Different Types of PCI video Cards??

[dbrown016]

Hey guys, this is a REALLLY n00b question, so thats why im asking here...but can anyone tell me the difference between these 2 video cards. the first one fits on my computer and the bottom one doesnt. Because theres not enough space between the chassis and the actual slots for the video card to go into. And can someone also tell me what kind of PCI video card these 2 are. Thanks in advanced!

[slaveofconvention]

The second card isn't PCI at all - it's AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) which is "better" or newer - both of these cards have long been superceded by PCI-E though - they're both as old as the hills. Having said that, if they do what you need them to do, they're fine.

The AGP slot on most motherboards (well those that have AGP slots) are almost always the top-most slot near the middle of the board and is nearly always a different colour to the (usually) white PCI slots - most commonly brown or occasionally blue.

[dbrown016]

Thank you so much for the fast response, but is the top one PCI for sure? and if it is, have you heard of a PCI to PCIE bridge adapter. I found one online, just wondering if these are any good, of should i just wait, save up and get a new mobo?

[slaveofconvention]

I've never heard of them, but all they can possibly do is allow a potentially fast card to work at slow SLOW speeds - it's one thing to make the physical connection, but another entirely to actually have the bandwidth newer cards depend on.

If you're looking at a system with PCI slots only at the moment, unfortunately, you're pretty much stuck with getting an all-new PC at this point - I'd have to hazard a guess but I'd think any PC with just PCI slots on the motherboard has to be at least 8+ years old - everything has changed - memory shape and speed, processor sockets, even the motherboard power connector and PSU requirements are utterly different and almost completely incompatible with current hardware

[Konrad]

Hmm, I don't see the point in spending money upgrading old tech to old tech.

An adapter can let you plug PCI cards into PCIe slots, but will generally cost more and perform more poorly than a PCIe card which is better than the PCI card you're trying to plug in.

An adapter can let you plug PCIe cards into PCI slots. Performance will then be awful, if and when it even works at all; you might need to actually reduce the system performance alongside that of the card itself to a "lowest common denominator" mode to run stable. A low-end modern mobo with PCIe slots and even the lowliest modern i3 proc will perform better than any PCI/AGP-only (P4-era or earlier) system. The PCIe card may also require additional power connectors, possibly of a type your P4-era PSU doesn't support; in short, this approach might be useless without also upgrading the PSU to one with modern specifications (or, if you're less unlucky, just buying a bunch of adapters).

Complicating things a little further are three generations of PCIe cards with ever-increasing bandwidth/power requirements. PCI and AGP cards also improved over a few generations. Physical slot connections are often nearly identical (differing only in special "key" pins or dimensions) and may not always be compatible with stuff from other generations.

[Twigsoffury]

You could probably pick up a PCI Nvidia Geforce 6200le for as little as 10$ used on ebay.


Don't expect to be gaming much with it, but they support TV out and some models have Dual Monitor outputs as well.

[Functional]

What exactly are you planning to do with your computer? What is wrong with your current computer? Do you have a computer at all?

It's lot easier to help when you tell us what exactly you want

See, if you want a gaming rig to play modern games, it's not just that simple "Yeah, buy a new motherboard and a nice cheap videocard with low power consumption", because it mostlikely will mean that you have to tear your computer apart and only thing that you'll keep is the case and perhaps PSU, though I don't recommend seeing how old those parts are. Oh and maybe HDD, even if it has just a few gigs of space, it's enough for windows alone. Though it's probably SSCI one.

So, do you want to be able to play modern games? Tell us.
Building a computer for your son? Tell us.
Got these two parts from a friend and have a computer without videocard that you'd love to have working? Post a picture of your other computer motherboard.

Something else? Tell us


PS. Those adapters are either going to cost you a fortune or/and will not function like you'd want them to.

Same if you'd love to have SO-DIMM memory (laptop) into DIMM (desktop). There are adapters there, but you could almost fill out an entire modern server motherboard that has 32-64 memory slots for the price of that. And thus, it's just more sensible to just buy new memory sticks, instead of adapting.