrong.

Ramos

Thank you sir, may I have another!?!

[Nick N]

There are always used hardware shops, or eBay Paul.

Cheers
Cameron

...the trubble wiv me...

....is that I am a computer software/hardware collector freak going back to to 1970's, so you can imagine just how much "stuff" I've got, slowly filling up my house....
...and burying me under it all... ...!

LOL...!

Paul...I HATE getting rid of "Stuff"....LOL... ...!

...just stroking my Apple 2E's keyboard, lovingly.... ...!

Thats OK Paul

when I rebuilt Miltestpilot's tower I asked him to bring me the modem card he wanted installed along side the NIC and he handed me a ISA modem

[Fozzer]

Do you know what....

I am an old stick-in-the-mud sort of chap, realising that my present system (listed in my Sig spec), runs all my games reasonably/acceptably well (except FSX, which I'm not really interested in at the present because of it's ultra-high spec demands, got it, tried it, sorry Bill!).

....and together with my trusty Socket A, AMD Athlon 2600+ Thoroughbred Processor, running at 2.1 Ghz, I am still tempted to replace my slightly ageing AGP nVidia 6600 GT card with the latest, remaining, nVidia AGP card still available, at a reasonably price... ...?

This means that I merely upgrade my present system, as I have always done in the past, and speed it up slightly, rather than throw EVERYTHING away, and start all over again, just for the sake of one "Game"... ...?

A few examples of remaining AGP cards:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productli ... &subid=411

Paul...living in the past....and lovin' it!..... ...!

LOL... ...!


P.S. I am starting to get a few annoying artifacts cropping up on my present 6600 GT AGP card now and again, so it' s probably time to dump it anyway... ...!