new graphic card 2x vs 4x+

[turtl3]

Hello - I am new to the boards and I'm hoping for some help...

In a recent misfortune my MB and Chip fried, it also hurt my old Graphic card. My board had a warranty on it and was replaced with the "new" version - so I took the opportunity to upgrade what I could, including a new graphic card.

I didn't have the resources to overspend on a card, I was talked into the PNY Verto GeForce 6200. It is an 8x AGP with multi-display support, 128mb

not to be confused with the turbo cache one that I saw reviewed recently here.

Here is the situation:
I bought it the same time I picked up my new MB, I found out once I got home that my new MB only supports a 4x AGP card.

I load everything up, and I can't get a single game to run, it looks bad, freezes, etc.

I do everything I can think of - better drivers, chipset drivers, etc...

I finally go into the Bios and change my 4x setting to 2x and then everything works - so for now the problem is solved...

now the questions:

first - is it a big deal that it is 2x instead of 4x (or even 8x) - what exactly does the X mean?

second - any thoughts why a 4x slot wont run it? My book says the min. requirements is a 300watt power supply, which mine is. would replacing the power supply matter? This is the first graphic card I have ever used that needs power plugged into it. My power supply is running two dvd drives (one burner) and two hard drives.

any advice or knowledge to pass on would be great. I am not a dedicated board reader, so feel free to e-mail me with a response.

thanks!
Mike

turtl3@gmail.com

 

[Crashman]

The reason it won't run at 4x is likely a timing issue. If you told us which board/chipset and RAM you have, it would help.

2x uses data doubling technology, like DDR SDRAM does. 4x uses data quadrupling technology, like Intel's QDR CPU bus does. 8x is twice as fast as 4x. The card actually doesn't perform well enough to use 8x anyway, 4x would be fine. 2x mode might increase stability, but at a loss in performance.

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[turtl3]

sorry about not posting the board... here's the details - nothing super special:

Elitegroup
K7VTA3
Chipset: VIA KT333 & 8235

I have a AMD Sempron 3000+ chip
with 1 gig of memory (cas2)


thanks again
Mike
turtl3@gmail.com

 

[Crashman]

I've actually never owned a KT333 board! Chances are you have either encountered a BIOS issue, or your power supply is providing incorrect voltage (low), or you're having memory timing issues.

Yes, memory timing issues affect the graphics card. This was most pronounced on boards such as the Asus P4S8X, where a screwed up memory bus would cause the system to crash when using an 8x card in 8x mode. The reason? All AGP cards access memory very quickly.

Although it's not a certain cause, it's free to check for an issue between the graphics card, chipset, and memory, simply by trying the thing at AGP4x and manually setting your CAS2 RAM to CAS3 in BIOS. If that works, you've found your problem.

Before you try that, you should consider installing the latest BIOS for your board, latest VIA chipset drivers, and newest nVidia graphics drivers.

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[Slava]

Before you try that, you should consider installing the latest BIOS for your board, latest VIA chipset drivers, and newest nVidia graphics drivers.

I thought he said he already did that... But your info is interesting. I had no idea such issues existed because I've never encountered anything like this myself (I mean RAM timings messing up AGP).


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[Crashman]

The AGP/RAM timing issue only comes up under certain configurations/chipsets on certain boards, it's not as common as say, a voltage issue.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>