Various Expansion Slots
Motherboard expansion slots come in many different shapes, sizes, and speeds. In this video, you’ll learn about the characteristics and speeds of popular motherboard expansion slots. Even though the expansion slots are all standardized, expansion cards come in different lengths. You can find full-length cards, half-size cards, and others. Smaller PC consoles may have room for only smaller expansion cards, or perhaps some expansion slots are limited to hosting only shorter expansion cards. Different models of motherboards will have different types of expansion slots, and will also have them present in different numbers. Knowing about such slots will increase your knowledge about your machine and its basics and this information could prove useful in many different ways. There are different kinds of slots available, one is PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) which is a general expansion slot used in the old time. The other modern expansion slots like PCIe (PCI. ISA: The most ancient type of expansion slot is the ISA, which stands for (get this) Industry Standard Architecture. That’s because it never really had a name until another, better type of expansion slot came along. ISA slots hang around to be compatible with older expansion cards.
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Nintendo's Expansion Ports
by Danny Bivens and Aaron Kaluszka - October 26, 2011, 11:19 am EDT
Total comments: 52
What's the deal with those expansion ports on Nintendo's older systems?
In a day and age where USB ports are prevalent on our game systems, expansion ports on video game consoles definitely harken to a gaming yesteryear that players can only look back on in awe. What once used to be a staple on many console releases is now a thing of the past.
In previous Nintendo consoles, these expansion ports were portals to improve hardware, open up new possibilities for gameplay, and even to give the hardware additional features that were just not possible with the original release. Now we look back on past Nintendo hardware and not only examine how Nintendo used these mysterious ports, but also the kinds of devices that utilized them. From this, we have a picture of the company's past as well as some insight on where Nintendo are taking their hardware in the future.
First up is the Famicom and NES. Unlike the NES, the Famicom came with hard-wired controllers. Any extra controllers and peripherals could be plugged into Nintendo's first expansion port, which was located at the front of the machine. This port was used to host light guns, 3D shutter glasses, keyboards, extra controllers, and other items. Many system expansions plugged directly into the cartridge slot, such as the Famicom Disk System and the Famicom Modem. The Sharp Twin Famicom, a system that combined the Famicom and Disk System into one machine, added an additional three expansion ports, but these remained unused.
The NES shipped with an expansion port on the bottom of the console. On multiple occasions, modems were planned to be connected there. However, the NES expansion port never received a commercial application. Originally, the port was covered by a snap-in cover, but later model systems actually had a plastic tab covering the port completely. The port was still there, but the plastic actually had to broken off to access the port. The lack of expansion port utilization outside of Japan was an ongoing trend that started with Nintendo's first system.
The Super Famicom takes us on a story of CD drives and further connectivity. Like the NES, the Super Famicom and SNES designed included an expansion port marked EXT. The well-known SNES CD would have used this port, and the Satellaview did make use of it, but only in Japan. The SNES did see a very limited use of the port as a connection point for the Exertainment exercise bike.
The Nintendo 64 brought us the Expansion Pak and the Disk Drive, one for each port. Continuing the trend, the EXT port, which resides on the bottom of the N64, would only be used in Japan for the N64DD, which was cancelled early and never saw a worldwide release. The memory expansion port on the top was necessary for certain games that needed the extra power, and this saw worldwide use.
The GameCube upped the number of expansion possibilities to three. Featuring two serial ports and a hi-speed port, the GameCube had the most expansion possibilities, though one serial port remained unused. The options were limited, but this time, all expansions were released worldwide. The Hi-Speed port was home to the Game Boy Player attachment, while the larger serial port could house a modem or LAN adapter.
With the advent of the Wii, Nintendo decided to standardize their hardware connections, including two USB ports and an SD card slot. The Wii U includes the same interfaces, indicating a likely end of Nintendo's mysterious ports.
Next, we take an in-depth look at all of the system expansions. We will cover one system each day.
Photos provided by Danny Bivens, James Charlton, Nicholas Bray, Minoru Yamaizumi, Aaron Kaluszka, Uncle Bob, and 64DDFan
Famicom BASIC and Data RecorderImages
Talkback
I believe it was so Nintendo could change/add any extra code to the motherboard/processor. That's probably why they were never needed after launch of the console. It was just easier for development and all that.
That's just my thought.
I believe it was so Nintendo could change/add any extra code to the motherboard/processor. That's probably why they were never needed after launch of the console. It was just easier for development and all that.
That's just my thought.
Then why would they include it in the production model and not just the dev kits?
I believe it was so Nintendo could change/add any extra code to the motherboard/processor. That's probably why they were never needed after launch of the console. It was just easier for development and all that.
That's just my thought.
Then why would they include it in the production model and not just the dev kits?
I'm not a game dev but wouldn't it make sense to have the production model also be the Dev Kit with just an addon that plugged into the special slot?
Shame that the test model SNES apparently hung out with a couple of smokers.
It's not caused by smoking. There's an interesting article about the science of the yellowing here and how to fix it here.
Many Expansion Slots
Strangely my Super Famicom is fine but my Famicom is a disgusting yellow colour! (as you can see from my photos above)
More on topic though, I would have loved to have been in Japan during the disk system days, getting to use the disk writer in a shop etc!
I'm too afraid to get a Disk System now though, knowing how unreliable they are.
The next part of the feature, SNES/SFC, is a really interesting part of history.
This is a wonderful article, I really think a podcast would serve it justice . Most of the expansions should have been built in to begin with, and nintendo KNEW they should have but didn't.
The NES Top Loader and SNES-mini both removed the expansion ports... Oddly, though, the redesigned N64 (i.e.: The Pikachu edition) actually included the expansion port... but there was no removable cover - the port is inaccessible without actually removing the bottom half of the casing.
I've heard there are revised GameCubes floating around out there that are missing the second serial port, but I've never seen one (never really spent a lot of time looking though).
I've heard there are revised GameCubes floating around out there that are missing the second serial port, but I've never seen one (never really spent a lot of time looking though).
But you must add one to your collection. How does it not bother you that you do not own one of these mythical revised Gamecubes? It's like I don't know you anymore.
...
But you must add one to your collection. How does it not bother you that you do not own one of these mythical revised Gamecubes? It's like I don't know you anymore.
You'd think that - but, out of the 7 Game Cubes I own, 6 are original -001 units and one's the Panasonic Q. I don't even own a -101 unit. ;)
Found a neat site that shows all three hardware revisions of the GameCube...
http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/vg/nintendo.htm
The GCN went through three revisions, although only one really changed the bottom ports. A semi-educated guess would be that the second revision is limited to the 'Limited Edition' Platinum consoles. As I don't have any Platinum GCNs (not counting the Q, of course) or any -101 units, that would explain why I haven't come across one. I'll have to be on the look-out now. :D
There should be a similar thread made for all of Nintendo's controlles and peripherals.
Found a neat site that shows all three hardware revisions of the GameCube...
http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/vg/nintendo.htm
The GCN went through three revisions, although only one really changed the bottom ports. A semi-educated guess would be that the second revision is limited to the 'Limited Edition' Platinum consoles. As I don't have any Platinum GCNs (not counting the Q, of course) or any -101 units, that would explain why I haven't come across one. I'll have to be on the look-out now. :D
Nice link.
I have a platinum console with the digital outs - apparently pretty rare. A friend was convinced they didn't even exist until seeing mine. Pretty lucky I guess, since it was picked up second-hand from EB Games as a backup system for the GameCube titles that I purchased after owning a Wii.
Oddly, tracking down an official component cable for the system was MUCH more expensive than the console itself.
Oddly, tracking down an official component cable for the system was MUCH more expensive than the console itself.
Don't look at my five sets then. :D Four of which I scored from GameStop for under $5. :D
But to your other point, I think the only Platinum systems with the Digital Out are the original releases that were marked 'Limited Edition' - it's my guess (without any hardcore evidence) that when the Platinum system became standard was when they removed the Digital Port (and revised the base). Could likely be wrong though.
My Component cable for the GCN was ordered directly from Nintendo and I probably posted about it here somewhere. It was Night and day. When the component cables for Wii became first available through Nintendo I ordered a set of those because I didn't want a repeat of the GCN. Though I have adapter to connect my GCN to everything in US but DVI and HDMI (VGA, Coax, Component, RCA, S-Video, etc.)
Oddly, tracking down an official component cable for the system was MUCH more expensive than the console itself.
Don't look at my five sets then. :D Four of which I scored from GameStop for under $5. :D
...
I'm not disappointed. Mine were well under the going price - it's only when you compare them to paying $10 for the entire console that it feels expensive.
If you are lucky, you can still score GameCube component cables at GameStop for cheap. Where you live plays a huge part in that though.
http://www.gamestop.com/accessories/gamecube-n64-component-cable-used/32149?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=deeplink&cid=afl_10000087&affID=77777&sourceID=FKSJxY2VJAk-YdQjxU0sI4sci3bux6kWNg
Of course, some hits are false-positives and sometimes you get lucky finding mislabeled cables where there aren't supposed to be any. A great deal if you stumble into any though!
I've thought about getting component cables for my GC to cut out the input lag when I do recordings of Game Boy Player for my YouTube channel (I actually own a component video capture device). Generally, I've seen these things sell for $60-$100 on eBay. By the way, did you notice the component port is labeled 'Digital Out' even though component is analog?
I do own an official Nintendo SNES S-Video connector (bought for my N64 after we got a new TV with said inputs).
Its a shame the port on the NES was never used. Does anyone know if it would be possible for some hobbyist or whatever to create peripherals for that port somehow? It was supposed to be used for a modem but Nintendo never created that modem, but could someone else make it happen? All the patents regarding the NES have expired since 2005 so there is no legal obstacles to people doing stuff like that, but are there technical obstacles?
By the way, did you notice the component port is labeled 'Digital Out' even though component is analog?
Actually... the port is 100% correctly labeled. The port actually does send out a digital signal.
*Most* electronics convert that digital signal to analog inside the system, before it gets to the port.
With the GameCube, it actually sent the digital signal to the port - the Digital-to-Analog conversion was done in the Component Cables themselves - this is why the cables were so expensive new and why you've never seen an off-brand/third party set of GameCube cables that output component signal.
It's also what let people mod them into awesome VGA cables. The Wii was truly a downgrade in that sense.
I think the only Platinum systems with the Digital Out are the original releases that were marked 'Limited Edition' - it's my guess (without any hardcore evidence) that when the Platinum system became standard was when they removed the Digital Port (and revised the base). Could likely be wrong though.
Well, I don't really have anything for/against the 'Limited Edition' Platinum 'Cubes all being with the Digital Out port while the non-Limited Edition 'Cubes are without, but...
I stopped into a Goodwill today - they had a Platinum -001 GameCube... No cords and $10 price tag (I passed) - but I did take a second to look it over. it was a -001, but it did have the third port on the bottom.
You didn't mention any of the problems with the N64 RAM expansion pack. For instance it pretty much broke Space Station Silicon Valley.
I've read many times that Game Boy Player is kinda laggy. Is this true?
I never experienced any lag with my Game Boy Player.
I've read many times that Game Boy Player is kinda laggy. Is this true?
I've only had one such experience... kinda.
Back in the day, when I was running a solo-GameCube, a friend brought his over along with his Game Boy Player. We hooked them up and played some Four Swords (GBA) on the big screen. It was awesome.
Anyway, during one round, we came 'desynched' - the Links on both screens would still respond to their respective controls, but they weren't in the same spot... so I could be walking up a path on my screen and be walking into a wall on his screen. Likewise, he could pick me up on his screen and I'd be running around like nothing was wrong on mine.
The /official/ word from Nintendo is that you're not supposed to link Game Boy Players together... but I've done it many times and this is the *only* time I've ever had a problem with the Game Boy Player - in any fashion.
Oh wow, Warp Pipe and the LAN adapter. Never got a version of Warp Pipe to work right... something about the lappy I was using at the time... so long ago.
Never could get into PSO. Played it a few times but it seemed to mostly be people standing around chatting. No thanks. Plus it was a SEGA game and SEGA games *suck*! ;D
Now that internet speeds are faster, we should try to get a Double Dash Warp Pipe tournament going.
Now that internet speeds are faster, we should try to get a Double Dash Warp Pipe tournament going.
Totally up for trying that sometime. Lord knows it went... poorly the last time I tried.
I don't know about a 'tournament' though - we'll be lucky to get two people connected. ;)
It'd be cool if someone had come up with a Homebrew Channel hack that lets GameCube games see the Wii's Wi-Fi as a broadband adaptor. I'd imagine that would up the numbers we could pull in for such an event.
If by 'come up with a hack,' you mean 'write an operating system...'
If by 'come up with a hack,' you mean 'write an operating system...'
For those who dabble in such things, does anyone know if the GameCube emulator for the PC does LAN Modes on compatible games? And not Online where the second player is the second controller - but actually supportive of the LAN modes built into the games?
Would it be possible to write a GCN emulator for the Wii? Is the Wii actually powerful enough for such a thing?
Fun Fact: Since we're kind of on the subject.
For those who have never seen it, in Mario Kart: Double Dash, the LAN Mode is a selection on the main menu screen - it only appears of you have a LAN Adapter in your GameCube.
What's really fun though - the Demo Disc (the ones for the in-store demo units) that contains a Mario Kart: Double Dash preview... the LAN Option shows up on that menu - again, only if you have a LAN Adapter installed... but you can't select it at all. Just kinda neat.
Would it be possible to write a GCN emulator for the Wii? Is the Wii actually powerful enough for such a thing?
No, at 1.5x specs of the GC, the Wii is far too weak to emulate the GC (a rule of thumb used to be that you'd need at least 10x power, and that would be with speed hacks). Instead, you'd need to rewrite the GC BIOS to take into account the additional hardware and emulate the LAN adapter. However, that additional hardware part is non-trivial because you'd have to write drivers for the Wii security and I/O systems, which the GC BIOS doesn't know exist. Going in the other direction, you might be able to run the GC game as Wii software, with hooks patched in memory to deal with the network and any Wii-isms. In either case, it would involve massive architecting that would be hard even if all of the technical information was publicly available.
No, at 1.5x specs of the GC,
Didn't Iwata or someone else at Nintendo say the Wii was 2 to 3 times more powerful than the GC?
It doesn't matter what they said. The Wii CPU and GPUs are clocked at 1.5x the GC, and the memory was roughly doubled (it's more complicated than that).
wonder hiw many times more powerful the Wii U will be over the Wii?
well considering I think someone said next E3 you'll see the more final design of the Wii U, I hope it has an expansion port, so it is future proofed. I had forgot about the GameCube's port, and that I actually used it for the GBA player. The Wii was future proofed as well in the controllers, but not the system itself.
The Wii U has USB ports, which is the modern version of expansion ports (unfortunately, Nintendo didn't do much with them on the Wii).
I learnt a lot from this feature, very interesting stuff here!
I'm especially into the SNES and N64 stuff, gotta love those add-ons!
Big thanks to Danny for digging up all this info and putting all in an easy to read manner, makes life easy for lazy people like me! ;D
We should really try a Warp Pipe Mario Kart match up. Who's in?
We should really try a Warp Pipe Mario Kart match up. Who's in?
Different Expansion Slots
Maybe if I can find all my stuff.
Oh wow, Warp Pipe and the LAN adapter. Never got a version of Warp Pipe to work right... something about the lappy I was using at the time... so long ago.
Never could get into PSO. Played it a few times but it seemed to mostly be people standing around chatting. No thanks. Plus it was a SEGA game and SEGA games *suck*! ;D
That annoyed me about PSO. When you found a group that wanted to play the game then it was great. I'm glad the Monster Hunter Community isn't super chatty like the PSO one was.
The Wii U has USB ports, which is the modern version of expansion ports (unfortunately, Nintendo didn't do much with them on the Wii).
But you can't add more RAM to a system via a USB port, can you? Yet the N64 had an expansion port which allowed just that, and Nintendo released the RAM pack so it actually happened. It might not be a bad idea for Nintendo to include a port in the Wii U to allow the RAM to be expanded at some future point so that it can remain competitive against the PS4/420.
If that can be done via a USB port, then fine, but everything I know or think I know about USB leads me to believe it isn't really capable of that so some other sort of port is required.
If the Wii U had a a spot for an internal HDD then it it would be the modern day equivalnet of the N64 memory expansion pack and port.
If the Wii U had a a spot for an internal HDD then it it would be the modern day equivalnet of the N64 memory expansion pack and port.
Wrong kind of memory expansion.
What BnM said.
But I would also like to see a port or slot or drive bay or whatever you call it for an internal HDD to be added if the user so desires. I understand if Nintendo doesn't want to bundle a $50 HDD in the system by default in order to cut costs, but it would be nice if the option existed for users to add one in themselves. The PS2 was that way, so its not like that is unprecedented.
But yes, that is separate from the RAM which would be nice if that could also be upgraded later on.
Ram can't be added vi any cost effective standard connector, I think Infiniband and like is fast enough.
I have mixed feelings about RAM upgrades in consoles. Harddrive style space is sort of a non-issue but, RAM starts diversifying the spec and makes moving targets for developers.
Any game which would require a RAM upgrade could come bundled with the RAM upgrade. That's how it was with the N64 games which required the RAM Pak. I'm not sure how much a RAM module would cost, but hopefully it could be manageable.
Any game which would require a RAM upgrade could come bundled with the RAM upgrade. That's how it was with the N64 games which required the RAM Pak. I'm not sure how much a RAM module would cost, but hopefully it could be manageable.
That's partially it. I mean Capcom is citing a slightly bigger cart for RE:Rev as the $10 premium reason. Which is bull but, think if you had to pack in something else. Not to mention if its popular we as gamers have 10 or so of them. Not good for the environment.
In theory that's great but in Practice its Wii Motion+.
Nothing wrong with Wii Motion+. Even if Zelda Skyward Sword alone were the only game to support it that would make it a success in and of itself. Wasn't Zelda one of the games on the N64 which required the RAM Pak? Considering the N64 Zelda games were top notch and regularly top the lists of the greatest games of all time, I'd say that makes the N64 RAM Pak a success even if absolutely no other game ever supported it.
Didn't Sega teach us that add-ons are a bad idea, partly because they split the userbase? Adding anything significant to a system halfway through its market cycle just isn't a good idea. The N64 Expansion Pak and Wii Motion Plus are essentially just accessories, since only a handful of games actually require them. The Kinect and PSMove are a little more successful, but still aren't the new standard for those systems and haven't really gotten out of accessory status.
The only exception I can think of is the PlayStation's Dual Analogue and then Dual Shock controllers, but they were added before the system gained significant market share. There were also still few games that required them, so for people who bought one of the first systems they were not a necessity. This is also why the 3DS slide pad add-on may also work out, since it's happening early on and likely won't be required for just about everything.
Didn't Sega teach us that add-ons are a bad idea,
The way Sega did it was bad. The problem wasn't the addon itself or the idea, it was that it conflicted with the Saturn and competed with it which split Sega's resources and pissed off fans and developers alike. It should have either been the Neptune or the Saturn, but Sega released both and that was the problem. If it was just one or the other I think things would have turned out very differently.
Table of Contents
Related Content
| Video card information |
|---|
What kind of expansion slot should you use for your video card?
There's lots of slots
All Expansion Slots
To add a video card to your computer, you have to pick an expansion slot. There have been many kinds of expansion slots over the years so most motherboards contain more than one kind of slot. They usually have a few of the older slots and a few of the newer ones. The slots differ greatly in speed so you need to pick the right kind of slot.
The motherboard shown above includes most of the slots that you'll run into these days. It's a little unusual in that you don't often see motherboards which have both PCI-Express slots and an AGP slot. The best slot to use for video cards is the PCI-Express x16 slot. The next best is the AGP slot. The next best is a PCI-Express x1 slot but video cards which fit that slot are very hard to find as of late 2006. The worst choice for a video card is a PCI slot. If you're building or buying a new computer then be sure to get one with a PCI-Express x16 slot. You shouldn't buy anything else. Some low-budget computers are sold with integrated video and have neither a PCI-Express x16 slot or an AGP slot. With that kind of computer you're stuck using a very slow PCI slot when upgrading your video system. You definitely want to avoid that situation. Many low-budget computers with integrated video include either a PCI-Express x16 slot or an AGP slot so be sure to get one of those. That way you'll have good choices available if you decide to upgrade your video system. If you only have a PCI slot then your upgrade choices are extremely limited, underpowered, and overpriced.
| Slot kind | Year of introduction | Peak transfer speed |
|---|---|---|
| PCI-Express x16 | 2004 | 4 GB/s write speed and 4 GB/s read speed simultaneously |
| PCI-Express x1 | 2004 | 250 MB/s write speed and 250 MB/s read speed simultaneously |
| AGP 8X | 2002 | bandwidth shared between reads and writes to a maximum of 2.133 GB/s; many implementations are limited to 267 MB/s read speed |
| AGP 4X | 1998 | bandwidth shared between reads and writes to a maximum of 1.067 GB/s; many implementations are limited to 267 MB/s read speed |
| AGP 2X | 1996 | bandwidth shared between reads and writes to a maximum of 533 MB/s; many implementations are limited to 267 MB/s read speed |
| AGP 1X | 1996 | bandwidth shared between reads and writes to a maximum of 267 MB/s |
| PCI | 1993 | bandwidth shared between reads and writes to a maximum of 133 MB/s |
PCI-Express
PCI-Express is the newest kind of expansion slot used in PCs. It is technologically superior to the older slots in every way. PCI-Express can be referred to using various names: PCI-Express, PCIe, or PCI-E. They all mean exactly the same thing. There's another completely different and incompatible bus called PCI-X so be sure not to get them confused. Despite the similarity in names, there's no hardware compatibility of any kind between PCI and PCI-Express. You can't plug PCI cards into PCI-Express slots or vice versa. It was just the computer industry doing their level best to confuse people. (Just for the record, the USB 2.0, USB High Speed, USB Full Speed naming debacle is the current leader in 'the most confusing naming convention in existance' competition. The PCI-Express, PCI confusion is somewhat farther down the list.)
In PCI-Express x16, the 'x16' part is pronounced, 'times sixteen' or 'by sixteen'. The number following the 'x' is the number of PCI-Express lanes in the slot. The more lanes in the slot, the faster it can go. The motherboard picture above shows both a x16 slot and a x1 slot. Video cards are normally designed to fit in x16 slots since they are the fastest. You can also get video cards designed for x1 slots. Those are normally used only if you want more than one video card in the computer. Most motherboards have one PCI-Express x16 slot for a video card and one or more x1 slots for other things like network adapters. Less common are x4 and x8 slots. You can 'up-plug' PCI-Express cards. That means that you can plug a PCI-Express x1 expansion card into a PCI-Express x1, x4, x8, or x16 expansion slot and it will work (as long as the motherboard BIOS doesn't have bugs). The x1 expansion card can only run at x1 speed in any of those slots but it will work. Likewise, you can plug x4 expansion cards into x4, x8, and x16 slots and you can plug x8 expansion cards (if you can find one) into x8 and x16 slots. But you can't 'down-plug' PCI-Express cards because an expansion card with a higher number of lanes (the 'x' value) physically won't fit into an expansion slot with a lower number of lanes. For example, a x16 expansion card won't fit into a x8, x4, or x1 slot.
When it comes to video cards, some motherboards can be extremely picky about up-plugging. You should always be able to plug a x1, x4, or x8 video card into a x16 PCI-Express slot and have it work. It may only run at x1 speeds but it should work nonetheless. Unfortunately, many motherboards have problems with video card up-plugging. As time passes, the motherboard BIOSes should have better support for up-plugging video cards but for now it may not work. Plugging a x16 video card into a x16 slot always works and plugging a x1 video card into a x1 slot almost always works but the other combinations may not work properly. If you have problems up-plugging a video card then you should go to the motherboard manufacturer's website and update the motherboard BIOS. That's where they will fix problems with expansion card up-plugging.
Various Expansion Slots Minecraft
Some motherboards come with two PCI-Express x16 slots so you can run two full speed video cards at once. This is normally used only by serious gamers who want the highest possible performance in 3D games. NVIDIA has a dual-card implementation called SLI and ATI has a version called CrossFire. In these modes, both video cards work together on the same game to increase performance. Many motherboards with two PCI-Express x16 slots have special rules about using the second x16 slot. With some motherboards you have to plug a small circuit board into the motherboard to enable the second x16 slot. Even when enabled, the second x16 slot may have special restrictions. In some cases that slot may not work with anything but video cards. The manual of a dual x16 slot motherboard will tell you if there are any restrictions related to its x16 slots. Don't assume that you can treat them like 'normal' PCI-Express slots unless the motherboard manual says so.
AGP
The AGP slot was the standard slot used by video cards before it was replaced by PCI-Express x16 slots. They are four different AGP speeds. AGP 8X is pronounced 'AGP eight times'. The eight refers to the speed. There are also slower speeds of 4, 2, and 1 times. When it comes to games, as of late 2006, there is very little speed benefit in going faster than AGP 4X (about 1 GB/s). You gain at most a few percent by going from AGP 4X to a faster slot. As time passes it will make more of a difference. As of late 2006, AGP has a much more limited selection of video cards than PCI-Express x16. AGP cards are usually more expensive than PCI-Express x16 cards in the same speed range. On top of that, the fastest video cards are not available for AGP at all. Basically, AGP is in the process of being orphaned. If you're getting a new computer then make sure that it uses PCI-Express x16 rather than AGP.
You do have to be a little careful when getting AGP cards because not all AGP cards are compatible with all AGP motherboards. If you go shopping for AGP cards right now then all you're likely to find are 'AGP 8X, 4X' cards. Those are compatible with any motherboard which supports AGP 4X or AGP 8X. But there are some old AGP 2X or AGP 1X video cards and there are also old AGP 2X or 1X motherboards. New video cards may not be compatible with old motherboards and old video cards may not be compatible with new motherboards. It's hard to buy the old AGP 2X 1X video cards or motherboards these days but you may run into them. That's why it pays to be careful. That's especially true if you're buying used hardware.
Each AGP card has one or two slots in its card edge. If a video card has the 3.3 volt slot, then it can use 3.3 volt signaling. If it has the 1.5 volt slot then it can use 1.5 volt signaling. If the card has both slots then it can use both signaling voltages. The newest version of AGP added support for 0.8 volt signaling but it did not add a new kind of slot. If a video card supports either 1.5 volt or 0.8 volt signaling then it has the 1.5 volt slot.
The AGP connectors on the motherboard are keyed to prevent insertion of AGP cards which would be damaged if plugged in. An AGP 3.3V motherboard connector can only accept AGP cards which have the 3.3V slot. If you try to insert a card without a 3.3V slot into an AGP 3.3V motherboard connector, the card will bump into the connector key and cannot be inserted. Likewise an AGP 1.5V motherboard connector can only accept AGP cards with the 1.5V slot. An AGP universal motherboard connector has no keys and therefore can accept any kind of AGP card. An AGP card with both voltage slots can be plugged into any kind of AGP motherboard connector. If you can plug an AGP card into an AGP motherboard connector, then they are compatible. So you need to check to see that the video card can fit into the motherboard connector to know if they are compatible. This page gives you a more detailed explanation of the rules AGP compatibility.
PCI
You can still get video cards for PCI slots but they tend to be obsolete and overpriced. The selection is very limited. Many low-end computers come with integrated graphics rather than a separate video card. This is done to cut costs. Unfortunately, integrated graphics are very poor performers at 3D graphics. If you don't play games, then integrated graphics may be just fine. But if you'd like to increase the graphics performance then you need to add a 'real' video card. Unfortunately, some computer manufacturers make some low-end models with integrated graphics which do not have either AGP or PCI-Express x16 slots. You should never buy such a computer. Integrated graphics are okay as long as you have the option to upgrade if you need to. But if you buy one of those bad low-end machines then your only graphics upgrade option is to use a PCI slot. PCI will be a serious performance bottleneck. And you'll get stuck buying an expensive, obsolete, PCI video card. The best way to avoid this miserable fate is to avoid buying these crippled computers in the first place. Make sure that your new computer has an AGP slot or (preferably) a PCI-Express x16 slot. It will save you lots of grief (and money) if you decide to upgrade your graphics system.
When purchasing PCI video cards you need to be careful about compatibility with the PCI expansion slots on the motherboard. There are two things which vary in PCI expansion slots: the voltage, and the number of bits. PCI Slots can support either 3.3 volts or 5 volts. PCI has a system of keys which only allows expansion cards to fit into the motherboard connector if it provides the correct voltage. As shown in the picture above, a 5 volt PCI motherboard connector has a key near the right end. A 5 volt PCI expansion card has a slot which lines up with the key. That allows you to plug a 5 volt PCI card into a 5 volt PCI connector. You can see a 'real' PCI connector in the motherboard picture above. 3.3 volts is similar but its key is near the left end. This system allows you to plug 5 volt cards into 5 volt PCI connectors but not into 3.3 volt PCI connectors. Likewise, you can only plug 3.3 volt cards into 3.3 volt PCI connectors and not into 5 volt connectors. If the expansion card can run on both 3.3 and 5 volts then it has both slots and fits into both 3.3 and 5 volt PCI motherboard connectors. PCI expansion slots also support two different widths: 32 bits, and 64 bits. The 64 bit motherboard connector is longer than a 32 bit connector. Most PC motherboards come with 32 bit slots but some come with 64 bit slots. A 32 bit PCI expansion card will work fine in a 64 bit slot. PCI video cards are 32 bit cards.
Most PCI slots on PC motherboards are 32 bit, 5 volt slots. Most PCI video cards are also 32 bits and 5 volts. Many of the PCI video cards also support 3.3 volts. As a result, most PCI video cards work fine in most PCs. However, there are some motherboards out there with other kinds of PCI slots. 64 bit, 3.3 volt slots are common in workstation-oriented motherboards. If you want to use one of those then you'll need a PCI video card which supports 3.3 volts. So, before purchasing a PCI video card it's a good idea to make sure that the PCI video card and motherboard are compatible. If the PCI video card fits into the motherboard expansion connector then they're compatible.
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