ATI capture cards - AGP vs. PCI vs. PCI-E?

[SinghDk]

Hello,

I can't seem to locate if there's a big difference between the AGP models of ATI's cards and the PCI/PCI-E models?

Will is make any big difference if it's one or the other? E.g. can I expect the 9800XT to be better than a X1300 2006 version?

[lordsmurf]

The PCI and PCI-E cards are very different. So it's not PCI/PCI-E. If anything, it's PCI/AGP and PCI-E.
However, all 3 cards types are essentially the same.
Yes, I know this sounds contradictory.

The PCI is the PRO 128, 7200 and 7500 cards only.
The AGP is the 7200 to 9800, so around a dozen or more models.
The PCI-E is the post-9000 cards, with the "x" in the model (x600, x1900, etc).

The PCI has Theatre 100/Rage chips.
The PCI-E has Theatre 200 chips.
The AGP has both (100 for 7000, 200 for 9000)
The chips essentially perform the same. The 200 has a slight boost to MPEG encoding quality, but it's negligible. (ATI MMC MPEG settings more important)
All are identical for AVI capturing.

The AGP cards have the best overall support by hardware and OS, while the PCI and PCI-E cards are more finicky.

I consider the 9000 series AGP cards to be better than the PCI express cards.

[SinghDk]

I've gotten a hold of a x1300 and a X800XL next week for about 20$ a piece. The thing is if I'll see any mentionable quality difference between the PCI-E versions and AGP.

Currently I have a Q9550 computer with a Asus P5Q-E just sitting about so it'd be fine if I can use this computer for pure capture.

[lordsmurf]

Remember: use Windows XP only.

[SinghDk]

I've installed XP now - I actually forgot the question mark before - Will I see any mentionable quality difference between the PCI-E versions and AGP versions?

PCI-E seems easier since I've got two cards, but if it'll make a huge difference I could invest in a AGP(Would have to get it shipped from the states though..)

[SinghDk]

Apologies, you've replied to this above. Disregard the question(Can't seem to delete the post)