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MasonAtom

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 1, 2004
7
0
What is the difference between PCI-X and PCI slots? I understand that the PCI-X slots are faster than the PCI slots. Can you use a regular PCI card in a PCI-X slot?

The reason I ask is because I was looking into buying an ATI Radeon 9200 PCI video card to put into a 1.8DP G5 (old version with the 8 memory slots/3 PCI-X). Will this card be compatible? If not, any suggestions for an AGP card to replace the crappy Nvidia GeForce? Thanks in advance.

Also, any suggestions on the best 19 to 21 inch flatscreens under $1100?
 

MacsRgr8

macrumors G3
Sep 8, 2002
8,283
1,752
The Netherlands
PCI-X is faster than PCI and backwards compatible. So yes, a Radeon 9200 PCI card will work in a PCI-X slot.

But it is still much slower than AGP (8x), and technologies like Quartz Extreme and surely CoreImage will not be supported using any PCI grfx card.

If you are planning on upgrading the grfx card (not just adding a 2nd), get a Radeon 9800 SE or, even better, the top-of-the-line GeForce 6800 Ultra if you have the cash and can wait for another month or two.

I think the Radeon 9800 SE (256 MB VRAM) will be the best buy.
 
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