OK..quick 4X vs. 2X AGP lesson?

[natb1]

Yes,

Im new in the video forum. I can get a nice deal on a MOBO Combo (Athlon 800w/ Mobo for 129). The only thing is that it has a 2X AGP slot instead of a 4X AGP slot. I own a GeForce2 with 4X AGP support. I heard from a knowlegable person that the 4X AGP slot only helps with Apps that can utilize this feature (kinda like dual CPUs).

My question is....Is this true?
I play mostly stuff like Q2 and H/L and Delta Force. I may be using a 3D package like Solid Works though.

Is the realized performance difference REALLY BIG between the Two?

Should I hold out for a 4X AGP MoBo?

Hmmmmm....what should I do?

[Darren Wilson]

To be honest, there is no real noticable difference.

[Joker1]

With what videocards are running at now 4x is still just for show. 2x will definitely cut it. Ofcourse say you want to upgrade 18 months or 2 years down the road.....

[natb1]

thanks for the replies.

But do only "certain" applications use the 4X bus or do "ALL" apps. work better?

Good point on the upgragde.

Im a budget minded person that doesnt like to stay on the bleeding edge of technology.
Its too expensive up there. I figure in Two years time...Ill be able to get a Smokin MoBo and 1.6 GHz CPU for $150 or less...hehe

I like to own and maintain SEVERAL less prestiegous PCs in my house rather than One $4000 PC....8)

[Joker1]

well put
as for the software question the agp speed will be determined by the bios settings, essentially you tell it how much data it can cram trough. Increasing the rate doesnt matter if your not maxing it. Therefore for the average user it will work just fine. As long as you dont plan on upgrading.

[CobraTekMax]

AGP 4x doesn't offer much of a performance boost over 2x. It WILL make a difference in MOST GAMES, but only an average of maybe 3-5 FPS, if that. At least that's been my personal experience.

[natb1]

OK...thanks for the input!
I doesnt sound like it will be a Night and Day difference (ie...everything runs TWICE as fast!...hehe), so I wont bend over backwards trying to get 4X AGP MoBo.

The Athlon750, MoBo, and GeForce2 for $200 should make me happy then. Now I just need 125MB RAM for $45 and perhaps a 20Gig for $69 and Ill have a nice lil PC w/o busten the ole wallet. I think SAMS has 19inch CTXs for less than $199 right now...hmmmm.

Im gettin excited!