ATI Mobility Radeon X1800

The ATI Mobility Radeon X1800, built on the 90 nm process at TSMC, is a mobile graphics processor from the M5x generation (Mobility X1). It uses the Ultra-Threaded SE architecture and packs 312 million transistors on a 288 mm² die. Launched on February 28, 2006, this part is now end-of-life and was designed for MXM-III modules, making it a product of its era rather than a modern contender.

Power and Cooling

The data for the ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 shows no TDP figure, no suggested PSU rating, and no power connector specifications. This is typical for mobile GPUs of this class, as the entire MXM module is designed to be powered through the laptop’s own power delivery system, not through a desktop power supply. The slot width is listed as "MXM Module," and the bus interface is MXM-III, meaning the card is a removable, standardized module for notebooks.

Because no TDP is provided, any discussion of cooling must remain qualitative. In practice, a mobile GPU from this generation would rely on the laptop’s integrated thermal solution — typically a heat pipe and fan assembly designed specifically for the chassis. The absence of a TDP number means the benchmark database cannot estimate system-level power draw, so builders or upgraders should treat this as a component that requires the original laptop’s cooling system to be in good working order. With a 90 nm process and 312 million transistors, the thermal density is moderate by modern standards, but the lack of official power figures means no specific PSU or connector requirements can be stated. If you are integrating this MXM module into a compatible laptop, the motherboard and power brick must match the module’s electrical requirements, which are not documented in this fact pack.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 does not support ray tracing or tensor cores — the fact pack lists neither RT cores nor tensor cores, and both fields are null. This is expected for a GPU from 2006, as those features were not part of the graphics landscape at that time. The API support is limited to DirectX 9.0c (shader model 9_3) and OpenGL 2.1. No Vulkan support is listed, which means the card cannot run modern Vulkan-based titles.

What this means in practice is that the X1800 is strictly a legacy device. It can handle DirectX 9-era games and applications that rely on OpenGL 2.1, but it will not accelerate any modern rendering techniques such as hardware ray tracing, mesh shaders, or variable rate shading. The feature set is entirely defined by its 2006-era architecture — Ultra-Threaded SE — which was designed for the then-current generation of games. For anyone considering this GPU, the takeaway is clear: it is a piece of computing history, not a functional part of a modern gaming or productivity setup.

Memory Subsystem

The memory configuration of the ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 consists of 256 MB of GDDR3 VRAM on a 256-bit bus. The memory clock is listed as 504 MHz, translating to 1008 Mbps effective, which yields a bandwidth of 32.26 GB/s. This is a small amount of VRAM by any modern standard, but for 2006, 256 MB was a common configuration for high-end mobile parts.

The 256-bit bus width is actually quite wide for the era, which helps the card achieve that 32.26 GB/s bandwidth despite the relatively modest memory clock. However, at high resolutions — say, 1600x1200 or above — 256 MB of VRAM would quickly become a bottleneck. Textures, framebuffers, and geometry data would exceed the available memory, forcing the GPU to swap data in and out of system memory, which drastically reduces performance. The texture rate of 5.400 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 5.400 GPixel/s suggest the card can push pixels and texels at a rate that was respectable for its time, but the VRAM capacity is the limiting factor for any serious resolution scaling. For 1080p or higher, this card is not viable; it was designed for lower resolutions where 256 MB was sufficient.

How It Compares

The fact pack lists no nearest rivals for the ATI Mobility Radeon X1800. The `nearestRivals` array is empty, and there are no benchmark scores or percentile comparisons other than the overall percentileVsAllGpus of 50. This means the database does not currently hold comparative data against any specific competing GPU.

Without rival names or deltaPct values, it is not possible to position the X1800 against other mobile or desktop parts from its generation. The only contextual data point is the percentileVsAllGpus score of 50, which places it at the exact median of all GPUs in the database. This is a purely statistical position — it means that 50% of all GPUs scored lower and 50% scored higher, but it does not tell us which specific parts those are. For a 2006 mobile GPU, being at the 50th percentile of all GPUs ever tested is a plausible outcome, as many older and weaker parts would fall below it, while modern GPUs far exceed it.

Given the lack of rival data, any comparison must be limited to what the fact pack provides: the card sits exactly in the middle of the historical performance distribution. It is neither a standout nor a laggard when viewed against the entire database, but this is a meaningless metric for practical use — no one would choose this GPU for any current workload.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark results for the ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 are essentially non-existent in the fact pack. The `benchmarks` array is empty, and the `avgBenchmarkScore` is 0. This means there are no measured performance scores from any standardized benchmarks recorded in this database.

The only quantitative performance indicators are the pixel rate and texture rate: 5.400 GPixel/s and 5.400 GTexel/s, respectively. These are theoretical fill rates derived from the 12 ROPs and 12 TMUs running at the GPU’s clock. The memory bandwidth of 32.26 GB/s is also a hard figure. However, without actual benchmark scores, we cannot compute any percentage deltas versus rivals — there are no rivals to compare against.

The percentileVsAllGpus of 50 is the sole aggregate performance metric. It suggests that, in the database’s historical scoring, the X1800 sits at the median. But because the average benchmark score is zero, this percentile is likely based on a sparse or incomplete dataset. In practical terms, the data shows that the X1800 has no recorded benchmark performance, so any claims about its speed relative to other cards would be unsupported.

What we can infer from the raw numbers: 5.4 GPixel/s and 5.4 GTexel/s are low by modern standards but were competitive for high-end mobile GPUs in 2006. The 32.26 GB/s bandwidth is likewise modest today. Without benchmark scores, the database cannot confirm how these theoretical rates translate to real-world frame rates, but the era’s games would have been playable at lower resolutions and detail settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory size and type of the ATI Mobility Radeon X1800?

A: It has 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 32.26 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Does this GPU support DirectX 12 or Vulkan?

A: No. The API support is limited to DirectX 9.0c (shader model 9_3) and OpenGL 2.1. Vulkan is not supported.

Q: What is the manufacturing process and transistor count?

A: The GPU is fabricated on a 90 nm process at TSMC, containing 312 million transistors on a die size of 288 mm².

Q: Is this a desktop or laptop graphics card?

A: It is a mobile GPU designed for MXM-III modules. The slot width is listed as "MXM Module," and display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent," indicating laptop integration.

Q: What is the release date and production status?

A: It was released on February 28, 2006, and is now end-of-life. Its predecessor is the M2x and its successor is the M6x.

Q: What is the pixel and texture fill rate?

A: The pixel rate is 5.400 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 5.400 GTexel/s, based on 12 ROPs and 12 TMUs.

Q: Does the fact pack include any benchmark scores or rival comparisons?

A: No. The benchmarks array is empty, the average benchmark score is 0, and the nearestRivals list is empty. The only performance metric is the percentileVsAllGpus of 50, which places it at the median of all GPUs in the database.