AGP or Accelerated Graphics Port was the most popular and common interface for connecting graphics card 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 doubled the bandwidth of AGP 4x. AGP 4x has 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 frquently. 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 card 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 slot 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 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 for general display 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 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 AGP slot. The card does requires additional power from the PSU through 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.