HDI wrote:
> On 10 apr, 15:50, "GT" <ContactGT_remove...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> "HDI" <hd...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:b12b08c6-5475-4f0a-98f1-fc02eb200ff1@e67g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
>> On 9 apr, 00:33, Paul <nos...@needed.com> wrote:
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>> I visited the local shop site and the only matrox G550 I found was an
>> 'Matrox Millenium G550 - 32 MB - PCI Low Profile - 2 x
>> VGA' (manufacturer code: g55mddap32dbf), so no AGP. There are also
>> PCIe but I haven't got such a slot.
>>
>> Should I look further for an AGP or does both of them have the same
>> performance and is the slot the only difference?
>> Maybe I'm wrong but I thought AGP is better than PCI.
>>
>> A second question. Can I put any PCI card in a pci slot or are there
>> also differences like AGP.
>>
>> ===========
>>
>> The 'same' card in AGP or PCIe will have the same, or at least very very
>> close performance.
>>
>> Not sure quite what you are asking in the second question...
>> I suspect you might be confusing PCI with PCIe. PCI is the normal slot used
>> for add-in cards in the PC. There are usually 3-5 PCI slots on a
>> motherboard. The PCIe is the new graphics card slot - replacement of AGP. A
>> PCI card will not fit in a PCIe slot. A PCIe card will not fit in a PCI
>> slot. As a last resort - look on Wikipedia for a short explanation of them
>> all.
>
> OK thanks I'll look on Wikipedia.
>
>> The 'same' card in AGP or PCIe will have the same, or at least very very
>> close performance.
>
> The card I found was an 'Matrox Millenium G550 - 32 MB - PCI Low
> Profile - 2 x VGA' (manufacturer code: g55mddap32dbf). It's a PCI not
> a PCIe.
> I haven't got a PCIe slot.
>
> Is the PCI card also the same and has it the also the same
> performance?
>
PCI slots have lower performance than AGP. The difference is most apparent in
games (games with a lot of bus traffic). If you are updating a lot of 2D pixmaps
on the screen in real time (like a movie), the PCI bus may also feel the strain
a bit. You could also have other traffic competing for the PCI bus, like say
some PCI IDE card with disk traffic on the bus.
AGP8X = 2132MB/sec. AGP4X = 1066MB/sec. AGP2X = 533MB/sec. AGP1X = 266MB/sec
PCI (ordinary desktop bus) = 133MB/sec
PCI Express x16 (newest video slot standard) = 4000MB/sec on TX and on RX
The Matrox Millenium G550 PCI low profile, when plugged into a desktop PCI
slot, will be limited to the 133MB/sec figure. By using burst transfer,
you might see a practical transfer rate of 110MB/sec or maybe a bit more.
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/cr.../g550lppci.php
Note that particular card has a low profile faceplate, so the tab won't
align with a regular computer case PCI screw hole. That particular card
is designed for a smaller computer case. Some low profile cards will come
with two faceplates, a regular height one and a low profile one, so you
can fit the low profile card into any desktop computer. (You install a
faceplate, according to the slot height.)
AGP cards are still available, some with dual heads. For example, this
one has a 1.5V only AGP slot pattern on the edge. You should check your
motherboard documentation, to see what AGP voltages your motherboard
supports. I suspect you have plenty of choices available to you,
since you mentioned P4.
http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggIma...161-210-05.jpg
This site has some info.
http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html
If you post back the name of the motherboard, I can help suggest what
kind of AGP cards would work. Or you can use the Playtool page and figure
it out.
Paul