8X AGP 1.5V Only??? Why?

[jaimegmr]

I was reading the specs on the GigaByte GA-7N400 Pro nForce2 Ultra Motherboard. Under Expansion slots it says:

1 x AGP slot (8x/4x-AGP 3.0 compliant), supports 1.5v display card only

I thought 8X was .08V, how come this says it supports 8X but only 1.5V, which is the voltage of 4X???


Signature X__________________________ <-- Sign here please.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jaimegmr on 06/20/03 07:42 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[o1die]

Regular agp 8x cards will work with 1.5 volt slots, while the pro versions require the special agp pro slot at .8 volts.

 

[TheMASK]

Yup, AGP 8X in .08V and AGP 4X is 1.5 Volts. What the specification means is, the mainboard supports both 4X and 8X AGP Cards and not the earlier AGP2x cards as these cards need 3.3V.

u cud either use a 4X AGP card or a 8X AGP card and the mainboard wud automatically detect and supply the required voltage to the card.

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[TheMASK]

tnx O1die, i didnt know about this AGP 8X and AGP 8X Pro thing.

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[xeenrecoil]

Hiya Jaimegmr;

I will try and explain this in a way you will understand, however this is pretty technical so there is really no way to tell you without getting complicated heheh, anyway here goes.

When the AGP 1.0 standard was introduced the Signaling voltage was 3.3v and the cards ran at 1xAGP. Then about 18mos. or so later 2xAGP came out and it was also 3.3v

Then after awhile a new standard rose up to meet the chalenge of ever increasing bandwidth demands for games like Quake3 Arena (Drum Roll.......) AGP 2.0 , Enter 4xAGP <applause here> this new standard moved from 3.3v to the new 1.5v signaling, now unfortunately some companies didnt adhear to the new standard right away and some AGP 2.0 cards were still 3.3v, some cards were capable of handling both, and still yet some were 1.5v only, as you can imagine this cause a ton of component death because of so-called "Pro" slots at the time.

I think its safe to say that your Geforce 1 is safely in the catagory of AGP 2.0 standard at 1.5v, however there are exceptions some manufactures wanted backwards compatability to 2xAGP and were also 3.3v compatable.

Pure AGP 2.0 video cards strictly at 1.5v, werent prevelent untill around the time of Geforce 2, about a profit year later, by this time most poeple had AGP 2.0 compliant motherboards in their homes and were reaping the benifits of faster graphics performance.

A Few years later AGP 3.0 was introduced, this new standard raised the bar once again and 0.89v cards were introduced, eventually video card manufactures will steer towards 0.89v only and 1.5v cards will be a thing of the past, as previous standards are today.

Here is a makeshift key map to help break it down for you.

AGP 1.0 - 3.3v
AGP 2.0 - 1.5v & *3.3v
AGP 3.0 - 0.89v & *1.5v

■ represents previous standard compatability.

I hope i have helped.

XeeN

 

[Crashman]

Wrong.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[Crashman]

You didn't know about the AGP8x vs AGP Pro 8x issue because it doesn't exist. He lied, whether intentionally or by mistake.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[Crashman]

Thank you for clearing this up, I was getting a little upset with certain members.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[TheMASK]

tnx Crashman, but iwas browsing thru the latest THG review on the latest 875 chipset mobos, and here's what i found <A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030519/i875p-06.html" target="_new"> here </A>

The ASUS p4c800 mobo has....

A positive mention should go to the AGP-Pro interface, which has room for professional OpenGL graphics cards, but is slowly going out of fashion.

And Crashman, wud u tell me what in the picture on this page (the page from the above link) is that third slot next to the 2 USB ports? (the one just in between the Parallel Port and the On-BOard LAN)

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[Black_Cat]

Great explanation, Xeen. It should be part of the Graphics Cards FAQ if that ever comes to fruition.

Okay, brain. You don't like me, and I don't like you, but let's get through this thing and then I can continue killing you with beer. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[xeenrecoil]

Thanks Blackcat i apreaciate it.

since were on the subject, anyone wanna help me write a Graphics card FAQ?

XeeN

 

[Black_Cat]

If you're really into doing an FAQ, just do what you can and put it out there for all to see. I'm sure people will respond with additions and suggestions.

Okay, brain. You don't like me, and I don't like you, but let's get through this thing and then I can continue killing you with beer. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[Crashman]

I doubt you'll ever need AGP Pro. AGP Pro has extra power pins for special cards that most of use will never even see, let along buy. Of course, standard AGP cards work just as well in AGP Pro slots.

That third connector is 1394 Firewire.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[TheMASK]

tnx Crashman...wow, now they include even the Firewire onboard... thats cool....

so tell me what ur next title gonna be? Honarary........of THGC

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[Crashman]

I'm hoping this is the last title.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>