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What is this AGP video slot on the new motherboards? When I upgrade, do I have to use it or can I use my current PCI video card?

The Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) is a new technology developed by Intel for Pentium II based systems. AGP is a dedicated graphics port, which means that it is separate from the existing PCI bus. One of the key benefits of AGP is that it allows textures used in 3D graphics applications to be accessed directly from system memory.

If you buy a motherboard with the new AGP slot and money is tight, you can use your existing PCI video card, but video preformance will be greatly improved using an AGP card.

The PCI bus works at a peak bandwidth of 33 MHz, but AGP works at 66 MHz. AGP is designed to directly connect the graphics board to the CPU and system memory. Not only does the graphics card get 3D information quicker, it can access main memory as if it was local, on-board memory. This creates two benefits. First, more textures can be stored in system memory improving the quality of 3D games. You will also save on the cost of having extra local memory on your graphics card to have the richest 3D environments.

Check out the latest Video Cards.



 


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