AGP and PCI-E?

agentRed · 12-08-2006, 08:42 PM

I've heard different stories about AGP and PCI-E...some say AGP is better and faster...others say that PCI-E is better...

The question is: what is the truth? How much, if any, performance increase would you see over identical cards, one being AGP and the other being PCI-E?

**blackduck30** · 12-08-2006, 08:59 PM

PCI-E is far better as it has it's own dedicated pipeline to the northbridge I think it is. I think the agp runs through the PCI bus and has a limited bandwidth 2,100 MB/s where the PCI-E has it's own bus with far greater bandwidth 4000 [8000]* MB/s ( in and out )

**FreoHeaveho** · 12-09-2006, 09:49 AM

Agreed, if your motherboard can handle PCI express, go for that. AGP (advanced graphics port) was really good when it came out, but is old technology now. PCI E is better by far.

agentRed · 12-09-2006, 05:11 PM

Actually, it's "Accelerated Graphics Port" :P

But yes, I do not have PCI-E on my board so I was just wondering, in a hypothetical situation where I got a new motherboard and new graphics card, how much of a difference would there be? Like, right now I have an AGP card from XFX (7600GS). If I got a new mobo with a PCI-E x16 slot and the exact same card only a PCI-E, how much of a difference would I be able to tell?

**blackduck30** · 12-09-2006, 06:59 PM

All PCI-E cards will out perform there AGP brothers but you will notice a bigger differece with the 7 series cards for example as they have a chipset that was designed for PCI-E, so any 7 series card thats is AGP will lag in performance compared to it's PCI-E brother compared to the 6 series and below were the differece will not be as great as they will have a chipset based on AGP

**FreoHeaveho** · 12-10-2006, 03:35 AM

yes, of course, late night posting is not recommended. hee hee

ebackhus · 12-11-2006, 07:42 PM

Actually, AGP was created because the PCI bus couldn't provide the necessary bandwidth for high-end video applications and games. AGP 1x was a 66Mhz which doubled that bandwidth that PCI provided. Subsequent revisions doubled that speed each time. AGP 8x (also called 3.0) could transfer a vast amount of data, an amount yet to be totally utilized by today's software. PCI-Express was created because of the need for more speed. As it stands, AGP isn't any worse than PCI-E and PCI-E doesn't really beat out AGP 8x. As software and hardware evolve this will change, but at current, the only differences are look and generation.

12-08-2006, 08:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
agentRed Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 384 OS: Windows XP My System	AGP and PCI-E? I've heard different stories about AGP and PCI-E...some say AGP is better and faster...others say that PCI-E is better... The question is: what is the truth? How much, if any, performance increase would you see over identical cards, one being AGP and the other being PCI-E? __________________ "Your computer isn't smoking yet? Go higher! Go higher!!" -Dr. Whose-a-what-smoking-it "You are now entering the harmonic world..." -Gorillaz

12-08-2006, 08:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
blackduck30 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Wollongong/Australia Posts: 4,230 OS: XP pro SP3/Vista Ultimate My System	PCI-E is far better as it has it's own dedicated pipeline to the northbridge I think it is. I think the agp runs through the PCI bus and has a limited bandwidth 2,100 MB/s where the PCI-E has it's own bus with far greater bandwidth 4000 [8000]* MB/s ( in and out ) __________________ Blackduck30 Time is like money and milk, It's always running out Any Donations Help Keep TSF Free For All

12-09-2006, 09:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
FreoHeaveho TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 3,227 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 SP2, Windows XP Professional SP3, Mac OSX Leopard My System	Agreed, if your motherboard can handle PCI express, go for that. AGP (advanced graphics port) was really good when it came out, but is old technology now. PCI E is better by far. __________________ PC Wizard-VGA 2009 Charts-Power Supply Info-Multi/Single Rail PSU?-Speedfan-Driver Sweeper

12-09-2006, 05:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
agentRed Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 384 OS: Windows XP My System	Actually, it's "Accelerated Graphics Port" :P But yes, I do not have PCI-E on my board so I was just wondering, in a hypothetical situation where I got a new motherboard and new graphics card, how much of a difference would there be? Like, right now I have an AGP card from XFX (7600GS). If I got a new mobo with a PCI-E x16 slot and the exact same card only a PCI-E, how much of a difference would I be able to tell? __________________ "Your computer isn't smoking yet? Go higher! Go higher!!" -Dr. Whose-a-what-smoking-it "You are now entering the harmonic world..." -Gorillaz

12-09-2006, 06:59 PM	#5 (permalink)
blackduck30 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Wollongong/Australia Posts: 4,230 OS: XP pro SP3/Vista Ultimate My System	All PCI-E cards will out perform there AGP brothers but you will notice a bigger differece with the 7 series cards for example as they have a chipset that was designed for PCI-E, so any 7 series card thats is AGP will lag in performance compared to it's PCI-E brother compared to the 6 series and below were the differece will not be as great as they will have a chipset based on AGP __________________ Blackduck30 Time is like money and milk, It's always running out Any Donations Help Keep TSF Free For All Last edited by blackduck30; 12-09-2006 at 07:00 PM.

12-10-2006, 03:35 AM	#6 (permalink)
FreoHeaveho TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 3,227 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 SP2, Windows XP Professional SP3, Mac OSX Leopard My System	yes, of course, late night posting is not recommended. hee hee __________________ PC Wizard-VGA 2009 Charts-Power Supply Info-Multi/Single Rail PSU?-Speedfan-Driver Sweeper

12-11-2006, 07:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,335 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Actually, AGP was created because the PCI bus couldn't provide the necessary bandwidth for high-end video applications and games. AGP 1x was a 66Mhz which doubled that bandwidth that PCI provided. Subsequent revisions doubled that speed each time. AGP 8x (also called 3.0) could transfer a vast amount of data, an amount yet to be totally utilized by today's software. PCI-Express was created because of the need for more speed. As it stands, AGP isn't any worse than PCI-E and PCI-E doesn't really beat out AGP 8x. As software and hardware evolve this will change, but at current, the only differences are look and generation. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.