Hello Setyo,

Wednesday, May 19, 1999, 8:16:03 AM, you wrote:

SN> I am new in this list. I am sorry if this question had been posted by
SN> someone before.
SN> Is AGP video card fully compatible with standard VGA card?
SN> I mean, will PCs equipped with AGP video card work properly with software
SN> that is originally not designed to work with AGP (e.g: DOS, Windows 3.1,
SN> etc)?
SN> Thank you.

  I have an ATI RageIIc, 8 Mb AGP card, and am also running a lot
of old and antique software, because I have a giant heap of stuff left
from my old PC; this includes games, word processor, graphics editor,
etc. I have not experienced any problems with that.

  I understand that you're concerned about how AGP card can emulate
video functions. Frankly, I don't know, but it works; remember that there are
programs that were designed when PCI was unheard of, and they still
run today.

  As I know, the AGP bus main difference from PCI is that it provides
a direct connection to the memory, allowing large amounts of
data/graphics/textures moved to and fro. And, of course, all modern
cards [save, maybe, the cheapest ones] support old video.

  The only problem you may discover is if you run NT, a lot of 320x200
graphic modes will display at a very low frequency [visible image
blinking], and I believe this is a Mc'Soft drivers' error and not a
hardware fault.

Best regards,
 Max                            mailto:[log in to unmask]

         The PCBUILD web site always needs good submissions.  If
          you would like to contribute to the website, send any
               hardware tech tips or hardware reviews to:
                           [log in to unmask]