agp 4x vs 8x

We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

Do you recommend doing a partial rebuild now or just upgrade my computer as I have it now with a new video card (if necessary) and RAM if I'm going to rebuild it in two years anyway? I know it would be just your opinion, but I need advice because I'm stuck on what to do. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message

So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

You see, my birthday's coming up soon so I was going to ask for parts for the computer if I felt it appropriate. I'd really like to get my hands on Vista so I could find out how I personally think my computer stands on it, so I'd know exactly what I'd need, but without actually having the chance to use Vista on my computer, I won't know. If the public beta comes out on May 24, for example, that will be pushing my luck. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message

So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message

We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

All I could upgrade my CPU is to a 2600+, but it would still have a 266MHz FSB. (Now if I could trade with my grandmother who has the same motherboard I have but a newer revision, I could get a 333MHz FSB CPU.) Her CPU she has is a 2000+, so it's still a 266FSB anyway, and I'd give her my processor out of the deal. I was planning on buying a gig module, however, my motherboard only supports two sticks of PC-2700 RAM at the same time (and the later revision), so if I wanted to use three sticks, I'd have to run the FSB back to 133 again. (That means either 1.75GB of RAM and slower CPU speed or 1.5GB of RAM and faster CPU speed.) My Athlon XP 2400+ being overclocked, it runs almost as fast as my other grandma's computer that has a 2800+ Barton in it. (Although not quite.) I'm noticing that I can run my Blazing Colors - Firey Colors visualization in WMP10 at a little bit of a larger size now without slowing down and I'm not taking a hit at all in temperatures. Although my mom's new computer with an Athlon 64 x2 3800+, I can run that visualization at no more than 30% usage at a full screen without any slowdowns. I believe the newer revision of my board still only supports AGP 4x also. See where I'm starting to run into problems with upgrading much further? "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message

Travis, the only thing I see worthy upgrading (to more) is RAM, I would try get as much installed that you can afford. I have 2.6GBs in my system, 128 MB Geforce FX 5200 AGP and its running just fine, although when I have up to 20 windows open, it begins to get a bit slow. So, upgrade the RAM, Vista will appreciate that. If you can upgrade the processor, I would also do that. But, the two most important ones are the GPU and installed RAM, you got a good GPU, so I would focus primarily on getting more RAM in that system. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message Do you recommend doing a partial rebuild now or just upgrade my computer as I have it now with a new video card (if necessary) and RAM if I'm going to rebuild it in two years anyway? I know it would be just your opinion, but I need advice because I'm stuck on what to do. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

I've heard of some people getting Aero Glass to work, but without transparency. Is this true and have you experienced it? Thanks Andre, you're an asset to this newsgroup. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message

Travis, the only thing I see worthy upgrading (to more) is RAM, I would try get as much installed that you can afford. I have 2.6GBs in my system, 128 MB Geforce FX 5200 AGP and its running just fine, although when I have up to 20 windows open, it begins to get a bit slow. So, upgrade the RAM, Vista will appreciate that. If you can upgrade the processor, I would also do that. But, the two most important ones are the GPU and installed RAM, you got a good GPU, so I would focus primarily on getting more RAM in that system. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message Do you recommend doing a partial rebuild now or just upgrade my computer as I have it now with a new video card (if necessary) and RAM if I'm going to rebuild it in two years anyway? I know it would be just your opinion, but I need advice because I'm stuck on what to do. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

Travis, the only thing I see worthy upgrading (to more) is RAM, I would try get as much installed that you can afford. I have 2.6GBs in my system, 128 MB Geforce FX 5200 AGP and its running just fine, although when I have up to 20 windows open, it begins to get a bit slow. So, upgrade the RAM, Vista will appreciate that. If you can upgrade the processor, I would also do that. But, the two most important ones are the GPU and installed RAM, you got a good GPU, so I would focus primarily on getting more RAM in that system. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message

Do you recommend doing a partial rebuild now or just upgrade my computer as I have it now with a new video card (if necessary) and RAM if I'm going to rebuild it in two years anyway? I know it would be just your opinion, but I need advice because I'm stuck on what to do. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

Man, wait on the BETA and see how it runs then it will give you a better indication if you need to upgrade any specific part of your system. Feeling out cannot determine if your system will run Vista without any glitches or drop in performance. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message

All I could upgrade my CPU is to a 2600+, but it would still have a 266MHz FSB. (Now if I could trade with my grandmother who has the same motherboard I have but a newer revision, I could get a 333MHz FSB CPU.) Her CPU she has is a 2000+, so it's still a 266FSB anyway, and I'd give her my processor out of the deal. I was planning on buying a gig module, however, my motherboard only supports two sticks of PC-2700 RAM at the same time (and the later revision), so if I wanted to use three sticks, I'd have to run the FSB back to 133 again. (That means either 1.75GB of RAM and slower CPU speed or 1.5GB of RAM and faster CPU speed.) My Athlon XP 2400+ being overclocked, it runs almost as fast as my other grandma's computer that has a 2800+ Barton in it. (Although not quite.) I'm noticing that I can run my Blazing Colors - Firey Colors visualization in WMP10 at a little bit of a larger size now without slowing down and I'm not taking a hit at all in temperatures. Although my mom's new computer with an Athlon 64 x2 3800+, I can run that visualization at no more than 30% usage at a full screen without any slowdowns. I believe the newer revision of my board still only supports AGP 4x also. See where I'm starting to run into problems with upgrading much further? "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message Travis, the only thing I see worthy upgrading (to more) is RAM, I would try get as much installed that you can afford. I have 2.6GBs in my system, 128 MB Geforce FX 5200 AGP and its running just fine, although when I have up to 20 windows open, it begins to get a bit slow. So, upgrade the RAM, Vista will appreciate that. If you can upgrade the processor, I would also do that. But, the two most important ones are the GPU and installed RAM, you got a good GPU, so I would focus primarily on getting more RAM in that system. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message Do you recommend doing a partial rebuild now or just upgrade my computer as I have it now with a new video card (if necessary) and RAM if I'm going to rebuild it in two years anyway? I know it would be just your opinion, but I need advice because I'm stuck on what to do. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

I don't know what those persons are talking about, Windows Vista Aero with Translucency does not have any special tier to it in the currently available builds. The only way you can tell you don't have a WDDM supported card is if you don't see a thumbnail preview of open windows on the taskbar when you hover its button.
I have read rumours around the web (not guaranteed to be true) that the current translucent effects in Vista is not the real Glass and will be replaced by the real Glass in BETA 2 that will be vector based and not use PNGs to render the interface. The cards you are hearing about not displaying Glass properly are probably cards not supported by Direct X 9 but are hacked to get certain effects associated with the Windows Aero Glass tier. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message

I've heard of some people getting Aero Glass to work, but without transparency. Is this true and have you experienced it? Thanks Andre, you're an asset to this newsgroup. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message Travis, the only thing I see worthy upgrading (to more) is RAM, I would try get as much installed that you can afford. I have 2.6GBs in my system, 128 MB Geforce FX 5200 AGP and its running just fine, although when I have up to 20 windows open, it begins to get a bit slow. So, upgrade the RAM, Vista will appreciate that. If you can upgrade the processor, I would also do that. But, the two most important ones are the GPU and installed RAM, you got a good GPU, so I would focus primarily on getting more RAM in that system. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message Do you recommend doing a partial rebuild now or just upgrade my computer as I have it now with a new video card (if necessary) and RAM if I'm going to rebuild it in two years anyway? I know it would be just your opinion, but I need advice because I'm stuck on what to do. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

Yeh, that's me - Glass works, no transparency. I've got 4 machines running Vista 5342 except one running Windows Server Codename Longhorn 5308, all ranging from WinSAT ratings of 2 to 4.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Travis King" wrote in message

I've heard of some people getting Aero Glass to work, but without transparency. Is this true and have you experienced it? Thanks Andre, you're an asset to this newsgroup. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message Travis, the only thing I see worthy upgrading (to more) is RAM, I would try get as much installed that you can afford. I have 2.6GBs in my system, 128 MB Geforce FX 5200 AGP and its running just fine, although when I have up to 20 windows open, it begins to get a bit slow. So, upgrade the RAM, Vista will appreciate that. If you can upgrade the processor, I would also do that. But, the two most important ones are the GPU and installed RAM, you got a good GPU, so I would focus primarily on getting more RAM in that system. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message Do you recommend doing a partial rebuild now or just upgrade my computer as I have it now with a new video card (if necessary) and RAM if I'm going to rebuild it in two years anyway? I know it would be just your opinion, but I need advice because I'm stuck on what to do. "Andre Da Costa [Extended64]" wrote in message So far, the system requirements for Aero have not mentioned anything about what type of port is required, just that you need a graphics card with a minimum of 64 MBs vRam, supported WDDM driver, Direct X 9 complient with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 technologies.
I personally would recommend getting the best video card you can afford and quality DDR2 RAM, as much as possible. I personally say PCIx would be a good choice going forward, as AGP will eventually be phased out. Microsoft will release Service Packs or Interim releases of Windows that will better support the superior technologies that are a part of PCIe.
Here is nice write up about the PCIe technology by Dell and the advantages over AGP: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2004_pciexpress?c=us&l=en&s=corp -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Travis King" wrote in message We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card

It will probably work best on the new PCI Express x16 Technology.
"Travis King" wrote in message

We've brushed on this subject with me before, but not in depth. What performance difference really is there with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x AGP? Is it actually noticeable, non-existent, or drastic? Having said that, what difference if any is there between AGP 8x and PCI-Express x16? Thanks. I've heard from various people on this NG including Zack that 4x works fine, but I really haven't done more than brush the subject otherwise. (Meaning I don't know the true difference in performance with Aero Glass between 4x and 8x, just that I know that 4x should work fine.) The main reason I brought this up is I'm just considering doing a partial rebuild of my computer. What do you think I should do? I plan on building a whole new computer in two years... In the meantime, do you think I should do a partial rebuild or just upgrade my RAM and video card (if necessary) and call it good for two years?
The partial rebuild will include: Motherboard CPU RAM (Video card if needed and if I can afford it)
I've run the Doom3 Demo and it runs fairly smooth at an 800x600 resolution on high settings with shadows disabled.
Current specs: Asus A7V333 motherboard (supports AGP 4x or lower only) AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (just overclocked to 155FSB = 2.17GHz) 768MB of RAM NVIDIA Geforce FX5600 256MB DDR WD 80GB 7200RPM IDE 2MB cache WD 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB cache Lite On 16x DVD drive Memorex (Lite On) 52x32x52 CD-RW drive 3 1/2" floppy drive 400-watt PSU Creative Audigy soundcard 3 case fans Aspire X-Infinity case 10/100 network card