Need advice to do with 6600GT's

[MDD1]

Hello i have registered here because i have been lurking recently and decided you were all very knowledgeable people when it came to computer things!

Anyways. I am planning to completely upgrade my computer over the next 2 weeks or so. It was completely by accident that i decided to do this just as Conroe was launched and AMD drops its prices. I have not decided which processer i will buy but one thing i want to do is get it done before the summer is out so i can enjoy it sometime without lots of work hanging over my head

But one problem i have is that my video card currently, the 6600GT, is on AGP. I do not have enough money at this point to buy a new video card and also buy everything else for my computer. I will have in a month but by that time it will be the end of summer. Also i feel it will be a bit of waste of a video card as i have had it less than one year.

So here is my connundrum, i want to get a Conroe if possible but i assume that there will be not many, if any new motherboards that will support AGP. I will get an AMD 3800+/4200 if i cannot find a motherboard that supports Conroe and AGP together. Can anybody tell me if AGP will be supported on some conroe motherboards?

Also i remember reading on the internet once that AGP 6600GT's infact use PCI-Express arcitecture but use a connector that allows them to be used as AGP cards. If this is the case, can this connector be removed and can the card be used as a PCI-E card? Ideally this would definately be my main choice.

Thanks for reading i appreciate it!

P.S I am building my system from www.ebuyer.com and i am planning of upgrading everything bar the video card.

 

[imported_mystery]

It's not possible to remove the AGP HSI (high speed interface) that sits between the PCI-e native GPU and the AGP connector. Even if you could somehow do it, the connector is still for AGP.

If you go AMD s939, you can always get the ASRock 939Dual SATA2 (what I have) which has both AGP and PCI-e slots: you can use your 6600GT AGP now, and have the ability to upgrade to a PCI-e graphics card later without another mobo upgrade.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: mystery
It's not possible to remove the AGP HSI (high speed interface) that sits between the PCI-e native GPU and the AGP connector. Even if you could somehow do it, the connector is still for AGP.

If you go AMD s939, you can always get the ASRock 939Dual SATA2 (what I have) which has both AGP and PCI-e slots: you can use your 6600GT AGP now, and have the ability to upgrade to a PCI-e graphics card later without another mobo upgrade.

That ASRock mobo is really the only way to keep AGP and still have a fair new system. HOWEVER- you are giving up one thing for another - in this case, CPU upgradeability for graphics card upgradeability. It depends on which one is more important to you. Personally, though, I would sell the 6600GT and convert to PCIe, as AGP is nearly dead.

 

[imported_mystery]

Originally posted by: Aflac

Originally posted by: mystery
It's not possible to remove the AGP HSI (high speed interface) that sits between the PCI-e native GPU and the AGP connector. Even if you could somehow do it, the connector is still for AGP.

If you go AMD s939, you can always get the ASRock 939Dual SATA2 (what I have) which has both AGP and PCI-e slots: you can use your 6600GT AGP now, and have the ability to upgrade to a PCI-e graphics card later without another mobo upgrade.

That ASRock mobo is really the only way to keep AGP and still have a fair new system. HOWEVER- you are giving up one thing for another - in this case, CPU upgradeability for graphics card upgradeability. It depends on which one is more important to you. Personally, though, I would sell the 6600GT and convert to PCIe, as AGP is nearly dead.

Also, bear in mind that the ASRock 939Dual has an optional riser/daugher card that supports socket AM2 and DDR2 memory.

 

[MDD1]

The motherboard doesn't bother me. I can always buy another one for pretty cheap. However the processer in comparison is a lot more expensive. You see whether i stay with AGP or wait and go to PCI-E will adversely affect what processer i buy. Conroe from what i have seen will not be designed for AGP and not many motherboards will support it. AMD already has socket 939 AGP motherboards out. Conroe appeals to me as the most ihave read some product reviews, comparisons and tests. As i said i want to get this done before summer ends, i guess i dont have to, its just i have nearly all freetime now and come September i have to work for the whole year so i wont be able to use it as much.

If Conroe has a huge advantage over AMD X2 then i will try to find a solution and if not i will wait but im just not sure yet.

 

[Cheex]

My Opinion:

Processor: Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 533MHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core, EM64T
(This should fall below $100 when Conroe comes out)

Motherboard: ASRock 775Dual-VSTA Socket T (LGA 775) VIA PT880 PRO ATX Intel Motherboard

Memory: Just about anything you want to use. The mobo supports up to 2GB of either DDR or DDR2.

You can still use your 6600GT (that is what i have to). This is what i plan on getting.
It is not confirmed but a BIOS update might allow this board to support Conroe (not sure though). Either way...this is a good price/performance upgrade.

 

[MDD1]

Thats a pretty nice and cost effective upgrade. Not too keen on the whole overclocking thing some of those reviews mention though! Really dont know much about overclocking and probably wouldnt try too much in fear of breaking my system! I'd rather just play safe and get a more powerfull processer then learn over time how to overclock it.

 

[Cheex]

Yes it is a nice setup. Its currently what my budget (not me) is aiming for. I'll be overclocking mine though but if you are new at it then don't do it. If you plan to...then do a lot of reading and research first (just to be safe).

Anyway...if you do a lot of encoding and stuff like that...even without overclocking, the 805 will smoke anything but a Conroe

Dual Core under $100... you can't lose.

 

[Bull Dog]

Originally posted by: Cheex
Yes it is a nice setup. Its currently what my budget (not me) is aiming for. I'll be overclocking mine though but if you are new at it then don't do it. If you plan to...then do a lot of reading and research first (just to be safe).

Anyway...if you do a lot of encoding and stuff like that...even without overclocking, the 805 will smoke anything but a Conroe
Dual Core under $100... you can't lose.

Compared to what? A Celeron?

 

[Cheex]

oh well...i exaggerated...but for his purposes, he'll be totally fine.
doesn't the 805 beat all the single cores anyway ?

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: mystery
It's not possible to remove the AGP HSI (high speed interface) that sits between the PCI-e native GPU and the AGP connector. Even if you could somehow do it, the connector is still for AGP.

If you go AMD s939, you can always get the ASRock 939Dual SATA2 (what I have) which has both AGP and PCI-e slots: you can use your 6600GT AGP now, and have the ability to upgrade to a PCI-e graphics card later without another mobo upgrade.

I second that (9800pro to 7800gt)

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: videogames101

Originally posted by: mystery
It's not possible to remove the AGP HSI (high speed interface) that sits between the PCI-e native GPU and the AGP connector. Even if you could somehow do it, the connector is still for AGP.

If you go AMD s939, you can always get the ASRock 939Dual SATA2 (what I have) which has both AGP and PCI-e slots: you can use your 6600GT AGP now, and have the ability to upgrade to a PCI-e graphics card later without another mobo upgrade.

I second that (9800pro to 7800gt)

Yup, AGP-PCI-e upgrade and Socket 939-AM2(probably AM3 too) upgrade. It's the most future proof mobo in the known Universe!

 

[MDD1]

So the ASRock 939Dual SATA2 motherboard can run AM2 also?

 

[imported_mystery]

That's what I said in my second response here...

 

[MDD1]

Oh yeah whoops i missed that .

Now im leaning towards the AMD option with the ASRock Dual motherboard. Conroe seems very good but not really worth it for what i wanna do so im just gonna go with AMD because its a good processer anyway and will be cheaper!

Thanks to everyone for helping me come to a conclusion.

Can i ask one more question, though... Is the onboard sound any good on that motherboard? I have built in an Audigy 4 7.1 into my budget and maybe i could discard that and spend the money on something more worthwhile?

 

[nethex]

I've bought a year ago a computer at S939, PCI-E 6600GT and now I'm without any future support of new processors and memory?

 

[imported_mystery]

Originally posted by: MDD1
Oh yeah whoops i missed that .

Now im leaning towards the AMD option with the ASRock Dual motherboard. Conroe seems very good but not really worth it for what i wanna do so im just gonna go with AMD because its a good processer anyway and will be cheaper!

Thanks to everyone for helping me come to a conclusion.

Can i ask one more question, though... Is the onboard sound any good on that motherboard? I have built in an Audigy 4 7.1 into my budget and maybe i could discard that and spend the money on something more worthwhile?

You're welcome!

I tried the built-in sound briefly, and like all on-board audio, it is not worth the performance hit, and the quality is bad. Even a cheap sound card (I've got an old Aureal Vortex AU8810) kills on-board audio.

Try it, you may like it, then you can buy a cheap or expensive sound card depending on your budget if you don't.