PCI Express x1 Video Card - Should I Bother

  • Thread starter Thread starter aj
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aj

I just bought a Dell E310, and to my dismay, my only shot at adding a
dedicated video card is via a plain-jain PCI slot, or a single PCIE x1
slot. No PCIE x16 slot exists on this motherboard!

Question is, I would like to install a military style first person
shooter which is graphics intensive.

Would this be a worthy upgrade over onboard video?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161017R

Thanks.
 
I just bought a Dell E310, and to my dismay, my only shot at adding a
dedicated video card is via a plain-jain PCI slot, or a single PCIE x1
slot. No PCIE x16 slot exists on this motherboard!

Question is, I would like to install a military style first person
shooter which is graphics intensive.

Would this be a worthy upgrade over onboard video?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161017R

Thanks.
Click to expand...


I'm thinking it would be better than a plain PCI card, but it
says it is a 64bit memory bus card. This makes it slower than a plain
x1300, and the x1300 is not a great game performer. You clould try it,
but it may be not much better than the onboard graphics. Looking at
reviews for other x1300 cards, suggest the users don't play games with
it. If the shooter your wanting to play is pretty new, I wouldn't have
high hopes. You may be be better off saving a bit more cash, and
buying a new mainboard with PCI-e x16. Since it's a Dell, you may need
a new case as well.
 
I'm sorry to say that if you intend to play graphics intensive games, your
chosen computer has NO good options for displaying those graphics. You need
either AGP on an older system or PCI-E x 16 on a current computer for any
hope of playing modern games at reasonable frame rates and quality video
images.
 
Well,

That about answers it. Guess I shouldn't waste $100 on the *only*
PCI-E x1 card choice available. In my defense, I wasn't planning on
gaming when I bought this machine, in fact, I bought it to do web
browsing and lightweight productivity.
 
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