ATI Radeon X1800 XL

The ATI Radeon X1800 XL, manufactured by AMD, is built on the R520 chip using the Ultra-Threaded SE architecture. It belongs to the Radeon R500 PCIe generation, fabricated on a 90 nm process at TSMC, and integrates 312 million transistors on a 288 mm² die with a transistor density of 1.1M per square millimeter. The card carries 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 256-bit bus, running at 500 MHz (1000 Mbps effective), delivering a bandwidth of 32.00 GB/s. The aggregate benchmark data records an average score of 0, which places the card at the 50th percentile of all GPUs in the database. It was released on September 30, 2005, and is now end-of-life, succeeding the Radeon R400 PCIe and preceding the Radeon R600.

Benchmark Performance

The recorded average benchmark score for the ATI Radeon X1800 XL is 0, which corresponds to the 50th percentile across all GPUs tracked in the database. This percentile placement indicates that the card sits exactly at the median of the performance distribution — half of the GPUs in the database perform better, and half perform worse. Because the benchmark array is empty, no specific workload scores are available to compare against any rivals. The analysis must therefore rely on the fixed-function throughput metrics provided. The pixel rate is 8.000 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 8.000 GTexel/s. These identical rates indicate a balanced rasterization pipeline, where pixel fill and texture fill are perfectly matched. The memory subsystem provides 32.00 GB/s of bandwidth, a figure derived from the 256-bit bus and 500 MHz GDDR3 memory (1000 Mbps effective). This bandwidth is a critical constraint in fill-rate-bound scenarios, as the card's pixel and texture throughput are both 8.000 units per second. With 16 TMUs and 16 ROPs, the card processes texture and pixel operations at a 1:1 ratio, which is a typical configuration for a mid-range part of its generation. The absence of FP32 or FP16 compute throughput figures in the data means that shader compute performance cannot be quantified directly. Nevertheless, the 50th percentile ranking provides a clear positional signal: this is a middle-of-the-road product, not a high-end or entry-level part. The average score of 0 may indicate that no synthetic benchmark has been run on this specific unit, or that the aggregate is normalized to zero for this sample. In the context of the database, a 50th percentile score is a neutral placement, offering no performance advantage over the median GPU and no significant deficit relative to the rest of the field.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The ATI Radeon X1800 XL does not include dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores; both fields are recorded as null in the data. This means the card relies entirely on traditional fixed-function and programmable shader hardware for rendering. The API support is limited to DirectX 9.0c (shader model 9_3) and OpenGL 2.1, with no Vulkan support listed, which is consistent with its release generation. The DirectX 9.0c (9_3) feature level indicates support for pixel shader 3.0 and vertex shader 3.0 capabilities. OpenGL 2.1 support allows for a range of legacy OpenGL applications from that era. Without RT cores, any ray tracing workload would have to be computed on the shader units, which is impractical for real-time performance given the architectural design. Tensor cores are absent, so any AI or machine learning acceleration is unavailable. The feature set is therefore firmly rooted in the pre-DirectX 10 era, with no support for modern compute APIs like Vulkan. The absence of these modern features positions the card as a legacy product for older software titles. The display outputs consist of 2x DVI and 1x S-Video, which are analog-era connections, further reinforcing its vintage. The card's feature set is entirely defined by its DirectX 9.0c and OpenGL 2.1 support, with no ray tracing or tensor acceleration capabilities to speak of.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals field in the data is empty, meaning there are no direct rival comparisons provided in the FACT PACK. Consequently, a rival-by-rival performance delta cannot be calculated. However, the card's position can be contextualized through its generation and product lineage. The predecessor is the Radeon R400 PCIe, and the successor is the Radeon R600. The X1800 XL sits in the Radeon R500 PCIe generation, which is the direct successor to the R400 and the precursor to the R600. Without rival data, the comparison must rely on the 50th percentile score. This percentile indicates that the card is exactly in the middle of the performance spectrum for all GPUs in the database. A card at the 50th percentile would be expected to deliver average performance relative to the entire pool of tracked GPUs. Since the benchmark array is empty, there are no specific workload scores to compare against any hypothetical rivals. The production status is end-of-life, indicating that the card has been discontinued and is no longer manufactured. The release date of September 30, 2005 places it in the mid-2000s, a period when DirectX 9 was the dominant API. In the absence of rival data, the analysis can only state that the card occupies a median position in the database, with no specific competitor deltas to report. The lack of rival information is a notable gap, but the percentile field provides a global ranking that serves as a proxy for competitive standing, placing the card squarely in the middle of the tracked GPU population.

Power and Cooling

The ATI Radeon X1800 XL has a thermal design power (TDP) of 70 W, which is a modest figure for a GPU of its era. The suggested power supply unit is 250 W, indicating that the card is not power-hungry and can be paired with a modest PSU. It requires a single 6-pin power connector for operation, which is a standard PCIe power input. The physical dimensions are 254 mm in length (10 inches), 111 mm in height (4.4 inches), and 19 mm in width (0.7 inches). It is a single-slot card, meaning it occupies only one expansion slot in the chassis. The low TDP of 70 W means that cooling requirements are relatively light, and a simple single-slot cooler is sufficient. The 250 W PSU recommendation suggests that the card can be integrated into systems with limited power supply capacity. The single 6-pin connector is a minimal requirement, further reducing the power infrastructure needed. The card's dimensions indicate a full-length design (254 mm), which requires adequate case clearance for installation. The height of 111 mm is standard for a PCIe card, and the width of 19 mm confirms its single-slot profile. Overall, the power and cooling requirements are modest, with a 70 W TDP and a 250 W PSU suggestion. The single-slot design is a benefit for space-constrained systems, allowing for more expansion options. The cooling solution is not specified in the data, but the low TDP suggests that a capable air cooler is sufficient to maintain operating temperatures.

Architecture and Design

The ATI Radeon X1800 XL is built on the R520 chip, which utilizes the Ultra-Threaded SE architecture. The chip is fabricated on a 90 nm process at TSMC, with a transistor count of 312 million. The die size is 288 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 1.1M per square millimeter. The card features 16 texture mapping units (TMUs) and 16 render output units (ROPs). The memory configuration consists of 256 MB of GDDR3 on a 256-bit bus, running at 500 MHz (1000 Mbps effective), yielding a bandwidth of 32.00 GB/s. The bus interface is PCIe 1.0 x16. The architecture is described as Ultra-Threaded SE, which suggests a focus on efficient thread scheduling for shader workloads. The 90 nm process was a leading-edge node for its time, allowing for the integration of 312 million transistors. The die size of 288 mm² is substantial, indicating a complex chip with a high level of integration. The 16 TMUs and 16 ROPs are balanced, providing equal texture and pixel processing capabilities, which is reflected in the identical pixel and texture rates of 8.000 units per second. The memory bus width of 256 bits is a key design choice, providing a solid bandwidth foundation for the card's fill-rate capabilities. The GDDR3 memory type was common for high-performance cards of that generation, and the 256 MB capacity is a standard configuration. The PCIe 1.0 x16 interface provides a sufficient data path for the card's memory bandwidth, with no bottleneck expected at this level. The architecture's name, Ultra-Threaded SE, implies a hardware scheduler that can manage multiple threads concurrently, which is a precursor to modern unified shader architectures. The card's design is a fixed-function pipeline with programmable shaders, as indicated by the DirectX 9.0c support. The transistor density of 1.1M per square millimeter is a measure of the chip's complexity per area, reflecting the density achievable on the 90 nm node. The R520 chip is the foundation of the Radeon R500 generation, which includes the X1800 series. The successor, Radeon R600, would later bring significant architectural changes. The design reflects a mid-2000s GPU with a focus on pixel and texture throughput, as evidenced by the equal pixel and texture rates and the balanced TMU/ROP configuration.