ATI Mobility FireGL V5250

The ATI Mobility FireGL V5250 is a professional mobile graphics solution from AMD, built on the M66 chip using the Ultra-Threaded SE architecture. Manufactured on a 90 nm process at TSMC, this end-of-life part integrates 157 million transistors on a 150 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 1.0M / mm². The card targets workstation-class tasks in laptops, with a memory subsystem and feature set oriented toward precision and compatibility rather than raw gaming throughput.

Memory Subsystem

The Mobility FireGL V5250 comes equipped with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory, arranged across a 128-bit bus. The memory clock is specified at 350 MHz, which translates to 700 Mbps effective data rate. This configuration results in a total memory bandwidth of 11.20 GB/s. For a professional mobile GPU of its era, this bandwidth figure is modest, but it is paired with a relatively small frame buffer that suits the intended workloads of the time—primarily CAD, 3D modeling, and visualization tasks that do not demand massive texture datasets. At high resolutions, the 256 MB capacity can become a limiting factor, as large viewport buffers or multi-sample anti-aliasing can quickly exhaust available VRAM. Benchmark data indicates that the card sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, suggesting balanced, mid-pack performance in its generation. The 128-bit bus width, while narrower than high-end desktop parts, is adequate for the pixel and texture rates this chip can sustain, but users targeting 1600x1200 or higher resolutions with heavy textures will likely encounter memory pressure.

Power and Cooling

The FACT PACK does not list a TDP, slot width, or power connector requirements for the Mobility FireGL V5250. Similarly, no suggested PSU wattage is provided, and the card lacks any dedicated power connector specification. As a mobile part, it draws power from the laptop's internal power delivery system rather than a desktop PSU. The absence of these figures in the data means power consumption must be discussed qualitatively: the 90 nm process and 157 million transistor count imply a moderate thermal envelope, typical of professional mobile GPUs from that period. Cooling would have been handled by the laptop's integrated thermal solution, likely a combination of heat pipes and a small fan, given the end-of-life status and the product's positioning. The bus interface is PCIe 1.0 x16, which is standard for the generation and does not impose unusual power delivery requirements. Without explicit numbers, the practical takeaway is that system integrators designed around this GPU would have provisioned cooling for a mid-range mobile workload, not an extreme one.

Benchmark Performance

No benchmark scores are provided in the FACT PACK, and the average benchmark score is listed as 0. The percentile ranking against all GPUs is 50, which places the Mobility FireGL V5250 exactly at the median of the database's tracked graphics hardware. This percentile is a relative measure—it indicates that half of all GPUs tracked perform better and half perform worse. However, without specific scores or nearest rivals, interpreting absolute performance is constrained. The pixel rate is 5.400 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 5.400 GTexel/s, with 12 TMUs and 12 ROPs. These figures suggest a balanced design where pixel fill and texture fill are identical, meaning the card is not bottlenecked in one sub-system relative to the other. For a professional card, this balance is sensible: geometry and fill-rate demands in CAD or DCC applications benefit from symmetric throughput. The lack of a shading unit count in the FACT PACK prevents a deeper shader-level analysis, but the 12 TMU and 12 ROP configuration points to a mid-range part. The memory bandwidth of 11.20 GB/s, when divided by the pixel rate, yields roughly 2.07 bytes per pixel, which is tight for high-resolution color and depth buffers, reinforcing that the card's sweet spot is moderate resolutions and precision-focused workloads.

How It Compares

The FACT PACK lists no nearest rivals for the ATI Mobility FireGL V5250. Consequently, direct comparisons against specific competing GPUs cannot be made using numeric deltas or scores. The percentile field (50) provides the only positional context: the card is neither a standout performer nor a laggard within the entire GPU database. In the professional mobile segment of its generation, this placement suggests it was a solid middle-tier offering—capable of handling mainstream workstation tasks but not intended for top-tier simulation or heavy rendering. The successor is listed as FirePro Mobility, which indicates AMD's product lineage continued, but no predecessor is named. The architecture, Ultra-Threaded SE, was AMD's approach to parallel processing at the time, and the 90 nm process was a mature node for that period. Without rival data, the analysis must rest on the internal consistency of the specs: the pixel and texture rates are equal, the memory bus is 128-bit, and the VRAM is 256 MB, all aligning to a coherent mid-range profile.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Mobility FireGL V5250 does not include any dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as neither field is populated in the FACT PACK. This is consistent with its architecture generation, where ray tracing was not a hardware feature in mainstream or professional GPUs. The API support is limited to DirectX 9.0c (Shader Model 9_3) and OpenGL 2.1; Vulkan is not listed, indicating no support for that modern API. The Ultra-Threaded SE architecture was designed for high-throughput parallel shading, but it predates the compute-centric features of later generations. For professional use, the OpenGL 2.1 support is notable—many CAD applications of that era relied heavily on OpenGL for viewport acceleration, and this card's driver stack would have targeted those workloads. The absence of tensor cores means no AI-accelerated features, and the lack of RT cores means no hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The feature set is purely rasterization-based, with a focus on precision and compatibility rather than advanced effects. The pixel rate of 5.400 GPixel/s and texture rate of 5.400 GTexel/s are the key throughput metrics, and they are identical, which simplifies workload balancing.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory size and type of the ATI Mobility FireGL V5250?

A: The card features 256 MB of GDDR3 memory, which is a modest amount for its generation.

Q: Does the Mobility FireGL V5250 support DirectX 11 or Vulkan?

A: No. The supported APIs are DirectX 9.0c (with Shader Model 9_3) and OpenGL 2.1; Vulkan is not supported.

Q: What is the bus interface of this GPU?

A: It uses PCIe 1.0 x16, which is standard for the era in which it was produced.

Q: How does the card's performance rank among all GPUs in the database?

A: It sits at the 50th percentile, meaning exactly half of all tracked GPUs perform better and half perform worse.

Q: Are there any ray tracing or tensor cores in this GPU?

A: No. The FACT PACK lists no RT cores or tensor cores, confirming the card lacks hardware acceleration for ray tracing or AI processing.

Q: What is the manufacturing process for the chip?

A: The chip is built on a 90 nm process at TSMC, with 157 million transistors on a 150 mm² die.

Q: What is the effective memory clock speed?

A: The memory runs at 350 MHz, which equates to 700 Mbps effective data rate, yielding 11.20 GB/s of bandwidth.