upgrading to DirectX 9 YOUR OPINION PLEASE

[heretk]

I have made an observation recently regarding DirectX 9 and upgrading DX 8.1 systems to support the new API. I just wanted to say it out loud and get some opinions back on whether I am right or not.

1. At first I was reluctant to switch to DX 9, since I knew my ATI Radeon 7500 didn't support the new features. But then games started requiring DX9 so I upgraded. It seems to work fine on my dual-boot Win98/Win2000 Pentium III machine. QUESTION: can just about any DX 8.1 card work with DX 9?

2. In shopping around for a DX 9-compliant video card, they all seem to be AGP x8. My motherboard only supports AGP x4 cards. Does this mean I have to upgrade my mainboard as well? Are there any AGP x4 cards that support DX 9?

I have been combing the web reviews and tech sites, but haven't really found answers. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[coylter]

1-yes (some feature in the newer game will not work)
2-yes your mobo will support agp 8x card , it wil run the card at 4x (8x vs 4x = NO DIFFERENCE)

My own beast: Athlon 2700xp+ (oc: 3200xp+ with 200fsb) , Radeon 9800pro (oc: 410/370) , 512mb ddr400. SO MUCH faster than my last computer (pIII 550......)

 

[splenda20]

Upgrading your vid card isn't all you should do. I hate to tell you this, but a PIII CPU would be a huge bottleneck to pretty much any DX 9 vid card.

 

[heretk]

Yes I know. I am currently building an AMD XP 1800 (1.6 GHz) system. It's not the latest, but a heck of a lot better than a P3 550 MHz. But the new mainboard (MIS K7t Turbo2) only goes up to AGP x4, hence my query.

But you both have answered them: yes any card can work with DX 9 and I can cram an AGP x8 card into that x4 slot). Thanks!

 

[Crashman]

No current cards need more than AGP4x to provide optimal performance.

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[kinney]

Yes it will work. You wont have 8x but it doesnt matter. Esp with that processor..

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I just tell it like it is and some can't handle it. If your experience is different, well congratu-fukulation.
<b>I’M NOT A ATI FANBOY, I’M NOT A NV FANBOY, I’M A STABILITY FANBOY</b>