New Motherboard (PCI Express?)

Hi All,
I am thinking of putting together my own system and I am looking at motherboards.

Some say they have PCI slots some say they have PCI Express x1 or x16.

I never heard of PCI Express. Is this a new standard?
Any input is appreciated.

Sven

 

Thanks Pete,

What I got out of this is, that this new standard is still very new and it will take time to work its way into the private sector.
I guess I stay with PCI for now. Computers get old in 3 to 4 years anyways and I will have to get a new one at that time.
How about SATA? Again a new standard that is better known ( by me ) but seems to have some problems. Is it worth to go with that standard or should I wait for improvements on that too?
Thanks

Sven

 

Thanks Pete,
I stay with PCI and ATA for now.
Sven

 

Whooa Down Now .......

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade here, but there may be few more factors to consider. It wasn't all that long ago when 16 bit ISA card interfaces ruled the roost. When PCI devices were introduced, most board manufacturers split their socket offerings between PCI and ISA, knowing full well that ISA was on its last legs. Smart approach because there were a lot of ISA devices out there and an "all PCI" board meant no ISA devices could be used. Try buying an ISA board today.

So here we are today with another developing hardware transition called PCI Express and its not just in the video department. Admittedly, its going to take a while, but the metamorphis is going to take place. Message here - don't be so quick to dismiss PCI Express as something thats a couple of years out - its going to happen quicker than some might think.

Second issue of SATA vs IDE HDD's - OK, some are disappointed with performance measured against expectation but to say a UDMA 7 is performing below UDMA 5 is a sorry mistake. I'm no scholar on drive transfer speeds, platter density and the like and, while I read a lot of technical stuff, most of it is GEEK to me. In my book, the real test is how that puppy performs in my own backyard and I'm going to say that SATA drives in general warrant very serious consideration vis-a-vis IDE drives. No, they aren't going blow the doors off of everything else thats out there. The speed differential (if there is one) is only going to be discernable with massive file transfers or benchmarking tools, but that too is only part of the story. I've been using those little 36 Gig Raptors for system drives in high end machines lately and while the file transfer speed shows little difference compared to most other drives, find me an ATA drive with a 5.2 ms seek speed and then we'll talk about performance. On another note, my latest house hound will have 6 HDD's when finished - 4 SATA's and 2 IDE's (5 in place now) - what kind of power saving do you think the 4 SATA's provide compared to those hungry ATA drives? How much more cable would one have to cram into a box if those SATA's were IDE's? And yes, I have been using round shielded cables exclusively for more than two years. What about cooling ramifications? Don't get me wrong - I'm not dissing regular ATA drives - I just think there are a lot of good reasons not to dismiss SATA as a viable and perhaps preferrable option.

I kind of like the way Rockit has researched and is putting together his new machine, Its worth a read wherever that link is now. And, whatever anybody decides to build - go for it - there really aren't any "wrong answers" - the sense of accomplishment is enough reward but what you'll learn can't be purchased at any price.

 

Christer and Rockster2u,

Thank you both for your input.

All of the motherboards that I looked at had SATA connectors on it, but also take regular ATA devices. So I can upgrade later if needed.
However, I think I stay with regular PCI and AGP ports for now.
Like I mentioned before, Computer get old very fast and I might build me a new one in 3 to 4 years and will decide what is best at that time.
Again thanks to all of you who answered my post.
Sven

 

That my Friends is a matter of opinion. And depends a lot on what you want it to do for you.

My Oldest machine has an 8.4GB Primary HD in it. Originally it ( I believe) had Win3.1 on it. Then 95, 98FE now 98SE.

I just looked at it and it is still calling it a 98FE drive.

True. It is not as speedy as this Machine but It does EVERTHING that we require of it. It is a GREAT machine for the kids to mess with and keeps them off of this or my Wifes machine.

BillyBob

PS.
In fact I am editing this reply from it amd I see VERY LITTLE difference.

So again it may be old but STILL very usefull


BB