AGP 4x Slot - AGP 8x Card

  • Thread starter Thread starter Andy M
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Andy M

Hi folks,

My PC has an AGP4x slot im looking at purchasing an ATI 9800PRO card which
is apparently AGP8x.

Will this card work in an AGP4x slot ? If so will it have reduced
performance ?

Regards,

Andy.
 
Andy said:
Hi folks,

My PC has an AGP4x slot im looking at purchasing an ATI 9800PRO card
which is apparently AGP8x.

Will this card work in an AGP4x slot ? If so will it have reduced
performance ?
Click to expand...

Yes it will work
AGP 8 is obviously faster, but few games task the AGP interface enough for it to be noticeably
better over x4. For the latest games (Far cry, KOTOR, et al), having 1GB of memory seems to be far
more important than a x8 AGP

The only thing I would say is that a mobo that only supports x4 probably doesnt support the sort of
processor that will make best use of a 9800 pro.... XP2500 or equivalent is about right IMO for
standard resolutions (1280x768 or 1280x1024).
FYI, I initially bought my 9800 pro to go with an XP2000 and a x4 mobo, and typically got a 3DMark
or around 11000-12000. With my current setup (XP2800, nForce 2), I get around 15000, (6400 in
3DMark03) with the XP2800 making the big difference.

the price of 9800pros has come down enough for this not to be an issue though. Many people see a
9800 pro as a minimum entry for a new card that you dont want to have to change in a years time, and
its prefereable to a 9600 for a new card even if you currently have a slower setup.

HTH

S
 
Sham B said:
Yes it will work
AGP 8 is obviously faster, but few games task the AGP interface enough for it to be noticeably
better over x4. For the latest games (Far cry, KOTOR, et al), having 1GB of memory seems to be far
more important than a x8 AGP

The only thing I would say is that a mobo that only supports x4 probably doesnt support the sort of
processor that will make best use of a 9800 pro.... XP2500 or equivalent is about right IMO for
standard resolutions (1280x768 or 1280x1024).
FYI, I initially bought my 9800 pro to go with an XP2000 and a x4 mobo, and typically got a 3DMark
or around 11000-12000. With my current setup (XP2800, nForce 2), I get around 15000, (6400 in
3DMark03) with the XP2800 making the big difference.

the price of 9800pros has come down enough for this not to be an issue though. Many people see a
9800 pro as a minimum entry for a new card that you dont want to have to change in a years time, and
its prefereable to a 9600 for a new card even if you currently have a slower setup.

HTH

S
Click to expand...
Hi Sham,

Appreciate the in-depth answer.
I currently have an AMD 1.3Ghz processor so i guess i fall into the category
of not having a processor upto the job of getting the very best out of a
9800PRO.
From the sounds of it though i should still get a good increase in
quality/performance from the 7500 that im running at the mo.
Thanks again.

Regards,

Andy.
 
Certainly, but with a 1.3, your processor will be *by far* the biggest bottleneck there with the
setup you have, and your increase wont be massive. Good idea to move up on the CPU soon, but I guess
you know that already :)

S
 
From the sounds of it though i should still get a good increase in
quality/performance from the 7500 that im running at the mo.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

You will, but in Far Cry, your system will begin to trade
off between AI and Environ .. sometimes leading to respawning
in the game .. especially in the end levels. If you force the
Environ ( you will see it switch to Custom ), I think that
certain "trigger points" in the AI fail to load, and the game
begins to respawn forcing you to map to the next level.
My 2000 is on its last go 'round. Maybe a P4 by Xmas
if I can sneak it past Wifey.

johns
 
Reduced yes, but the difference between 8x and 4x is minimal, just as the
difference between 4x and 2x was minimal. Theoretically, each is doubly
fast, but practically speaking, nothing pushes the AGP slot to the limit.
For the same reason, PCI Express won't improve graphics card performance by
a noticeable margin. It will improve other things in your system, however.
 
Not entirely true. I have a P4 3.06HT on my P4B533, which is a 4x board.
That CPU will certainly handle a 9800 Pro. In fact, I'm sticking a 6800GT
in there next week, since my old videocard decided to blow 3 capacitors. :)

A 9800 Pro would still be a decent choice for him, even though his CPU is on
the slow side for the card. He'll still get support for fancy graphics
features, but he'll just have to run in a lower resolution.
 
You can't make sweeping generalizations like this. It depends on the game.
Counterstrike and Quake III will scream w/a 9800 Pro (at 1600x1200x32) as will
Unreal 2003.
Certainly, but with a 1.3, your processor will be *by far* the biggest
bottleneck there with the
setup you have, and your increase wont be massive. Good idea to move up on
the CPU soon, but I guess
you know that already :)
Click to expand...


-Bill (remove "botizer" to reply via email)
 
Andy M said:
Hi folks,

My PC has an AGP4x slot im looking at purchasing an ATI 9800PRO card which
is apparently AGP8x.

Will this card work in an AGP4x slot ? If so will it have reduced
performance ?

Regards,

Andy.
Click to expand...

yes, and yes, though, how much you'll notice, IDK
 
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