AGP speed issue

Hi there, everyone. Hope you lads can help me with a problem I’ve got, but as I’m not very tech-minded as far as PC’s are concerned, you’ll have to keep all instructions/jargon simple, please (at least until I know what I'm doing, lol) I reckon it's probably best to think you’re talking to a 10 year-old, lol!
My rig’s specs:

Windows XP Home Edition + SP 2
AsRock K7S8X (v3.0) with 1Gb DDR (2x 512Mb)
Athlon XP 2800+ CPU @2.25GHz
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (OEM) 256Mb/256-Bit with Arctic Cooler
120GB HDD
16x DVD-ROM drive
52x CD-RW drive
Floppy Drive
3x case fans

My problem concerns the AGP data rate setting. As you know, the Radeon 9800 Pro is 4x/8x compatible, as is my (crappy?) AsRock mainboard. However, when I go to Catalyst Control Centre >SMARTGART, it says the AGP speed is set to ‘OFF’. I’ve tried setting it to both 4x and 8x speed but it won’t accept any changes upon rebooting. I ran Sandra 2004 to double check and, under ‘Mainboard Info’, it says: ‘AGP bus is unused or AGP card is not fully compatible’ as well as: ‘Current AGP data rate not optimal’.

Having checked the system’s BIOS, I was left more than a bit puzzled because under ‘Resource Configuration’ it clearly states:

Primary Graphics Adapter: ‘AGP’
AGP Data Rate: ‘8x’
AGP Fast Write: ‘Enabled’.

To make one further, final check, I reinstalled my old GeForce 4 Mx440 128Mb card but it wasn’t recognised as running at APG 8x speed either (though I’m pretty sure it used to…?)

Both Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 run pretty well on my ATI card, but I occasionally get slowdown when there’s a lot going on on-screen (it was this that made me check out the AGP settings in the first place).

If it’s of any help, the mainboard’s BIOS is the original flash. However, I’ve just updated Catalyst Control Centre to the new 5.1 release (was running 4.12 previously).

So, got any ideas, fellahs? Is my mainboard (or specifically the AGP slot) knackered for some reason? If so, can you recommend a half-decent replacement that’s not overly expensive? Or have I just missed something very obvious…like Win XP’s Service Pack 2 messing things up for me? (Only kidding, lol!) As I said, I’m no tech-head, so I’d appreciate your advice, but please keep it simple, lol....
Many thanks in advance…

 

No, it is likely for some slow down with a lot of action on screen.

Perhaps you have an on board graphics card that isn't properly disabled, which would probably cause the agp reading to be wrong.

If you can play HL2 & Doom 3, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Download a benchmark utility like 3dmark 2003 or Aquamark and do a benchmark Then check your scores against those who have very similar systems. If you don't want to download them you can usually find them on magazine cover CDs.

 

Thanks for all three replies...it was appreciated, folks. :good:

As it turns out, I'd already thought of updating the mobo's BIOS (as Sniper suggested) but, as I hadn't performed this procedure before, I was a bit reluctant to go ahead because:

(a) I wasn't sure I'd know exactly how to do it...and...
(b) I'd heard it's a bit dodgy and can result in your mobo being wrecked if you get it wrong!

BUT, after plucking up the courage (it's a big decision, folks!) I decided to give it a go. Luckily, the AsRock instructions weren't too difficult to follow, but the 30-second wait while the BIOS was being updated had me sweating a bit!

....However, it flashed successfully, and I've now got v2.6 instead of the old v1.9...YIPPEE!

...Now for the downer: It DIDN'T cure my AGP problem!

Well, that disappointment left me with having to install the latest AGP drivers from AsRock, too...

...and, upon rebooting, Catalyst (SMARTGART) reported that the AGP rate was now set to 8X! :good:

Moral of the story? Don't take a risk by updating the mobo's BIOS first. Nope, make the AGP driver update your priority... ...Coz hey, like me, you just might get lucky!

 

Did you install your chipset drivers? That sounds like the problem really. Nothing to do with BIOS at all.