AGP differences

[XtR-X]

What's the exact difference between AGP 8x slots and AGP Pro slots? Is one better than the other? What's goin on? Thanks.

 

[JSR]

agp

has it's own slot on the motherboard, as well as, supports a certain agp ratio 4x or 8x....it's the videocard as well, that supports agp 4x or 8x.....when combined, you have agp 8x.........running your video applications.

 

[XtR-X]

I had a good gist of the situation with 1x 2x 4x and 8x, but I don't understand, is AGP Pro better than AGP 8x?

 

[JSR]

dude

agp pro is a non-entity setting...........i don't have a clue to as what that would stand for.......probably relating to your board, meaning 8x.........just speculating.........anyway, this agp 8x thing, as it stands now, just doesn't amount to much in the way of performance

 

[XtR-X]

If u go to newegg, there's a whole selection.... u pick 1/2/4 or 4/8, or AGP Pro, etc.

 

[JSR]

i went there

all the product descriptions say agp(8X).............not one mention of .......agp pro..........provide a link

 

[XtR-X]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=14-102-277&depa=1

ATI FIRE GL X1 256MB DDR 8X AGP Pro50 Dual DVI-I Out - RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset:FGL 9700 Visual Processing Unit (VPU)
Memory:256MB of DDR memory
Bus: AGP Pro50
Dual integrated 10-bit per channel 400 MHz DACs
Eight parallel rendering pipelines
Four parallel geometry engines
Direct X® 9.0 functionality in OpenGL®
Programmable pixel and vertex shaders
Vertex shaders up to 1024 instructions with flow control
2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes
DVI Res Support up to: 1920x1200 analog up to 2048x1536
Resolutions above 1600x1200 are supported in single head configuration only.
OS Support: Linux®, Windows® XP, and Windows® 2000
Ports: Dual DVI-I connector

It's 8x with special properties--I think. Well, this is the only one that comes up when u specify AGP Pro.

 

[JSR]

for high end cad workstations

just for open gl.................apparently, the number relates to watts (50) required in the specialized slot for that purpose as there is an agp pro 110 as well...........

 

[Rick]

AGP pro supports higher-powered video cards. If you have noticed, some newer video cards require an external power source (For example: Radeon 9700 needs to be plugged into the PSU to work).

It is my understanding that AGP pro eliminates this by providing more power from the slot itself.

AGP pro slots are also a little different in design.

As far as I know, AGP 4x and 8x etc.. Still apply the Pro design. The difference is in the electrical power.

 

[XtR-X]

Thank you Rick, after all this confusion.

 

[Steg]

it cant just be for power - there are alot of extra pins in there - they cant all be for power

Steg

 

[XtR-X]

I see... well off from that, I won't purchase one.... it costs about 700 bucks.... well wasted cash.

 

[TS | Thomas]

Anandtech has this up;

AGP Pro is an extension of the AGP4X specification that is primarily designed to deliver additional electrical power to the graphics add-in cards. The AGP Pro definition includes an extended connector, thermal envelope, and mechanical specifications for cards, I/O brackets, and motherboard layout requirements. It is designed for professional level video cards, such as the Intergraph/3Dlabs Wildcat 4220.

AGP Pro extends the existing AGP connectors on both ends to deliver additional power on the 12 V and 3.3 V rails. AGP Pro is intended to supplement, but not replace, the existing AGP connector set. There are an additional 20 pins at the start and 28 pins at the end of the normal AGP slot.

An AGP Pro slot will accept and operate with standard AGP cards (although certain restrictions apply in the case of i845 and i850 motherboards). AGP Pro cards however, are not compatible with standard AGP4X slots.

The common AGP slot can supply up to 25 watts of power to a video card. AGP Pro introduces two additional AGP card types that can consume more than 25 watts.

Low Power AGP Pro cards that consume 25 to 50 Watts of power are classified as AGP Pro50 cards. In addition, the AGP Pro standard calls for at least one PCI slot to remain unoccupied adjacent to the AGP Pro50 card for cooling purposes.

A High Power AGP Pro card consumes 50 to 110 Watts of power, and is called an AGP Pro110 card. The standard requires at least 2 PCI slots to remain unoccupied adjacent to the AGP Pro110 card for cooling purposes.

There is no performance difference between AGP4X and AGP Pro.

There are currently no consumer level AGP Pro video cards.

 

[XtR-X]

Thanks for the better explanation.

 

[JSR]

yeah

whatever thomas said...........:grinthumb

 

[Rick]

Originally posted by Steg
it cant just be for power - there are alot of extra pins in there - they cant all be for power

Steg

Well... They are.