Stupid question - AGP vs. PCI

jtrory · Sep 27, 2005, 10:50 PM

Okay, I have another thread going here about my x800XL and how it's not working very well. Now, when I bought my card, I was stupid enough not to check to see whether my video slot was AGP or PCI. What I bought was an AGP card, and it fit in the slot my old vid card was in. So I'm assuming I got lucky. HOWEVER, having looked at different websites, how can you even tell the difference between two cards that are PCI and AGP? They look identical to me. Is it possible to put an AGP card into a PCI slot? Is that maybe why it's not working? I have conflicting information on my system; in device manager it says my vid card is in PCI Slot 1, whereas a benchmark program I have tells me that my vid card is in my one and only AGP slot. The slot my card currently sits in looks very different to the other slots. It's the only slot I have that I could install the card into, so that must make it an AGP slot, correct? I'm so confused right now.

So what's the deal? Could I have accidentally put an AGP card into a PCI slot, or is that impossible?

riles9262 · Sep 27, 2005, 11:43 PM

x800xl is pci-e though, not pci. And agp interface is smaller than pci or pci-e so i guess theoretically it could fit in that slot, though that's far from advisable. As for telling the difference...look at the size and different notches in the interface.

agp:

pci-e (pci express)

old pci

H3X4D3C1M4L · Sep 28, 2005, 07:35 AM

All the slots are physically incompatible so you wouldn't be able to do that.

And if device manager says its in a PCI slot thats because logically an AGP slot looks like a PCI slot to Windows but benchmarks can tell the difference.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Sep 28, 2005, 01:48 PM

It not imposable as the slot for PCI16X is much larger but sets a
good 3 or 4/16 this of an inch further towards the rear of the case
so you would of had a VERY hard time getting it in unless your
not using a case. Also A PCIe 16X also is much longer then AGP
and there would be a large section of unused slot in front of the card.
If you where to put an AGP card in a PCIe slot it wouldn�t work and
could damage the motherboard and the video card.

jtrory · Sep 28, 2005, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riles9262

x800xl is pci-e though, not pci. And agp interface is smaller than pci or pci-e so i guess theoretically it could fit in that slot, though that's far from advisable. As for telling the difference...look at the size and different notches in the interface.

Okay, I'm a little confused. What is the difference between PCI-E and AGP? That PCI-E card looks like it has the exact same pin count as my AGP card does. So could the slot I have be meant for PCI-E and I managed to stuff an AGP card into it?

On the other hand, if I had put an AGP card into a slot meant for PCI-E, my card wouldn't work at all, right? It DOES work, just not as well as I'd hoped. Someone else here said I would fry my motherboard if I'd screwed up that bad, so would I be right in assuming that since that didn't happen, I have an AGP slot?

This is the card I have. It's AGP and looks just like the one you showed me, which is apparently PCI-E:

H3X4D3C1M4L · Sep 29, 2005, 02:43 PM

[quote=jtrory]Okay, I'm a little confused. What is the difference between PCI-E and AGP? That PCI-E card looks like it has the exact same pin count as my AGP card does. So could the slot I have be meant for PCI-E and I managed to stuff an AGP card into it?

On the other hand, if I had put an AGP card into a slot meant for PCI-E, my card wouldn't work at all, right? It DOES work, just not as well as I'd hoped. Someone else here said I would fry my motherboard if I'd screwed up that bad, so would I be right in assuming that since that didn't happen, I have an AGP slot?

This is the card I have. It's AGP and looks just like the one you showed me, which is apparently PCI-E:

That is an AGP card. You have an AGP slot. It should be brown and a little farther back than the white ones.

**MIG-31** · Sep 29, 2005, 02:50 PM

[quote=jtrory]Okay, I'm a little confused. What is the difference between PCI-E and AGP? That PCI-E card looks like it has the exact same pin count as my AGP card does. So could the slot I have be meant for PCI-E and I managed to stuff an AGP card into it?

On the other hand, if I had put an AGP card into a slot meant for PCI-E, my card wouldn't work at all, right? It DOES work, just not as well as I'd hoped. Someone else here said I would fry my motherboard if I'd screwed up that bad, so would I be right in assuming that since that didn't happen, I have an AGP slot?

This is the card I have. It's AGP and looks just like the one you showed me, which is apparently PCI-E:

Thats a agp card as been mentioned.... PCI-E cards slot is also a little longer than the agp type.

agp slots can vary a little but still remain to be agp which may be adding to you're confusion..

PCI-E Cards will not fit agp....not without completly damaging both the motherboard and vga card.

Dyre Straits · Sep 29, 2005, 02:54 PM

Does your card have a separate connector for Power? And, have you plugged an extra power cable into it?

I have the X800 XL AGP, too. It's working fine. But, I read that it's much better to plug an isolated power cable into it rather than one that also connects to the HDs or other constantly used device.

***Zardon*** · Sep 29, 2005, 05:06 PM

images removed due to external site certification problems. see feedback thread.

jtrory · Sep 29, 2005, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

Does your card have a separate connector for Power? And, have you plugged an extra power cable into it?

I have the X800 XL AGP, too. It's working fine. But, I read that it's much better to plug an isolated power cable into it rather than one that also connects to the HDs or other constantly used device.

Hey, I never thought of that! Yeah, my card has a power cable. I have routed it through an existing cable, attached to one of my CD drives (I think). Perhaps I'll try plugging the card directly into the PSU, if I can. Thanks for the suggestion!

Also, apologies for posting pics with outside links.

jtrory · Sep 29, 2005, 11:24 PM

Quote:

That is an AGP card. You have an AGP slot. It should be brown and a little farther back than the white ones.

Okay, that's exactly it. So it's definitely an AGP slot. Thanks for the help.

Dyre Straits · Sep 30, 2005, 03:40 AM

Good luck to you getting things working right. I can tell you that I'm extremely happy with my X800. It's a real humdinger!

What Power Supply does your system have in it? What size W and manufacturer?