PCI vs PCI-e

slipd · 17 Jul 2011 at 21:13

Hey guys,

I'm after a new sound card - most probably a xoner to replace my aging x-fi music and I was wondering what sort of difference I would notice between getting a pci or pci-e card, if there's any at all

I've got the capability for both, but the pci's seem a lot cheaper and if there's no difference that's probably what I'll go with...

Martini1991 · 17 Jul 2011 at 21:16

How much longer will PCI be supported for though?
A sound card is an investment.
I had an Asus Xonar DG, but when I went SB I bought a Maximus IV Extreme which has no PCI slots, and I had to upgrade my sound card.

I'd opt for the PCI-E Xonar D2X.

slipd · 17 Jul 2011 at 21:30

Martini1991 said:
How much longer will PCI be supported for though?
A sound card is an investment.
I had an Asus Xonar DG, but when I went SB I bought a Maximus IV Extreme which has no PCI slots, and I had to upgrade my sound card.

I'd opt for the PCI-E Xonar D2X.

You're probably right. It is all about future proofing... my new sb board has 2x pci slots on it and I do need one of those for my 56k modem (don't ask!) so that does leave me with a spare slot? But then I don't change my sound card that often, I bought my last one 5 years ago and since then I've changed motherboards about 4 times! I reckon my current board will be the last I use with pci. If I go pci now I’ll probably have to upgrade again in 2 years!

You've convinced me

cmndr_andi · 17 Jul 2011 at 21:37

I think that is a wise choice, same reason I went for the D2X a while back.

However, just to be clear there really isn't any difference in performance or quality due to the connection - mainly because bog-standard PCI is more than quick enough for sound card duties. In fact, the Xonar PCIE cards like the DX and D2X are actually just PCI cards with an active PCI to PCIE adapter within them - so ASUS could get some PCIE cards out quickly and easily.

Martini1991 · 17 Jul 2011 at 21:46

cmndr_andi said:
I think that is a wise choice, same reason I went for the D2X a while back.

However, just to be clear there really isn't any difference in performance or quality due to the connection - mainly because bog-standard PCI is more than quick enough for sound card duties. In fact, the Xonar PCIE cards like the DX and D2X are actually just PCI cards with an active PCI to PCIE adapter within them - so ASUS could get some PCIE cards out quickly and easily.

Indeed, they use a plex chip IIRC?

cmndr_andi · 17 Jul 2011 at 21:53

Martini1991 said:
Indeed, they use a plex chip IIRC?

Aye, it's using a PLX bridge chip. Not exactly the most elegant solution (which would be reworking the card for it to be native PCIE), but it sure does get the job done.

slipd · 17 Jul 2011 at 22:29

Thanks guys! The D2X is the way to go then?

I'm trying not to be seduced by the cheaper models...

cmndr_andi · 17 Jul 2011 at 22:43

Unless I'm mistaken the X-Fi music is very similar to the very nice X-Fi xtremegamer card. Compared to a Xonar D2X (D2) the Xonar is the better card, but the difference shouldn't be night and day. Personally I would stick with the X-Fi for the time being and upgrade when you need to (ie. moving to a board with no PCI slots) when even better PCIE sound cards will presumably be available for the same price as what the D2X costs now.

However, if you want something new and shiny now and don't want to mess around with PCI ports then the D2X is a very good card to go for.

slipd · 17 Jul 2011 at 22:51

Yeah, it's been a good card (touches wood...), I've not had anywhere near the issues some people have had on vista/7 with drivers etc - everything's been quite smooth?

My new sb board is supposed to have a fairly good onboard sound card and I was going to try that out before re-fitting the x-fi/upgrading to a xonar

cmndr_andi · 17 Jul 2011 at 23:22

I'm pretty certain your X-Fi will still be substantially better than the realtek on the SB board. However, it is a good idea to try both out so you can see for yourself how superior your sound card is.