ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP

The ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP is an end-of-life graphics card from AMD, built on the 80 nm process at TSMC. It utilizes the RV535 chip based on the Ultra-Threaded SE architecture, and the benchmark data places it at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, indicating it sits exactly in the middle of the performance spectrum for its era. This is a card designed for the AGP 8x bus interface, targeting users with older motherboards who need a discrete graphics solution without upgrading their platform.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark results for the ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP show an average benchmark score of zero, which is a unique data point that suggests the card’s performance is not being captured by modern benchmarking suites, or it is being used as a baseline reference. With a percentile ranking of 50 against all GPUs, the data indicates that this card performs at the median level of all graphics cards ever tested in the database. This means it is neither a high-performance part nor a completely obsolete one; rather, it occupies a middle ground that was typical for mainstream cards of its generation.

The card’s pixel rate is 2.400 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 2.400 GTexel/s. These figures are identical, which is characteristic of a balanced design where the pixel and texture processing capabilities are matched. In practical terms, this means the card can fill the screen with pixels and apply textures at the same rate, avoiding bottlenecks in either pipeline for standard 2D and early 3D workloads. The lack of any nearest rivals in the data means there are no direct percentage deltas to report against other specific cards, but the overall position at the 50th percentile suggests it would be competitive with other mainstream AGP cards of its time, offering a moderate uplift over integrated graphics solutions.

Power and Cooling

The ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP has a thermal design power (TDP) of 44 W, which is a modest figure that reflects its position as a mainstream, low-power part. This low power draw means that the card does not generate excessive heat, allowing it to be cooled by a single-slot cooler, which is confirmed in the specifications. For system builders, the suggested power supply unit is 200 W, which is a very low requirement and means the card can be installed in almost any existing system with a standard power supply without needing an upgrade.

The card requires a single Molex power connector to operate. This is typical for AGP-era graphics cards that drew more power than the slot itself could provide, but less than what would require a dedicated PCIe power connector. The 44 W TDP, combined with the 200 W PSU recommendation, makes this an accessible card for older systems with limited power delivery capabilities. The single-slot design is also advantageous for users with smaller cases or those who want to keep other expansion slots free for additional cards.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP does not include any dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these technologies were not part of the graphics landscape at the time of this card’s release. The architecture is based on Ultra-Threaded SE, which was designed to handle traditional rasterization workloads efficiently. The card’s API support includes DirectX 9.0c (with a shader model of 9_3) and OpenGL 2.1. This means it is fully compatible with games and applications from the mid-2000s that were built on these APIs, but it will not support any modern DirectX 11, 12, or Vulkan titles.

The lack of Vulkan support is notable, as this API offers lower overhead and better multi-threading performance in modern games, but the card’s hardware is simply too old to utilize it. For users considering this card for retro gaming or running legacy software, the DirectX 9.0c support is the key feature, as it ensures compatibility with the vast library of games from that era. The 4 texture mapping units (TMUs) and 4 render output units (ROPs) are the core processing blocks, and they are well-suited for the resolutions and detail levels that were common when this card was new.

How It Compares

The data provided does not include any nearest rivals for the ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP, which makes direct comparative analysis impossible from the benchmark database. The card’s predecessor is the Radeon R400 AGP, and its successor is the Radeon R600, which gives a generational context but no specific performance deltas. The Radeon R400 AGP would be the previous generation of cards, and the Radeon R600 would be the next, but without benchmark scores for these, the data cannot show how much faster the X1650 PRO is compared to its predecessor or how much slower it is than its successor.

The absence of rival data means that the card’s position at the 50th percentile is the only comparative metric available. This percentile ranking is against all GPUs in the database, which includes both modern and historical cards. This suggests that the X1650 PRO AGP is a mid-pack performer that would be outperformed by essentially any modern integrated GPU, but it would hold its own against other AGP cards from its own era. The data does not support any claims about specific rival models, so any comparison would be speculative and is not included in this analysis.

Memory Subsystem

The ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP is equipped with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory, which was a standard amount for mainstream cards in its generation. The memory bus is 128 bit, and the memory clock is 700 MHz, running at an effective data rate of 1400 Mbps. This configuration yields a memory bandwidth of 22.40 GB/s. This bandwidth figure is the critical metric for performance at higher resolutions and with anti-aliasing enabled, as it determines how quickly textures and frame buffer data can be moved between the GPU and the memory.

For a card of this era, 22.40 GB/s is a moderate bandwidth that is sufficient for 1024x768 or 1280x1024 resolutions with medium detail settings. The 256 MB frame buffer is also a limiting factor for high-resolution textures, as games from this period were beginning to require more than 256 MB for maximum detail. At higher resolutions, such as 1600x1200, the memory bandwidth and capacity would become bottlenecks, causing frame rate drops. The 128 bit bus width is narrower than the 256 bit buses found on higher-end cards, which further constrains the memory throughput, but it is a balanced design for the card’s target market.

Who Should Consider It

The ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP is best suited for users who have an older AGP 8x motherboard and need a discrete graphics card to replace a failed or inadequate integrated solution. Given its 50th percentile ranking and its performance metrics, this card is appropriate for playing games from the DirectX 9 era at resolutions of 1024x768 or 1280x1024 with medium to low detail settings. It can handle older titles such as early 2000s shooters and strategy games without issue, but it will struggle with any game that requires more than 256 MB of video memory or that pushes beyond the DirectX 9.0c feature set.

This card is not for users who want to play modern games, as it lacks the necessary hardware features and API support. It is also not for users who have a PCIe motherboard, as it is exclusively an AGP 8x card. For those with a compatible system, the X1650 PRO AGP offers a straightforward upgrade path with low power requirements, making it a practical choice for a retro gaming build or for reviving an old office PC for light multimedia use. The 44 W TDP and 200 W PSU requirement make it an easy drop-in replacement for most systems, and the 2x DVI and 1x S-Video outputs provide flexibility for connecting multiple displays or legacy monitors.