How can I tell what kind of AGP slot I have

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by Spudzzy, May 22, 2006.

  1. Spudzzy

    Spudzzy Member

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    I'm looking to get a new graphics card but I don't know how to tell what kind of AGP slot I have, so I need to know how to find out.

    And also, my current grahpics card is built in but the mother board still has an AGP slot, he said I could put a new one in and just disable the built in one.
     
  2. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    what is the make & model # of the computer or motherboard so can get that info? moved to correct forum
     
  3. Spudzzy

    Spudzzy Member

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    well I know that my agp slot is 4x now.
    For the graphics card i'm getting, it's 8x but they have all the 8x and 4x cards in the same category, my friend says an 8x graphics card will work in a 4x agp slot, so i'm gonna double check with you guys if thats true or not.
     
  4. JaguarGod

    JaguarGod Active member

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    It would still help to give the motherboard make and model as suggested. Even though AGP 8x cards are 8x/4x, compatibility is not guaranteed. There is more than one type of AGP slot and an 8x card may not physically fit in the slot.

    You can use tools like Everest Home edition to find the model if you are not sure.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2006
  5. codydog

    codydog Regular member

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    That, or just the brand and model of the computer will help. JaguarGod, and ddp are right. Some motherboards can be either finiky or proprietiary.
     
  6. Spudzzy

    Spudzzy Member

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    System:
    Manufacturer-HP Pavilion 061
    Model--------PE529A-ABA A523X
    Version------0nB121RE101KELUT10

    Main Board:
    Manufacturer-ASUSTek Computer INC.
    MP Support---1 Processors
    MPS Version--1.40
    Model--------Kelut
    Version------2.02
    Chipset------VIA KT400/A, KT600

    AGP Slot:
    AGP Capabilites
    Version---------------------2.00
    Command Queue Length--------32
    Fast-Writes Enabled---------no
    Sid Band Enabled------------Yes
    Data Transer Modes Support--1x 2x 4x
    Current Datta Transfer Rate-4x

    Link to the graphics card I plan on gettin http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814140051


     
    Last edited: May 24, 2006
  7. codydog

    codydog Regular member

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  8. BlinkN

    BlinkN Regular member

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    I have the exact same graphics card that I've purchased through newegg 5 monthos ago. Works fine on my system. My AGP slot is rated 4x on my motherboard. Should work fine for your system Spudzzy. Just make sure you do what your friend told you and disable the onboard graphics card through your bios. That's if you decide to get that graphics card.

     
  9. Spudzzy

    Spudzzy Member

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    Thats what i'm goin for, the card got good reviews and they said it was easy to install. Does it run games smooth and how easy is it to install blink?
     
  10. BlinkN

    BlinkN Regular member

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    To me, it runs ok. I wouldn't say it's the top of the line graphics card as you can tell by the price. It does what it's suppose to do and installs pretty easy. As far as games goes, it really depends the game. I have the game Doom 3, the game tends to run jerky at times. To run the game decently, I have to set my resolution at 640x480, since the game is so intense on the graphics card. Older games wouldn't be a problem and can run at a higher resolution without a problem. You get what you pay for. :)
     
  11. Spudzzy

    Spudzzy Member

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    How well do you think it would play america's army?
     
  12. BlinkN

    BlinkN Regular member

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    I haven't played that game in ages. In fact I haven't even tried playing americas army on the graphics card I currently have. So I wouldn't know. Maybe I'll install it tonight and see how it runs.
     
  13. JaguarGod

    JaguarGod Active member

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    I am pretty sure your motherboard is actually an AGP 8x 1.5v so you will not have to worry about the video card not working.

    As for your card choice, I would not recommend it. It has only 2 pixel pipelines so it is a crippled fx 5500 which are low/mid grade cards to begin with.

    I would recommend a 9600xt over the fx5500 for about $20 extra. The 9600xt was a middle end card that competed with the fx5700 Ultra.

    Here is a link to newegg's fx5500's and 9600xt's:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rtyCodeValue=0&Submit=Property&SubCategory=48

    The 9600xt should be able to handle most recent games where as the fx5500 will not. Also, I think it uses older shaders than the 9600xt.

    If you want to buy an nVidia card, get a 6600 or better, but make sure it has at least 8 pipelines otherwise it is locked or crippled. Nothing in the FX series will outperform the 9600xt withing a reasonable price range, so I would recommend you stay away from that series altogether.
     
  14. Spudzzy

    Spudzzy Member

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    Last edited: May 25, 2006
  15. JaguarGod

    JaguarGod Active member

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    I am not sure exactly how it is going to cut down performance, but I would estimate about 25% or so for the 2 pipeline version. The fx5500 with 4 pipelines are the same price, so that would be a smarter choice.

    Out of the cards you selected, it would be between a 9600pro and the 6200.

    However, there are two different GeForce 6200s. There is a 128bit bus version and a 64bit bus version. The 128but version will be about equal to the 9600pro but the other one will perform about 20% to 40% slower...

    The 6200 by 3dFuzion does not mention the bus width, so there is a chance that one is 128bit, but there is more of a chance of the 64bit. nVidia crippled some of the 6200's...

    Because of the uncertainty, I would recommend the 9600pro. It will be faster than an fx5500 and worst case perform as well as a 6200.

    You should still consider the 9600xt because the memory clock is 133MHz faster and the core clock is 100MHz faster and it is only $10 out of your price range, but the 9600pro would be my second recommendation.

    Here is how they should perform with respect to each other:

    9600xt > 9600Pro => 6200(128bit) >>> 6200(64bit) => FX5500 >>> FX5200

    Legend:
    > greater than
    >>> much greater than
    => about equal to or greater than
     
  16. Rovator

    Rovator Member

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    I have a related question... I look at that website at different 9600XT cards and noticed that There would be a card that had 256MB GDDR2 cards similarly priced to a 128MB DDR card. After looking around the internet, I found out that GDDR2 had complaints of overheating. So the question is with the heat problem, will the 128MB DDR outperform the other card? Also is there a noticible difference if a card has OpenGL 1.5 vs 1.4?? Thanks.
     
  17. JaguarGod

    JaguarGod Active member

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    The type of memory is not too important. DDR2 may be a tad faster, but I do not think it will make a huge difference in performance. Also, 128MB vs. 256MB will not make a big difference as well. That will only help for games with larger textures and when using high resolutions.

    The extra memory on the 256MB version may cause higher latency, so maybe DDR2 is used so that the memory clock can be set higher.

    I am not sure if one card will outperform the other. If there is a performance difference, it would be very small. However, I would think the 256MB version may have a slight edge and the one I saw on newegg was the cheapest 9600xt by at least $20 after the rebate.

    I do not think that there is an overheating issue with DDR2. My video card uses DDR3 and does not seem to overheat. It gets to 60 degrees at full load and idles at about 37 degrees. As long as your system is well ventilated, you should not have any problems. Also, you can always open up the case while gaming if you are afraid.

    I am not all that familiar with OpenGL, but I would think that version 1.5 would perform a tad better with OpenGL games than version 1.4.
     

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