[KLUG Members] Re: XFree86 and AGP4 -- AGP "speeds" != AGP GART

[Bruce Smith]

> > Someone asked at tonights newbie meeting (man was that place jumpin') if
> > XFree86 could work with AGP4.
> > Answer: Yes.  Assuming of course that the card is supported.
> 
> Er, remember, speed-wise AGP itself is just a "faster" 32-bit PCI bus. 

IMNAHG (I am not a hardware guy).  But I noticed something interesting
about AGP recently.  It is probably something most everyone else knows.
(remember I'm the guy who recently learned that VIA makes CPU's ... :)

> History ...

Interesting, but now for something more practical from the non-hardware
guy in the crowd:

We bought a new PC at work, and I wanted to move the best video card to
the desktop PC, and the cheaper video card to the server.  Anyway ... 
while swapping the AGP video cards, I found that there are slight
differences on the new AGP cards from the old AGP cards.  The card edge
(that plugs into the mobo) is slightly different, but different enough
that the two cards were NOT interchangeable!  They could not physically
be plugged into the other PC's!

I don't the correct terminology of these two different AGP card slots.
(but I'm sure Byron will tell us, if we ask :)

Did someone change the AGP standard and forget to inform me?!?!?  :-)
Just like VIA started making CPU's, and nobody told me!

Is there a mailing list or web site out there for non-hardware guys like
me who just want to know the practical differences like this, and new
hardware advances? (like the VIA CPU's)  I do NOT want to know the
internal chipset / cardedge pinouts / instruction set changes / and
other stuff that makes my eyes glaze over.  I also don't care every time
a chipset maker comes out with a slightly faster version, or a "new"
chipset that's just based on the old one.  I only want a nice overview
of MAJOR changes.  This is for someone who is dangerous enough to turn a
screwdriver, install new hardware, and hope it works. (but doesn't give
a rip HOW it works :)

--------------------------------------------
Bruce Smith                bruce@armintl.com
System Administrator / Network Administrator
Armstrong International, Inc.
Three Rivers, Michigan  49093  USA
http://www.armstrong-intl.com/
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