NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
NVIDIA graphics card specifications and benchmark scores
At a Glance
NVIDIANVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT Specifications
GeForce 8500 GT GPU Core
Shader units and compute resources
The NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT GPU core specifications define its raw processing power for graphics and compute workloads. Shading units (also called CUDA cores, stream processors, or execution units depending on manufacturer) handle the parallel calculations required for rendering. TMUs (Texture Mapping Units) process texture data, while ROPs (Render Output Units) handle final pixel output. Higher shader counts generally translate to better GPU benchmark performance, especially in demanding games and 3D applications.
8500 GT Clock Speeds
GPU and memory frequencies
Clock speeds directly impact the GeForce 8500 GT's performance in GPU benchmarks and real-world gaming. The base clock represents the minimum guaranteed frequency, while the boost clock indicates peak performance under optimal thermal conditions. Memory clock speed affects texture loading and frame buffer operations. The GeForce 8500 GT by NVIDIA dynamically adjusts frequencies based on workload, temperature, and power limits to maximize performance while maintaining stability.
NVIDIA's GeForce 8500 GT Memory
VRAM capacity and bandwidth
VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory for storing textures, frame buffers, and shader data. The GeForce 8500 GT's memory capacity determines how well it handles high-resolution textures and multiple displays. Memory bandwidth, measured in GB/s, affects how quickly data moves between the GPU and VRAM. Higher bandwidth improves performance in memory-intensive scenarios like 4K gaming. The memory bus width and type (GDDR6, GDDR6X, HBM) significantly influence overall GPU benchmark scores.
GeForce 8500 GT by NVIDIA Cache
On-chip cache hierarchy
On-chip cache provides ultra-fast data access for the 8500 GT, reducing the need to fetch data from slower VRAM. L1 and L2 caches store frequently accessed data close to the compute units. AMD's Infinity Cache (L3) dramatically increases effective bandwidth, improving GPU benchmark performance without requiring wider memory buses. Larger cache sizes help maintain high frame rates in memory-bound scenarios and reduce power consumption by minimizing VRAM accesses.
8500 GT Theoretical Performance
Compute and fill rates
Theoretical performance metrics provide a baseline for comparing the NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT against other graphics cards. FP32 (single-precision) performance, measured in TFLOPS, indicates compute capability for gaming and general GPU workloads. FP64 (double-precision) matters for scientific computing. Pixel and texture fill rates determine how quickly the GPU can render complex scenes. While real-world GPU benchmark results depend on many factors, these specifications help predict relative performance levels.
Tesla Architecture & Process
Manufacturing and design details
The NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT is built on NVIDIA's Tesla architecture, which defines how the GPU processes graphics and compute workloads. The manufacturing process node affects power efficiency, thermal characteristics, and maximum clock speeds. Smaller process nodes pack more transistors into the same die area, enabling higher performance per watt. Understanding the architecture helps predict how the 8500 GT will perform in GPU benchmarks compared to previous generations.
NVIDIA's GeForce 8500 GT Power & Thermal
TDP and power requirements
Power specifications for the NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT determine PSU requirements and thermal management needs. TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicates the heat output under typical loads, guiding cooler selection. Power connector requirements ensure adequate power delivery for stable operation during demanding GPU benchmarks. The suggested PSU wattage accounts for the entire system, not just the graphics card. Efficient power delivery enables the GeForce 8500 GT to maintain boost clocks without throttling.
GeForce 8500 GT by NVIDIA Physical & Connectivity
Dimensions and outputs
Physical dimensions of the NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT are critical for case compatibility. Card length, height, and slot width determine whether it fits in your chassis. The PCIe interface version affects bandwidth for communication with the CPU. Display outputs define monitor connectivity options, with modern cards supporting multiple high-resolution displays simultaneously. Verify these specifications against your case and motherboard before purchasing to ensure a proper fit.
NVIDIA API Support
Graphics and compute APIs
API support determines which games and applications can fully utilize the NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT. DirectX 12 Ultimate enables advanced features like ray tracing and variable rate shading. Vulkan provides cross-platform graphics capabilities with low-level hardware access. OpenGL remains important for professional applications and older games. CUDA (NVIDIA) and OpenCL enable GPU compute for video editing, 3D rendering, and scientific applications. Higher API versions unlock newer graphical features in GPU benchmarks and games.
GeForce 8500 GT Product Information
Release and pricing details
The NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT is manufactured by NVIDIA as part of their graphics card lineup. Release date and launch pricing provide context for comparing GPU benchmark results with competing products from the same era. Understanding the product lifecycle helps evaluate whether the GeForce 8500 GT by NVIDIA represents good value at current market prices. Predecessor and successor information aids in tracking generational improvements and planning future upgrades.
GeForce 8500 GT Benchmark Scores
No benchmark data available for this GPU.
About NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
The NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT is an end-of-life graphics card built on the Tesla architecture with the G86 chip. Fabricated by TSMC on an 80 nm process, it integrates 210 million transistors across a 127 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 1.7M per mm². Released on 2007-04-16, it occupies the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 0. Its predecessor is the GeForce 7 PCIe and its successor is the GeForce 9. The card features 16 shading units, 8 texture mapping units, and 4 raster output units, with a memory clock of 400 MHz (800 Mbps effective). Display outputs include 1x DVI, 1x VGA, and 1x S-Video. The card measures 229 mm (9 inches) in length and is a single-slot design.
How It Compares
The FACT PACK lists no nearestRivals for this card, meaning direct score-to-score comparisons against specific competing products are not available from the data. The percentile field places it at 50, indicating it sits exactly at the midpoint of the entire GPU population tracked by the database. Within its own generation, it is positioned between the GeForce 7 PCIe (predecessor) and GeForce 9 (successor). The absence of rival scores means that the card's performance can only be evaluated through its own raw specifications and the percentile ranking, which suggests a balanced, mid-tier standing rather than a high-end or entry-level outlier. The 50th percentile is a curious data point: it implies that half of all GPUs in the database are faster and half are slower, yet the average benchmark score of 0 complicates this picture. A score of 0 typically indicates that no successful benchmark has been recorded, which might reflect driver issues or the card's age rather than its true capability. Without rival deltaPct values, it is impossible to state whether it is faster or slower than a specific competitor, so the analysis must rely on the percentile and the raw specifications.
Ray Tracing and Feature Set
The card's specification sheet shows no dedicated ray tracing cores (rtCores: null) and no tensor cores (tensorCores: null). This indicates that hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor-based AI workloads are not supported. For API support, the card exposes DirectX 11.1 with a feature level of 10_0, and OpenGL 3.3. Vulkan support is listed as null, meaning no Vulkan driver is available. The DirectX 11.1 (10_0) feature level is particularly telling: it implies that while the driver can expose a newer API, the hardware itself is limited to the DirectX 10 feature set, which predates many modern rendering techniques. The absence of Vulkan support further limits its compatibility with contemporary titles, as many modern games rely on Vulkan or DirectX 12. The 16 shading units are the only programmable pipeline components, and they must handle all vertex and pixel processing. The lack of RT and tensor cores means that any ray tracing or AI-based features are entirely absent, which is expected for a card from this era but noteworthy for anyone considering it for modern workloads.
Power and Cooling
With a thermal design power of 30 W, the GeForce 8500 GT is a very low-power card. The suggested power supply is 200 W, and it requires no external power connectors, drawing all its power from the PCIe 1.0 x16 slot. The card is a single-slot design, and its physical length is 229 mm (9 inches). The low TDP means that a simple passive or small active cooler would suffice, and the absence of power connectors simplifies installation in legacy systems. The 30 W figure is remarkably low, even for 2007 hardware, which makes it suitable for small form factor cases or systems with limited power delivery. The 200 W PSU recommendation is conservative, allowing for a typical system configuration with a modest CPU and a few drives. The single-slot design also ensures that it does not block adjacent PCIe slots, a consideration for older motherboards with limited spacing.
Who Should Consider It
The data shows an average benchmark score of 0, which suggests that no meaningful performance measurement has been recorded for this card in the database. The 256 MB memory capacity and 12.80 GB/s bandwidth indicate that it is not designed for high-resolution or high-detail gaming. Given the 50th percentile standing, it is a mid-pack card, but the 0 score implies it may be best suited for legacy applications, 2D desktop use, or very low-resolution gaming with minimal settings. Users with older software that relies on DirectX 10 or OpenGL 3.3 might find it functional, but modern titles would likely be unplayable. The 256 MB VRAM is a hard limit: at high resolutions, textures would exceed the frame buffer, causing severe stuttering or outright failure. For very low resolutions with low detail, the card might manage basic 3D workloads, but the 0 benchmark score suggests that even those scenarios are not well-documented. The 16 shading units and 4 ROPs further limit the card's ability to handle complex pixel shaders, making it a poor choice for anything beyond casual or retro gaming.
Benchmark Performance
The average benchmark score is 0, which is the only score provided. Without nearestRivals data, there are no deltaPct values to compute. The card's raw computational metrics are: FP32 performance of 29.38 GFLOPS, a pixel rate of 1.836 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 3.672 GTexel/s. These numbers are modest by any standard. The 29.38 GFLOPS FP32 figure, for instance, is low compared to modern GPUs, but within the context of a 2007 entry-level card, it aligns with the 50th percentile ranking. The pixel and texture rates suggest that the card can handle basic rasterization at low resolutions, but the 0 score indicates that the database has not captured any successful benchmark run, possibly due to driver limitations or the card's age. The 1.836 GPixel/s pixel rate means that at common low resolutions, the card's fill rate is sufficient for simple scenes, but real-world performance is constrained by the shading units and memory bandwidth. The 3.672 GTexel/s texture rate is similarly low, limiting the card's ability to apply detailed textures. The 50th percentile is a relative measure, but with a score of 0, it is unclear whether the percentile is based on a single run or an extrapolation. The FP32 performance of 29.38 GFLOPS is the most concrete number, and it places the card firmly in the entry-level segment of its generation.
Memory Subsystem
The GeForce 8500 GT comes with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 12.80 GB/s. The memory clock is 400 MHz, operating at 800 Mbps effective. This configuration is extremely limited by modern standards. The 256 MB capacity is insufficient for high-resolution textures, and the 12.80 GB/s bandwidth will become a severe bottleneck when the frame buffer is stressed. For high resolutions, the card would struggle to maintain playable frame rates, as the memory subsystem simply cannot feed the rendering pipeline fast enough. The 128-bit bus width is a common design for entry-level cards of that era, but it caps the potential bandwidth regardless of memory speed. The 800 Mbps effective data rate is the result of the 400 MHz clock being doubled, but with only a 128-bit bus, the total throughput is capped at 12.80 GB/s. This bandwidth is low compared to modern standards, and it directly impacts texture streaming and geometry processing. For a card with only 16 shading units, the memory bandwidth is actually sufficient for its computational throughput, but the 256 MB capacity is the more limiting factor, as it forces the driver to constantly swap textures in and out of system memory.
FAQ
Q: What is the launch MSRP of the NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT?
A: The launch MSRP is 129 USD.
Q: What is the memory size and type?
A: The card features 256 MB of GDDR3 memory.
Q: What is the TDP and suggested PSU?
A: The TDP is 30 W, and the suggested power supply is 200 W.
Q: Does the card support Vulkan?
A: No, the Vulkan API field is null, meaning Vulkan is not supported.
Q: What is the process node and transistor count?
A: The process node is 80 nm, and it contains 210 million transistors.
Q: What is the bus interface?
A: The card uses a PCIe 1.0 x16 bus interface.
The AMD Equivalent of GeForce 8500 GT
Looking for a similar graphics card from AMD? The AMD Radeon RX 480 offers comparable performance and features in the AMD lineup.
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