AGP 8x vs 4x.. worth upgrading?

[TheVrolok]

I'm building a new system for college and right now I was looking at a motherboard that only supports AGP 4x and thinking about picking up the ATI Radeon Pro which supports AGP 8x.. Is that difference worth my picking up a different board that supports the 8x or is the 4x enough to utilize the card ?

 

[DieHardware]

8X is a marketing gimmick.

 

[JammingJay]

Difference between a AGP 8x and 4x is very minimal. Focus more on the type of cpu that board can accept, and the memory slots.

 

[BFG10K]

Right now it's not worth it.

 

[touchmyichi]

Think of it as more of a few 'bonus' preformance points. Nothing major at all.

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

no
if you want future proofing, so when cards actually start making full use of agp 8x (hell even 4x..) then you'll be ready, otherwise it doesnt matter

 

[nemesismk2]

8x isn't needed right now, in the future it MIGHT be needed but by then 16x AGP will be available instead.

 

[screw3d]

By the time 8x is really needed, you're probably in time for a mobo upgrade!

 

[boran]

AGP 16 aint coming, PCI Express is on that job, anyways, performance difference nowadays between 1x and 2x is 10 %, between 2x and 4x it's approx 2 % and between 4x and 8x it's around 0.5 % there is no real need for fast AGP speeds, differences in performance are very minimal, but in teh future it will be needed, but by then you'll have upgraded already, my point is, dont make AGP speeds a ground for upgrading, it is not worth it.

 

[Mem]

AGP 16 aint coming, PCI Express is on that job,

Yep forget about AGP 16X or even AGP 8X,the near future is PCI Express.

Go to Anandtech`s article on PCI Express here .