NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS GDDR3

The NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS GDDR3 is an entry-level mobile graphics processor from the GeForce 9M generation, built on the Tesla architecture using the G98 chip. Manufactured at 55 nm by UMC, the GPU packs 210 million transistors into an 80 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 2.6M per mm². Released on June 2, 2008, the GPU is now end-of-life. In the benchmark database, it holds a 50th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 0, reflecting the absence of recorded benchmark submissions. The GPU's specifications, 8 shading units, 4 TMUs, 4 ROPs, and a 64-bit memory bus with 256 MB of GDDR3, clearly position it as a low-power, entry-level part for laptops of its era. Its 13 W TDP and lack of power connectors further underscore its modest performance envelope.

Who Should Consider It

The 9200M GS GDDR3 is a candidate only for users who need a legacy laptop GPU for basic computing tasks. The data shows that this part is severely limited by its 8 shading units, 4 TMUs, and 4 ROPs, combined with a 64-bit memory bus and 256 MB of GDDR3 memory. For gaming, the 2.116 GPixel/s pixel rate and 2.116 GTexel/s texture rate indicate that playable frame rates are achievable only at very low resolutions and with minimal detail settings. The 11.23 GB/s memory bandwidth is a hard ceiling that will cause stuttering and texture pop-in in any game that requires more than a small working set of textures. Modern games will exceed the 256 MB memory capacity immediately, and even games from the late 2000s will need to run at the lowest possible settings. Users should consider this GPU only for office productivity, web browsing, and video playback. The 50th percentile ranking in the database suggests that, historically, this GPU sat at the midpoint of all GPUs, but that position includes many more capable desktop parts. In absolute terms, the 20.80 GFLOPS FP32 compute performance is minimal, making the GPU unsuitable for any compute-accelerated workload. The lack of a suggested PSU and the absence of power connectors confirm that this is a drop-in mobile component, not a user-serviceable part.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The 9200M GS GDDR3 has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, which is consistent with its Tesla architecture and its position in the GeForce 9M generation. The API support is limited to DirectX 11.1 at the 10_0 feature level and OpenGL 3.3. Vulkan is not supported. The DirectX 11.1 support at the 10_0 feature level means the GPU can run DirectX 10-class games but cannot access DirectX 11 features such as hardware tessellation, compute shaders, or shader model 5.0. OpenGL 3.3 support covers a range of applications from the late 2000s and early 2010s, but modern OpenGL titles will not run. There is no hardware-accelerated ray tracing, no DLSS, and no tensor-core-based AI features. For users, the feature set is strictly legacy: the GPU is compatible with software that targets DirectX 10 or OpenGL 3.3, but it will not run contemporary games that require Vulkan or DirectX 12. The absence of Vulkan support is particularly limiting, as many modern game engines use Vulkan for cross-platform rendering. The 10_0 feature level also means that any DirectX 11.1 application will fall back to a reduced feature set, which can cause visual artifacts or outright incompatibility.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals field in the database is empty for this GPU, so there are no direct comparison scores from specific rival products. However, the 50th percentile ranking provides a general reference: this GPU sits exactly at the median of all GPUs tracked in the database. Its predecessor is the GeForce 8M series, and its successor is the GeForce 100M series, placing it in the late-Tesla-era mobile lineup. Without specific rival data, the comparison must rely on the GPU's own specifications. The 20.80 GFLOPS FP32 compute, 2.116 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 2.116 GTexel/s texture rate are all consistent with an entry-level mobile part from 2008. The 13 W TDP and the lack of power connectors position it as a low-power component designed for thin-and-light laptops. In the context of the database's full range of GPUs, the 50th percentile means that half of all tracked GPUs perform better and half perform worse, but this includes a wide range of desktop and mobile parts across many generations. The empty nearestRivals field suggests that the database does not have sufficient benchmark data to establish direct rival comparisons, so the percentile and absolute specifications are the only available metrics.

FAQ

Q: Does the GeForce 9200M GS GDDR3 support ray tracing?

A: No. The GPU has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. It is built on the Tesla architecture, which does not include hardware ray tracing support.

Q: What is the memory configuration of this GPU?

A: It has 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 11.23 GB/s and a memory clock of 702 MHz (1404 Mbps effective).

Q: What APIs does the 9200M GS GDDR3 support?

A: It supports DirectX 11.1 at the 10_0 feature level and OpenGL 3.3. It does not support Vulkan.

Q: How much power does this GPU draw?

A: The TDP is 13 W, and it requires no power connectors. The suggested PSU field is null, meaning no specific power supply recommendation is provided.

Q: When was this GPU released and what is its production status?

A: It was released on June 2, 2008, and its production status is end-of-life.

Q: How many shading units, TMUs, and ROPs does it have?

A: It has 8 shading units, 4 texture mapping units, and 4 render output units. The pixel rate is 2.116 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 2.116 GTexel/s.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem of the 9200M GS GDDR3 is one of its most limiting aspects. The GPU has 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 11.23 GB/s. The memory clock is 702 MHz with an effective data rate of 1404 Mbps. This configuration was typical for entry-level mobile GPUs in the late 2000s, but it is severely constrained by modern standards. The 256 MB capacity is insufficient for high-resolution textures; any game that loads more than a small amount of texture data will cause the GPU to thrash. The 64-bit bus halves the memory bandwidth compared to 128-bit designs, and the 11.23 GB/s figure means that the GPU's 8 shading units may be starved of data in memory-intensive scenes. For high resolutions, the memory subsystem will bottleneck performance long before the compute units reach their limits. The pixel rate of 2.116 GPixel/s and the texture rate of 2.116 GTexel/s further indicate that the GPU is designed for low-resolution rendering with simple textures. Users should keep texture quality and resolution low to avoid exceeding the memory and bandwidth constraints. The 256 MB capacity also limits the maximum framebuffer size, although the display outputs are listed as portable-device-dependent.

Power and Cooling

The 9200M GS GDDR3 has a TDP of only 13 W, making it an extremely low-power GPU. It requires no power connectors, drawing all necessary power from the PCIe 2.0 x16 interface or the laptop's motherboard. The suggested PSU field is null, which is expected for a mobile GPU where the system integrator determines the power delivery. The low TDP means that cooling requirements are minimal; a simple heat sink or small cooling fan is sufficient to manage thermals. The GPU's 55 nm process node, 210 million transistors, and 80 mm² die size contribute to its efficiency, with a transistor density of 2.6M per mm². For laptop manufacturers, the 13 W TDP allows for thin-and-light designs without complex cooling solutions. For users, this means a quiet and cool operating experience, but the low power envelope also caps the GPU's performance potential. The lack of power connectors is notable: it means the GPU cannot be upgraded or re-powered independently, and it relies entirely on the motherboard's power delivery. The bus interface is PCIe 2.0 x16, which provides sufficient bandwidth for the GPU's modest data requirements.

Benchmark Performance

The database lists an average benchmark score of 0 for the 9200M GS GDDR3, indicating that no benchmark submissions are recorded for this GPU. The percentile ranking is 50, placing it exactly at the median of all GPUs in the database. The FP32 compute performance is 20.80 GFLOPS, which is a very low figure by any modern standard. The pixel rate of 2.116 GPixel/s and the texture rate of 2.116 GTexel/s are identical, reflecting a balanced but minimal allocation of 4 ROPs and 4 TMUs. With 8 shading units, the GPU can handle simple pixel and vertex workloads but will struggle with complex shaders. The memory bandwidth of 11.23 GB/s is a further bottleneck, as is the 256 MB memory capacity. Compared to the median GPU in the database, the 9200M GS GDDR3 is exactly at the 50th percentile, but this percentile spans all GPUs including modern high-end parts, so its absolute performance is low. The lack of recorded benchmark scores means that the percentile is the only comparative metric available, and it should be interpreted as a historical position rather than a current performance indicator. The GPU's end-of-life status and its successor, the GeForce 100M series, further confirm that this is a legacy part with no relevance to modern gaming or compute workloads.