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Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: boogieman on May 16, 2008, 04:46:14 pm

Title: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: boogieman on May 16, 2008, 04:46:14 pm: Do I need an AGP or PCIe arcadevga card? How do I tell which one I need?

Thanks! ;D
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: shardian on May 16, 2008, 04:53:36 pm: You need to know what type of video card slot your pc has. If your pc is several years old, you will most likely have an AGP slot. If it is pretty new, it will have pciE
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: boogieman on May 16, 2008, 04:58:48 pm: Not to sound stupid, but how do I tell the difference? I think the PC is about 3 years old.

Um... the auction I won it from says it has 3 PCI slots. Is this the same as PCIe? Sorry, I think this may end up being one of those "stupid" questions of mine :-\
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: Ginsu Victim on May 16, 2008, 05:01:04 pm: EDIT: Had to delete my response. You edited yours and it made me look stupid.
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: Ummon on May 16, 2008, 06:32:10 pm: You could google or search in Wiki 'video card' or 'video card format', etc.
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: EwJ on May 16, 2008, 08:25:06 pm: Can you post the make/model of the motherboard?
If not, do you have a pic? or a link to the auction if it has more info or any pictures?
If none of this is available, can you contact the seller and ask?
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: arzoo on May 16, 2008, 08:44:19 pm: Quote from: boogieman on May 16, 2008, 04:58:48 pm
Um... the auction I won it from says it has 3 PCI slots. Is this the same as PCIe?

To answer your question, PCI is not the same as PCIe (PCI Express). PCI slots have been on motherboards since the early 90's whereas PCIe was introduced some time in the past 3 or 4 years. Prior to PCIe, motherboards used AGP slots for the video.
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: Perogy on May 16, 2008, 10:40:35 pm: AGP

(http://www.laray.com/build/board10.jpg)

PCI-E

(http://www.karbosguide.com/books/pcarchitecture/images/828.jpg)
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: boogieman on May 17, 2008, 09:17:05 pm: Here is a link to the computer I purchased: link (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250241426024&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=015)

or here is the basic description:
Pentium 4 Small form factor computer - MicroATX
Intel Pentium 4 running at 3.06 GHz CPU (some are 3.08 some are 3.0 but most all are 3.06)
Gigabyte or ASUS motherboard, 512 Megabytes RAM memory (it is a gigabyte, I checked)
20 Gigabyte hard drive , CD-ROM 52X
Integrated video controller, Integrated audio controller
Integrated 100MBS Ethernet, 1.44M Floppy Drive
3 PCI slots, Serial port, Parallel port, Keyboard port, Mouse port
4 USB Ports (2 front accessible), Power cord

I took off the cover and Looked around a bit. I see 3 of the white slots, like in the second pic from perogy. I don't however see any of the other types. The auction says integrated video controller, does this mean it has neither type?

I d/l a program called AIDA32, to check my system specs. It says

--------[ Motherboard ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID 09/25/2003-I845GV-6A69ZG0AC-00
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-8I845GV(-C)

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 134 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 536 MHz
Bandwidth 4287 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 100 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 201 MHz
Bandwidth 1607 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel Hub Interface
Bus Width 8-bit
Real Clock 67 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 268 MHz
Bandwidth 268 MB/s

Motherboard Physical Info:
CPU Sockets/Slots 1
Expansion Slots 3 PCI
RAM Slots 2 DIMM
Integrated Devices Audio, Video, LAN
Form Factor Micro ATX
Motherboard Size 210 mm x 240 mm
Motherboard Chipset i845GV

Motherboard Manufacturer:
Company Name Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Product Information http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_NewProduct_List.htm
BIOS Download http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_List.htm

So... Looks like it doesn't have PCIe or ATP, so does arcade VGA come in plain PCI? (I may be wrong here though)
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: divemaster127 on May 17, 2008, 10:29:26 pm: Aracade vga only comes in pci-e or agp
dm
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: boogieman on May 17, 2008, 11:28:17 pm: :angry: Damn computer! :D

Well... anyways, I have a dell dimension 8200 that has an agp slot. I could use it but prefer not to.

Is there a way to force my current "built in" video adapter to send out 15khz?

EDIT: Jeesh... this is about to make my head explode, tried powerstrip but cant find the arcade resolution, perhaps the wiki is out of date with the current version? Tried to look up soft15htz but it didn't support the card. I really want to use this computer because that is why I got it. I am about brain fried right now. Gonna go to bed now lol.
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: Ummon on May 18, 2008, 04:38:23 pm: Hmhmhm, you really should google what I suggested, and then cruise around from there so you know a lot more about basic hardware and applications. Short answer, though, is: no, agp is great. Try your card out, or get another.
Title: Re: AGP or PCIe Arcade VGA, what do I need?
Post by: boogieman on May 18, 2008, 04:44:20 pm: Quote from: Ummon on May 18, 2008, 04:38:23 pm
Hmhmhm, you really should google what I suggested, and then cruise around from there so you know a lot more about basic hardware and applications. Short answer, though, is: no, agp is great. Try your card out, or get another.

Actually I did, spent a few hours looking through different stuff, mostly agp vs pcie debates and such, but as far as I can find this computer has neither an agp or a pcie slot. It has 3 pci slots and an onboard video chip. So it looks like I am hosed as far as using an arcadevga goes...