AGP card with Asus A7N8X-X motherboard

[ClarkColeman]

I am considering buying a new graphics card. Old card is freezing (ATI Radeon 7000 chip, PCI card) and I cannot cure the problems.

I am considering an AGP card. Standard references to AGP online list voltages for different speeds:

Speed Voltage
1X 3.3V
2X 3.3V
4X 1.5V
8X 0.8V

However, when I check my Asus A7N8X-X motherboard manual to ensure that I buy a compatible card, it says, in more than one place, something like:

AGP 8X (1.5V only)

That does not make sense to me. Can I buy an AGP 8X card for this system? Won't it be 0.8V and maybe not work?

This old motherboard has PCI slots and I don't believe that PCI Express cards will work with it. Is that right?

Thanks for any help.

 

[DRDNA]

Asus A7N8X
Processor - AMD Athlon\Athlon XP with the bus speeds 100/133/166 MHz;
- AMD Duron with the bus speed 100MHz;
- Socket 462
The nVidia nForce II Chipset - North Bridge nForce2 SPP;
- South Bridge - nForce2 MCP-T;
- Interbridge Bus - HyperTransport (800 MB/s)
System memory - Three 184-pin slots for DDR SDRAM DIMM
- Maximum memory capacity 3 GB
- Supported memory types PC1600/2100/2700/3200
- 128-bit dual-channel memory access possible
- Onboard power indicator
Graphics - AGP slot supporting the 4x/8x modes
- AGP Warning LED indicator
Expansivity options - Five 32-bit PCI Bus Master slots;
- Six USB 2.0 ports (4 integrated + 2 additional);
- Two IEEE1394 (Firewire) ports
- Integrated audio nForce2 APU;
- LAN controller nForce2;
- LAN controller 3COM.
Overclocking Options - FSB adjustable between 100MHz to 250 MHz in 1(-5) MHz increments; multiplier adjustable;
- Processor/memory, AGP voltage adjustable.
Disk subsystem - 2 channel UltraDMA133/100/66/33 Bus Master IDE (with support for up to 4 ATAPI-devices)
- Support for SerialATA (2 channels)
- Support for LS-120 / ZIP / ATAPI CD-ROM
BIOS - 4MBit Flash ROM
- Award BIOS Phoenix with support for Enhanced ACPI, DMI, Green, PnP Features and Trend Chip Away Virus
Miscellaneous - One FDD port, two serial and one parallel ports, ports for PS/2 mouse and keyboard
- STR (Suspend to RAM)
- SPDIF Out
- Asus POST Reporter
- Asus Q-Fan
Power management - Wake-up on modem, mouse, keyboard, LAN, timer and USB
- Standard 20-pin ATX (ATX-PW) power connector
Monitoring - Processor temperatures, voltages and the rotational speeds of the three fans are monitored;
- Asus PC Probe utility
Dimensions - ATX form factor, 245mm x 305mm (9.63" x 12")

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the looks of your board specs you are able to use AGP 8X and backwards compatable to 4X...SO yes get you a beastly AGP 8X card should be fine as long as your PSU is up to it.

PS. Welcome to TPU and please list your specs.

 

[ClarkColeman]

Thanks. Any idea why it says "1.5V only" in a couple of places?

Where did you get your info?

 

[DRDNA]

http://www.digital-daily.com/motherboard/asus-a7n8x/


Not sure about the 1.5volts...but AGP 8X is just that so an AGP 8X card will work ..again be careful with your PSU as the Newer high end AGP will need more power and usually another molex connected to it

 

[ClarkColeman]

OK, thanks. I am not looking at high end cards. I am considering an XFX GeForce 6200 that I can pick up for $55 from TigerDirect.com. I guess I will have to investigate its power consumption.

 

[DRDNA]

if it were me i'd choose a x1000 series ATI card before the 6200 .they go for around the same $ range.($74.99)>>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102086

 

[Namslas90]

DRDNA, can you confirm this pls?
From my understanding his mobo won't support an AGP card with 3.3volt signal, so he should stay with the 1.5volt signal cards. The tabs are different, the 1.5v on top, the 3.3v on bottom.

 

[SlipSlice]

Yea that 1650 is quite a bit faster than the 6200, thats what i'd go for, for the price.

 

[DRDNA]

DRDNA, can you confirm this pls?
From my understanding his mobo won't support an AGP card with 3.3volt signal, so he should stay with the 1.5volt signal cards. The tabs are different, the 1.5v on top, the 3.3v on bottom.

Good catch! check this out>>http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html
it may help.
PS this card should have no issue with your board>>they go for around the same $ range.($74.99)>>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102086

 

[DRDNA]

the card i recomended

Looks like a good match to me.

 

[Namslas90]

Good catch! check this out>>http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html
it may help.
PS this card should have no issue with your board>>they go for around the same $ range.($74.99)>>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102086

The Newegg link didn't work for me, but according to the playtool link he should be able to run a 1950 Pro AGP.(it's listed at the botom as a "universal" card.)

 

[DRDNA]

The Newegg link didn't work for me, but according to the playtool link he should be able to run a 1950 Pro AGP.(it's listed at the botom as a "universal" card.)

link fixed....problem with the 1950 Pro is they are three times as much as his price pick.

 

[Namslas90]

Good catch! check this out>>http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html
it may help.
PS this card should have no issue with your board>>they go for around the same $ range.($74.99)>>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102086

Nice pick.

 

[Snipermonkey2]

What about a ATI X850XT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102570R

I am running one in my pc and it works great.

 

[erocker]

Sweet card!

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

DRDNA, can you confirm this pls?
From my understanding his mobo won't support an AGP card with 3.3volt signal, so he should stay with the 1.5volt signal cards. The tabs are different, the 1.5v on top, the 3.3v on bottom.

Don't worry about AGP voltage/etc.

Anything marked 4x or 4x/8x will work fine.

That means anything newer than a Geforce 256 will be compatible.

So, unless you're looking for a pre-geforce 256 era card, anything should work fine.

I would suggest a 9700pro/xt or a 9800xt/pro, or as suggested abovce, the 1650 should do well too. An x850xt would probably cost too much, but would work too.

 

[Namslas90]

Don't worry about AGP voltage/etc.

Anything marked 4x or 4x/8x will work fine.

That means anything newer than a Geforce 256 will be compatible.

So, unless you're looking for a pre-geforce 256 era card, anything should work fine.

I would suggest a 9700pro/xt or a 9800xt/pro, or as suggested abovce, the 1650 should do well too. An x850xt would probably cost too much, but would work too.

Yes, DRDNA confirmed that any of the newer AGP "universal" cards will work on his mobo.

 

[ClarkColeman]

DRDNA, can you confirm this pls?
From my understanding his mobo won't support an AGP card with 3.3volt signal, so he should stay with the 1.5volt signal cards. The tabs are different, the 1.5v on top, the 3.3v on bottom.

What does it mean that my motherboard manual says "AGP 8X (1.5V only)" and every online source says that AGP 8X is actually 0.8V signaling, while AGP 4X is 1.5V signaling?

Every AGP card you can buy online these days says "AGP 8X". Does that not imply 0.8V signaling? What assurance would I have that an AGP 8X 0.8V card would work in a motherboard that explicitly says "1.5V only"?

I am guessing that Asus means that their AGP slot requires 1.5V slotted cards, NOT that they have to signal at 1.5V. There is no difference in the slots for AGP 8X and AGP 4X that I can find online, so the slot/notch design and the signaling levels are (slightly) separate topics when we get to AGP 8X.

 

[Namslas90]

Check DRDNA's link here;

http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html

It explains it all, including the "universal" aspects of newer AGP cards.

 

[ClarkColeman]

I guess the related question is: Should I buy a new motherboard or new video card? My problem is that playing a video file (*.wmv, *.mpg, *.mp4) on any media player freezes the system. Updating the motherboard BIOS did not help. Experimenting with every archived ATI Radeon driver available did not help. Reinstallling Windows XP from scratch does not solve it. DirectX Diagnostics (DXDIAG) says everything passes. Various downloaded video stability tests manage to rotate objects on the screen with no problem. Installing and uninstalling codecs makes no difference. Turning off 3D acceleration solves the problem, but then I will drop lots of frames if I try to capture from a camcorder, for example. Trying different media players does not prevent the freezes, which occur as soon as the video starts playing. The only differences are that some releases of ATI drivers allow you to kill the frozen media player from Task Manager, while others require you to hit the Reset button on the PC.

If you Google "ATI Radeon 7000" and "freeze" you will find lots of people asking about similar problems on forums, but never getting a solution. Lots of speculative replies from people trying to help them, but no silver bullet.

I am wondering if it is possible that I will buy a new video card and still have the problem, in which case I will now have a new video card that was not necessary. I could buy a new motherboard and transfer lots of old peripherals to the system without spending a fortune.

 

[Namslas90]

I am wondering if it is possible that I will buy a new video card and still have the problem, in which case I will now have a new video card that was not necessary. I could buy a new motherboard and transfer lots of old peripherals to the system without spending a fortune.

That Mobo is kinda "dated", A newer one would'nt be a bad Idea.

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

I am wondering if it is possible that I will buy a new video card and still have the problem, in which case I will now have a new video card that was not necessary. I could buy a new motherboard and transfer lots of old peripherals to the system without spending a fortune.

I would suggest *trying* a different gpu before you purchase.

If you can't obtain one, theres always the restocking fee

 

[DRDNA]

I guess the related question is: Should I buy a new motherboard or new video card? My problem is that playing a video file (*.wmv, *.mpg, *.mp4) on any media player freezes the system. Updating the motherboard BIOS did not help. Experimenting with every archived ATI Radeon driver available did not help. Reinstallling Windows XP from scratch does not solve it. DirectX Diagnostics (DXDIAG) says everything passes. Various downloaded video stability tests manage to rotate objects on the screen with no problem. Installing and uninstalling codecs makes no difference. Turning off 3D acceleration solves the problem, but then I will drop lots of frames if I try to capture from a camcorder, for example. Trying different media players does not prevent the freezes, which occur as soon as the video starts playing. The only differences are that some releases of ATI drivers allow you to kill the frozen media player from Task Manager, while others require you to hit the Reset button on the PC.

If you Google "ATI Radeon 7000" and "freeze" you will find lots of people asking about similar problems on forums, but never getting a solution. Lots of speculative replies from people trying to help them, but no silver bullet.

I am wondering if it is possible that I will buy a new video card and still have the problem, in which case I will now have a new video card that was not necessary. I could buy a new motherboard and transfer lots of old peripherals to the system without spending a fortune.

Your issue is not your graphic card here!download VLCPLAYER>>http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html install and right click on video file and select open with then choose VLCPLAYER and report back if the video plays..if it does its a system codec fubar.ALSO DO NOT use any thing higher than the 6.11 cats...and what OS are you using??????

 

[ClarkColeman]

Your issue is not your graphic card here!download VLCPLAYER>>http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html install and right click on video file and select open with then choose VLCPLAYER and report back if the video plays..if it does its a system codec fubar.ALSO DO NOT use any thing higher than the 6.11 cats...and what OS are you using??????

That media player freezes instantly just like all the others.

Windows XP Home Edition, SP2 with all updates. Fresh install of OS does not help.

 

[DRDNA]

That media player freezes instantly just like all the others.

Windows XP Home Edition, SP2 with all updates. Fresh install of OS does not help.

Post list of all running processes plz.