Legit Reviews

Just a question, i've googled around and can't find the information i need, maybe because it's pretty specific. I would assume my MB would simply by opening it up and checking to see if there are more than 1 PCI slots, but i just want to make sure.

My motherboard is an Asus P4C800/P4P900 Series for an Intel 875/865 Chipset, support CD Rev.52.14

Thanks.

Nope

well crap

you need PCI-E slots. 865 Chipset by asus never had them I believe.

I don't believe that that motherboard supports SLI.

Its an AGP board right? Well it only has one AGP port for graphics doesn't it.

PCI is different to PCIe, which i think you are getting confused by. The latter is the newer faster bus used by graphic cards etc.

See difference here.

Dan

well from the looks of it, i have about 5 of those slots (the PCI looking ones in the image link you showed me). Of course, i have a feeling that they aren't PCI because my sound card is plugged into one of them. But then again, when i pull out the manual to my motherboard, it indicates that i have PCI slots. As of now, i have an ATI Radeon X1600 Pro 512MB and it's plugged into the AGP slot. But again, the manual indicates i have both PCI and AGP slots... WTF?

nope those are PCI. Your sound card is PCI, I don't believe any are PCI-E yet.

So i'm guessing the GeForce 7900 GS 256MB PCI card i just ordered is gonna be "no go" for my computer?

PCI-E, yes it will not work. You need AGP

sorry to say but yeah, it wont work. The 7900GS is a PCIe card and not a PCI card. There's a difference.

You will need to rethink your video options along the lines of AGP cards. So return the 7900 for a refund and check out some other AGP cards.

Dan

Well shoot, looks like i need a new motherboard. This is gonna suck. Bought this computer like 3 years ago, PCIe can't be that new.

Vrbas wrote:Well shoot, looks like i need a new motherboard. This is gonna suck. Bought this computer like 3 years ago, PCIe can't be that new.

It is.

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

well since i'm here and pretty upset, any idea where i could find a quality motherboard (PCI Express) that won't burn a whole through my wallet?

budget?

The trouble is that all your other components are now old, so finding a board that does all those and PCIe would be magic.

Just so happens I have magic hands:

The AsRock P4Dual-915GL will allow you to use your current CPU, ram and new videocard.

Now finding somewhere that still sells it is a challenge. Try http://www.froogle.com (google for products!).

In an ideal situation it would be better to set you up with components like these:
mobo: 650i Ultra
CPU: intel core 2 duo E4300
RAM: generic ddr2 512MB~1GB

But that would cost around $300 and thats a hole in your pocket.

Dan

my budget is around $200. $250 max probably.

*EDIT*

Scratch that, i was talking about video card budget.

And if it comes to a new motherboard, i don't really feel like spending over $300 at all, if that's even possible. In fact, i was thinking along the lines of under $100, that'd be ideal.

I wouldn't know the first thing about upgrading, i just predict it's gonna be hell cause i have to worry about my Processor (big box w/ the heat sink and cooling fan) and Chip (the little Intel labeled piece), assuming a chip and a processor are different. I guess it would be too much to ask for an SLI compatible motherboard w/o having to upgrade my processor and crap?

PS, i won't be offended if you laugh at my miniscule knowledge about computers, i know i'm retarded.

*EDIT*

Checked out some of those motherboards you offered me and i found a few for under $100, kinda suprised.
http://www.bytewizecomputers.com/products/7/7/530/10388
http://www.etech4sale.com/ASRock_P4DUAL ... 42303.html
http://www.sizzlefactor.com/productdesc ... 2594831015

Anyways, i'll give you the specs on my PC off hand and i'd ask you if this new motherboard might support it:

Intel Pentium 4 Processor w/ HT Technology 3.0GHz, 1GB dual channel low-latency DDR PC-3200 at 400MHz - 2 x 512MB

Would all this still work on this board you suggested me?


I really do appreciate all the help, gone above and beyond pointing me in the right direction, thanks again.

I really don't think that there are going to be any boards out there that support your processors socket type, ddr1 and sli.

The motherboard I suggested looks to be your only option if you still want to go PCI-e graphics without upgrading your whole system.

Otherwise, you can just get a AGP card:

X1950Pro
7900GS

They are slightly more expensive than the PCIe versions of the same card, but worth it if you don't want to upgrade yet.

Dan

So would you recommend going ahead and switching over to PCI Express (single slot w/ all my other components), even though it won't have an SLI compatible motherboard for my current setup, or should i just stick w/ AGP and wait to upgrade my whole system later? Thanks for the opinions.

Also, does my processor not fit the socket type 775?

With the LGA775 set up the CPU pins are in the board not the chip. Your chip is the other way round.

I personally would not do SLI, to me its a massive waste of money. Put your money to be spent on the second vid card towards other components.