sghiznaneck said:
It's not the onboard RAM that you have to look at when choosing a new gpu, it's the core speed. A card with 256 megs of RAM can be quite faster than a card with 512. You have to look at the core speed.
As far as upgrading from a 4X AGP card to an 8X AGP card, you have to ensure that your mobo is compatible with an 8X. Many older mobos are only 4X AGP.
Is core speed the same as Engine Clock Speed. <----- That is what I see listed on many cards as far as specifications go. Also a Memory Clock Speed is listed.
As for a mobo, I'm pretty sure mine is an Intel P4PE. Ok, i got the specs on my mobo and they are as follows:
CPU
Socket 478 for Intel®Pentium 4/ Celeron up to 3GHz+
On-die 512KB/256KB L2 Cache with full speed
Intel Hyper-Threading Technology ready
New power design supports up to 3.06GHz CPU speed and above
Chipset
Intel 82845PE MCH
Intel 82801DA ICH4
Front Side Bus
533 / 400 MHz
Memory
3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 2GB PC2700/PC2100 (FSB533) or PC2100/PC1600 (FSB400) non-ECC DDR SDRAM memory
Expansion Slots
1 x AGP 4X (1.5V only)
6 x PCI
IDE
2 x UltraDMA 100 / 66 / 33
Flexible Serial ATA (optional)
Promise controller supports one ATA133 port and two Serial ATA ports
RAID (optional)
RAID 0 supported by single Parallel ATA with single or dual Serial ATA connections,or dual Serial ATA connections alone.
RAID 1 supported by single Parallel ATA with single Serial ATA connection or dual Serial ATA connections alone.
Audio
ADI1980 6-channel CODEC
LAN (optional)
BroadCom 10/100 Mbps or 1000 Mbps Ethernet controller
IEEE-1394
VIA 1394 controller with two 1394 ports
Special Features
Power Loss Restart
ASUS JumperFree
CrashFree BIOS
Support S/PDIF out interface (on audio model only)
ASUS EZ Plug
ASUS POST Reporter
ASUS MyLogo2
ASUS Q-Fan technology
ASUS EZ Flash
Multi-language BIOS
AGP warning LED
Overclock Feature
CPU, Memory, and AGP voltage adjustable
ASUS JumperFree
C.P.R. (CPU Parameter Recall)
SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) from 100MHz up to 200MHz at 1MHz increments
Adjustable FSB/DDR ratio. Fixed AGP/PCI frequencies
Back Panel I/O Ports
1x Parallel
2x Serial
1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x RJ45 (optional)
1 x Audio I/O (optional)
4 x USB 2.0 / 1.1
Internal I/O Connectors
2 x IEEE1394 port (optional)
1 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 connector support additional 2 USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports
CPU / Power / Chassis FAN connectors
20 pin ATX Power connector
4 pin ATX 12V Power connector
IDE LED connector, power LED connetor
Chassis Intrusion, SM Bus, SIR
S/PDIF out connector (optional)
Front Audio Panel connector (optional)
GAME / MIDI connector (optional)
BIOS Feature
4 Mb Flash ROM,AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash, MyLogo2, ASUS C.P.R.
Industry Standard
PCI 2.2, USB 2.0
Manageability
WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME, Chassis Intrusion, SM Bus
Support CD
Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 anti-virus software
ASUS PC Probe
ASUS LiveUpdate Utility
Drivers
Accessories
User's manual
IDE cable
FDD cable
I/O shield
S/PDIF out module (optional)
2 port IEEE1394 module and 2 x IEEE1394 cable (on 1394 model only)
2-port USB2.0 / Game port module
InterVideo WinCinema (Gold version)
2 x Serial ATA cable (on Serial ATA model only)
2-connector UltraDMA cable (on Serial ATA model only)
3-connector UltraDMA cable
Form Factor
ATX Form Factor 12.0" x 9.0" (30.5cm x 22.9cm)
So now my question is: Is it worth it for me to buy a PCI video card as obviously I cannot use an 8x AGP card or should I just get a new mobo and start fresh and build a new machine??