Upgrading my video card, just a few questions

[Tirrock]

I'm currently using a XFX 8800 GTS and it's getting to feel a bit dated. I've heard a few people recommend HD 5770, and I'm okay with ~$170 for a new video card. However, my motherboard is using PCIe 1.0, and I've heard of people having problems with newer video cards because of this. Plus I'm still using windows XP. My questions are:

-Should I bother getting a new video card when I'm still using Win XP?

-Would I have compatibility issues due to the lack of PCIe 2.0? I hear a lot of people saying that PCIe 2.0 cards should be backwards compatible, but I also hear people complaining that they can't get their card to work on older motherboards.

-Are there any other cards I should look at? I'm not set on any particular card, so if there is a much better card for not much more money I wouldn't mind hearing about it. Similarly, if there's a card that is pretty close to HD 5770 and is cheaper I wouldn't be opposed to it either.

I plan on building a new PC in about a year, the video card upgrade is a way for me to stretch the life out of this computer a little longer. When the new computer arrives, I plan on putting the video card I buy here into the new computer, and later down the road upgrade its video card.

PC Specs:

Spoiler: show

Win XP Pro SP3 32 bit
Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard
4GB RAM
Intel E6750 Core 2 Duo (2.66GHz)
750W Corsair PSU

[Olo401]

PCI-E 2.0 is fully backward compatible with PCE-E 1.0, so whoever is telling you that is misinformed. The problems they experience are caused by something else, most likely a driver issue or low-wattage power supply.

The comparable card in performance on the NVidia side to the Radeon 5770 is arguably the GTX275.. but the Radeons are far more power efficient and compatible with DX11.

[Kaelan?]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2521.html

[Deadgye]

I believe running a pci-e 2.0 card through a pci-e 1.0 slot will work, but with reduced bandwidth? Personally I'd upgrade to Win7, it's better than XP <3.

[Dmitry]

Windows XP shouldn't be any problem at all. If you're planning on building a new PC I honestly would just recommend waiting if you can still get by with the old card.

[fishstix]

reduced bandwidth isnt really noticable

[Tirrock]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2521.html

That's a neat list there. Thanks.

And I'll go to windows 7 on my next PC. I don't have a .edu e-mail account any more, so I didn't want to buy a copy of windows 7 when I planned to replace this computer in the not too distant future.