AGP vs PCI-E

[jwfc]

Hi. I'm trying to spec out a new computer system and I was wondering if there were any thoughts on whether PCI-E capture cards were any good or even if there are any PCI-E capture cards out there? Or if AGP is still the way to go for now. Thanks!

[redwudz]

PCI-E beats AGP in video bandwidth easily. If you are looking at a motherboard with a 64bit processor, like a AMD socket 939 CPU, you may have a hard time finding a motherboard with AGP slots. It's a lot more than just AGP, the bus speed is higher and the whole MB is configured differently.

As far as capturing, not a lot of selection in PCI-E, though there may be some available now. Check ATI's and Nvidia's websites for the latest info.

But you can use a PCI type capture card. AFAIK, all PCI-E motherboards have some regular PCI slots.

AGP has a few years to go, but there is not much development of new AGP cards with the major manufacturers, they have mostly went over to PCI-E for new video cards.

[Cobra]

You're best off with PCI-E as AGP is a dying technology. You'll leave yourself with no upgrade path.

Although the bandwidth offered by AGP hasn't actually been saturated yet, it's still a smooth move to make sure you're "future-proof".

[ROF]

You're best off with PCI-E as AGP is a dying technology. You'll leave yourself with no upgrade path.

Although the bandwidth offered by AGP hasn't actually been saturated yet, it's still a smooth move to make sure you're "future-proof".

Actually isn't PCI Express 2.0 supposed to be available later this year?

[TheFamilyMan]

I've never heard of a dedicated capture card that uses an AGP/PCI-E slot; all the ones I know about use PCI. If your talking about graphics cards that can capture video, e.g. ATI AIW, VIVO, then there are plenty of these made for PCI-E. I use one of these in my new rig and it's fantastic. PCI-E is the way to go if your looking into a new mobo, unless you don't want to ditch your existing AGP card. But note that new AGP graphics cards, especially in the mid and upper ends, will not be made much longer.

[jwfc]

I've never heard of a dedicated capture card that uses an AGP/PCI-E slot; all the ones I know about use PCI. If your talking about graphics cards that can capture video, e.g. ATI AIW, VIVO, then there are plenty of these made for PCI-E. I use one of these in my new rig and it's fantastic. PCI-E is the way to go if your looking into a new mobo, unless you don't want to ditch your existing AGP card. But note that new AGP graphics cards, especially in the mid and upper ends, will not be made much longer.

what card do you have? i saw on ati's website they have a All-in-Wonder 2006 PCI Express. has anyone used this card and had good results?

[ranchhand]

Cobra:

You're best off with PCI-E as AGP is a dying technology. You'll leave yourself with no upgrade path.

Very true. It is already getting difficult to find AGP slots, and the cards are already getting harder to find. With the advent of 64bit boards, AGP is going the route of the dinosaurs along with 32bit proc boards.

[rallynavvie]

@ "dinosaur 32bit boards"

AGP is being phased out very quickly so for video output you'd want to get a PCI-E system. There is already a smaller variety of AGP cards than there are PCI-E and the equivalent AGP cards are more expensive due to demand and the additional hardware needed to make them AGP.

For video input I would stay away from VIVO cards. Your video card should be for 3D acceleration and video output only. You should look into a seperate PCI capture card if that's your intent. However for proper video capture you should probably be looking at a FireWire solution like the Canopus ADVC series bridges. PCI capture devices are usually your PVRs and tuner cards at the consumer level. If you just want to record TV or similar quickly to MPEG2 then look into a Hauppauge PVR product. If you want to do proper editing and assembly of your source video then you'd want a Canopus DV bridge to capture to DV AVI.