Even though the newer PCI-Express interface has been around for three years already, it looks like the aging AGP interface is getting a new lease of life from both NVIDIA and AMD due to continued demand from emerging markets for AGP-based products. According to DigiTimes, citing their usual sources at card makers, NVIDIA is redesigning its bridge chip to get GeForce 8-series products on AGP:
Nvidia's BR02 chip was designed to convert the company's PCI Express-based GeForce 7600 (G73) GPU to support AGP, however, this chip is not compatible with GeForce 8 series GPUs. A new version, A05, will work with current GeForce 8600 (G86) and 8400 (G84) GPUs and well as the upcoming G92 and G98, noted the sources.
AMD is also planning to introduce AGP versions of its Radeon HD 2600 and 2400 GPUs but has reportedly encountered driver instability issues with DirectX 10 and HDMI. However, the article notes that these problems should be resolved by the end of the month.