AGP 8x better then 4x

[randombeaner]

Is AGP 8x any faster then AGP 4x on motherboards.

I ask because my video card can use 8x but my mobo is only 4x. Is 8x any faster? I think I heard somewhere that it is not but it can handle two cards or something like that is that true?

Thanks

      I like beans

[Delta_]

Not sure about the two cards thing, i don't know what you are referring to???

It is true that 8x is marginly faster than 4x but on 1-3%.  There are many benchmarks on the net to prove this.  The gap is bigger on higher end cards in high bandwidth apps but that is the 3%, whereas lower end cards are the 1%.  

It is not worth changing a motherboard in order to get 8x if that is all you want, as you will be disappointed, as you fps won't increase significantly enough/ at all for you to notice a difference.

[congo]

A mainboard upgrade to, say a nForce2 chipset will see some performance benefits as well as a slight increase from 8x AGP, however, the downside is that you  need to buy RAM for the new board, preferably 2 matching PC3200 sticks for future expansion. Good ram (not expensive) is required to get the full benefit.

[randombeaner]

Not sure about the two cards thing, i don't know what you are referring to???

I don't know what im reffering to either


congo:

ohh thanks for the info on the nForce2, i just checked prices and there not that expensive starting @ $46 bucks!

ps you said two pc3200 sticks but the nForce supports pc4000 sticks is it backwards compatible, and any ram you would reccomend

[congo]

What ever RAM you can get at a reasonable price, but it has to be a respected brand, such as Giel, Corsair etc.

Aim for a ram module you can clock at CAS 2.0 if possible.

Personally, I use Kingston CAS 2.5, because until recently, all other decent sticks were just too expensive here in Australia. I've found the Kingston will overclock on the timings to 6-2-2-2 (CAS 2.0) which is all I require. Some people don't like it. I might just be lucky.

So, the choice is 2 x 256mb or 2 x 512mb sticks, they need to be a batch match really. Buy them together.

Ideally, matched ram sets are purchased, but these are usually expensive.

Oh, and DDR400 IS PC3200