Difference in performance between PCI-E and AGP8?

[EugenyG]

Is there a noticable difference in performance between equal PCI-E and AGP graphics cards?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I choose the AGP version of 6800GT (as opposed to PCI-E version of the same card), I save $60 on the card, and $40 on a cheaper motherboard (which otherwise is the same).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not going to go SLI, so I don't need to have support for that. I'm also not going to overclock. I don't care if AGP is becoming old, because I won't upgrade the computer I'm going to buy for at least several years, by which time I'll need to buy a new motherboard and video card anyways. All I care about is immediate performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My question is -- if you take two similar video cards, for example the 6800GT PCI-E and the 6800GT AGP8, is there an actual difference in how they perform? And if there is, is it big enough to shell out an extra $100CA on?

[Pyro]

No, there is to my knowledge no performance difference between the two yet. The additional bandwith is simply not put to use by todays cards.

[Greatsilverwyrm]

You should go for PCI-E if you want the computer to have any longevity. AGP8 will be phased-out soon.

 

 

 

As Pyro said, at the moment there is no performance difference because no cards utilize it, but in the future there will. If you're going to be using this computer for more than a year or so you'll wish you had gotten PCI-E.

[EugenyG]

You should go for PCI-E if you want the computer to have any longevity. AGP8 will be phased-out soon.

 

 

 

As Pyro said, at the moment there is no performance difference because no cards utilize it, but in the future there will. If you're going to be using this computer for more than a year or so you'll wish you had gotten PCI-E.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I buy my computer, I will be using it for at LEAST 2 (probably 2.5-3) years without ANY major upgrades (with the only possible exeption of upping my RAM from 1GB to 2GB). That means that by the time I am going to buy a new graphics card, I'll also need to get a new motherboard, and by that time I'll likely need a new CPU, hard drive, etc, pretty much a new computer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If there will be any software in the next years that would make a difference between AGP and PCI-E (assuming no change in any hardware), please tell me. Otherwise, as I noted, medium-term longevity doesn't matter to me.

[Exarch]

No cards currently use the extra bandwidth of the PCI-E slot, except for maybe the GeForce 6200 w/ Turbocache. These budget cards have less memory on the card than the ones without turbocache, instead using your system's main memory (much as integrated graphics do). I believe I read that this constant transfer of data from the card to your RAM takes advantage of the extra bandwidth, I'm not sure though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is a moot point though, because you shouldn't even consider buying a 6200/X300. Two effective benifits of PCI-E are upgradability, and power transfer. As already stated, getting a PCI-E mobo will make sure that you will be able to upgrade, a long time from now. Also, PCI-E slots have the ability to transfer more power to cards than AGP. My PCI-E 6600GT requires no extra input from the Power Supply, while the AGP model does.