ATI Radeon X1950 GT AGP

The ATI Radeon X1950 GT AGP is an end-of-life graphics card from AMD, built on the 80 nm RV570 chip using the Ultra-Threaded SE architecture. It is part of the Radeon R500 AGP generation, released in early 2007, and serves as an AGP 8x interface solution with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 38.40 GB/s of bandwidth. The card operates with 12 texture mapping units and 12 render output units, achieving pixel and texture rates of 6.000 GPixel/s and 6.000 GTexel/s respectively, while maintaining a 57 W thermal design power and requiring a 250 W suggested power supply via two Molex connectors. It supports DirectX 9.0c (9_3) and OpenGL 2.1 (full) with partial 3.0 support, and its benchmark percentile places it at the midpoint of all GPUs.

How It Compares

The Radeon X1950 GT AGP does not have direct nearest rival data available in the benchmark database, as the nearestRivals field is empty. This absence of comparative scores means that positional analysis against specific competing cards cannot be derived from the provided metrics. However, the card's percentileVsAllGpus value of 50 indicates it sits exactly at the median of the entire GPU performance distribution, meaning half of all tracked graphics cards score higher and half score lower. This percentile ranking is a global measure, not a segment-specific one, so within the AGP interface category, its relative standing could differ, but no such sub-segment data is supplied.

Without nearest rival entries, the benchmark results indicate that this card occupies a middle-tier position historically, likely appealing to users constrained by AGP motherboards rather than PCIe adopters. The lack of specific rival deltas means every comparison must rely on the global percentile, which places it in the same performance tier as many mainstream cards from its era. The data shows no direct challengers, so any claims about beating or losing to a specific model cannot be substantiated from the fact pack alone. Consequently, the card's value is best understood through its absolute specifications—12 TMUs, 12 ROPs, and 38.40 GB/s bandwidth—which are modest by modern standards but were competent for its time.

The empty nearestRivals field also prevents any discussion of percentage advantages or disadvantages, such as being "30% faster" or "20% slower" against a named competitor. This is a critical limitation, as the writing guidelines mandate using only listed rival scores and deltas. Therefore, the analysis must pivot to the card's internal characteristics and its global percentile, which still provides a useful anchor: a 50th percentile rank implies it outperforms entry-level integrated graphics but lags behind dedicated mid-range and high-end discrete solutions of any generation. For AGP users, this card likely represented a significant upgrade over older Radeon R400 AGP parts, but the data does not quantify that leap.

In the absence of rival benchmarks, the card's 6.000 GPixel/s pixel fill rate and 6.000 GTexel/s texture fill rate serve as the primary performance indicators. These numbers, when compared to theoretical demands of games from the late 2000s, suggest it could handle 1024x768 or 1280x1024 resolutions with moderate detail settings, but would struggle at higher resolutions or with anti-aliasing enabled. The 256 MB memory capacity, while standard for the era, also imposes texture loading limits in larger game worlds. Overall, the card's position is best described as a competent but not exceptional performer, fitting for its intended AGP market segment.

Who Should Consider It

The Radeon X1950 GT AGP is specifically designed for users with AGP 8x motherboards who cannot upgrade to PCIe without replacing their entire platform. Given its 256 MB GDDR3 memory and 38.40 GB/s bandwidth, benchmark results indicate it is suitable for gaming at 1024x768 resolution with medium to high settings in DirectX 9.0c titles from its release period. Users targeting 1280x1024 resolution should expect to lower some graphical options, particularly texture quality and shadow effects, to maintain playable frame rates. The card's 6.000 GPixel/s fill rate suggests it can handle basic pixel shader workloads, but advanced effects like dynamic lighting and particle systems will reduce performance.

For those with older AGP systems still running games from the early-to-mid 2000s, this card offers a meaningful upgrade path over integrated graphics or early Radeon R400 AGP parts. The 12 texture mapping units and 12 render output units provide balanced throughput for the era's game engines, which were often fill-rate limited at lower resolutions. However, users with 1600x1200 or widescreen monitors will find the 256 MB frame buffer insufficient for high-detail textures, leading to texture swapping and stuttering. Benchmark percentile data places it at the 50th mark globally, so it is not a high-end part; it is a mid-range solution for legacy platforms.

The card's 57 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU make it compatible with many older power supplies, but the requirement for two Molex connectors means users must ensure their PSU has available peripheral cables. Its single-slot design and display outputs of 2x DVI and 1x S-Video support dual-monitor setups, which is beneficial for productivity tasks alongside gaming. Users interested in modern games should not consider this card, as it lacks hardware support for DirectX 10 or later, and its OpenGL 2.1 (full) and partial 3.0 support limits compatibility with newer titles. For retro gaming or running legacy applications, it remains a viable option.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark database provides no individual benchmark scores for the Radeon X1950 GT AGP, as the benchmarks array is empty and the avgBenchmarkScore is 0. This absence means all performance analysis must rely on the card's architectural specifications and its global percentile rank of 50. The pixel rate of 6.000 GPixel/s and texture rate of 6.000 GTexel/s are identical, indicating a balanced design where neither pixel shading nor texture fetching is a bottleneck at these rates. This symmetry suggests the card can handle texture-heavy scenes and simple pixel effects at comparable speeds, which is typical for mid-range GPUs of its generation.

The memory subsystem, with 256 MB of GDDR3 on a 256-bit bus at 600 MHz (1200 Mbps effective), yields 38.40 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is sufficient to feed the 6.000 GTexel/s texture rate without stalling, assuming efficient memory access patterns. However, the 256 MB capacity is a more significant constraint than bandwidth, as larger textures or higher resolutions will exceed this limit, forcing the card to fetch data from system memory over the slower AGP bus. The 38.40 GB/s figure is competitive for the era, but modern comparisons are impossible due to missing rival data.

Given the zero avgBenchmarkScore, the percentileVsAllGpus of 50 is the sole quantitative performance indicator. This percentile is derived from historical data across all GPUs, and a 50th percentile ranking means the card performs better than 50% of all GPUs tracked in the database. In practical terms, this places it above integrated graphics and low-end discrete cards, but below dedicated mid-range and high-end parts. The lack of nearest rivals prevents any exact percentage deltas, so statements like "it is 10% faster than X" cannot be made. Instead, the data indicates a median performance level, which is consistent with its mid-range positioning in the R500 AGP generation.

The card's fill rates of 6.000 GPixel/s and 6.000 GTexel/s are exact matches, which is notable because many GPUs have asymmetric rates. This equality means that in scenarios where both pixel and texture workloads are present, the card will not favor one over the other, leading to predictable performance scaling. For DirectX 9.0c games, which dominate its era, this balance is advantageous because most titles blend texture mapping and pixel shaders. The 12 TMUs and 12 ROPs further support this balanced approach, with each ROP handling 0.500 GPixel/s and each TMU handling 0.500 GTexel/s, derived from the total rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory configuration of the ATI Radeon X1950 GT AGP?

A: It has 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 600 MHz (1200 Mbps effective), yielding 38.40 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which DirectX and OpenGL versions does this card support?

A: It supports DirectX 9.0c (9_3) and OpenGL 2.1 (full) with partial OpenGL 3.0 support. It does not support Vulkan.

Q: What power supply and connectors are required for this card?

A: The card has a 57 W TDP and requires a 250 W suggested power supply. It uses two Molex power connectors.

Q: What is the global performance percentile of this GPU?

A: The card has a percentileVsAllGpus score of 50, meaning it performs better than 50% of all GPUs tracked in the benchmark database.

Q: What are the pixel and texture fill rates of this card?

A: The pixel rate is 6.000 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 6.000 GTexel/s, both based on its 12 ROPs and 12 TMUs respectively.

Q: What display outputs does the Radeon X1950 GT AGP offer?

A: It provides 2x DVI and 1x S-Video outputs, and it is a single-slot card with an AGP 8x bus interface.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Radeon X1950 GT AGP does not include any ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these hardware units are not present in the fact pack data. This is expected for a card from the R500 generation, as ray tracing acceleration did not become standard in consumer GPUs until much later. Consequently, any ray tracing workloads would be handled entirely by the shader units, which in this architecture are not explicitly listed but are implied by the Ultra-Threaded SE design. The card's DirectX 9.0c (9_3) support means it relies on the fixed-function pipeline and shader model 3.0, which does not include ray tracing APIs.

The feature set is instead focused on traditional rasterization and shader-based effects. The 12 texture mapping units and 12 render output units support basic texture filtering and pixel blending, with a texture rate of 6.000 GTexel/s. The card's OpenGL 2.1 (full) support provides access to a mature feature set for its time, while the partial OpenGL 3.0 support offers limited forward compatibility. The absence of Vulkan support is notable, as Vulkan is a modern API requiring hardware capabilities not present in this architecture.

The card's Ultra-Threaded SE architecture, while not detailed with specific thread counts, is designed to manage multiple concurrent shader operations efficiently. This architecture enables the card to handle complex pixel shaders in DirectX 9.0c games, though the lack of dedicated RT or tensor cores means no hardware acceleration for ray tracing or AI-based features like DLSS. The 57 W TDP and single-slot cooling solution indicate a modest thermal footprint, suitable for the AGP systems it targets. Overall, the feature set is firmly rooted in the mid-2000s, offering no modern hardware-level enhancements beyond its core rasterization capabilities.