What is AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)

AGP stands for “Accelerated Graphics Port”. It is a point to point channel that can provide high-speed visual output. This is used to connect graphic cards to a computer's motherboard. It makes machines generate visuals more quickly and more effectively utilizes the system's resources. An AGP is primarily used to transmit 3-D pictures considerably more fluidly than is feasible on a standard PC.

History

In 1996, Intel created the AGP, which debuted in Socket 7 Intel P5 Pentium and Slot 1 P6 Pentium II CPUs. Everyone eventually began use it. The earliest Socket 7 chipsets that supported AGP were the ALI Aladdin V, SiS 5591/5592, and VIA Apollo VP3 chipsets. Early AGP boards merely bridged to PCI-based graphics processors, using Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) as its foundation. The PCI serves as the foundation upon which the AGP is built. With the exception of the enhanced 66 MHz bus clock and the quadrupled bandwidth over PCI, bridging didn't do anything to assist the cards profit from the new bus. To take use of the new AGP features, Intel's i740 was specifically created. In reality, it was created to only texture from AGP memory. An AGP is primarily used to transmit 3-D pictures considerably more fluidly than is feasible on a standard PC.

AGP Version Comparison Table

The following various versions of AGP are discussed here:

Interface	Clock Speed	Speed	Transfer Rate
AGP 1.0	66 MHz	1x and 2x	266 MB/s and  533 MB/s
AGP 2.0	66 MHz	4x	1, 066 MB/s
AGP 3.0	66 MHz	8x	2, 133 MB/s

Specifications of AGP

1. It performs quickly, and with good quality.
2. It has an easy route to the computer's main memory.
3. It is connected to the CPU and runs at the processor bus's speed.
4. It processes video data more quickly after sending it to the card.
5. For holding 3D pictures, it uses the main memory.
6. It gives the graphics card two ways to directly access texture maps in system memory: pipelining and sideband addressing.
7. The port may be identified by its dark color.

Applications of AGP

1. It made it possible to create new kinds of PC programs, such as 3D CAD/CAM, data visualization, and 3D user interfaces.
2. Direct Memory Execution of Textures: Instead of pre-loading the texture data into the Graphics Card's own memory and then accessing it, the texture maps are directly retrieved from the system memory. By allowing the texture to stay in system memory, where the graphics chip can use it immediately, it avoids the unnecessary effort.
3. Creating 3D pictures requires the CPU to do complicated 3D computations. The graphics controller processes the bitmaps and texture data. A single pixel on the screen is frequently created by the controller by reading components from seven or eight separate textures. The pixel has to be kept in the memory buffer before this computation is done. These textures take up a lot of memory, thus the video card's buffer is unable to accommodate them. They are kept in the primary system memory while using APG.

Advantages of AGP over PCI

• AGP was developed to replace the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) connections, which were slower.
• AGP offers a direct channel of communication to the CPU and RAM, enabling faster graphics rendering.

Differences between AGP and PCI

AGP	PCI
1.  AGP is a port	1.  AGP is a bus.
2.  AGP typically operates at 66 MHz	2. The typical PCI bus clock speed is 33 MHz.
3.  The average AGP transfer rate is 2, 133 MB/s	3.  An average PCI transfer rate is 132 MB/s.
4.  The system memory may be accessed directly by AGP, which has a non-local memory.	4.  PCI uses just the video card's memory and has a local memory of its own.