Is AGP 8X really needed for ATI 9700 card?

[valexp]

Hi,

I am thinking about buying a new PC system with ATI Radieon 9700 card, but the system I have in mind has Intel 845PE chipset which only supports AGP4x. The 9700 supports AGP8x.

I read an article which says AGP4x is more than enough for almost all graphics card and 3D games. However, the 9700 is the latest card for 3D game so I am curious whether AGP8x is needed to fully realize the performance of 9700 card. Or AGP4x is enough for 9700.

Thanks for any answers in advance.

PS)The system I am thinking about is Dell Dimension 4250 with 2.5G P4, 512ram(DDR 333MHZ).

 

[bobmitch]

AGP 4X is fine. On my Asus P4PE, I get full performance out of the AIW 9700 Pro. Most people who run the card at 8X AGP find about 1% increase in speed. More often then not...there are problems with the Granite Bay chipset and Radeon 9700 Pro's.

Bob