Old AGP Slot Support a 2x/4x Video Card?

[600burger]

I'm building a DVR system out of some older componets i have laying around my house. I'm going to be needing a new video card but everything worthy of puting money into is either AGP 2x/4x or AGP 4x/8x. My question iwould an older MoBo with the "old" AGP slots be able to support an AGP 2x/4x card?

Thanks,
-Burg

 

[dduardo]

You don't need an amazing graphics card if all you're going to be doing is output to S-Video or Coxial.

 

[600burger]

The video card(s) I'm thinking about aren't that "amazing" they just have a lot of memory and are fast. I'm outputting to a 42" projection, I've heard the quality with low end cards is very noticible.

 

[russ_watters]

The video card(s) I'm thinking about aren't that "amazing" they just have a lot of memory and are fast. I'm outputting to a 42" projection, I've heard the quality with low end cards is very noticible.

The purpose of the processing power and memory is for doing realtime 3d rendering. When you use the card to output regular video to a tv, those features are not used at all.

Different manufacturers have different reputations for 2d picture quality (ATI probably has the best), but as long as you get something within about 2 years old, there won't be any difference in the 2d capabilities between a low end and high end card. In fact, they generally use the exact same 2d hardware.

 

[thtadthtshldntbe]

The one thing to be observant about when purchasing a newer agp card for an older system is the voltage compatibility issue. Don't worry the cards are keyed to only fit into a voltage compatible slot, but by researching thoroughly before purchasing, mail order returns or extra trips to the store can be avoided.

Here is a wiki table which may help you sort things out. The key is knowing what your old mobo's exact agp voltage compatibility is

http://www.ertyu.org/~steven_nikkel/agpcompatibility.html

j...ust ignore the spam link at the top. ...Wikipedia used to have its own page on this issue, I wonder what happened?