Compare AGP cards for compatibility and performance.
Accelerated Graphic Port (AGP) video cards are the successor to the previous video card technology PCI. AGP cards offer better performance than PCI cards and most modern computers come standard with AGP slots. AGP video cards can also vary greatly in speed and memory capacities, which makes choosing the right AGP card for your needs important. Choosing the right AGP card often depends on the price range you are looking for and the performance requirements of your favorite games or software.
Instructions
1. Choose an AGP card with the correct voltage for your motherboard. AGP cards come in three different types of voltage--1.5V, 3.3V and 0.8V. The 1.5V and 3.3V also come with different slot sizes for motherboard connection. The 1.5V and 3.3V both have a single notch in the connection slot, while the 0.8V comes with a double notch. If the AGP card voltage is wrong, the card may not work at all.
2. Look for an AGP card with the best RAM specifications for the price. When choosing an AGP card, you will find many of them listed with a specific type, speed and amount of RAM, such as 128 MB DDR2. Choosing a card with the most RAM and the highest-quality RAM is going to get you the best performance. If your motherboard is compatible with the card, look for cards that contain 256 MB or more, and preferably DDR2 or DDR3 memory. DDR2 and DDR3 are examples of how fast the memory speed is, so DDR3 is faster than DDR2 and so on. Another way to make sure a card is going to meet your memory needs is by checking the video requirements of various games or multimedia programs that you use.
3. Check for monitor compatibility. AGP cards come with varying video ports, such as VGA, DVI and S-Video. So when you are comparing AGP cards, check to see if the port of the card will match up with your monitor or TV. However, in some cases if the port type is not correct, you can buy adapters to connect your monitor or TV to your video card.
4. Check for driver and software support such as DirectX. As of 2010, many of the newest video games require DirectX support to a specific degree. However, some of the newer games are requiring newer and newer versions of DirectX, such as DirectX 10 and beyond. So when comparing an AGP card, looking for the card with the latest version of DirectX support can ensure your ability to play new games with the best graphics quality.
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