pci list shows system board transfer as 1x

[surferpop]

My system is working fine but I just checked
pcilist and it shows system board transfer as
1x, graphics card support at 1x,2x and traffic currently enabled as 1x. As of 2 days ago it showed sbt as 2x, gcs as 1x,2x and traffic currently enabled as 2x.I made no changes to the system during this time.

When I set up my new system I had to use
agp switch to force 2x. For some reason it
no longer works.The registry still shows
agp fallback 1 and agp flags -1, which I believe are the correct settings.

My system:
P3 650@854,BE6-2,256 mb Micron cas2,g400max
@10% over using the tweak utility,xitel storm
platinum, Ibm 20 gb hd, diamond home network
card, etc.

My system was very stable last week and is very stable now.I just ran the 3dmark default
benchmark and got a score of 3557/270.

My main concern is with the mobo showing as 1x and I'm curious why agp switch no longer works.

Any ideas?

[Wombat]

Are you sure it's enabled in the BIOS?
What happens if you don't overclock?

[surferpop]

Wombat,
Thanks, I checked my bios and somehow my agp
setting got changed to normal. I switched it
to fast and voila, agp2x.
I REALLY love simple solutions.
Thanks again.

[paulcs]

When I first started overclocking my PIII, I got it to 129 MHz (or 133, I can't remember), and I was still getting reports AGP 2x transfers with my G400. Maggi thought this was odd, and it was.

I updated drivers soon after, and the system became unstable until I forced AGP 1x. I reverted back to the first set, and I still had stability problems at AGP 2x. I suspect the board was never truly doing 2x transfers, despite reports to the contrary, and the stability problems arose when I forced the issue.

Although some people report they are running at AGP 2x at high FSB speeds, stability problems are the norm with this feature enabled, and I just don't think it's worth it. The benefits of AGP 2x are few and often not noticable; the benefits of overclocking your Coppermine above 800 MHz are obvious. I think it's a good tradeoff.

I noticed the same thing with a TNT2 Ultra with the AGP bus at 89 MHz. With AGP 2x support enabled, it was unstable. After forcing AGP 1x, and it stabilized.

I know the G400, if it notices something wrong, will default to AGP 1x automatically. When it does this because of motherboard noise, it can be annoying. When it does it because AGP is running at 89 MHz, I would call it self-preservation.

I don't know why you can no longer force AGP 2x. It could be your motherboard. I wouldn't worry about it. Now, when I run the FSB of a BX board at 133 MHz, I force AGP 1x the minute I boot into Windows. I just don't consider it a bit deal.

Good job with the overclock. Do you know if your Coppermine is stepping 1 or 2?

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[paulcs]

Wow, it took less time for Wombat to propose a solution and for you to implement it than it did for me to write my response.

I have to start making shorter posts.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[surferpop]

paulcs,
Thanks for your response.The info you provided was very helpful.I think I'll
force agp1x and try to go a little higher.
The p3 is a slot1, retail, original stepping.
Alpha air cooling.