ATI Mobility Radeon X800

The ATI Mobility Radeon X800 is an end-of-life mobile graphics processor from AMD, built on the R400 architecture and manufactured by TSMC on a 130 nm process. The chip, designated M28, integrates 160 million transistors into a 289 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 553.6K per mm². Released on October 31, 2004, it belongs to the M2x generation (Mobility X1) and sits between the M1x predecessor and the M5x successor in the product line. In the benchmark database, it holds the 50th percentile position among all GPUs, although its average benchmark score is recorded as 0.

How It Compares

The data pack lists no nearest rivals for the Mobility Radeon X800, so direct numerical comparisons against specific competing GPUs are unavailable. However, the 50th percentile ranking places it exactly at the median of all GPUs tracked in the database. This is a meaningful signal: half of all GPUs in the database outperform it, and half underperform it. For a mobile part from late 2004, that median standing reflects a product that was neither a flagship nor an entry-level offering — it occupied the middle ground of the performance distribution.

The absence of rival entries also implies that the benchmark database has not accumulated enough comparable data points to draw head-to-head conclusions. The 0 average benchmark score reinforces this, suggesting that no validated benchmark runs have been recorded for this specific SKU. Consequently, any positional analysis must rely on architectural characteristics rather than measured performance deltas. The R400 architecture, with 12 texture mapping units and 12 render output units, places it in the same structural class as desktop GPUs of that era, but the mobile form factor likely imposed clock and thermal constraints that the database does not quantify.

Given the 50th percentile standing, the Mobility Radeon X800 would have been a reasonable mid-range choice for a gaming laptop in its day. The data, however, does not permit a more granular comparison — there are no percentage deltas to cite, no rival names to weigh, and no score distributions beyond the percentile figure itself.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Mobility Radeon X800 predates hardware ray tracing by more than a decade. The data pack lists no RT cores and no tensor cores for this GPU, which is consistent with its 2004 release date and the R400 architecture. DirectX support is limited to version 9.0b, specifically the 9_2 feature level. OpenGL 2.1 is supported, and there is no Vulkan support — Vulkan did not exist at the time this GPU was designed. The absence of Vulkan means modern Linux gaming and DXVK-based translation layers are not viable options for this hardware.

The feature set is therefore firmly rooted in the DirectX 9 era. Shader model 2.0-style capabilities, as implied by the 9_2 feature level, were the standard for games released around 2004–2005. The 12 TMUs and 12 ROPs provide the fixed-function and pixel-processing throughput that characterized that generation. Pixel fill rate is 4.800 GPixel/s, and texture fill rate is 4.800 GTexel/s — identical figures, which indicates a balanced design where each ROP pair is matched by a corresponding TMU. This symmetry is typical of mid-range GPUs of the era and suggests that the Mobility X800 could handle contemporary titles at moderate resolutions and detail settings without bottlenecking on either pixel or texture throughput.

The lack of tensor cores means no AI-accelerated features such as DLSS or similar upscaling. The lack of RT cores means no hardware-accelerated ray tracing. All lighting and shadow effects in games would have to be computed via traditional rasterization and shader-based techniques.

Who Should Consider It

Given the 50th percentile ranking and the absence of recorded benchmark scores, the Mobility Radeon X800 is best understood as a legacy part. Gamers and professionals using this GPU in a vintage laptop would find it suitable for titles from its own era — games designed around DirectX 9.0b and OpenGL 2.1. The 256 MB GDDR3 memory, paired with a 256-bit memory bus and 25.60 GB/s of bandwidth, provides enough memory throughput for 1024x768 or 1280x1024 resolutions at medium detail settings in early-to-mid-2000s games.

Users considering this GPU today should temper expectations. The 50th percentile standing means it is outclassed by virtually any integrated GPU from the past decade. However, for retro gaming or for running period-appropriate software, the Mobility Radeon X800 offers a functional DirectX 9 feature set. The 12 ROPs and 12 TMUs, combined with the 4.800 GPixel/s pixel rate, are sufficient for 2D desktop workloads and older 3D titles. The 400 MHz memory clock, operating at 800 Mbps effective, keeps the memory subsystem aligned with the GPU's compute capabilities.

The bus interface is PCIe 1.0 x16, which means the GPU can be installed in any modern motherboard with a PCIe x16 slot, though driver support for such an old part would be a practical concern. The data does not specify display outputs, so connectivity options cannot be enumerated here.

Power and Cooling

The data pack does not provide a TDP figure, a suggested PSU rating, or power connector requirements for the Mobility Radeon X800. This absence of power data is notable because mobile GPUs of this era typically consumed modest power, but without a recorded TDP, any specific number would be speculative. The GPU is designed for the PCIe 1.0 x16 bus interface, which can supply power through the slot itself, though the actual draw of this chip is not documented in the data.

Because no power connector information is listed, it is reasonable to infer that the Mobility Radeon X800 draws power exclusively through the PCIe slot, as was common for mid-range mobile parts. The 130 nm process node, while large by modern standards, was typical for 2004-era GPUs and would have generated moderate heat. The absence of a TDP figure means cooling requirements cannot be quantified; however, the mobile form factor implies a compact thermal solution was used in the original laptop design.

For anyone attempting to use this GPU in a modern system, the lack of a suggested PSU rating means that power supply selection cannot be guided by official data. The PCIe 1.0 x16 interface is backward and forward compatible with later PCIe revisions, so slot power delivery should function, but the total system power draw would depend on the rest of the platform.

FAQ

Q: Does the ATI Mobility Radeon X800 support ray tracing?

A: No. The data pack lists no RT cores for this GPU, and its DirectX 9.0b (9_2) feature level predates hardware ray tracing by many years.

Q: What is the memory configuration of this GPU?

A: It has 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 400 MHz (800 Mbps effective) and a bandwidth of 25.60 GB/s.

Q: What APIs does the Mobility Radeon X800 support?

A: It supports DirectX 9.0b (9_2) and OpenGL 2.1. It does not support Vulkan, and there are no tensor or RT cores for AI or ray tracing features.

Q: When was this GPU released?

A: The release date is October 31, 2004, and the production status is end-of-life.

Q: How does it rank in the benchmark database?

A: It holds the 50th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 0, indicating no recorded performance runs.

Q: What is the bus interface?

A: The GPU uses PCIe 1.0 x16, which is electrically compatible with modern PCIe slots.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem of the Mobility Radeon X800 is built around 256 MB of GDDR3 memory, a 256-bit bus width, and a memory clock of 400 MHz running at 800 Mbps effective. This yields a memory bandwidth of 25.60 GB/s. For a mobile GPU released in late 2004, this was a substantial configuration — the 256-bit bus was typically reserved for desktop performance parts, and its inclusion in a mobile chip suggests AMD intended the Mobility X800 to deliver near-desktop memory performance.

The 256 MB capacity is adequate for the DirectX 9 era, where textures and framebuffers rarely exceeded 128 MB at typical resolutions. The 256-bit bus width is the key differentiator: it provides twice the data path of many competing mobile GPUs of the time, which often used narrower buses. Combined with the 800 Mbps effective memory clock, the 25.60 GB/s bandwidth ensures that the GPU's 12 TMUs and 12 ROPs are not starved for data. The pixel rate of 4.800 GPixel/s and texture rate of 4.800 GTexel/s are well matched to the available memory bandwidth — at 1024x768 with 32-bit color, a full-screen pixel fill would require roughly 3.1 MB of framebuffer writes, and the bandwidth can sustain many such operations per frame.

For high resolutions, the 256 MB capacity becomes a limiting factor. Modern games with high-resolution textures would exceed this capacity quickly, forcing texture thrashing. However, for the era's typical 1280x1024 or 1600x1200 displays, 256 MB was sufficient. The GDDR3 memory type was a premium choice in 2004, offering higher clock potential than DDR2 or DDR. The 400 MHz clock is conservative by desktop standards of the time, but the mobile thermal envelope likely constrained memory clocks. Overall, the memory subsystem is well-balanced for the GPU's compute capabilities, and the 25.60 GB/s bandwidth remains the strongest single specification of this part.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark data for the Mobility Radeon X800 is sparse: the average benchmark score is 0, and the percentile versus all GPUs is 50. There are no nearest rivals listed, and no percentage deltas to report. This means the database has not captured any validated performance measurements for this specific mobile SKU. The 0 score is likely an artifact of missing data rather than a literal performance result — a GPU that cannot run benchmarks would not have a percentile ranking at all.

Interpreting the 50th percentile without a score is challenging. It suggests that, in the database's overall ranking, the Mobility Radeon X800 sits exactly at the median. This could reflect the database's inclusion of many older and low-end GPUs, which would push a mid-range 2004 part to the middle. Alternatively, it could indicate that the GPU is roughly average compared to all GPUs ever tracked, which would be a reasonable outcome for a mid-range mobile part from its generation.

Without rival scores, the only quantitative anchors are the architectural figures: 4.800 GPixel/s pixel rate, 4.800 GTexel/s texture rate, 12 TMUs, 12 ROPs, and 25.60 GB/s memory bandwidth. These figures define the GPU's theoretical ceiling. In practice, a DirectX 9.0b GPU with these specifications would have performed adequately in 2004-era titles at medium settings, but the database does not provide the measured evidence to confirm this. The lack of benchmark data means that any performance assessment must rely on the architectural characteristics and the percentile position, both of which indicate a mid-range, middle-of-the-pack mobile GPU. The data is what it is: a 50th percentile placement with no recorded scores, leaving the Mobility Radeon X800 as a hardware footnote rather than a benchmarked contender.