How can I install an AGP video card to a computer that does not have an AGP slot onboard? Is there an expansion card?
2006-10-23 19:19:00 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
The short answer to your question is NO! The AGP (Accelorated Graphics Port) slot is specially made for Video Cards, capable of rendering video images much faster than your CPU could do alone, leaving your CPU to do what it was actually made to do; running the rest of the system. Video, (both motion picture, as well as any and all graphics you see on the web) are all mathmatics, and require a serious number-crunching CPU to work effectively... that's basically what a video processor is; a souped up math co-processor... Early computers came with a CPU, and there was another slot for a CO CPU next door to it! Then, they started building the math-co into the CPU... but quickly, video processing demand outgrew that too... so in came the Video cards... which got increasingly complex, and with more dedicated VideoRAM (VRAM) with each passing year.
The reason it wouldn't make sense for any company out there to manufacture a PCI card, that allows you to put an AGP card onto the PCI card, and then plug into a PCI slot is that the PCI is slower... then, there's the expense... nope, it's cheaper to scale down a video card, and make one that fits directly into a PCI slot. Many of these PCI cards come with built in memory, too, which would free up the ever-valuable RAM, so that the entire system runs faster, and more smoothly... the PCI video card is still much faster than letting the CPU do the work, and as i've mentioned, they also have dedicated video RAM.
PCI Express is a relatively new breakthrough in video rendering technology, in that it is able to process, and (more importantly) transmit video along the datapath, (to and from the CPU) than was previously available... if your computer has a PCI-Express slot, it would say so in the computer literature, on the box, or even in the "My Computer" properties box (right click my computer, select properties, uhmmm; hardward tab).
No matter what form of video processing your computer has, the most important thing to notice; is your video shared, or do you have a dedicated video card, with dedicated memory? When you see those "great deals" on computers, check into two things; How much RAM does it have, and does it have a dedicated video card, rather than built in, or shared? This quickly turns the so-called great deals in desktops, into great wastes of money!
Consider this: I currently have a P3 (yep, Pentium III) Dell, which I upgraded to a 1Ghz chip, a few years ago (the most the motherboard would handle), and maxed out my RAM at 512Mb... It still runs faster than many off the shelf "great deal" systems, claiming to be three times faster! I have upgraded the video card three times now, the current is a NVidia FX 5900, with 256Mb Dedicated Video RAM. The PC I am currently using is an HP Pavilion, running a 3.4Ghz Celeron processor, (Celerons are crap, in my humble opinion), which I just upgraded to 1Gb RAM, but it still has its video shared with the CPU, and the video memory is shared with part of that 1Gb of RAM... What's that do? It makes this 3.4Ghz system slower than my... SEVEN YEAR OLD DELL!!! Granted, I paid over $2800 for this system, 7yrs ago... but (with the exception of playing high end video games) it is still more than capable of running the latest application software, and is flawless at playing video, music, surfing the web, and much more... all at the same time! My wife's HP Pavilion (is an AMD 1.3Ghz processor) just got upgraded with a PCI video card, and 512RAM... is still faster than the 3.4Ghz machine I am now on (her Mom's machine; just a little insight into the misleading world of processor speed vs. actual speed)
The bottom line is; you really do get what you pay for!
2006-10-24 00:49:54 · answer #1 · answered by Mark MacIver 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I advise you to go get a MoBo/processor combo, and one with either pci-express (as most MoBo's now are built with), or a combo with an agp. Most of the stuff they put today (for now), is made in both types. It won't be this way long however. So for now, I would grab a low end card and use it if i could, like an ATI 5250 or a 5500. These will play CoD, EQ2, and maybe even BF@2 if you have at least 1g of ram.
A good MoBo/processor combo...about 70-115 bucks.
Higher end stuff...now we're talking several hundred...
2006-10-23 23:34:34 · answer #2 · answered by Diadem 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
in case you are able to cope with to pay for the ATI X800 GTO get that one. One, it quite is a 256 bit video card on an identical time as the geforce 6600 is a 128 bit and the 6200 is a sixty 4 bit. next the ATI has 12 pixel pipes. the less pixel pipes the further information gets bottle necked, which isn't sturdy while you're working severe video games. The geforce 6600 is 8 pixel pipes, on an identical time as the 6200 is barely 4. A a million.5 volt (you probably did your place artwork in this area) AGP 3.0 motherboard could run those video enjoying cards with out issues. it quite is the older 2X and 4X AGP motherboards that could have issues of 8X AGP video enjoying cards as no longer all their AGP voltages is a million.5 and could desire to reason substantial crashing. one greater element, get a sparkling capability grant of a minimum of four hundred watts. No new cutting-component-day video card likes 3 hundred watt capability factors. Sorry yet it quite is a could. final, I even have study no longer something yet large comments in this ATI X800 GTO video card. i'm a huge fan of Geforce enjoying cards yet as a consequence the ATI seems greater suitable. sturdy good fortune.
2016-10-16 08:14:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't. You need a motherboard that has AGP slots. It sounds like you have an older board, if it has only PCI slots, so it's probably time for an upgrade anyway.
2006-10-23 19:26:27 · answer #4 · answered by The One True Chris 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
PCI graphics card, not the fastest but enough to get things done
ati radeon x1300
nvidia geforce 5200/5500 6200tc
2006-10-23 21:32:27 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't, and no. Looks like you'll either have to get a PCI card or a PCI-express depending on what you DO have.
2006-10-23 19:21:37 · answer #6 · answered by Justin V 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
noway
2006-10-23 21:37:56 · answer #7 · answered by Trinity 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋