PCI not dead yet
Graphics cards pining for the fjords
Thursday, 29 May 2008, 10:19
IN A FIT OF BACKWARDS compatibility, Albatron has announced a new range of graphics cards - with PCI interfaces.
Yes, that's vanilla PCI, not the cutting-edge-five-years-ago PCI Express. The cards are based on the Geforce 8 series, although with the super-slow PCI interface, they're not going to perform anything like their superiorly-connected brethren.
The cards have the 8600GT, 8500GT or 8400GS chipset and all have HDMI outputs - which, we guess, makes them good for at least building a home theatre PC out of old bits.
Albatron is planning on announcing rhe cards at Computex next week, but those who are just too eager to get their hands on half-decade old technology can have a peek at the boards here. ยต
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INQ Poll
This is sign of massive Linux growth in 2008

because of

2007 Linux Graphics Survey Results
Published on November 22, 2007
Written by Michael Larabel
==============
Which type(s) of video adapters do you use in your Linux system(s)?
==============
Dedicated - PCI: 5.32%
Dedicated - AGP: 30.53%
Dedicated - PCI-E: 30.46%
Integrated - Desktop: 9.51%
Integrated - Notebook: 24.16%

it is here
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=924&num=1


and why HDMI?

==============
Which of the below tasks do you actively use on your Linux system(s)?
==============
Gaming: 23.23%
Data Visualization: 13.54%
Video Playback: 36.59%
Visual Desktop Effects: 24.15%
GPU Computing: 2.46%

at page 5 of the sma edocument
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=924&num=5
PCI cards??...well some old MOBOs have at least 3 PCI connectors. So you can get at least 3-way SLI!!! :D
Probably that will not happen...but anyways, still fun to think about it, hehe.

cheers
Oh god, Post didnt even mention linux and we already have someone posting about it.
While I am a Debian (Testing) user, I am curious as to what relevance does the article have with Linux growth?

I can see why Albatron have done this though. Its aimed for the Mini-ITX market. VIA C7 and Isaiah (now called Nano) based or Intel Atom based solutions in Mini-ITX form factor. Most of them have PCI slots.

I guess it'll be interesting for those who want multi-display. (Stuff as many video cards in their systems as possible).

Although, would there be any driver issues? (Under Windows, Linux, Solaris or FreeBSD)
Unfortunately, although most impossibly minimal useage of card might be, it is much more likely to be used by unscrupulous builders as advertising gimmick & quick buck. Take cheap mobo, with Pcie & cram in ,Heck, 56K modem card & use pci slot for graphics. Yeah, BIG Red letters on Box: Pci-e 16X slot & 8600 Graphics Card. except, well too Bad? Alba does that crap.
drashek
Before we get the various fanboy responses about Linux.....

Linux is a workmanlike environment for the desktop but its still a minority taste. Where it rules is in embedded systems -- set top boxes, for example (put another way "everything except the conventional desktop").
Maybe because the majority of mini-ITX boards that people may want to use as the basis for a compact HTPC still don't have PCIe-x16 (and the ones that do tend to be bl**dy expensive)?
Sure it's no task for a solid dual-core proc to handle, but what system that's only got a PCI slot (not AGP) is going to have the power to help with the heavy lifting as well? Or are people going to be building HTPCs with their old workplace DELLs or eMachine? Because they have the money for the HDMI equipped HDTV etc, but not the money for a small shittle barebones CoreDuo/X2 machine for $200?

Golden Compass BluRay is a 30MB/s VC-1 stream, how's that going to run on the CPUs likely mated with these cards? 

I can see alot of people wasting their time trying to get smooth playback from these, just like those trying to get smooth playback out of their promissed HD-Decoding intel GMAs, or those who got their AGP HD2Ks only to find no HD acceleration until drivers were fixed.

Too many people are turning the acronym HTPC into Hate This Piece o' Crap because they expect miracles from their leftovers.

This looks like Oxy-Moron Hardware for the 'Advanced Luddite'.
Of course Linux will take off any day now. People love programming their own drivers, especially the 90% of computer users who can barely figure out windows.
Wheres the 99.9% of the graphics card market that is not PCI should in no way be construed as a massive growth in Windows boxes of course.

Actually, this particular group of cards is the first real nV player in the non-PCIe upgrade market (right now, nVidia's top chipset in PCI is the 6200, and their lead AGP chipset is the 7600GS; both of which are extremely long in the tooth) since the 7600GS. Over the past year, AMD has had this market all to itself (not just with HD3xxx in AGP, but with HD2xxx in both AGP and PCI); apparently, better late than never at all.