Nvidia 7800 AGP - top of the line?

[TeeRex]

I have an Nvidia 6600GT which works well for me. Frankly, I don't really think i have to upgrade, but the voices in my head are all begging for a 7800.

The 7800 is in fact quite an upgrade from the 6600, however is it really worth $300. The real issue I have with it is that, for the most part, as soon as you buy an upgrade a new and improved version comes out and leaves your new hardware in the dust. With the advent of the PCI-E slot, it seems that all new technology will be of that interface.

My question is really this: what of the AGP? Will we continue to see new gpu cards for the AGP interface? What are the performance limititations of the AGP slot and how far from those limits is the 7800 card?

Can I expect something better for the AGP? Or is the 7800 it???

[flanzig1]

AGP is going the way of the Dodo bird. If you plan on keeping your mobo for a few more years, then a video card upgrade is worthwhile. If planning a new system, getting an AGP would be a waste of money.

[Garou]

I Sell Refurished 7800's GS AGP 8X. for about 270.
if you dont want to shell out full price you can consider buying one off me.

PM if you are interested.

As current owner of a 7800 GS.
Its pretty worth it.

[jeromebrill]

I just bought the 7800 GS OC. It was an even bigger upgrade than you. I had the old BFG Asylum 5200. I wanted to play Oblivion so I bought it. I think it's worth it. When my Oblivion Version looks better than the X-360, its worth it. People say AGP is going out the door but who knows if they wont make AGP x 16 and be backwords compatible?

[glc]

No, there will be no further development of the AGP bus itself. There *may* be higher powered AGP cards to come, but 8x is as good as it will ever get.

[kram 2.0]

The bandwidth that PCI-Express can theoretically allow is the upside to future graphics development. While the bandwidth of AGP 8X was not fully used when PCI-Express started making apperances, current technologies clearly look to use what PCI-Express brings to the table. The 7800GS AGP is an excellent card - however, it is clearly one of the last of its kind.

kram

[blue60007]

Theoritcally, could you have a PCI-E x32 slot? PCI-E seems very scalable (I see that as a big plus), since there's PCI-E x1, x2, x4, x8, and x16. The slots (with exception of x1) can scale back the number of lanes if necessary.

[Doopa]

Originally Posted by blue60007 Theoritcally, could you have a PCI-E x32 slot? PCI-E seems very scalable (I see that as a big plus), since there's PCI-E x1, x2, x4, x8, and x16. The slots (with exception of x1) can scale back the number of lanes if necessary.

Ofcourse, the say PCI-E 32x comes out will be the day I buy a 16x .

[jeromebrill]

Yeah I was just thinking about the actual connection of AGP with my previous comment^. Couldn't they just use that same form but still have a faster transfer rate? kinda like usb 1.0 too 2.0 or does it physically need more pins. I'm just trying to understand why AGP wouldn't just design a faster transfer rate and still use the same type of connection and be able to use 4x and 8x cards. It still means making a new type of mobo but still. Maybe I'm missing something. I'm trying to learn lol

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by jeromebrill Yeah I was just thinking about the actual connection of AGP with my previous comment^. Couldn't they just use that same form but still have a faster transfer rate? kinda like usb 1.0 too 2.0 or does it physically need more pins. I'm just trying to understand why AGP wouldn't just design a faster transfer rate and still use the same type of connection and be able to use 4x and 8x cards. It still means making a new type of mobo but still. Maybe I'm missing something. I'm trying to learn lol

I would think that there are two main reasons the new interface is "PCI-Express X16" . Obviously, the sixteen lane interface works perfectly in accomodating the increasing bandwidth needs of today's graphics cards. But also, PCI-Express uses a bi-directional 'bus' instead of the uni-directional bus found in the AGPs. While most current PCI-E GPUs do not utilize both directions effectively, a bi-directional bus allows a much greater potential traffic - and greater headroom for future releases.

kram

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by jeromebrill Yeah I was just thinking about the actual connection of AGP with my previous comment^. Couldn't they just use that same form but still have a faster transfer rate? kinda like usb 1.0 too 2.0 or does it physically need more pins. I'm just trying to understand why AGP wouldn't just design a faster transfer rate and still use the same type of connection and be able to use 4x and 8x cards. It still means making a new type of mobo but still. Maybe I'm missing something. I'm trying to learn lol

They could but they won't. The industry has decided to standardize on PCI-E and all AGP development has been abandoned.

[Ghost(BOO!)]

since the AGP 4x is barely lower performance then 8x I can see why they decided to go with a new card interface

[thefultonhow]

Actually, 8x is twice as fast as 4x -- it's just that video cards don't use the extra bandwidth.

[Ghost(BOO!)]

Originally Posted by thefultonhow Actually, 8x is twice as fast as 4x -- it's just that video cards don't use the extra bandwidth.

That's what I was trying to get at in my post. I guess I should of explained better.

[jeromebrill]

Ok I understand now. Thanks. So it's possible but there retards and want to make people buy more crap. I see lol again thanks