what is the difference between an AGP and a PCI slot? How come pixel shading (etc) only comes with AGP?

Question

i've been searching for a graphics card that has pixel shading and a few other capabilities, but my computer only has PCI slots (it was a custom build from Dell). i have a basic nvidia card right now, but i'm looking into upgrading. are there any PCI cards with pixel shading capabilities??

i need card names and (preferably) sites where i could look into purchasing one.

thanks,

josh

Answer 1

the AG of AGP is Advanced Graphics.
as for PCI the first guy was right there is PCI and newer PCI-express.
but it sounds like you are talking about a standard older PCI.

as for a good card see ati.com and nvidia.com look up graphics cards and look up the specification. then if you find one that is or does what you want or need then make a note of the make and model number and either go direct to www.dabs.com and search for it and buy it. or use www.froogle.co.uk or froogle.com depending on your location alternatively see if dell will send a technician out to exchange your systems motherboard for one that has AGP and or PCI-express. ok you may need to pay for this technicians time and for the upgrade. or you could buy a compatible motherboard with the same CPU socket and that supports the same ram so you can simply swap over the motherboard for a better one.

i can say i've never had any problems with my ATI radeon cards (9550 256MB on one system and x1900 and 512MB on another system) both are perfect for my need and (i think though not sure) do pixel shading

Answer 2

well here something to chew on, some models of agp are availible as a pci,with all the capabilities like pixel shade etc,but at a slower rate,because pci is 32 bits,versus 64 for agp. pci-x is larger than agp, (128 bits i think)and runs much faster than agp does. your biggest problem is your dell,it wasnt intended to be upgraded. so if you can find a card ya want in a pci version,your lucky. though personally i have seen several model of emachines with either agp,or a pci-x slot availible for upgrading

Answer 3

Which PCI?
There's 2 one PCI and PCI-X
PCI-Express is the fastet and needs bigger motherboard slot.
AGP is limited and slow.
I recomend nVidia 7800GT