What's the fastest, single-slot, AGP2x graphics card (to complement a PCI V5500)? \ VOGONS

What's the fastest, single-slot, AGP2x graphics card (to complement a PCI V5500)?

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First post, by j^aws

Posted on 2013-04-28, 01:40

j^aws Offline

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I'm looking for something to complement a PCI Voodoo 5500. I have a couple on my short-list for a BX motherboard running Win98SE: GeForce FX 5900XT, FX 5900 Ultra and Radeon 9800 Pro.

I'm thinking of running games from the late 90s/ early 00s, and any DX9+ games are likely to run on another build. The BX motherboard is running a Tualatin, Celeron 1.4Ghz on a S370 Powerleap adapter.

I understand that NV provided better driver support, so I'm leaning towards the FX series. However, cards from the FX59xx series seem to be wider than 1-slot? My 5900XT is single-slot, but the 5900 Ultra is slightly wider: What's the fastest single-slot? Maybe they differ from manufacturers?

Also, the Radeon 9800 Pro is single-slot and appealing. Maybe any Radeon issues (with fog tables et al) could be made redundant because I'll have a Voodoo 5500 to complement it...?

Any input appreciated.

Reply 1 of 4, by swaaye

Posted on 2013-04-28, 02:37

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Radeon 9800 is not always AGP 2x compatible. Look at the edge connector for the correct keying before buying one. 9700 is always compatible though.

Indeed 5900 is sometimes dual slot. They are rather hot cards.

5900 and 9800 are pretty similar in speed. 9800 is much better for pixel shader 2.0 of course. 5900 has better backwards compatibility but the Voodoo5 is even better.

Reply 2 of 4, by bristlehog

Posted on 2013-04-28, 05:25

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FX5950 Ultra has 2-slot reference design, however I have seen 1-slot cards.

Hardware comparisons and game system requirements: https://technical.city

Reply 3 of 4, by j^aws

Posted on 2013-04-28, 21:17

j^aws Offline

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The thing about these 1-slot looking FX cards is that, well, they're just annoyingly larger than 1-slot. They look like 1-slot, but take up 2-slots - epic fail.

My FX 5900 Ultra is just such a card. It's like a 1.25-slot card. Maybe they were being cheap with blanking plates or something...

Anyway, the FX 5900XT seems like a nice 1-slot solution that also runs cool, and doesn't lose out too much regarding performance. Any first-hand confirmation of faster FX cards that are definitely 1-slot?

And yeah, it looks like not all Radeon 9800 Pros are AGP 2x compatible. Maybe all 128 MB versions are; from first glance, they all look to be keyed for AGP 2x. But the 256 MB models look like AGP 4x/ 8x... I've picked up a Hercules branded 128 MB card to test out at some point, alongside the FX 5900XT.

Reply 4 of 4, by j^aws

Posted on 2013-06-02, 23:20

j^aws Offline

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Okay, this seems like a never ending quest... Just when you think it's all done - BAM! You stumble upon something even faster. So far, the fastest I've tested is an nVidia GF 6800GT - fits all criteria of being a 1-slot card and AGP 2x compatible. It didn't work at first on my BX mobo, but a BIOS update did the trick.

So, anything faster? Of course, this is overkill, but still...

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