IDF Fall 2002 : final AGP 3.0 specifications

Intel announced the final specifications of AGP 3.0. It technically defines AGP 8x solution, the direct successor of AGP 4x, and is the intellectual property of Intel, licensed free of charge.

AGP8x doubles data transfer rate comparing to AGP4x, being backward compatible with the latter. It has been developed by joint efforts of Intel, ATI, NVIDIA, Matrox and 3Dlabs.

In Q4 2002 Intel is to announce two new chipsets, codenamed Placer and Granite Bay, intended for high- and low-end workstations. The similar mainstream desktop solution is to appear next fall.

AGP8x will become the last parallel interface, meeting the requirements of computer industry, before the transition to PCI Express solutions in 2004.