Graphic Cards Power Rating - I still don't get it?

Hi,

I'm trying to *fully* understand how this voltage thing works for AGP
graphics card.

AGP 1x-2x = 3.3v
AGP 4x = 1.5v
AGP8x = 0.8v

I have yet to see any AGP 8x card that gives *evidence* that its using 0.8v.
Looking in the BIOS Health-Menu it always shows at least 1.5v (if not 1.6v).
I have always (well last 5 months since I had a modern system!) left the AGP
volts at default, but I'm not 100% convinced so far that the (ABIT)
motherboard knows what to do. I did make a similar post to this in the
Graphics newsgroups but didn't really get a useful replies.

Why is it that AGP 8x is *meant* to run on 0.8v? At first I thought maybe
that it was because they all use slim wafers for the GPU, but I don't know
if all AGP 8x cards use skinny micron GPU.

If I get one more answer like "Don't worry about it if everything works ok!"
I will do my nut :P

So all you *Voltage* masters, share your knowledge with me, how come I never
seen a 0.8v setting in BIOS, or is there some kind of automatic switching.
What happens to the cards voltage when in BIOS you switch from Auto to 4x or
8x? is this effecting just voltages or?
--
Wayne ][
Concepts, Theory, Learning Curves, and woman with big bOObs!

Well my Father in Law found that his old ATI 64mb ViVo card would fit his
newish system (with onboard graphics) due to the lugs on the card so.....

A little work with his junior hacksaw and it now fits - I kid you not...!!!
(and seems to work)

So..

"Don't worry about it if everything works ok!"

Might be true but I did find this for him to read (which he dismissed)

http://www.ertyu.org/~steven_nikkel/...atibility.html



--
Regards

Morgan

Hard drive is noisy no more.....

www.flyinglizard.freeserve.co.uk

Wayne Youngman wrote:
Hi,

I'm trying to *fully* understand how this voltage thing works for AGP
graphics card.

AGP 1x-2x = 3.3v
AGP 4x = 1.5v
AGP8x = 0.8v

I have yet to see any AGP 8x card that gives *evidence* that its
using 0.8v. Looking in the BIOS Health-Menu it always shows at least
1.5v (if not 1.6v). I have always (well last 5 months since I had a
modern system!) left the AGP volts at default, but I'm not 100%
convinced so far that the (ABIT) motherboard knows what to do. I did
make a similar post to this in the Graphics newsgroups but didn't
really get a useful replies.

Why is it that AGP 8x is *meant* to run on 0.8v? At first I thought
maybe that it was because they all use slim wafers for the GPU, but I
don't know if all AGP 8x cards use skinny micron GPU.

If I get one more answer like "Don't worry about it if everything
works ok!" I will do my nut :P

So all you *Voltage* masters, share your knowledge with me, how come
I never seen a 0.8v setting in BIOS, or is there some kind of
automatic switching. What happens to the cards voltage when in BIOS
you switch from Auto to 4x or 8x? is this effecting just voltages or?

From this page:
http://www.ertyu.org/~steven_nikkel/...atibility.html

"An 8x device must be 0.8v, a 4x device can be 1.5v or 0.8v, a 2x or 1x
device can be 3.3v or 1.5v.
The connectors are keyed so that you can only use compatible equipment,
up until AGP 3.0 (8x).
AGP 1.0 and 2.0 devices using a 1.5v key, signal at 1.5v, while AGP 3.0
devices use the 1.5v key and signal at 0.8v.
AGP 3.0 devices must be tolerant of 1.5v signalling though, they won't
necessarily work, but will not be destroyed if inserted into an AGP
1.0/2.0 slot."

"ICee" wrote
"An 8x device must be 0.8v, a 4x device can be 1.5v or 0.8v, a 2x or 1x
device can be 3.3v or 1.5v.
The connectors are keyed so that you can only use compatible equipment,
up until AGP 3.0 (8x).
AGP 1.0 and 2.0 devices using a 1.5v key, signal at 1.5v, while AGP 3.0
devices use the 1.5v key and signal at 0.8v.
AGP 3.0 devices must be tolerant of 1.5v signalling though, they won't
necessarily work, but will not be destroyed if inserted into an AGP
1.0/2.0 slot."



Hi,
ok if that's the case, how come the Radeon 9800 and Radeon 9600XT are both
running at 1.55-1.6v, there are both AGP 8x cards? I am wondering if the
motherboard is not setting the correct voltage or something?
--
Wayne ][
Concepts, Theory, Learning Curves, and woman with big bOObs!

Wayne Youngman wrote:
"ICee" wrote
"An 8x device must be 0.8v, a 4x device can be 1.5v or 0.8v, a 2x or
1x device can be 3.3v or 1.5v.
The connectors are keyed so that you can only use compatible
equipment, up until AGP 3.0 (8x).
AGP 1.0 and 2.0 devices using a 1.5v key, signal at 1.5v, while AGP
3.0 devices use the 1.5v key and signal at 0.8v.
AGP 3.0 devices must be tolerant of 1.5v signalling though, they
won't necessarily work, but will not be destroyed if inserted into
an AGP
1.0/2.0 slot."



Hi,
ok if that's the case, how come the Radeon 9800 and Radeon 9600XT are
both running at 1.55-1.6v, there are both AGP 8x cards? I am
wondering if the motherboard is not setting the correct voltage or
something?

The voltage is set on the card. As the above says, AGP 3.0 cards (like
the 9800, 9700,9600,9500) must be tolerant of 1.5v signaling.

"ICee" wrote
The voltage is set on the card. As the above says, AGP 3.0 cards (like
the 9800, 9700,9600,9500) must be tolerant of 1.5v signaling.



Hi,
well you seem to be clear enough about it in your own head :P hehe. The
word here is *tolerant*. So you saying that it is operating using 1.5v? as
in AGP 4x spec. Is there such a thing as a card operating on 0.8v, or is it
a case that the card PCB receives 1.5v and somehow takes just 0.8v from
this?
--
Wayne ][
Concepts, Theory, Learning Curves, and woman with big bOObs!

He means that motherboard sends 1,5V to agp since your 8x card uses 1,5V
signalling. If you had old agp1x card, mobo would send (and show) 3.3V to
agp. Even if your card 8x is using 0.8V, mobo is sending agp 1,5 v, out of
which the gfxboard then uses 0.8V.

Hope this help..

PS: It's either that, or your mobo is forcing use of agp4x, and no above.
Use an utility like aida32 or even catalyst panel to find out what is agp
x-rating? Is it running 8x? if yes, then above explaination might be correct



"Wayne Youngman" wrote in message
...

"ICee" wrote
The voltage is set on the card. As the above says, AGP 3.0 cards (like
the 9800, 9700,9600,9500) must be tolerant of 1.5v signaling.



Hi,
well you seem to be clear enough about it in your own head :P hehe. The
word here is *tolerant*. So you saying that it is operating using 1.5v?
as
in AGP 4x spec. Is there such a thing as a card operating on 0.8v, or is
it
a case that the card PCB receives 1.5v and somehow takes just 0.8v from
this?
--
Wayne ][
Concepts, Theory, Learning Curves, and woman with big bOObs!

"Asestar" wrote
He means that motherboard sends 1,5V to agp since your 8x card uses 1,5V
signalling. If you had old agp1x card, mobo would send (and show) 3.3V to
agp. Even if your card 8x is using 0.8V, mobo is sending agp 1,5 v, out of
which the gfxboard then uses 0.8V.

Hope this help..

PS: It's either that, or your mobo is forcing use of agp4x, and no above.
Use an utility like aida32 or even catalyst panel to find out what is agp
x-rating? Is it running 8x? if yes, then above explaination might be
correct



Hi,
ok that's make it clear!. The thing is I am using AGP 8x cards and whether
they are set on *Auto* or *8x* in BIOS the card is still receiving 1.6v. So
I have been manually *reducing* the BIOS setting to 1.5v (lowest), and this
still reads 1.55v in BIOS health page (better than 1.6v it was on before).
0.8v/1.5v issue aside, I think the two ABIT motherboards I have been using
(NF7-S, AN7) are putting out too much voltage. As I said if I leave the AGP
volts set on *AUTO* the board is deciding that the cards need 1.55v, then
the boards *overvolt* another 0.05v so I end up with 1.6v, a far cry from
the 0.8 volts I read about . . . .

The whole reason I am looking into this is one of my builds (AN7/9600XT)
will *reboot* after a duration of intense activity, and I was wondering is
the *AGP-Over-Voltage* could be a possible cause. I heard about setting the
AGP SPEED to *Auto* in BIOS and 4x in SmartGart to see if this helps. . . .
--
Wayne ][
Concepts, Theory, Learning Curves, and woman with big bOObs!

Wayne Youngman wrote:
"Asestar" wrote
He means that motherboard sends 1,5V to agp since your 8x card uses
1,5V signalling. If you had old agp1x card, mobo would send (and
show) 3.3V to agp. Even if your card 8x is using 0.8V, mobo is
sending agp 1,5 v, out of which the gfxboard then uses 0.8V.

Hope this help..

PS: It's either that, or your mobo is forcing use of agp4x, and no
above. Use an utility like aida32 or even catalyst panel to find out
what is agp x-rating? Is it running 8x? if yes, then above
explaination might be correct


Hi,
ok that's make it clear!. The thing is I am using AGP 8x cards and
whether they are set on *Auto* or *8x* in BIOS the card is still
receiving 1.6v. So I have been manually *reducing* the BIOS setting
to 1.5v (lowest), and this still reads 1.55v in BIOS health page
(better than 1.6v it was on before).
0.8v/1.5v issue aside, I think the two ABIT motherboards I have been
using (NF7-S, AN7) are putting out too much voltage. As I said if I
leave the AGP volts set on *AUTO* the board is deciding that the
cards need 1.55v, then the boards *overvolt* another 0.05v so I end
up with 1.6v, a far cry from the 0.8 volts I read about . . . .

The whole reason I am looking into this is one of my builds
(AN7/9600XT) will *reboot* after a duration of intense activity, and
I was wondering is the *AGP-Over-Voltage* could be a possible cause.
I heard about setting the AGP SPEED to *Auto* in BIOS and 4x in
SmartGart to see if this helps. . . .

Nothing is being "overvolted". The AGP 3.0 card has a 1.5 volt "key" on
the card, meaning it will get 1.5 volts from the MB. The card actually
runs, like any other card, off +5v, +12v for *power*, but the 1.5v and
..8v is for *signaling*; Input/Output. Just like CPU's use +12 volts for
power, but the actual data lines use a small voltage (can't remember
what it is now). The 1.5v/.8v is the data lines voltage.
I have the ATI 9500 Pro video card on my NF7-S, and it's running at AGP
8x (according to SmatGART), settings in the BIOS are Fast Writes ON, AGP
Auto, AGP voltage, 1.5v. 1.55v is well within tolerance.

Regarding your problem, set the AGP to 4x, turn fast writes OFF. See if
this helps the stability problem. I have read that 8x isn't all that
much faster than 4x, and that if fast write is enabled, it can cause
problems similar to what you are experiencing.

To clear it up even further, like Icee said, gfx card uses 1.5V input
voltage. however data is sent in 0.8V pulses. It's kinda like your power
supply. It requires 220V to run (100-something for usa, i think) but output
is 12V, 5V, 3.3V etc..






Nothing is being "overvolted". The AGP 3.0 card has a 1.5 volt "key" on
the card, meaning it will get 1.5 volts from the MB. The card actually
runs, like any other card, off +5v, +12v for *power*, but the 1.5v and
.8v is for *signaling*; Input/Output. Just like CPU's use +12 volts for
power, but the actual data lines use a small voltage (can't remember
what it is now). The 1.5v/.8v is the data lines voltage.
I have the ATI 9500 Pro video card on my NF7-S, and it's running at AGP
8x (according to SmatGART), settings in the BIOS are Fast Writes ON, AGP
Auto, AGP voltage, 1.5v. 1.55v is well within tolerance.

Regarding your problem, set the AGP to 4x, turn fast writes OFF. See if
this helps the stability problem. I have read that 8x isn't all that
much faster than 4x, and that if fast write is enabled, it can cause
problems similar to what you are experiencing.