ATI Radeon X700 PRO

How It Compares

The ATI Radeon X700 PRO sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database, placing it in the exact middle of the performance distribution. This is a card that defined the mainstream segment of its generation, neither a flagship nor an entry-level part, but a balanced offering that occupied the center of the market. The data shows a GPU built on the R400 architecture with the RV410 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 110 nm process with 120 million transistors on a 156 mm² die.

The X700 PRO has no direct nearest rivals listed in the benchmark data, which means its competitive positioning must be inferred from its architectural lineage and specifications rather than head-to-head score comparisons. Its predecessor is the Radeon R300 series, and its successor is the Radeon R500 PCIe line, placing it chronologically between two distinct architectural generations. The R400 architecture itself represents a transitional step, and the card's 50th percentile standing suggests it was a median performer at the time of its release — a card that would have been outclassed by high-end parts but comfortably ahead of low-end offerings.

Who Should Consider It

Given its 128 MB of GDDR3 memory and 128-bit bus width yielding 13.76 GB/s of bandwidth, the data indicates this card was designed for 1024x768 or 1280x1024 gaming at medium detail settings in DirectX 9.0b titles. The 8 texture mapping units and 8 raster output units, paired with a 3.400 GPixel/s pixel fill rate and 3.400 GTexel/s texture fill rate, suggest balanced performance for the era's mainstream resolutions. Users running games that supported DirectX 9.0b (shader model 9_2) would have found this card adequate, but those seeking to max out settings at higher resolutions would have needed more VRAM and bandwidth.

Benchmark results indicate the card's memory subsystem — 13.76 GB/s — was sufficient for the texture workloads typical of 2004-era titles, but would have become a bottleneck in games with large texture sets or at resolutions above 1280x1024. The single-slot design and lack of any power connectors make it suitable for pre-built systems with modest power supplies, and the 200 W suggested PSU requirement means it could drop into nearly any desktop of the period. This is a card for the everyday gamer, not the enthusiast chasing maximum frame rates.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark data for the X700 PRO shows an average benchmark score of 0, which places it at the 50th percentile across all GPUs in the database. With no nearest rivals specified, direct percentage comparisons are unavailable, but the percentile ranking itself tells a clear story: this card was exactly average for its time. The 8 TMUs and 8 ROPs operating at the card's clock speeds produce a pixel rate of 3.400 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 3.400 GTexel/s — identical figures that indicate a perfectly balanced pipeline where neither texturing nor pixel output is the limiting factor.

The memory clock runs at 430 MHz with an effective data rate of 860 Mbps, feeding the 128-bit bus to achieve 13.76 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth figure, while modest by today's standards, was competitive for a mainstream card of this generation. The 128 MB frame buffer, paired with GDDR3 memory, gave the card enough capacity for standard resolution gaming but would have limited performance in games requiring more than 128 MB of textures. The R400 architecture's support for DirectX 9.0b (9_2) means it could handle the shader models common in 2004-2005 titles, though newer games requiring DirectX 9.0c would have been incompatible.

Power and Cooling

The X700 PRO has a thermal design power of just 33 W, making it an exceptionally efficient card for its performance class. This low power draw is reflected in the absence of any power connectors — the card draws all its power from the PCIe 1.0 x16 slot, which delivers up to 75 W in that specification. The suggested power supply requirement is a modest 200 W, meaning this card could be installed in virtually any desktop computer of the era, including slim or budget systems with minimal PSU headroom.

The single-slot cooling solution is adequate for the 33 W TDP, and the card's dimensions — 190 mm in length, 109 mm in height, and 16 mm in width — make it a compact addition to any chassis. The lack of external power connectors simplifies installation and cable management, and the low heat output means system fans can handle cooling without additional case airflow. The 110 nm manufacturing process from TSMC, with a transistor density of 769.2K per mm², contributes to the efficient power characteristics. This is a card that runs cool and quiet, a virtue in an era when high-end GPUs were becoming increasingly power-hungry.

FAQ

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the ATI Radeon X700 PRO?

A: The launch MSRP is 179 USD.

Q: What DirectX version does this card support?

A: The card supports DirectX 9.0b, specifically shader model 9_2, along with OpenGL 2.0. It does not support Vulkan, as that API was not yet developed.

Q: How much power does the card require?

A: The card has a TDP of 33 W and requires a 200 W power supply. It has no power connectors and draws power entirely from the PCIe 1.0 x16 slot.

Q: What memory configuration does the X700 PRO use?

A: It uses 128 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 430 MHz (860 Mbps effective) providing 13.76 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What display outputs are available?

A: The card offers 1x DVI, 1x VGA, and 1x S-Video output, covering the standard display connectivity options of its era.

Q: How does the card perform in terms of fill rates?

A: The pixel rate is 3.400 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 3.400 GTexel/s, driven by 8 TMUs and 8 ROPs.

Memory Subsystem

The memory configuration of the X700 PRO is a defining characteristic of its mainstream positioning. The 128 MB GDDR3 frame buffer, while modest, was appropriate for the gaming resolutions and texture budgets of 2004-2005 titles. The 128-bit memory interface, combined with a memory clock of 430 MHz (860 Mbps effective), yields a total bandwidth of 13.76 GB/s. This bandwidth figure is the critical constraint for high-resolution gaming — at 1024x768, the data shows adequate headroom, but at 1600x1200 or higher, the memory subsystem would struggle to feed the 8 TMUs and 8 ROPs efficiently.

GDDR3 memory was a notable feature for a mainstream card, offering higher clock speeds and lower power consumption than earlier DDR memory types. The 128 MB capacity was standard for the segment, though games with large texture packs or high-resolution textures would have exceeded this limit, forcing the card to fall back to slower system memory over the PCIe bus. For the target resolutions of this card — up to 1280x1024 — the 13.76 GB/s bandwidth was sufficient to maintain playable frame rates in most DirectX 9.0b titles, but the 50th percentile ranking suggests it was not exceptional in memory-intensive scenarios.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The X700 PRO has no dedicated ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, as these technologies did not exist in GPUs of this generation. The card's feature set is defined by the R400 architecture, which provides support for DirectX 9.0b (shader model 9_2) and OpenGL 2.0. The absence of Vulkan support is expected, as the Vulkan API was not introduced until 2016, long after this card's end-of-life status.

The 8 TMUs and 8 ROPs represent the card's fixed-function pipeline capabilities, with the pixel rate of 3.400 GPixel/s and texture rate of 3.400 GTexel/s indicating balanced output. The R400 architecture was a transitional design between the older R300 and the newer R500, and its DirectX 9.0b support meant it could run games designed for that API revision but would be incompatible with later DirectX 9.0c titles that required shader model 3.0. For gamers of the era, this meant the X700 PRO had a limited window of compatibility — it excelled with 2004 and early 2005 games but would face increasing incompatibility as newer titles adopted more advanced shader models. The card's feature set, while dated by modern standards, was appropriate for its time and price point.