ATI Mobility Radeon 9500

The ATI Mobility Radeon 9500 is a mobile GPU manufactured by AMD, built around the M10 chip and the R300 architecture, and fabricated by TSMC on a 130 nm process. The database places it at the 50th percentile of all GPUs, while the average benchmark score is recorded as 0.0 and the benchmark array is empty, so the analysis below draws on the recorded specification fields. It belongs to the M1x generation and the Mobility 9000 line, with M9 as its predecessor and M2x as its successor; the release date is 2004-05-31.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark section of this record is unpopulated. There are no entries in the benchmarks array, and the nearestRivals array is empty, so exact benchmark scores and percentage deltas against named competitors cannot be reported. The only comparative statistic present is the 50th percentile standing among all GPUs in the database. The average benchmark score of 0.0, combined with an empty benchmark list, indicates that no measured workload results are stored for this part. That leaves the percentile as the sole quantitative performance ranking in the record.

What the record does contain is a complete picture of the pipeline's rated throughput. The GPU has 4 texture mapping units and 4 render output units. The pixel rate is 920.0 MPixel/s, and the texture rate is 920.0 MTexel/s. The two figures match exactly, which means the pixel output stage and the texture fetch stage are provisioned to the same nominal rate; neither is rated to outpace the other. This symmetry suggests that a workload bound by pixel fill will encounter the same ceiling as one bound by texture fill. In terms of silicon, the M10 chip integrates 76 million transistors into a die size of 92 mm², producing a transistor density of 826.1K per mm² at the 130 nm process node.

The 50th percentile placement is the closest thing to a measured comparison in this record. It positions the ATI Mobility Radeon 9500 in the exact middle of the database's GPU distribution, with an equal number of recorded GPUs above and below it. The fill-rate figures support that characterization: 920.0 MPixel/s and 920.0 MTexel/s are modest throughput ceilings, not extremes. Because no rival deltas exist, these rates cannot be converted into comparative percentages, but they define the hardware's rated capability.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem of the ATI Mobility Radeon 9500 is composed of 128 MB of DDR memory on a 64-bit bus. The memory clock is listed at 190 MHz, with an effective data rate of 380 Mbps. The combination of the 64-bit data bus and the effective rate yields the recorded bandwidth of 3.040 GB/s, which is the total speed at which the GPU can move data to and from its local frame buffer. That bandwidth feeds the 4 TMUs and 4 ROPs as well as the rest of the R300 pipeline.

The 64-bit bus width is a defining feature of this design. All 3.040 GB/s must travel across that 64-bit path, so the bandwidth ceiling is tied directly to the narrow bus and the effective data rate. The 128 MB capacity is the other boundary: it determines how much color, depth, and texture data can reside on the GPU at one time. In high-resolution rendering, larger render targets consume more of the 128 MB, and heavier texture streaming consumes more of the 3.040 GB/s. If a scene needs more data than the local memory can hold, the GPU must reach across the AGP 4x bus interface to host memory, and that interface is separate from the dedicated 3.040 GB/s memory path.

The recorded numbers are internally consistent. The 190 MHz clock, the 380 Mbps effective rate, and the 64-bit bus all contribute to the 3.040 GB/s figure rather than some wider data path. That bandwidth, working alongside the 128 MB capacity, defines how demanding a scene can be before the memory subsystem becomes the limiting factor.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The database reports no RT cores and no tensor cores for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9500; both fields are null. No hardware ray tracing acceleration and no tensor-based compute capability are therefore recorded for this part. The feature set is built on the R300 fixed-function pipeline, which is represented by 4 TMUs, 4 ROPs, a texture rate of 920.0 MTexel/s, and a pixel rate of 920.0 MPixel/s. On the software side, the record lists DirectX 9.0 at the 9_0 feature level and OpenGL 2.0. Vulkan is not listed, and no shader model beyond the 9_0 feature level appears in the data.

The release date of 2004-05-31 places this GPU in the DirectX 9.0 (9_0) generation, and the recorded API set reinforces that orientation. Developers could target DirectX 9.0 (9_0) and OpenGL 2.0 with confidence; those are the only interfaces present. The absence of Vulkan and the null RT and tensor core fields are consistent with a GPU from that point in the product timeline. The AGP 4x bus interface is the only host connection recorded, and it rounds out the platform description. With a 50th percentile standing, the feature set sits in the middle of the database's GPU distribution, though the End-of-life production status records that the hardware itself is no longer manufactured.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals array in the database contains no entries, so there are no rival names, no rival scores, and no deltaPct values for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9500. No comparative percentage deltas can be cited against any specific competitor. The only comparative metric is the 50th percentile placement, which puts this GPU at the midpoint of the database's population by the database's own categorization.

The generational context comes from the M1x generation label, the Mobility 9000 line, the M9 predecessor, and the M2x successor. The R300 architecture and the M10 chip define the silicon, while the TSMC 130 nm process defines the manufacturing. The release date of 2004-05-31 anchors the product in time between its predecessor and successor. However, the database does not include specifications or benchmark entries for M9 or M2x, so the exact performance difference between this GPU and its immediate predecessor or successor cannot be quantified from this record; only the lineage is documented.

FAQ

Q: When did the ATI Mobility Radeon 9500 launch?

A: The release date recorded in the database is 2004-05-31.

Q: What is the memory configuration of this GPU?

A: It has 128 MB of DDR memory on a 64-bit bus, with a 190 MHz memory clock and a 380 Mbps effective data rate, producing a bandwidth of 3.040 GB/s.

Q: Does the ATI Mobility Radeon 9500 support ray tracing?

A: The RT cores field is null and the tensor cores field is null in the database, so no ray tracing or tensor acceleration is recorded. The pipeline is built around 4 TMUs and 4 ROPs.

Q: Which APIs does the database list for this GPU?

A: The record lists DirectX 9.0 at the 9_0 feature level and OpenGL 2.0; Vulkan is not listed.

Q: How many transistors does the M10 chip contain?

A: The M10 chip contains 76 million transistors on a 92 mm² die, fabricated by TSMC on a 130 nm process, giving a density of 826.1K per mm².

Q: Is this GPU still in production?

A: No. The production status is recorded as End-of-life.

Power and Cooling

The database provides no TDP value, no slot width, no power connector details, and no suggested PSU rating for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9500; all of those fields are null in the record. There are no wattage figures, no connector counts, and no power supply recommendations to report. The manufacturing fact most relevant to power behavior is the 130 nm TSMC process, which is the only process node information present. The product name includes "Mobility," indicating a notebook-oriented GPU, and the AGP 4x bus interface is the only connectivity datapoint recorded. No cooler specification appears in the data. The absence of power and cooling numbers is itself the notable finding for this section.

Who Should Consider It

The ATI Mobility Radeon 9500 is appropriate for software written to the DirectX 9.0 (9_0) and OpenGL 2.0 API levels, since those are the only API interfaces recorded. The 128 MB frame buffer and 3.040 GB/s memory bandwidth point toward resolutions and texture budgets that stay within a moderate footprint. At high resolutions, larger render targets will consume the 128 MB capacity more quickly, and heavier texture streaming will press against the 3.040 GB/s bandwidth. The pipeline's 920.0 MPixel/s pixel rate and 920.0 MTexel/s texture rate set the hard ceilings on pixel and texel processing per second, independent of memory pressure.

The 50th percentile ranking indicates a median-performance device, not a flagship, within the database's GPU population. The AGP 4x bus interface ties it to platforms that supply AGP 4x, and the Mobility naming ties it to a notebook form factor. The predecessor is M9 and the successor is M2x, but the database does not include specifications for those parts, so direct generational comparisons cannot be made from this record. Because the production status is End-of-life, this is a part for legacy AGP 4x notebooks running DirectX 9.0 (9_0) or OpenGL 2.0 content. Users requiring Vulkan, ray tracing, or tensor cores would find no support in the recorded feature set.