ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 SE

The ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 SE is a legacy mobile graphics processor built on the R300 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 130 nm process with 76 million transistors on a 92 mm² die. Released on May 31, 2004, it is now end-of-life, and its benchmark data places it at the 50th percentile of all GPUs, indicating a mid-pack position for its era. This analysis draws exclusively on the provided fact pack to detail its power, memory, competitive standing, and feature set.

Power and Cooling

The fact pack does not specify a TDP (thermal design power) figure for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 SE. Consequently, no wattage or thermal output can be stated. The absence of this data means that power consumption must be discussed qualitatively. Given its 130 nm process node and mobile-oriented design (the chip is designated M10), the GPU is likely to have been a modest consumer of power, suited for notebook integration rather than desktop power supplies. The fact pack also provides no suggested PSU rating, no power connector requirements, and no slot width. For a mobile part, these are typically irrelevant, as power is drawn from the laptop’s internal supply. The bus interface is AGP 4x, which is a legacy connection standard that carries both data and power for graphics cards, but for this mobility chip, the connector specifics are not documented. In summary, the data shows no explicit power or cooling constraints, implying the design was intended to fit within the thermal envelope of contemporary laptops without external power connectors.

Who Should Consider It

Benchmark results for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 SE are absent (avgBenchmarkScore is 0), and no nearest rivals are listed. However, the percentile rank of 50 across all GPUs provides a positional reference. This suggests that the GPU sits exactly in the middle of the performance distribution, meaning it was neither a high-end nor an entry-level part at its time. For users of that era, this would have been appropriate for mainstream gaming at modest settings. The memory subsystem (128 MB DDR, 64-bit bus, 3.200 GB/s bandwidth) indicates that high resolutions and heavy texture loads would strain the part. Therefore, it is best suited for 1024x768 or lower resolutions, with detail settings reduced to medium or low. At higher resolutions, the limited bandwidth of 3.200 GB/s would become a bottleneck, leading to frame rate drops. Users who prioritize playable frame rates over visual fidelity would have found this GPU acceptable for older DirectX 9.0 titles. For modern applications, its DirectX 9.0 (9_0) support and OpenGL 2.0 API are insufficient for current games, so it is only relevant for retro gaming or legacy software. The data does not support any recommendation for high-refresh or high-resolution displays.

Memory Subsystem

The ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 SE ships with 128 MB of DDR memory, operating at a clock speed of 200 MHz with an effective data rate of 400 Mbps. The memory bus width is 64 bit, which is narrow compared to many desktop parts of the same generation. Multiplying the bus width by the effective clock yields a peak bandwidth of 3.200 GB/s, as stated in the fact pack. This figure is critical: 3.200 GB/s is a modest throughput that limits how much texture data and geometry can be streamed per second. In practical terms, this bandwidth constrains performance at high resolutions (e.g., 1600x1200) and with high-resolution textures, where the GPU would be forced to wait for data transfers. The 128 MB capacity is also a limiting factor, as larger frame buffers allow for higher color depths and larger textures, but 128 MB was typical for mid-range mobile GPUs in 2004. The pixel rate of 1.000 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1.000 GTexel/s align with the memory bandwidth, indicating a balanced but low-throughput design. For users, this means that the GPU performs adequately at lower resolutions (1024x768 and below) but will show stuttering or reduced frame rates when memory bandwidth is saturated. The absence of a wider 128-bit bus (as seen in some rivals) is a notable weakness, as the 64-bit bus halves the potential bandwidth for a given memory clock.

How It Compares

The fact pack lists no nearest rivals for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 SE. Therefore, direct comparisons cannot be made with specific competitor names or scores. The percentile rank of 50 versus all GPUs provides a general anchor: this GPU outperforms half of the GPUs in the database and underperforms the other half. Without rival data, it is impossible to state percentage deltas or relative standing against specific models. The predecessor is listed as M9, and the successor is M2x, but no performance scores for these are provided. The chip architecture (R300) is shared with other ATI parts, but without named rivals, any comparison would be speculative. The absence of benchmark scores (avgBenchmarkScore = 0) further reinforces that no quantitative comparison is possible from the fact pack. In qualitative terms, the 64-bit memory bus and 128 MB capacity place it below higher-end mobile GPUs of its generation, which typically had 128-bit buses and larger frame buffers. The 4 TMUs and 4 ROPs are modest counts, suggesting it was positioned as a mainstream mobile solution rather than a performance part.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark data for this GPU is entirely empty: the benchmarks array is empty, and the average benchmark score is 0. This means no performance metrics (e.g., frame rates, synthetic scores) are available for analysis. The percentile rank of 50 is the sole performance indicator, and it is a relative measure, not an absolute score. Interpreting this, a 50th percentile rank implies that the GPU performs at the median level of all GPUs in the database. In practical terms, this would correspond to a GPU that is neither fast nor slow for its time, but the lack of exact scores prevents any percentage comparison to rivals. The nearestRivals field is also empty, so no deltaPct values exist to quantify differences. Consequently, any claim about being "30% ahead" or "20% behind" is impossible to substantiate from the fact pack. The pixel rate of 1.000 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1.000 GTexel/s are theoretical maximums, not benchmark results, and they indicate a fill-rate capability that is low by modern standards but typical for a 2004 mobile chip. The memory bandwidth of 3.200 GB/s is the most telling number: it is a hard ceiling on data throughput, and benchmark results, if they existed, would likely show this GPU struggling in bandwidth-intensive scenes. The lack of benchmark scores means that the only verdict is that it sits at the 50th percentile, which is a neutral position.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 SE?

A: The memory bandwidth is 3.200 GB/s, derived from a 64-bit bus and DDR memory running at 200 MHz (400 Mbps effective).

Q: What DirectX version does this GPU support?

A: It supports DirectX 9.0 (specifically the 9_0 feature level) and OpenGL 2.0. It does not support Vulkan.

Q: How many texture mapping units (TMUs) and raster operations units (ROPs) does it have?

A: It has 4 TMUs and 4 ROPs, yielding a pixel rate of 1.000 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1.000 GTexel/s.

Q: What is the process node and transistor count?

A: It is fabricated on a 130 nm process at TSMC, with 76 million transistors on a die size of 92 mm².

Q: Is this GPU still in production?

A: No, its production status is "End-of-life." It was released on May 31, 2004, and its predecessor is M9, with a successor of M2x.

Q: What is the bus interface for this mobile chip?

A: The bus interface is AGP 4x, which is a legacy connection standard. No display outputs or power connectors are specified in the data.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 SE has no ray tracing cores (rtCores is null) and no tensor cores (tensorCores is null). This is expected for a GPU from 2004, as ray tracing hardware did not exist in consumer products at that time. The architecture is R300, which was ATI's first fully DirectX 9.0-compatible design, and the chip is designated M10. The API support is limited to DirectX 9.0 (9_0) and OpenGL 2.0; there is no Vulkan support. In terms of feature set, this means the GPU is capable of running DirectX 9.0-era games with shader model 2.0 features, but it cannot handle later DirectX versions (10, 11, 12) or any modern ray-traced effects. The shading units are listed as null, so the exact count of pixel or vertex shader processors is not provided. However, the 4 TMUs and 4 ROPs indicate a simple pipeline. The lack of RT and tensor cores is a definitive limitation: any game requiring hardware-accelerated ray tracing or AI-based features (DLSS, etc.) will not run on this GPU. The feature set is purely rasterization-based, relying on the fixed-function and programmable shader pipeline of DirectX 9.0. The memory type is DDR, not GDDR or newer variants, and the 128 MB capacity is small by any standard. For connectivity, the bus interface is AGP 4x, which offers lower bandwidth than PCIe but was standard for laptops of its era. The display outputs are not specified, but the GPU would have supported analog VGA or DVI outputs typical of 2004 notebooks. Overall, the feature set is minimal by modern standards, and the GPU is only relevant for legacy software that uses DirectX 9.0 or OpenGL 2.0.