ATI Radeon X800 XT AGP

Benchmark Performance

The ATI Radeon X800 XT AGP occupies a distinctive position in the hardware landscape: its percentile rank of 50 places it exactly at the midpoint of all GPUs tracked in this database. This is not a statement of mediocrity, however — the X800 XT was a high-end part in its era, and the percentile reflects the fact that it now sits among a vast field of both older and newer hardware. The average benchmark score of 0 indicates that no standardized benchmark results are available for this card in the current database, so all performance analysis must be derived from its architectural specifications and known characteristics relative to the broader Radeon R400 AGP generation.

The GPU's fundamental throughput figures tell a clear story. The pixel rate of 8.000 GPixel/s and texture rate of 8.000 GTexel/s are identical, which is typical for a design with balanced ROP and TMU counts — specifically 16 ROPs and 16 TMUs. This symmetry means that in fill-rate-limited scenarios, the card will not bottleneck on either pixel output or texture filtering; both operations proceed at the same theoretical maximum. For a 2004-era card, these figures positioned it firmly in the performance tier where high resolutions and anisotropic filtering were viable, though the data does not provide direct comparison percentages to contemporary rivals.

Because the nearestRivals array is empty in the fact pack, direct percentage deltas against specific competitor cards cannot be stated. What can be stated is the architectural context: the X800 XT uses the R420 chip built on TSMC's 130 nm process, containing 160 million transistors on a 281 mm² die. The transistor density of 569.4K per mm² reflects a mature 130 nm process. This is a generation-defining chip for AMD's Radeon R400 AGP family, positioned between the Radeon R300 (its predecessor) and the Radeon R500 AGP (its successor). The performance tier implied by these specifications — 16 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and a 256-bit memory path — suggests it was designed to excel in high-detail 3D workloads of its generation, though without benchmark scores, quantitative comparison to any specific card is not possible from this data alone.

Memory Subsystem

The memory configuration of the X800 XT AGP is a defining feature. It ships with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory, which was a significant capacity at its release. The memory clock is 500 MHz, with an effective data rate of 1000 Mbps. The 256-bit memory bus width is the critical enabler here: combined with the effective 1000 Mbps transfer rate, this yields a memory bandwidth of 32.00 GB/s.

This bandwidth figure is substantial for the card's era. A 32.00 GB/s memory bandwidth, paired with 256 MB of GDDR3, means the card can handle high-resolution textures and large frame buffers without severe bandwidth starvation. The 256-bit bus is particularly important — it allows the memory controller to move more data per clock cycle compared to narrower buses, which is essential for maintaining fill rates at higher resolutions. For 1600x1200 or even 1920x1080 gaming in the mid-2000s, 256 MB of VRAM was considered ample, though the fact pack does not specify which resolutions the card officially supports. The memory subsystem's balance — capacity, type, bus width, and bandwidth — all point toward a card designed for enthusiast-level workloads where texture-heavy scenes and anti-aliasing would stress lesser memory configurations.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The X800 XT AGP predates dedicated ray tracing hardware by many years. The fact pack lists no RT cores and no tensor cores, confirming that this GPU has no hardware acceleration for ray tracing or AI-based upscaling. This is consistent with its DirectX 9.0b (9_2) API support, which does not include any ray tracing or machine learning features. The API support is limited to DirectX 9.0b (9_2) and OpenGL 2.1 — there is no Vulkan support listed, which is unsurprising given the card's 2004 release date.

The feature set is therefore purely rasterization-based. The 16 TMUs and 16 ROPs handle traditional rendering pipelines. The card's display outputs — 1x DVI, 1x VGA, and 1x S-Video — indicate it was designed for CRT and early flat-panel monitors, with S-Video for TV output. There is no support for modern display interfaces or features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing, variable rate shading, or mesh shaders. For the purposes of this database, the X800 XT is a legacy part that cannot run modern ray-traced titles at any playable level, and it does not support any of the API features that would enable such workloads.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the X800 XT AGP?

A: The card has a memory bandwidth of 32.00 GB/s, achieved through a 256-bit memory bus and 500 MHz GDDR3 memory running at 1000 Mbps effective.

Q: Does the X800 XT support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The fact pack lists no RT cores or tensor cores. The card only supports DirectX 9.0b (9_2) and OpenGL 2.1, which do not include ray tracing capabilities.

Q: How many texture mapping units and ROPs does this GPU have?

A: The X800 XT has 16 TMUs and 16 ROPs, producing equal pixel and texture rates of 8.000 GPixel/s and 8.000 GTexel/s, respectively.

Q: What process node is the R420 chip built on?

A: The R420 chip is manufactured on TSMC's 130 nm process, with 160 million transistors on a 281 mm² die.

Q: What is the power connector requirement?

A: The card requires a single Molex power connector, and AMD suggests a 250 W power supply for the system.

Q: What is the bus interface of the X800 XT AGP?

A: The card uses an AGP 8x bus interface, which is the last AGP generation before PCIe became dominant.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals array is empty in the fact pack, so no direct comparison to specific rival cards can be made using percentage deltas or scores. However, the card's position within its own product family can be contextualized. As a member of the Radeon R400 AGP generation (X800 series), it sits between the Radeon R300 (predecessor) and the Radeon R500 AGP (successor). The R300 was the prior generation, and the R500 AGP followed. The X800 XT's 50th percentile rank across all GPUs indicates it performs better than half of the hardware ever tracked in this database, which is a notable result for a card released in early 2004 — the release date is 2004-02-29. This percentile is not a comparison to a specific rival but a global ranking.

Against hypothetical contemporary rivals, the X800 XT's 16 TMUs and 16 ROPs at 8.000 GTexel/s and 8.000 GPixel/s would have placed it in the upper tier of its generation. The 32.00 GB/s memory bandwidth, 256-bit bus, and 256 MB GDDR3 were all high-end specifications for the time. Without benchmark scores or rival data in the fact pack, further quantitative comparison is not possible. The card's 130 nm process and 160 million transistors are typical of high-performance 2004 GPUs, and the 54 W TDP is modest for the performance level implied by the fill rates.

Power and Cooling

The X800 XT AGP has a thermal design power (TDP) of 54 W. This is a relatively low power draw for the performance tier it occupies, which is a benefit of the mature 130 nm process and the card's balanced architecture. The cooling solution is a single-slot design, meaning it occupies one expansion slot in the chassis. The card requires a single Molex power connector — this is an additional power input beyond the AGP slot's power delivery, which was common for higher-end AGP cards of that era.

For power supply sizing, AMD recommends a 250 W PSU. This is a modest recommendation, reflecting the card's 54 W TDP. A 250 W power supply would be sufficient for a system with this GPU, assuming the rest of the system components are not extraordinarily power-hungry. The single Molex connector is a legacy requirement — modern power supplies may need an adapter if they do not natively include Molex connectors. The card is single-slot, which means it does not block adjacent expansion slots, but the 54 W TDP does require adequate case airflow to dissipate heat from the GPU and the memory subsystem. Overall, the power and cooling requirements are modest by modern standards, making this card relatively easy to install in a period-appropriate system, provided the power supply has a Molex cable and the case has some airflow.