1.5v Versus 3.3v

[jwh014]

I ordered a new mobo and it says that only 3.3v cards will go in the AGP slot... What is up with that? I looked up my old card (GeForce 256 32MB) and I guess it is a 3.3v...

My question is will it just fry the mobo when attempting to put out that many volts? I haven't had much experience with this and want to know if this might be the new standard and if so, the advantages of using the lower voltage.

 

[Sideswipe001]

Most likely your old video card is a 1.5v one. The AGP spec changed from 1.5 for AGP 1x-2x, to 3.3v for AGP 4-8x. In other words - older AGP cards don't fit into newer AGP slots.

For a while motherboards would use AGP ports that would fit either, but most now are only for 4x and above cards (3.3). So, if your card isn't 3.3, it won't fit.

 

[ViRGE]

Actually Sideswipe, you have that more backwards than forwards. AGP 1x and 2x cards used 3.3v, 4x 1.5v, and 8x .8v, so his old board is likely one that only supports 1x/2x. The thing about AGP cards though is that they're a crapshoot when it comes to compatibility; cards can support more than 1 speed(creating so-called universal AGP cards), and there can be universal AGP slots, so it's not easy to tell what will work and what won't. Thankfully, AGP's designers did have some brains, resulting in the notched design in AGP; if your board won't support a card, it won't fit, and it's as simple as that. What board did you end up ordering, jwh, and what card are you trying to put in the board?

PS For the record, I believe that the GF256 supported 2x(3.3v) and 4x(1.5v)

 

[Blain]

Bookmark this link

 

[jwh014]

I purchased the Asus A7N8X-E DELUXE...

I do have the GeForce that came with my dell and am going to purchase the ATI AIW 9000 4X AGP.. I just didn't realize that I couldn't use my Geforce card

 

[ViRGE]

Edit: I take that back, Asus isn't using AGP Pro universal slots, they're using 1.5v slots. That said, I believe all GeForces ever made supported some form of 1.5v, along with older cards doing 3.3v. 3dfx actually had a problem with this, as the first P4 chipsets didn't support 3.3v, which is what the V5 used.

 

[Arcanedeath]

Any Geforce card will work in Any modern motherboard, all of the Geforce based cards are at least AGP 4x so you should be fine.

 

[LordOfAll]

I really doubt agp 8x is .8v.

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: LordOfAll
I really doubt agp 8x is .8v.

You might doubt it, but it's the spec. No one that I know of has implemented it yet, but there it is.

 

[jwh014]

Well after speaking to Dell... My card is a 3.3v 4X AGP that will not work in the new board.. So I guess I will be using an old PCI card until I order a new vid card.

 

[Mday]

Originally posted by: jwh014
Well after speaking to Dell... My card is a 3.3v 4X AGP that will not work in the new board.. So I guess I will be using an old PCI card until I order a new vid card.

dell???

 

[poppyq]

Yeah, that big company that makes all those computers that everyone loves/hates, remember?

 

[buleyb]

Originally posted by: jwh014
Well after speaking to Dell... My card is a 3.3v 4X AGP that will not work in the new board.. So I guess I will be using an old PCI card until I order a new vid card.

Don't know why Dell is involved here, but your mobo manual states 1.5v only, so you're SOL if your card is 3.3v.


I don't buy that you have a problem though. The early TNT cards were an issue for me, and the improperly keyed agp card problem was solved before the GeForce line started...and I thought the GeForce 256 line was AGP 4x...

well, have you checked to see if the card is keyed properly for your slot? I'm not telling you to try it out, its not my $$ at stake...but if you have a 2x card, it WON'T fit, let alone work.

 

[jwh014]

Only reason Dell is involved is because the old system I have now came from them.. Thus my GeForce card came from them. Nvidia offers no support on the card so I had to talk to Dell. On their site it shows that the power required for the card is 3.3v.. And it says that it is 4X AGP..

 

[ViRGE]

jwh, it can't require 3.3v and still be 4x AGP; 4x AGP requires 1.5v for signaling. Just answer us this: take the card out, and tell us if it looks like the first picture or the second picture from TerryMathews's link. If it looks like the first picture, then it is indeed a 3.3v card, then you're SOL, but if it looks like the second picture(which I'm guessing is what it is), then you're fine.

 

[LordOfAll]

Ah, i see my confusion, you were talking signaling voltage and I was thinking you were talking about operating voltage. Yes the signaling is .8v, but the operating voltages remain the same.

 

[SpeedFreak03]

I had a Nvidia Riva TNT2 card (from a 1999 gateway) that didnt work in my Asus A7V133 (wouldnt fit) so I found an Nvidia Geforce256 32MB and that fit so i used it (till it died). The bottom line is, if the card fits it will work.

-Josh

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: SpeedFreak03
I had a Nvidia Riva TNT2 card (from a 1999 gateway) that didnt work in my Asus A7V133 (wouldnt fit) so I found an Nvidia Geforce256 32MB and that fit so i used it (till it died). The bottom line is, if the card fits it will work.

-Josh

Not necessarily, some cards(Kyro and others not concerned with this thread) will fit fine, but either the video card or the motherboard will soon lose it's smoke.