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AGP or Accelerated Graphics Port was the most popular and common interface for connecting graphics cards on motherboards. It was a high-bandwidth channel and remains on the motherboards for quite a long time. Another interface was PCI but it was a slower channel and not many graphics cards were made for PCI slot in the past.
Generally, AGP came in two variants, first was the AGP 4x which has lower bandwidth and the second one was the AGP 8x which has double the bandwidth of AGP 4x. AGP 4x has a maximum transfer rate of 1066Mb/s whereas AGP 8x has 2133 MB/s. There were also AGP 1x and AGP 2x interfaces but they were very slow and not used that frequently. AGP slot is smaller in size than the PCI and other graphics card interfaces. You won’t see AGP slot in the current generation motherboards because today PCI Express x16 is used for connecting graphics cards which has much higher bandwidth compared to the older AGP graphics card interface.
In older motherboards, you may be able to find AGP slot and if you wish to upgrade the graphics of your older PC then you will need an AGP Graphics Card for it. AGP graphics cards are nearly extinct in production but you can still find some good AGP Graphics Card in the market or online for your older PC or server. To help you out on this, here I am providing you the list of best available AGP graphics cards that you can buy online.
Check out: Best PCI Graphics Cards for Older PCs
Best AGP Video Cards for Older Motherboards
Here are some of the best available AGP video cards for use in AGP slot motherboards. These AGP graphics cards are compatible with both AGP 4x and AGP 8x interface.
Dell Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 AGP Video Card
This is a very basic and older AGP VGA video card that is based on the Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 chipset. This is the Genuine Dell Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 video card and it comes with 64MB memory and VGA & S-Video output. It is a low profile graphics card having is AGP 4x type.
It is passively cooled by a smaller heatsink located on the GPU. The maximum resolution supported by this card is 2048 x 1536 pixels at 75 MHz refresh rate. This card can really prove useful for users who have older computers with AGP slots and need to replace the integrated graphics.
| Dell Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 AGP Specifications | |
| GPU | GeForce4 MX 420 |
| Memory | 64 MB |
| Interface | AGP 4x |
| DirectX | 7 |
| Output Ports | VGA, S-Video |
Buy Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 AGP Video Card
EVGA Geforce FX 5200 128MB DDR AGP Video Card
Geforce FX 5200 was a very popular entry-level GeForce FX or GeForce 5 series graphics card back in older days. Here we have EVGA Geforce FX 5200 AGP Video Card that comes with 128MB DDR video memory which is more than enough for general tasks. It is also a low profile video card that has got VGA and S-Video display ports.
This is a great card to replace your older PC display or to make it work again. The card is passively cooled with a black heatsink that covers half of the card. This is a DirectX 9 video card and it works with Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7. You might be able to play some of the older games on this card.
| EVGA Geforce FX 5200 128MB DDR AGP Specifications | |
| GPU | Geforce FX 5200 |
| Memory | 128 MB DDR |
| Interface | AGP 4x/8x |
| DirectX | 9 |
| Output Ports | VGA, S-Video |
Buy GeForce FX 5200 AGP Video Card
EVGA GeForce 6200 512 MB DDR2 AGP 8X Video Card
This is one of the most powerful AGP graphics cards in the list here. Here we have EVGA GeForce 6200 AGP 8X video card that comes with 512 MB DDR2 memory. It is an entry-level or budget Geforce 6 series graphics card and was quite popular back in the older days.
This is not a low profile video card and is passively cooled by a small black heatsink. The card has got one VGA and one DVI port at the back for setting up dual monitors. This card can be used for light gaming, running dual monitors, onboard video replacement and standard tasks. This is a DirectX 9 card and supports AGP 8X. It is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 operating system. You may get this graphics card under 50 dollars and do check out the link below for its current status. Highly Recommended by me.
| EVGA GeForce 6200 512MB DDR2 Specifications | |
| GPU | GeForce 6200 |
| Memory | 512 MB DDR2 |
| Interface | AGP 8x |
| DirectX | 9 |
| Output Ports | VGA, DVI, S-Video |
Buy EVGA GeForce 6200 512MB DDR2 AGP Video Card
VisionTek Radeon 3450 512MB DDR2 AGP 8X Graphics Card
This is the most powerful AGP video card in this list. Here we have VisionTek Radeon 3450 AGP video card that comes with 512MB DDR2 memory. This is a full-sized DirectX 10.1 graphics card that comes with an active cooling solution consisting of heatsink and fan (HSF). Radeon 3450 has got 40 stream processors and supports Shader Model 4.1.
This is an AGP 8X card and comes with both VGA and DVI ports. The card has good HD capabilities and can support dual monitors. You can play some of the older games on this video card. This card should be a great companion for your older PC having an AGP slot. The card does require additional power from the PSU through a 4-pin Molex connector. It supports Windows XP / Vista /7 operating systems.
| VisionTek Radeon 3450 512MB DDR2 AGP Specifications | |
| GPU | Radeon 3450 |
| Memory | 512 MB DDR2 |
| Interface | AGP 8X |
| DirectX | 10.1 |
| Output Ports | VGA, DVI |
Buy VisionTek Radeon 3450 AGP 8X Video Card
Final Words
Well, here I have listed down the best AGP video cards that you can still buy today. You can put them on your AGP motherboard and make your older PC display work again. If you have queries regarding them, then you can ask me by leaving a comment below
U forget HD 4670 AGP
Its availability is an issue.
Hello,
I have an Asus A8V-MX serial- 5CM0AD164856 MB.
Successfully updated to windows 7 pro by going to a ATI RADEON AH3450/DI/512MD2(LP)
graphics card. But the HD AUDIO CONTROLLER driver didn’t install due to Not Enough Resources
code 12.
I have 2GB memory as well…..maximum for this MB.
ASUS support recommend I get another video card like HD4350 or above to resolve this
driver problem.
The video works and don’t notice any problems except youtube videos aren’t smooth!
I’ve updated BIOS to current version.
I also bought a newer CPU which is AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 2.2 GHz dual core. Happy with that speed improvement.
I going to install Windows 10 next.
What do you think about that HD audio controller problem? What is causing it?
I only use my computer for email, reading news with videos, no gaming except pinball.
Have a 450 watt power supply…fyi.
I think it is a driver issue because the card is very old and lacks support for modern operating systems. I don’t recommend installing Windows 10 on this hardware with only 2GB RAM and older video card.
Is a 128 bit faster than a 64 bit card even though the GPU would be the same for both?
Yes, 128-bit will be faster if GPU & memory speed is same on both the cards.
You forgot the 3650?
It is hard to find these days.
My old PC have 2slot DDR ram..can graphic card ddr2 run on the DDR ram ?
Yes you can run DDR2 graphics card on motherboard with DDR RAM because there is no correlation between graphics card VRAM and motherboard RAM.
Tq mr verma!
I wrongly question u.
This is my question.
My motherboard is old. 1 slot for graphic card agpx18 and 2 slot for standard slots.
Can graphic card ddr2 attach to standard slot?
An AGP graphics card can fit only in AGP slot and a PCIe graphics card in PCIe x16 slot only. What standard slots are you talking about?
Hi.i have an ASRock k8 combo-z motherboard and I wanted to know that can I use the 512mb graphic cards that are named in here on that?
I have an Amd athlon 64 x2 4400+ cpu and 2gb ddr400 ram.
And should I install a Windows XP 64bit for this graphic and cpu?
Yes, you can use 512MB graphics card with it and it is better to use Windows XP (32-bit).
Thanks for your really fast answer you are really really amazing.but only three more questions:
1.can I install 1024 mb graphics too?
2.how can I update and check my bios version?and what is the needed version for installing the amd athlon 64 x2 4400+ on my motherboard?
3.what power will be useful for this system?
Thanks a milions.
1. Yes you can install a 1GB card.
2. You can check the current BIOS version using CPU-Z or HWiNFO tools (https://www.hwinfo.com/). You can download the new BIOS at http://www.asrock.com/mb/ULi/K8%20Combo-Z/#BIOS
3. A good 300W power supply is enough for your system.
which is best for ASRock 775i65G Board
Is quadcore conpatible but not work without video card
Any AGP card you can find will work. I think EVGA GeForce 6200 512 MB DDR2 can be found this time.
I want to run Flight Simulator 2002 on my XP computer, but I don’t get very good graphics. I need to upgrade my video card I am sure. I have an HP Pavilion a600n computer with no changes up to this point. What kind of card do I need? FYI, when I run the program now, I get video that seems to hesitate and the range is very short, as far as distance being seen is concerned. I have tried different settings on the game itself but to no avail.
Can you please list your specs?
AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 2.1 Ghz, 512 KB Cache, 512 KB Ram, memory speed 333 KHz, integrated graphics, VIA UniChrome shared video memory (UMA), VGA.
I think GeForce GT 1030 (GDDR5 version) would be good for you.
Would that make my graphics smooth? I only use this particular computer to play my simulators (flight and racing), and do word processing. I can’t get any of my games to work on my windows 10 computer. The graphics on the flight simulator box is great, but on my computer, it is choppy and rather blah.
One thing I want to confirm, does your motherboard have a PCIe x16 slot?
I have no idea which slot is which. My specs say my main board is VIA UniChrome KM400A. Under slots it says 2 free PCI, 1 free DIMM 184-pin, 1 free AGP 8x.
I have checked my computer and there is NO pic e slot. Only AGP 8x.
It means you need a AGP graphics card which is very hard to find these days.
Thank you for all your help.
I’m just tinkering on an old pc I had in storage. Its a rev:1.3 mobo, 8 ram, and I have a pentium 4 extreme 3.2 on the way. What is the most gpu I could get from a 720p 60hz monitor?
I did not get you completely. Are you looking for a compatible AGP card?
thank you for getting back to me… yep, I think they kept making AGPs until like 2009ish , maybe. But I don’t know if the latest agp models that were made would bottleneck the cpu I’m putting in it. Basically I have a 7 and 10 year old and I don’t want them playing Minecraft on my personal rig. I just don’t have much knowledge of the agp cards. Thanks for the help!
Well, AGP cards are difficult to find these days. I don’t see any point in getting a graphics card for such an old system unless you are facing some hardware issues with your onboard graphics. However, if you are keen on upgrading to a discrete card then I think GeForce 6200 or GeForce FX 5200 are good choices.
I can find them on ebay, just funny that the AGP cards are actually about 5 times more than their PCIe counterparts at the time. I just wanted to make sure that my kids could play Minecraft, Cuphead, SonicMania, simple stuff like that. I don’t want them to mess my PC up since I use it for design work and for more intensive gaming.
I found this old PC I had back in college and decided to gut it and spare a few parts for a cheap build my kids could use for very light gaming. I found a really good deal on a refurbed Pentium4 Extreme Edition 3.2 CPU for it. I just didn’t know if an IBM rev:1.3 motherboard from 2001 could push a GPU from say 2009… Thanks again for your help.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/27489/pentium-4-processor-extreme-edition-supporting-ht-technology-3-20-ghz-2m-cache-800-mhz-fsb.html. Is this your processor?
Yes sir.
Ok. Well, I think adding a GPU won’t benefit you in the games you have mentioned because you will be limited by your CPU performance.
Thanks, I’ll see what happens with a ATI HD 4870 I think. I appreciate all of your help.
You are most welcome!
You definitely should have bought a Sapphire Radeon HD3850 or HIS IceQ3 Turbo HD3850 AGP instead… That is the “king” of all the AGPs ever made… With 256 bit architecture and 512 MB of GDDR3 Memory…
I’m also using an Intel Pentium 3.4 Extreme Edition on an ASUS P4C800 E-Deluxe and I think you are limited with the 128 bit architecture of the Radeon 4870… Switch to a Sapphire Radeon 3850 AGP if you can find on Ebay or any second hand shop… 😉
Hi. I have a comment and a question.
The comment is that I have an old desktop PC with INTEL D865 PERLL motherboard, INTEL PENTIUM 4 microprocessor (3Ghz), 3.5 GB DDR400 RAM, an EVGA GeForce 6200 256mb GPU, which I always used with Windows XP … and I installed Windows 7 a few weeks ago, but the video card freezes randomly and I have to restart the PC by force.
Searching the web I found out that many people who have GeForce 6200 have similar conflicts when installing Win7 and even though I tried everything they propose as a solution, I couldn’t get it to stop freezing from time to time.
The question then is: which AGP board (with VGA and DVI/HDMI outputs) would you recommend, that would be fully compatible with Win7 and would not produce driver conflicts or any other problem?
(I live in Argentina and you can get a lot of old stuff searching the web, so don’t hesitate to recommend even if you think it’s hard to find nowadays).
Thank you very much.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Well, I am not sure but maybe Radeon HD 4670 AGP because it was launched in 2009 and is relatively newer than other AGP cards that I can think of.
Thank you very much for the prompt response.
I was researching and it seems that the RADEON models that support DirectX 10.1 are only available in PCI-E, at least in Argentina. I will have to investigate further.
Any suggestions other than RADEON HD 3xxx, 4xxx?
I would say GeForce 7600 GT AGP.
The true answer was the ATI Radeon 3850 AGP… Sapphire or HIS brand … (If you can find) 😉
Because of its 256 bit architecture… 512 MB GDDR3 Memory and Direct X10.1 support 😉
Try Ebay.. Or second hand shops…
That model does not exist in my country … ha,ha
Besides, I saw that it only supports DirectX 9.c.
The striking thing is that it uses the same driver as the GF 6200 I have.
My PC (as long as the graphic card doesn’t freeze) works perfect with Windows 7, even faster than when I had Windows XP.
Would it be a good idea to try to update the firmware of the card?
Thanks again for the help 🙂
I would not suggest fiddling with the firmware of such an old card. What driver version are you using? Try this driver and monitor https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/results/49892/
The first driver I installed was 309.08 (the last one that came out), but since it gave problems, after researching, many people said on the web that they solved the issue with the latest driver exclusively for AGP cards (96.85 winVista), and that is the one I have installed today.
Other people also recommended 307.83.
Why do you recommend 306, any particular reason?
And what do you mean by “monitor”?
No particular reason as such. By monitor, I mean monitoring the card’s stability using the driver.
Ah, OK.
As soon as it freezes again I do the driver installation.
I’ll let you know how it went.
Ok and always use DDU to uninstall graphics driver completely https://graphicscardhub.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu/
OK, a while ago the PC froze.
– I uninstalled drivers with DDU.
– I rebooted and installed the 306 you suggested.
– In less than 5 minutes the PC froze again.
– I rebooted and uninstalled drivers with DDU.
– I rebooted and reinstalled the 96.85 driver I had.
– I rebooted and it booted back to normal.
– I rebooted again just to try to get it to boot back to normal, but this time, as soon as it started it froze.
– I rebooted one more time, it booted back to normal and here I am typing.
EVERYTHING IS STILL THE SAME 🙁
Ohh, I think you have to stick with the previously working driver only.
It’s a complicated subject … all the drivers I tried work but eventually the PC freezes.
Maybe I should have stayed with Windows XP … ha,ha,ha