can't enable AGP 8x

i just built a new computer:

windows XP sp1a
Abit IC7-G
P4 2.8c
ATI Radeon 9800pro 128MB RAM

but i can't set it to 8x AGP in the display settings ... it's set at off ... i've tried all the BIOS magic i can think of, and there doesn't appear to be too many options in the BIOS ... and i know i should be getting higher than 999 in 3DMark 05 and im sure it has to do with the AGP setting or lack there of

i have the latest drivers and BIOS

 

There is no place in the BIOS to set it? Maybe need an upgrade? I had to do that right out of the box with this Gigabyte board.

All the MB drivers updated?

You do have the power Molex connected to the video card right?

Just shootin' some ideas your way.

 

Does your motherboard actually support agp 8x?

 

Yes it does.

 

i have the latest BIOS(as the first thing i did was update it) ... im thinking it's the mobo drivers, ill reinstall everything 2night ... hopefully that will fix the problem

 

How is the mobo so far?
I was thinking of buying the IC7-G...

 

There are several settings in bios that affect Graphics & performance.
There are settings in your bios for Agp & PCI graphics, refer to chapter 3 in your mobo manual, if you dont have one you can download at Abit web site.

There is a lot of misconception of bios settings related to graphics.
Here is great Bios guide and it FREE!:
http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?location=7&var1=18
Use the guide most of all settings are covered, Default setting are not always the best. Ya might as well check out all your settings!

Another thought are you sure your not running 8x already, download Everest:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html
and see click on: Motherboard/Chipset will list AGP properties and show the current speed!

Another thing The latest drivers for that 9800pro may not get you the best performance.

 

i just reinstalled and it *was* the chipset drivers ... as i had negleted to install them properly

irt beermonkey ... i like the board so far ... i get more than 17000 in 3dmark 01 and 2200 in 05 (w/o any real tweaking) ... my only problem is the BIOS is that my old computer(the one in my sig, hafta change that) that mobo had a much better BIOS as i had alot more control over the hardware ... I would say the best thing about the IC7-G is its overclocking features as you can manipulate everything including voltage and AGP/PCI ratios , etc ... so if you're not going to overclock i would recommend another board ... but http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030707/i875p-01.html rated an MSI(not sure which model) as the best performer(with the IC7-G holding its own I might add) ... while i dont have any regrets that's something to consider ... from what everyone says it seems ASUS is the most stable, so I would think that would be the best bet if you don't want to deal with oddball quirks and such ... but if you don't need alot of features you may consider the Abit AI7, as it costs less, although you will not be able to use motherboard monitor as from my understanding Abit won't release the source code for its "uGuru" chip