AGPx2 with T&L

Dan

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Dec 31, 2007
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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

I've been advised by the manufacturer of my old motherboard
(SuperMicro) not to get an AGP x4/x8 card because they are known to
lock up. They say I should only use AGP x2 cards.

In this site (http://www.digit-life.com/articles/profcards0111/) some
cards are listed as AGP x2/x4. Would they work exactly as an AGP x2
card?

I just need to find a card with hardware T&L that works on this old
motherboard. Any help is very welcome.

Regards

Dan
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

The original Geforce256 cards had a T&L engine.
Try a GF3 ti
"Dan" <dandude@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4c41fa14.0408291913.134fab29@posting.google.com...
> I've been advised by the manufacturer of my old motherboard
> (SuperMicro) not to get an AGP x4/x8 card because they are known to
> lock up. They say I should only use AGP x2 cards.
>
> In this site (http://www.digit-life.com/articles/profcards0111/) some
> cards are listed as AGP x2/x4. Would they work exactly as an AGP x2
> card?
>
> I just need to find a card with hardware T&L that works on this old
> motherboard. Any help is very welcome.
>
> Regards
>
> Dan
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Sept1967 wrote:

> The original Geforce256 cards had a T&L engine.
> Try a GF3 ti
> "Dan" <dandude@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4c41fa14.0408291913.134fab29@posting.google.com...
>
>>I've been advised by the manufacturer of my old motherboard
>>(SuperMicro) not to get an AGP x4/x8 card because they are known to
>>lock up. They say I should only use AGP x2 cards.
>>
>>In this site (http://www.digit-life.com/articles/profcards0111/) some
>>cards are listed as AGP x2/x4. Would they work exactly as an AGP x2
>>card?
>>
>>I just need to find a card with hardware T&L that works on this old
>>motherboard. Any help is very welcome.
>>
>>Regards
>>
>>Dan
>
>
>
You could force the graphics card to run in an AGPx2 mode by setting a
BIOS option pn yer mobo. AFAIK there're no grapics cards which have TnL
which're only AGPx2. I think the original GeForce 256 was an AGPx4 card.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

In general, you just need to make sure that the card you get does support
AGP 2x, which many of the newest cards still do. Some actually say this on
the package -- the BFG Geforce 6800GT box I have, for example, says "AGP
8x/4x/2x compatible" on it. Note that while some specifications will simple
say "AGP 8x" or "AGP 3.0," this does not indicate whether or not they'll
work in AGP 2x motherboards. Sometimes this information will not be clearly
stated anywhere, in which case you might have to contact the manufacture
directly to find this out.

If everything was made "correctly," AGP slots are keyed so that if the card
fits, it is supposed to be compatible with that motherboard. HOWEVER,
another issue to note is that not all motherboards followed AGP
specifications properly on their AGP slots. This has led to situations
where even though a card fits in an AGP slot, it doesn't necessarily work.

This brings us to your specific situation. Supermicro's advice "could" be
interpreted to imply that their slot may be one of the "problem" slots I
just mentioned, but it could also simply be someone trying to say what I
said in the first sentence above -- i.e. that you only need to confirm that
the card is AGP 2x compatible. I would ask Supermicro to clarify this --
ask them if a card listed as "AGP 2x/4x/8x compatible" will work in this
motherboard.

Larry

"Dan" <dandude@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4c41fa14.0408291913.134fab29@posting.google.com...
> I've been advised by the manufacturer of my old motherboard
> (SuperMicro) not to get an AGP x4/x8 card because they are known to
> lock up. They say I should only use AGP x2 cards.
>
> In this site (http://www.digit-life.com/articles/profcards0111/) some
> cards are listed as AGP x2/x4. Would they work exactly as an AGP x2
> card?
>
> I just need to find a card with hardware T&L that works on this old
> motherboard. Any help is very welcome.
>
> Regards
>
> Dan
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"Dan" <dandude@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4c41fa14.0408291913.134fab29@posting.google.com...
> I've been advised by the manufacturer of my old motherboard
> (SuperMicro) not to get an AGP x4/x8 card because they are known to
> lock up. They say I should only use AGP x2 cards.
>
> In this site (http://www.digit-life.com/articles/profcards0111/) some
> cards are listed as AGP x2/x4. Would they work exactly as an AGP x2
> card?
>
> I just need to find a card with hardware T&L that works on this old
> motherboard. Any help is very welcome.
>
> Regards
>
> Dan

The problem is that AGPx4 introduced a new voltage standard so that cards
that support AGPx2 and AGPx4 or higher have to run on either 5v or
3.3v,depending on AGP mode. Many AGPx2/AGPx4 cards defaulted to booting on
3.3v, which if combined with a AGPx2 motherboard cuased problems as the
motherboard only supplied 5.0.

Many cards now only support agpx4 as the minimum to make it clear they are
3.3v devices only.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

What model or chipset is your Supermicro board? For it to only
support AGP 2x and not higher, that board have to be incredibly
ancient (like an 440LX or one of the old Super Socket 7 boards, the
kind of boards that wouldn't support modern CPUs or be able to run the
most current games regardless of a video card upgrade).

>I've been advised by the manufacturer of my old motherboard
>(SuperMicro) not to get an AGP x4/x8 card because they are known to
>lock up. They say I should only use AGP x2 cards.
 

chip

Distinguished
Nov 16, 2001
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0
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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"Larry L." <larryalREMOVE2REPLY@socal.rr.com> wrote in message
news:SvDYc.15700$aB1.11496@twister.socal.rr.com...
> In general, you just need to make sure that the card you get does support
> AGP 2x, which many of the newest cards still do.

Is that correct? I know you go on about slots below, but I think the above
statement is still very misleading.

The AGP 1.0 specification also defined the connector-a 124-pin slot that
provided 3.3 volts to the video card. AGP 1.0 supports 1x and 2x standards.

The AGP 2.0 specification defined a 1.5-volt power requirement. To prevent
users from installing a 3.3-volt card in a 1.5-volt slot (or vice versa),
the AGP 2.0 spec defined a new connector with the orientation notch moved
towards the front of the motherboard.

The problem is, a modern AGP 2.0 (or AGP 3.0) card will still support AGP
2x. So to say get a card that supports AGP 2x is not sufficient. For
example, a GF6800GT supports AGP 2x, but I doubt it will fit in his
motherboard.

I suspect what he needs is an AGP 1.0 card.

Chip


> Some actually say this on
> the package -- the BFG Geforce 6800GT box I have, for example, says "AGP
> 8x/4x/2x compatible" on it. Note that while some specifications will
simple
> say "AGP 8x" or "AGP 3.0," this does not indicate whether or not they'll
> work in AGP 2x motherboards. Sometimes this information will not be
clearly
> stated anywhere, in which case you might have to contact the manufacture
> directly to find this out.
>
> If everything was made "correctly," AGP slots are keyed so that if the
card
> fits, it is supposed to be compatible with that motherboard. HOWEVER,
> another issue to note is that not all motherboards followed AGP
> specifications properly on their AGP slots. This has led to situations
> where even though a card fits in an AGP slot, it doesn't necessarily work.
>
> This brings us to your specific situation. Supermicro's advice "could" be
> interpreted to imply that their slot may be one of the "problem" slots I
> just mentioned, but it could also simply be someone trying to say what I
> said in the first sentence above -- i.e. that you only need to confirm
that
> the card is AGP 2x compatible. I would ask Supermicro to clarify this --
> ask them if a card listed as "AGP 2x/4x/8x compatible" will work in this
> motherboard.
>
> Larry
>
> "Dan" <dandude@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4c41fa14.0408291913.134fab29@posting.google.com...
> > I've been advised by the manufacturer of my old motherboard
> > (SuperMicro) not to get an AGP x4/x8 card because they are known to
> > lock up. They say I should only use AGP x2 cards.
> >
> > In this site (http://www.digit-life.com/articles/profcards0111/) some
> > cards are listed as AGP x2/x4. Would they work exactly as an AGP x2
> > card?
> >
> > I just need to find a card with hardware T&L that works on this old
> > motherboard. Any help is very welcome.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Dan
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

> > In general, you just need to make sure that the card you get does
support
> > AGP 2x, which many of the newest cards still do.
>
> Is that correct? I know you go on about slots below, but I think the
above
> statement is still very misleading.

If you read the whole post, I don't think it's misleading. Perhaps I could
have changed the order in which I said things, but I did include the comment
"in general," and I feel that I clarified the situation in sufficient
detail. I also specifically mentioned that he should check with the
motherboard manufacturer and ask them if a card rated to work in an
AGP2x/4x/8x slot will work in his motherboard. I don't see how I could be
any less misleading than telling him to check with the actual manufacturer.

> The AGP 1.0 specification also defined the connector-a 124-pin slot that
> provided 3.3 volts to the video card. AGP 1.0 supports 1x and 2x
standards.
>
> The AGP 2.0 specification defined a 1.5-volt power requirement. To prevent
> users from installing a 3.3-volt card in a 1.5-volt slot (or vice versa),
> the AGP 2.0 spec defined a new connector with the orientation notch moved
> towards the front of the motherboard.
>
> The problem is, a modern AGP 2.0 (or AGP 3.0) card will still support AGP
> 2x. So to say get a card that supports AGP 2x is not sufficient. For
> example, a GF6800GT supports AGP 2x, but I doubt it will fit in his
> motherboard.
>
> I suspect what he needs is an AGP 1.0 card.

Keep in mind that plenty of cards capable of AGP4x or even AGP8x work just
fine in AGP1.0 slots -- Leadtek, Visiontek, and PNY are all brands that I've
personally confirmed this with. I'm currently running three systems with
AGP1.0 compliant motherboards -- all three are old BX chipset motherboards
with AGP 1.0 1x/2x slots. Two of these systems are running "AGP2.0"
compliant cards, one of which is a GF4Ti4600. The third is running a
Geforce 5200FX rated as "AGP8x" which runs at 2x in this motherboard. This
demonstrates that cards and motherboards that properly followed the
standards "can" work fine -- I'm not saying they "will," I'm saying they
"can." The cards and motherboards are supposed to be keyed to prevent a
mismatch, so if they can't work together, the card isn't supposed to fit.
Unfortunately, discrepencies in following standards has led to the somewhat
confusing situation we're now in.

Note that I'm not saying that he necessarily "doesn't" need an AGP1.0
card -- he may in fact need just that. What I'm saying is that if a card
says it supports AGP2x, and a motherboard says it supports AGP2x, they "can"
potentially work together, and if everything was designed properly, they
likely will. If they can't work together, they are "supposed" to be
designed so that the keying won't allow the card to be inserted.

Larry

> Chip
>
>
> > Some actually say this on
> > the package -- the BFG Geforce 6800GT box I have, for example, says "AGP
> > 8x/4x/2x compatible" on it. Note that while some specifications will
> simple
> > say "AGP 8x" or "AGP 3.0," this does not indicate whether or not they'll
> > work in AGP 2x motherboards. Sometimes this information will not be
> clearly
> > stated anywhere, in which case you might have to contact the manufacture
> > directly to find this out.
> >
> > If everything was made "correctly," AGP slots are keyed so that if the
> card
> > fits, it is supposed to be compatible with that motherboard. HOWEVER,
> > another issue to note is that not all motherboards followed AGP
> > specifications properly on their AGP slots. This has led to situations
> > where even though a card fits in an AGP slot, it doesn't necessarily
work.
> >
> > This brings us to your specific situation. Supermicro's advice "could"
be
> > interpreted to imply that their slot may be one of the "problem" slots I
> > just mentioned, but it could also simply be someone trying to say what I
> > said in the first sentence above -- i.e. that you only need to confirm
> that
> > the card is AGP 2x compatible. I would ask Supermicro to clarify
this --
> > ask them if a card listed as "AGP 2x/4x/8x compatible" will work in this
> > motherboard.
> >
> > Larry
> >
> > "Dan" <dandude@gmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:4c41fa14.0408291913.134fab29@posting.google.com...
> > > I've been advised by the manufacturer of my old motherboard
> > > (SuperMicro) not to get an AGP x4/x8 card because they are known to
> > > lock up. They say I should only use AGP x2 cards.
> > >
> > > In this site (http://www.digit-life.com/articles/profcards0111/) some
> > > cards are listed as AGP x2/x4. Would they work exactly as an AGP x2
> > > card?
> > >
> > > I just need to find a card with hardware T&L that works on this old
> > > motherboard. Any help is very welcome.
> > >
> > > Regards
> > >
> > > Dan
> >
> >
>
>