ATI Radeon 9800 XT

The ATI Radeon 9800 XT, built on the R360 chip using the R300 architecture, was released in 2003 on a 150 nm process at TSMC. It packs 117 million transistors on a 218 mm² die, with a transistor density of 536.7 thousand per square millimeter. The card features 8 texture mapping units and 8 raster operation units, delivering a pixel rate of 3.296 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 3.296 GTexel/s. Memory is 256 MB of DDR on a 256-bit bus, running at 365 MHz (730 Mbps effective) for a bandwidth of 23.36 GB/s. It is an AGP 8x card with a TDP of 60 W and a suggested 250 W power supply. The production status is end-of-life, and it sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database.

Benchmark Performance

The Radeon 9800 XT has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, so performance must be inferred from its fixed-function rates and memory characteristics. The pixel rate of 3.296 GPixel/s and texture rate of 3.296 GTexel/s are identical, indicating a balanced design where each ROP and TMU operates at the same clock. With 8 ROPs and 8 TMUs, the card can process 3.296 billion pixels and textures per second. This places it in the middle of the GPU spectrum—the 50th percentile means half of all GPUs in the database are slower and half are faster, though this percentile is based on an aggregate of all GPUs, not just contemporaries.

Memory bandwidth of 23.36 GB/s is the other key constraint. At a 256-bit bus and 365 MHz memory clock, the card achieves 23.36 GB/s, which is sufficient for early DirectX 9 workloads but may become a bottleneck for higher-resolution textures or heavy shader use. The pixel and texture rates are closely matched to the bandwidth—dividing 23.36 GB/s by 3.296 GPixel/s yields roughly 7 bytes per pixel, which is typical for a card of this era. This suggests that the 9800 XT can sustain its fill rates without starving for data in most 32-bit color scenarios, but it will struggle with 64-bit or higher precision framebuffers.

The absence of benchmark scores means we cannot quantify its performance against specific rivals. However, the 50th percentile indicates a median position, not a top-tier performer. The card's specifications are modest by modern standards, but for its 2003 release, they were competitive within its segment. The data does not provide any nearest rivals, so no delta percentages are available. The average benchmark score of 0 further confirms that no synthetic or game benchmarks have been recorded for this card in the database.

Who Should Consider It

Given its 256 MB VRAM, 256-bit memory bus, and DirectX 9.0 support, the Radeon 9800 XT is best suited for systems that require AGP 8x connectivity and are running games from the early 2000s. Its pixel and texture rates of 3.296 GPixel/s and 3.296 GTexel/s suggest it can handle 32-bit color at resolutions common to that era, such as 1024x768 or 1280x1024, but the lack of benchmark data prevents a precise recommendation. The memory bandwidth of 23.36 GB/s is adequate for those resolutions with moderate texture filtering and anti-aliasing, but it will likely be insufficient for higher resolutions like 1600x1200 with full detail.

For users with legacy AGP motherboards, the 9800 XT offers a single-slot solution with a 60 W TDP, making it easy to cool. It is not designed for modern games or demanding applications; its DirectX 9.0 API support limits it to titles that do not require DirectX 10 or later. The card's 50th percentile ranking suggests it is a mid-range option, not a flagship. It would be appropriate for someone building a retro PC or upgrading an old system that lacks PCIe support. However, the end-of-life status means it is obsolete for current software.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Radeon 9800 XT has no dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores—the RT cores and tensor cores fields are null. This is expected for a 2003 GPU, as ray tracing hardware did not exist in consumer products at that time. The card relies on traditional rasterization, supporting DirectX 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0. Vulkan is not supported, which further limits its compatibility with modern APIs. The absence of tensor cores also means no AI-accelerated features such as DLSS or similar technologies.

The feature set is defined by its DirectX 9.0 capabilities, which include pixel shader 2.0 and vertex shader 2.0 (inferred from the architecture, though not explicitly listed). The card has 8 TMUs and 8 ROPs, which are the core of its rasterization pipeline. It offers 1x DVI, 1x VGA, and 1x S-Video outputs, covering standard display connections of its time. The lack of Vulkan support is a significant limitation for modern cross-platform titles, but for its intended era, DirectX 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0 were the primary APIs.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the Radeon 9800 XT?

A: The memory bandwidth is 23.36 GB/s, achieved with a 256-bit DDR bus running at 365 MHz (730 Mbps effective).

Q: How much VRAM does it have?

A: It has 256 MB of DDR memory.

Q: What is the TDP and recommended power supply?

A: The TDP is 60 W, and the suggested power supply is 250 W.

Q: Does it support ray tracing?

A: No, it has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores; it only supports DirectX 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0.

Q: What is the bus interface?

A: It uses AGP 8x, not PCIe.

Q: How many display outputs does it have?

A: It has 1x DVI, 1x VGA, and 1x S-Video outputs.

How It Compares

The benchmark database lists no nearest rivals for the Radeon 9800 XT, so a direct comparison with specific competing cards is not possible. The 50th percentile among all GPUs indicates that it sits exactly in the middle of the performance distribution, but without rival names or delta percentages, we cannot state which cards it outperforms or trails. Its predecessor is the Radeon R200 series, and its successor is the Radeon R400 AGP, but no numerical data is provided for either. The card's own specifications—such as the 3.296 GPixel/s pixel rate and 23.36 GB/s bandwidth—define its capabilities, but they cannot be contrasted with other products in this dataset. Given the absence of rival data, the only positional statement is that it is a median performer in the overall GPU landscape.

Power and Cooling

The Radeon 9800 XT has a TDP of 60 W, which is modest for a GPU of its era. It requires a single Molex power connector, and the suggested power supply is 250 W. This low power draw means it can be cooled by a single-slot heatsink and fan, as indicated by the "Single-slot" slot width. The card's power requirements are modest enough for most AGP systems of the early 2000s, but users should ensure their power supply meets the 250 W recommendation. The 1x Molex connector is a standard peripheral power connection, not a dedicated PCIe power cable. For a card with a 60 W TDP, the cooling solution is straightforward and does not require additional case airflow beyond normal system ventilation.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem consists of 256 MB of DDR memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 365 MHz (730 Mbps effective). This yields a bandwidth of 23.36 GB/s. The 256-bit bus is wide for its time, allowing high throughput, but the DDR type and moderate clock limit the raw bandwidth. For high resolutions, the memory capacity of 256 MB may be insufficient for large textures and framebuffers, but the bandwidth of 23.36 GB/s is adequate for 32-bit color at typical 2003 resolutions. The pixel rate of 3.296 GPixel/s is closely matched to the bandwidth, meaning the card is not severely bottlenecked in most scenarios. However, enabling anti-aliasing or anisotropic filtering will increase memory pressure, potentially reducing performance. The 256-bit bus is a key advantage over narrower-bus cards, but the overall memory subsystem is dated by modern standards.