8X AGP Server Motherboards - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

tgg7979 · 10-28-2003, 05:20 PM

Im currently considering a comp upgrade. Im curently running:

Dual AMD 1.6 ghz MP processors
1 gig of PC2100 ddram
Asus A7M-266 D server motherboard
80 gig WD 8mg cache HD
GeForce 4 ti 4200 with 128 bg of ram

Overall, Im happy with this system, I built it myself just over a year ago. Unfortunatly, soon Im goin to start drastically falling behind, especially as far as gaming is concerned. My main problem is the board is only 4x Agp, which wont do considering all teh new games comin out and the new vidcards. The vid card I have now I cant take full advantage of cause its 8X.

I would like to keep everything I have now but if I have to buy new processors to go with a new moboard I will. I really want to keep the server type setup, are there any 8x AGP AMD server boards out there? I havent been able to find anything.

gorillabiscuit · 10-28-2003, 07:50 PM

Generally high end server boards do not have AGP slots much less AGP 8x support. It seems you want a gaming box and not a server/workstations which beggs the question: Why do you want a dual processor system? I understand the need for braggin rights but in a game box, fps is still king. Not to mention, when gaming, the AGP bandwidth does not matter as much as you may think since one the textures your games needs to display are in (video) memory, the AGP bus is not working very hard. Most games don't switch out huge amounts of textures in short amount of time..etc. If you've got money to drop, pick up one of the new AMD Athlon 64 or Opteron offerings but the real kicker that will boost performance is s new video card that had hardware directX 9 support, Radeon 9800, GeForce 5600 and up etc.

Lasereth · 10-28-2003, 08:38 PM

Well, first off, for gaming, dual processing is useless. The only game out there that supports dual processing is Quake 3. Secondly, 8x AGP is pretty useless unless you're going to run at 4-8x AA with resolutions higher than 1024*768. It's nice to have an 8x AGP board, but it doesn't improve that much at all from 4x in most games.

If you can give a figure on how much you want to spend, I can recommend a motherboard/processor combo and new videocard. Hell, if you want to spend enough, that RAM needs upgrading as well. New RAM will increase your gaming performance big time. How much do you want to spend on this upgrade?

-Lasereth

tgg7979 · 10-28-2003, 09:23 PM

As for money, Im not real sure, Im just looking and if any certain combo catches my eye for a good price then I was gonna look into it.

As for the whole dual proc thing. I use my machine for gaming and alot of 3d work in 3dsmax and Lightwave, and the dual procssors are nice for extra power toward rendering or one proc. rendering and leaving the other open for other stuff so the machine is still usable while rendering animation sequences.

Lasereth · 10-28-2003, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tgg7979
As for money, Im not real sure, Im just looking and if any certain combo catches my eye for a good price then I was gonna look into it.

As for the whole dual proc thing. I use my machine for gaming and alot of 3d work in 3dsmax and Lightwave, and the dual procssors are nice for extra power toward rendering or one proc. rendering and leaving the other open for other stuff so the machine is still usable while rendering animation sequences.

You're right about that extra processing power for the rendering programs. Dual processors are needed in that field, but like I said, it will not improve game performance. If you MUST have dual processors for that type of work, you're most likely shit outta luck with 8x AGP. Hell, it might even be better to buy an entirely new gaming PC and use the old one for rendering if it still works good.

*EDIT* Do you want to use dual MP, dual XP, or dual Opteron processors with the new motherboard?

*EDIT* If you think about it, the only reason you want to upgrade is because of the 8x AGP deal. I would seriously keep your current motherboard if that's the only reason you want a new one; it's not worth getting a new one for 8x. Not unless you're upgrading more than the motherboard.

-Lasereth

10-28-2003, 05:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
tgg7979 Loser	8X AGP Server Motherboards Im currently considering a comp upgrade. Im curently running: Dual AMD 1.6 ghz MP processors 1 gig of PC2100 ddram Asus A7M-266 D server motherboard 80 gig WD 8mg cache HD GeForce 4 ti 4200 with 128 bg of ram Overall, Im happy with this system, I built it myself just over a year ago. Unfortunatly, soon Im goin to start drastically falling behind, especially as far as gaming is concerned. My main problem is the board is only 4x Agp, which wont do considering all teh new games comin out and the new vidcards. The vid card I have now I cant take full advantage of cause its 8X. I would like to keep everything I have now but if I have to buy new processors to go with a new moboard I will. I really want to keep the server type setup, are there any 8x AGP AMD server boards out there? I havent been able to find anything. Last edited by tgg7979; 10-28-2003 at 05:37 PM..

10-28-2003, 08:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Well, first off, for gaming, dual processing is useless. The only game out there that supports dual processing is Quake 3. Secondly, 8x AGP is pretty useless unless you're going to run at 4-8x AA with resolutions higher than 1024*768. It's nice to have an 8x AGP board, but it doesn't improve that much at all from 4x in most games. If you can give a figure on how much you want to spend, I can recommend a motherboard/processor combo and new videocard. Hell, if you want to spend enough, that RAM needs upgrading as well. New RAM will increase your gaming performance big time. How much do you want to spend on this upgrade? -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

10-28-2003, 07:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
gorillabiscuit Upright Location: Seal Beach CA	Generally high end server boards do not have AGP slots much less AGP 8x support. It seems you want a gaming box and not a server/workstations which beggs the question: Why do you want a dual processor system? I understand the need for braggin rights but in a game box, fps is still king. Not to mention, when gaming, the AGP bandwidth does not matter as much as you may think since one the textures your games needs to display are in (video) memory, the AGP bus is not working very hard. Most games don't switch out huge amounts of textures in short amount of time..etc. If you've got money to drop, pick up one of the new AMD Athlon 64 or Opteron offerings but the real kicker that will boost performance is s new video card that had hardware directX 9 support, Radeon 9800, GeForce 5600 and up etc.

10-28-2003, 09:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
tgg7979 Loser	As for money, Im not real sure, Im just looking and if any certain combo catches my eye for a good price then I was gonna look into it. As for the whole dual proc thing. I use my machine for gaming and alot of 3d work in 3dsmax and Lightwave, and the dual procssors are nice for extra power toward rendering or one proc. rendering and leaving the other open for other stuff so the machine is still usable while rendering animation sequences.