Hellow All,
I currently have a P4 1.7GHz on an Asus pv4533-MX motherboard. I am planning to upgrade my cpu/mb combination within the next few months. However, I would like to buy an agp motherboard because I want to continue with my 6600Gt agp card.
What do you guys think about the future of AGP? Is it going to be dead soon? I dont mind the lower performance of agp compared to pcie, because I dont want to invest in a new pcie card since I already have a 6600Gt.
I would like to know what you guys think about the availability of agp motherboars within the next year or so.
Thanking you,
Sarosh.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

AGP is dead. As far as I know, none of the newest video cards (gaming cards that is) are produced int he AGP format. AGP boards will still be offered for some time though, but it's just a waste looking forward. If you want to upgrade, but are not ready for a full system upgrade, I would suggest just getting a faster processor. That board should be able to support a much faster processor. That graphics card is probably hamprered by your current CPU anyway.

by the way, there is no performance difference between a similarly configured card that is AGP vs. PCI-E. PCI-E allows for a higher bandwidth, but the current cards are not taking full advantage of it currently.

Michael J

Didn't we go over this whole upgrade issue with you a few weeks ago? As I remember, you're from India & it's difficult to get CPUs? You currently have a CPU that's too weak for you to take advantage of the 6600GT, plus your board only supports 4X AGP. Your big mistake was buying the 6600GT AGP in the 1st place...that was when you should have gone with the full upgrade toa S775 system with PCI-e. Now you're stuck in a bad place...AGP will be gradually phased out, as will boards with AGP slots. If you upgrade the board/CPU to another S478 w/AGP, your future upgradability will be limited & you'll probably wind up wanting to totally rebuild again within a year.

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

Hi

i have (almost completed) an pc upgrade to a 939 amd based system and have a 6600gt agp , heres an option you could look into
agp or pci for an upgrade, amd! of course.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=6224

it also has an optional m slot future proofed for another year i guess.

(btw it made sense for me to do this as i have sold on my older mobo & cpu but certainly wont be upgrading graphics till 7800 drop in price.)

regards

Hi jam,
You are right. But I have asked all the hardware chaps around here, and none of them can get me a faster processor. I even tried some places for second hand processors, but no luck.
I dont want to spend on a new pcie graphics card, I am pretty satisfied with the 6600GT.
I just wanted to go in for an agp m/b cpu combo after about 6 months, and I hope it will be available then.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

Hi 1stepbeyond,
You are right about amd being better for gaming than intel. However, the hardware people here are not very eager to sell amd processors. I think they make bigger profits by selling intels rather than amds.

Where did you sell your second hand processor at? Is there any place where I can buy a second hand processor of socket 478.

I dont know much about all this, and I didnt even know there was something as a "refurbished graphics card" untill my friend from usa told me about it. Here in goa, India, the options are very limited, as is my knowledge of hardware.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

As I recall, I supplied you a link to a website that had an awesome deal on a P4/motherboard combo & they ship overseas...obviously you never followed thru.

Here's another combo deal, P4 2.66GHz/533FSB Prescott CPU w/HSF plus ECS 533/800FSB Intel 848P chipset board (w/AGP slot) for $120(US):

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4547827

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

Hi jam,
Please dont misunderstand me. I have followed all your links. But I just have so little experience buying stuff over the net. I am very apprehensive about buying online because I will be stuck if the things dont work. I get good warrenty service here. Besides, I will have to find someone to buy it for me and then I will have to send him a cheque from here.
My bank does not yet offer a credit card service to me, although they will soon.

It would be really great if you found me such a deal on only a cpu. If a motherboard/cpu combo cost around 120$, then I would be very glad to buy a cpu for about 60$. If you can find me such a deal on a cpu that would be really great.

With this combo you gave me there are alos other issues. I have a single stick of ddr 333Mhz. This board supports only 400Mhz. Also, I have 3 ide drives, and this board offers only 2 ide connections.
I just think if I can get a processor for about 50 or 50$ that would be ideal.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

My personal advice is to simply buy a motherboard with both an AGP and PCI-E slot, see for yourself they do exist

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813157081

Most likely you'll have to do some more searching on your own but since you seem to only consult with your "pc" guy get him to do it for you i suppose.

Doug

Windows Xp Pro x64
AMD Sempron 3000+ 1.8ghz
1 Gig Ram pc2700
Nforce 4 Motherboard
Radeon X700 256mb
Realtek Ac 97 Onboard Audio
Thermaltake 430W Power Supply

Well, like I said, you're in a bad situation then. Since you have no alternative but to buy locally, you're very limited on what you can get. Not to mention the socket 478 Pentium is dying out & S775 has taken over...& from what I remember, your board doesn't support the Prescott core? I just had a look at newegg & they only have two 533FSB P4's listed & both are Prescotts w/1MB L2...you need a Northwood. I checked Pricewatch & the cheapest 3.06GHz Northwood is $210. Prescotts have dropped in price but the Northwood has gone up.

The link I posted above is a great deal. The CPU (retail version) alone sells for about $120. The board may not be a great one, but it normally sells for about $60. And if you checked the specs, it supports 4 IDE devices, 2 SATA, & the RAM standard is DDR400, which it means it's backwards compatible with DDR200/266/333.

How much could you get for your current board/CPU/HSF if you were to sell it?

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

Hi

the link above states they dont export abroad, unfourtunately that seems to be the case here also, not much Dsarosh can do except buy locally.
may be ebay ? using paypal.

sorry m8 cant help with overseas.

regards

Actually, Outpost.com does ship internationally. From their website:

"Through Airborne International or DHL, we quickly ship international orders just about anywhere in the world for very reasonable rates. Outpost.com ships product internationally via Airborne International 48-72 hours plus additional time for local customs clearance. Airborne International shipments weighing more than 70 lbs. will ship as freight and not express. The service commitment is usually 3-4 business days longer than express. Unfortunately, we cannot ship international orders via U.S. Mail. Delivery time depends on product availability and shipping address. Orders shipped to an address different from the billing address will be delayed for verification (usually one extra day)."

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

Hi All,
I think that board has 2 sata and 2 pata connecters, and I have three ata (older type) drives already. Also, what if my Ram does not work with that board or what if there is some power supply incompatibility? Because the price of 120$ is actually a very great bargain. And the biggest problem is the payment; my credit card is not accepted for online payments, my bank does not offer that yet.

I have already come to the sad realization that I will not be able to get a faster processor with my current setup, and that is actually a bit sad because I would have really enjoyed a faster processor with my new card.

However, now the hardware guys tell me that I should go in for a dual core system. Some day dual core is a bit slower than single core, but I dont mind the loss of few frame rates.
So I think this will be the plan, I will upgrade my system later and just hope I can get an agp motherboard. I just hope I can get a dual core system with an agp slot. Do you guys think this will be possible? Will I be able to manage to find a dual core m/b with an agp slot? It just makes sense to go in for a 64bit dual core system, because that seems to be the future (and not just for gaming).

What do you guys think about the prospects of finding a dual core, 64 bit system with an agp slot a few months down the line?

In the meantime, if any of you know where I can find a used socket 478 processor of about 2.8GHz that would be great.
Thanks to everyone,
Sarosh.

I think what you guys have suggested

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

Hi jam,
to answer your guestion
How much could you get for your current board/CPU/HSF if you were to sell it?

I dont think I would get much at all. I have tried to strike some deals with some hardware chaps I know, but they are just not willing to take in my system. Infact, they laugh at me dude, they say I should just discard it.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

"However, now the hardware guys tell me that I should go in for a dual core system. Some day dual core is a bit slower than single core, but I dont mind the loss of few frame rates.
So I think this will be the plan, I will upgrade my system later and just hope I can get an agp motherboard."

Dude you are dense, I think this is just another one of those situations where we'll have to go : "Go for it dude more power to ya"

Windows Xp Pro x64
AMD Sempron 3000+ 1.8ghz
1 Gig Ram pc2700
Nforce 4 Motherboard
Radeon X700 256mb
Realtek Ac 97 Onboard Audio
Thermaltake 430W Power Supply

There's no point in arguing about the Outpost.com deal because there's no way you're gonna buy it anyway, but just to clarify...each PATA connector can accept 2 devices, so you can run a total of 4 IDE drives with that board.

What I don't understand is why you keep posting here for advice. You know darn well you're gonna take the advice of your "hardware chap" over the forum advice anyway, so what's the point? You have a board/CPU combo that you just admitted isn't worth a hell of a lot....you didn't know that a few weeks ago when you invested in the video card? And who advised you to get a 6600GT for that setup anyway? You're throwing good money away on bad. Now he's telling you that you NEED a dual core CPU? Why the heck do you need dual core...because he has some for sale? Dual core is useful for multi-tasking, not gaming. This guy is jerking you all over the place & you're letting him.

Here's my final advice. Sell your 6600GT AGP card, sell your outdated board/CPU/RAM & use that money to help you to start over. Go against the "hardware chaps" advice & get an AMD socket 939 board based on the nForce4 Ultra chipset...get an A64 3000+ or 3200+ Venice core CPU...get 1GB PC3200 RAM (2 x 512MB)...get a PCI-e graphics card, & yes, you're probably gonna need a new power supply with 24-pin main plug. This system will hold you over for a while & you'll be able to upgrade to an A64 X2 dual core CPU should you ever need it.

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

Hey dude,
You are getting angry for no reason man. I just thought I would ask you what you thought about the future prospect of me getting and agp m/b afer about few months, thats all.
As for the reason why I brought the 6600GT was because I got it for Rs.5000/- (108$) and all the other 6600GTs cost no less than 12,000Rs in India.
All I wanted to know was your guys opinions if you thought that agp boards would be available a few months down the line, and with suppport for dual core and 64 bit processors.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

Sarosh, forgive these folks.

You future is bright, as the western world updates and moves into bigger better technology, the prices for older products drop dramaticaly both here and around the world, and our surplus heads your way.

You enjoy your system for about more 6 months and try to put away 50$ (50 * ~46) = rupees, per month. You do not need this bleeding edge tech to play the games, in 6 months you should be wise enough after reading here and doing your own research what you will need.

As for the original post about AGP, certainly an AGP-8x mother board with a robust card is going to be fine looking forward, even now that pci-e is the new standard. Games like quake4 and F.E.A.R should play decently, but its the details on how you put together your future rig. Take your time, save some money and you will be ok.

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'rp$D

pr3d,

He currently has a 4X motherboard that only supports older P4 processors. Considering what he wants to do, there's no point throwing any money it at & no point in getting another S478 board just so he can upgrade his CPU. If he wants to stick with Intel, he should go for S775 or not bother at all...they are many that still support AGP. If he goes AMD, he should go A64 S939 w/PCI-e...if he holds out for a while, the S939 Sempron64 will become available. And if he could figure out a way to buy online, all his troubles would be over instead of waiting for his hardware people to catch up with the western world. The stuff is out there & avaulable right now...that's part of the beauty of the internet & online shopping.

C'mon dsarosh, be resourseful...surely you know of a friend that has a *real* credit card? One thing I forgot to ask is if you're capable of building a system from scratch?

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

Hellow friends,
Thanks for your positive remarks.
The truth is that I am pertty satisfied with my current computer too. I am not a gaming addict, and I enjoy the way the games play on my 1.7GHz too.
My only concern is that when I do have the money to upgrade, I dont want to buy a new graphics card. I can use this 6600GT for another 2 years atleast.
The only thing that scares me is that when I do want to upgrade, I wont find and agp m/b.
If I can buy a 64 bit dual core cpu/mb combo with an agp slot after about 6 months that would be good.
I just hope the agp standard does not get outdated. That is what I had hoped to learn from you guys. Is there a good chance that I can get an agp m/b after about 6 months.
I do have a cousin in the USA, he is the one who sent me the card. But as far as cpu and m/b go, I would prefer to buy locally than online. The hardware guys take care of all the hardware problems. When one of my hds failed, he replaced it on the same day. I dont think I will get this kind of service online.
However, if I am unable to find an agp board here, I will be able to manage one from usa. I just dont think it is worth upgrading my m/b right now. If I can only get my cpu speed to about 2.8GHz then I would be set for 1 more year atleast.
Thanks for all your info, and you are right, I do learn a lot from you guys.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

Hi Jam,
You asked me a question:
One thing I forgot to ask is if you're capable of building a system from scratch?

I have never assempled a full system. I can fix in new ram, graphics cards, hds, etc, but I have never assembled a full system. I prefer my hardware guy to do it.
I hope I have not given the wrong impression about my hardware guy, he is like a friend to me and I trust him totally. One more thing to understand is that for most people, gaming is secondary. I know many people here that are happy with their onboard intel 2 chips, they dont even need a graphics card. I think he gave me the correct advice when he told me to wait a few months and go in for a dual core system, because dual core seems to be the future. And I am not just talking only about gaming. I am sure dual core will benifit many other applicataions too.
I dont need the best performance, I will be happy to continue to use my 6600GT until it last me. I dont need the latest vedio cards.
The only scary thought is that if I cant get an agp m/b then my 6600Gt will go waste.

But I hope I have not painted a very sad picture. Right here in Goa I can get a 3.0GHz H.T processsor and a gigabyte motherboard that has two seperate slots for agp cards and pcie cards, for about 12,000Rs. But I am of the opinion that many people just get tempted into buy the latest stuff, and dont really need the fastes stuff around.

What I look forward from you guys is some useful insights into the future of hardware technology. It is always great to learn from you guys.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

"I hope I have not given the wrong impression about my hardware guy, he is like a friend to me and I trust him totally"

I don't think you've given the wrong impression at all...he's giving you poor advice & you believe everything he tells you. I wish I had that kinda power over my "customers"...lol

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

Hey Jam,
I apprecaite your opinion. I would like to request you to please tell me what is wrong with going in for a dual core system. Wouldnt it be advisible if I went in for a 64 bit, dual core system. Arent most of the future appliations and games going to be optimised for 64 bit and dual core?
I understand that this is a gaming forum, but I dont need the highest frame rates in games. Enjoying a game does not depend only on the fps.
Please tell me what you think is wrong with his advice, because I would like to discuss with him. I will pass on your argument to him.
And keep in mind that we are talking about a overall upgrade, its not just for gaming.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20051107/index.html

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

BTW, an overall upgrade in your case means just that...an overall upgrade. New board, CPU, RAM, power supply AND video card...you can't cling to AGP just because you got a good deal on a refurbed card.

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

I just spoke to my hardware guy agaiin and he says he can give me a 3.0GH HT 64 bit processor with a motherboard with both and agp and pcie graphics slots for Rs. 9000 (210$). You tell me if this is a good deal or not, and then you can decide for your self if my hardware guy is taking me for a ride. In anycase, he still insists that going in for a dual core processor is definitely going to benifit me. I told him that it may be a few years bfore dual core optimized applications come out, but he said it would be a few months before games and applications are optimized for dual core.
In any case, if you have a counter-argument I would like to hear it.

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$

I can send you links to several credible sites that will tell you it's best to wait on dual core for the time being. I'm sure there are just as many other sites out there that will tell you that dual core is "god's gift" to the computing world & that you should have bought one yesterday. Ultimately it's your decision. But I highly suggest you do some research of your own before taking your hardware guy's advice.

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
"Viva La Raza"

Thanks man,
You can count on that dude. I managed to get a 6600GT for one third the price. For 5000Rs I could have managed to get a 6200 here in India, but instead I got a 6600GT from USA. SO you can count on me to make a wise investment. I am not rich and I got to think really hard before spending any money, so dont worry about that.
Thanks man,

Sarosh
Refurbished AOpen 6600GT 108$