AGP 4X data transfer?

[byron_b]

I have the following system config:

Biostar M7MKE MB/Slot A K7 Athlon, VIA VT8371 KX133 chipset
550 MHZ K7 Classic OC'd with Golden Fingers by ComputerNerd
651MHZ
768 MB PC133 PNY (3 256MB chips)
SiS 315 AG315-64 64MB 4x AGP vid card
12x DVD
8x4x32 Creative cd-rw
10GB Quantum HD
3Com ADSL PCI modem
Sound Blaster CT4520 Awe 64 sound
21" Applevision 850/850AV
Win2k Pro

Latest BIOS, Via 4-n-1, chipset for vid card installed in last 2 weeks.

My quandry: Biostar M7MKE supports 4x data transfer rate.
SiSoftSandra reports:
AGP bus:
Version: 2.00
Bus speed: 66MHZ
Current data transfer rate: 2x(132Mhz)
Max data transfer rate: 4x
Side band enabled: No
Side Band supported: Yes
Fast writes enabled: No
Aperture size: 128MB

WCPUID 3.0g also reports 2x transfer.

How do I enable 4xtransfer rate?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[takiwa]

Welcome to the forums!

You will have a setting in the BIOS for changing your AGP rate. If you don't, then you may be able to do it through software...but I am unfamiliar with the BioStar board, so maybe someone else can give you more detailed instructions on changing the BIOS settings...good luck!

[byron_b]

Thanks for your reply. You are absolutely correct...there is a setting in BIOS <Advanced Chipset> and it is set to 4x mode enabled and the problem still persists.

I am about ready to throw the whole shooting match in the trash and start over. There is nothing left to upgrade, flash or otherwise enhance that I am aware of and I cannot overcome this problem.

i am in a wheelchair from a car accident and I have just finished my 2nd Microsoft Certification, MCSE NT 4.0, MCSE Windows 2000, and have secured my first job...the point of all that was that money is very tight as I have only been teaching now for 2 weeks. My money situation is the reason I am trying so hard to get this to work or otherwise I would buy some high-end components and this would be a moot issue.

Your advice is tremendously appreciated!

Sincerely,
Byron

[DaddyB]

Check out This Article (http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=68) , it has a reg hack to enable agp 4x. I have also found other articles Here (http://www.viahardware.com/faq/kt7/faqagp.html) and Here (http://www.viahardware.com/agp4xfix.shtm) that will help you to understand the issue and possibly fix it. some of the info is written about geforce cards specifically but the info is still relevant. one thing i want to add is that you should never turn up your agp driving control/value to FF, it damaged one of my cards.

basically the problem lies with the via 133 chipsets, although I have only seen one article in which they admitted it. both ATi and Nvidia (and apparently others) have something in their drivers to disable agp 4x on most or all via 133 chipsets. agp 4x is pretty buggy on those chipsets and the card makers got tired of trying to fix the problem, since via denied that a problem existed. I hate to say it but your best bet is to leave it at agp 2x, as you probably won't even see a performance increase and enabling agp 4x may cause some stability issues. if you want to try it out then the links i posted should give you all the info you need to be able to use agp 4x. best of luck.... and....

Welcome to the Forum