NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT AGP

The NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT AGP is a late-generation addition to the GeForce 7 family, built on the 80 nm G73B chip from TSMC. It targets users with legacy AGP 8x motherboards, offering a DirectX 9.0c feature set with 12 texture mapping units and 8 raster output units, paired with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus. The data sheet shows no benchmark scores or nearest rivals, and its percentile rank sits at the 50th mark among all GPUs, indicating a median position in the historical performance distribution.

Benchmark Performance

The FACT PACK provides no raw benchmark scores for the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT AGP, and the average benchmark score is listed as zero. Consequently, quantitative performance analysis against specific rivals is impossible from the available data. The percentile rank of 50 places this card exactly at the midpoint of the database’s historical GPU performance spectrum, meaning half of all recorded GPUs are faster and half are slower. This is a meaningful signal: the 7600 GT AGP is neither a standout performer nor a laggard in the broader context of every GPU ever cataloged.

Without nearestRivals data, the only performance metrics available are theoretical pixel and texture throughput. The pixel rate of 4.480 GPixel/s, derived from 8 ROPs operating at the core’s clock domain, and the texture rate of 6.720 GTexel/s, from 12 TMUs, define the card’s raw fillrate capabilities. These figures suggest a card designed for 1024x768 or 1280x1024 resolutions in its era, where shader complexity was modest. The memory bandwidth of 22.40 GB/s, achieved via a 128-bit interface and 700 MHz (1400 Mbps effective) GDDR3, is sufficient for the texture and geometry workloads typical of DirectX 9.0c titles but would bottleneck on higher-resolution textures or heavy anti-aliasing.

The lack of any benchmark entries in the FACT PACK means the 50th percentile rank is the sole comparative data point. In practical terms, this card would outperform its GeForce 6 AGP predecessor, as the generation name implies architectural improvements in the Curie design, but no numerical delta is provided. The successor, GeForce 8, would represent a significant leap, but again, no scores exist to quantify the gap. The absence of rival data is a critical limitation; the analysis must rely on the percentile and the architectural specifications alone.

How It Compares

The FACT PACK lists no nearest rivals for the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT AGP, so a direct comparison with specific competing products cannot be made using the required deltaPct values or rival names. The only generational context comes from the predecessor and successor fields. The predecessor, GeForce 6 AGP, represents the previous architecture; the 7600 GT AGP improves on it with a newer G73B chip and Curie architecture, but the exact performance uplift is unquantified in the data. The successor, GeForce 8, would introduce a unified shader architecture and DirectX 10 support, but again, no comparative scores are provided.

Given the absence of rival data, the card’s market position must be inferred from its specifications alone. With 12 TMUs and 8 ROPs, it sits in the mid-range tier of its generation. The 256 MB memory capacity was standard for its time, and the 128-bit bus was common for mid-range parts. The 80 nm process node from TSMC, housing 177 million transistors on a 100 mm² die, yields a transistor density of 1.8M per square millimeter, which is modest by modern standards but was competitive in 2007. The lack of any direct rival comparison means this section must conclude that the 7600 GT AGP’s competitive stance is defined solely by its percentile rank of 50 and its internal architectural metrics.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT AGP does not include ray tracing cores or tensor cores; the FACT PACK lists both rtCores and tensorCores as null. This is expected for a DirectX 9.0c-era card from the Curie architecture. The API support confirms this positioning: DirectX 9.0c with shader model 9_3, and OpenGL 2.1. There is no Vulkan support, as that API was not yet introduced in the card’s era. The feature set is therefore limited to the fixed-function and programmable shader pipeline of DirectX 9.0c, which includes pixel shader 3.0 and vertex shader 3.0 capabilities, though these specifics are not itemized in the FACT PACK.

The absence of hardware ray tracing and tensor cores means any such workloads are entirely unsupported. The 12 TMUs and 8 ROPs are dedicated to traditional rasterization and texture filtering. The texture rate of 6.720 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 4.480 GPixel/s represent the card’s peak fillrate capabilities. For its time, this supported standard features like multi-sample anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, but the data does not specify these details. The display outputs—1x DVI, 1x VGA, and 1x S-Video—indicate a card designed for CRT and analog displays, with no support for digital audio or modern multi-monitor setups beyond a single DVI connection.

Power and Cooling

The NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT AGP has a thermal design power (TDP) of 40 W, which is low even by the standards of its era. This modest power draw allows for a single-slot cooling solution, as confirmed by the slot width field. The card requires a single Molex power connector, which was standard for AGP-era GPUs that could not draw sufficient power from the AGP 8x slot alone. The suggested power supply rating is 200 W, a figure that would be easily accommodated by most systems of the time.

The 40 W TDP is a key advantage for users with older or lower-capacity power supplies, as it minimizes thermal output and power delivery requirements. The single-slot design means it will not obstruct adjacent PCI slots, and the 200 W PSU recommendation suggests compatibility with typical office or entry-level desktop systems. The 80 nm process node contributes to this efficiency, as smaller transistors generally consume less power. The absence of any power connector beyond the single Molex indicates that the card’s power circuitry is straightforward, relying on the AGP slot and the auxiliary connector for stable operation.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory configuration of the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT AGP?

A: The card features 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 700 MHz (1400 Mbps effective), yielding a bandwidth of 22.40 GB/s.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT AGP support ray tracing?

A: No. The FACT PACK lists rtCores as null, and the card is based on the Curie architecture, which predates any hardware ray tracing support. Its API support is limited to DirectX 9.0c (9_3) and OpenGL 2.1.

Q: What is the power requirement for this card?

A: The TDP is 40 W, and the suggested power supply rating is 200 W. The card requires one Molex power connector and occupies a single slot.

Q: What generation does this GPU belong to, and what are its successors?

A: It belongs to the GeForce 7 AGP generation, specifically the 7600 GT variant. Its predecessor is the GeForce 6 AGP series, and its successor is the GeForce 8 series.

Q: What is the manufacturing process and die size?

A: The chip is fabricated by TSMC on an 80 nm process node. The die size is 100 mm², containing 177 million transistors, which gives a transistor density of 1.8M per square millimeter.

Q: What display outputs are available on this card?

A: The card provides one DVI output, one VGA output, and one S-Video output, indicating support for analog and early digital displays.

Q: What is the card’s performance percentile among all GPUs?

A: The percentile rank is 50, meaning it performs at the median level of all GPUs in the benchmark database. No specific benchmark scores or nearest rival data are available in the FACT PACK.