Now we're sure there are some readers out there mournfully looking at their now "outdated" AGP 4x system. But is the twofold increase in speed really necessary, not to mention - tangible? To be blunt: no. Even future applications are unlikely to require a bus interface that is faster than AGP 4x. 8x is more of a future investment than a current requirement.

AGP 8x uses pins that were previously unused. Visually, there is no difference to the 4x connector.

While AGP 4x with its 266 MHz offers a maximum theoretical bandwidth of about 1.1 GB/s, 8x allows for twice as much data to be pushed across the bus, namely 2.1 GB/s. Additionally, there are now several new side-band addressing modes as well as an "isochronous operation" mode, which ensures maximum available bandwidth regardless of system load. This could prove a very valuable addition for video streaming and similar applications. Games, however, aren't nearly as demanding, making this a moot point for gamers.