When the original AGP was introduced, it was a big step in computer graphics since it presented an alternative to the slow PCI slot that was hindering the display of juicy eyecandy on our screens. After everybody got boards with AGP, it was time for AGP 2 that was "twice as fast" than the original AGP but it was hard to tell any difference at all.
Right now, we are using AGP 4X that makes our AGP texturing operation hellishly fast, but this is a year of "evolution" so we need to see a new AGP that will once again tempt many folk to go out and buy a new motherboard. We wonder if the "quantum leap" and "paradigm" shift from 4X to 8X will wow us this time around.
There are some clear benefits that will eventually become apparent from AGP 8X, but it won"t apply to any game that you can buy this autumn.