AGP x4

[uther(UK)]

Ive got an older dell system also with a P$ 2.53ghz, the mother board only supports AGP4x, so i was woundering whats the best graphics card i can get for this, my budget is only £150 roughly $300. At the moment ive got a 256mb nvidia 5700.

 

[RedRecon2004]

Get the ATI Radeon 9800 PRO. AGP 4x is barely any different from AGP 8x.

I remember one time I actually did a test by benchmarking with AGP 4x and then AGP 8x - I think the biggest difference I had was maybe 2-3 FPS off.

 

[deadweight]

Get the ATI Radeon 9800 PRO. AGP 4x is barely any different from AGP 8x.

I remember one time I actually did a test by benchmarking with AGP 4x and then AGP 8x - I think the biggest difference I had was maybe 2-3 FPS off.

Graphics Standards Possible Bandwidth

16-bit ISA 16MB/s
EISA 32MB/s
VLB 132MB/s
PCI 132MB/s
AGP 1x 264MB/s
AGP 2x 528MB/s
AGP 4x 1056MB/s
AGP 8x 2112MB/s

PCI Express Archectures
x1 500MB/s (Single Data Lane - Both Directions)
x2 1000MB/s (Dual Data Lane - Both Directions)
x4 2000MB/s (Quadruple Data Lane - Both Directions)
x8 4000MB/s (Eight Data Lane - Both Directions)
x12 6000MB/s (Twelve Data Lane - Both Directions)
x16 8000MB/s (4000MB/s Per Direction (Two Directions))
Most common PCI Express Speed


http://www.cooltechzone.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=506&Itemid=0&limit=1&limitstart=1

 

[fitzjj]

The bandwidths deadweight has posted are most likely correct but like RedRecon2004 says you wont notice a great deal of difference between 4x and 8x. Ok there will be some, depending on what you are doing but not a lot.

Just because a graphics card has a huge bandwidth it is still limited by how much it can process. A fat pipe doesnt mean higher performance, it means you can potentially send more data to it per second.

 

[d_source]

If ur gonna spend $300 on a card, DO NOT get a 9800, its a waste...its outdated, whats the point just stick with the card you have b/c the quality gain isnt gonna be that drastic, and for sure not worth the money. Either jump into the next series of cards (6600GT or 6800 or x800) or keep ur money till u upgrade your mobo and do it all at once.
The 5700 is still a good card, if i were u i wouldnt upgrade now.