NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GDDR3

The NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GDDR3 is a mobile graphics processor built on the Tesla architecture, using the G98 chip fabricated by UMC on a 55 nm process. It integrates 210 million transistors into an 80 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 2.6M / mm². Released on 2008-06-03 as part of the GeForce 9M generation, it occupies a position between the GeForce 8M and GeForce 100M in NVIDIA's mobile lineup. The database places it at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, a midpoint ranking that invites scrutiny given the part's modest specification sheet and the complete absence of recorded benchmark scores.

Power and Cooling

The GeForce 9300M GS GDDR3 carries a TDP of only 13 W. This is an exceptionally low power envelope, and it shapes every aspect of how the GPU is integrated into a system. The board is built on an MXM module form factor with an MXM-I bus interface, meaning it is designed to be slotted into a laptop rather than a desktop. The display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," which reflects the mobile nature of the part, the actual connectors are determined by the laptop manufacturer, not by the GPU reference design.

No power connectors are required. The 13 W TDP is well within what a mobile platform's power delivery system can supply through the MXM slot itself, so there is no auxiliary power cable to route. The fact pack lists no suggested PSU, which is consistent with a mobile part that draws its power from the laptop's own adapter and battery. For a notebook designer, the 13 W figure means a modest cooling solution, a small fan or passive heat pipe, would suffice. The low power draw also implies limited heat output, which is a key consideration for the thin-and-light laptops of the era.

The 55 nm process node from UMC is a contributing factor here. A smaller process generally reduces switching power, and 55 nm was a mature node at the time of release. The 210 million transistors are packed into an 80 mm² die, giving a density of 2.6M / mm². That density figure reflects the relative simplicity of the Tesla architecture compared to later designs; modern GPUs pack far more transistors per square millimeter, but such comparisons lie beyond the scope of this data.

Who Should Consider It

This is a mobile GPU from 2008, and its specifications define its target use case with unusual clarity. With 8 shading units, 4 texture mapping units, and 4 ROPs, the 9300M GS is positioned at the entry level of the GeForce 9M lineup. The 256 MB of GDDR3 memory and the 64-bit bus further confirm that this part is intended for basic 3D acceleration rather than high-end gaming.

The data suggests a user who primarily needs desktop composition, video playback, and light 3D workloads. At the time of release, this GPU would have been suitable for older or less demanding titles at modest resolution and detail settings. The pixel rate of 2.320 GPixel/s and the texture rate of 2.320 GTexel/s are the hard limits on how much geometry and texture work the chip can push per second. These are low figures by any standard, but they were adequate for the casual use cases of the era.

The 50th percentile ranking in the database is curious. It suggests that, within the database's population of GPUs, this part sits exactly in the middle. However, the average benchmark score of 0 indicates that no actual benchmark runs are recorded for this specific SKU. The percentile may reflect the database's distribution of mobile and low-end parts rather than raw performance. A buyer considering this GPU today would be limited to very low resolutions and minimal detail settings, and even then, the 256 MB memory capacity would be a binding constraint.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Tesla architecture predates hardware ray tracing acceleration by a wide margin. The fact pack lists no RT cores and no tensor cores, which means this GPU has no dedicated hardware for ray tracing or AI-accelerated features. Any ray-traced workload would have to run on the general-purpose shading units, which number only 8. That is not a realistic path for real-time ray tracing.

The API support tells a similar story. DirectX 11.1 is listed, but with the note "(10_0)", indicating that the hardware feature level is actually DirectX 10_0. This means the GPU supports the DirectX 10 feature set, and the 11.1 API is exposed only at that lower feature level. OpenGL 3.3 is supported, but Vulkan is not listed at all, a consequence of the GPU's 2008 vintage, which long predates the Vulkan API.

For the feature set, the absence of tensor and RT cores is the defining characteristic. Modern rendering techniques that rely on hardware ray tracing, mesh shaders, or AI upscaling are entirely out of reach. Even at the API level, the DirectX 10_0 feature level excludes many later rendering techniques. This GPU is firmly a product of its era, and the feature set reflects that with no ambiguity.

How It Compares

The database lists no nearest rivals for the GeForce 9300M GS GDDR3. The nearestRivals array is empty, which means there are no directly comparable GPUs with recorded scores and delta percentages in the database. This is itself a data point: the part is either too obscure or too far outside the typical comparison set to have accrued rival entries.

In the absence of rival data, the GPU's position must be inferred from its own metrics and generational context. Its predecessor is the GeForce 8M series and its successor is the GeForce 100M series, placing it in the middle of NVIDIA's mobile naming scheme of the late 2000s. The 50th percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database is the only comparative anchor available. It suggests a median position, but the empty benchmark array means this ranking is not backed by measured scores for this SKU. Without rival names or deltaPct values, any direct comparison would be speculation, so the analysis must rest on the GPU's own specifications.

Benchmark Performance

There are no recorded benchmark scores for this GPU. The benchmarks array is empty and the average benchmark score is 0. Consequently, there are no exact percentage deltas to report against rivals, there are no rivals with scores in the database. The analysis must therefore rely on the theoretical peak rates provided in the fact pack.

The FP32 compute throughput is 23.20 GFLOPS. This is the total floating-point performance of the 8 shading units. The pixel rate is 2.320 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 2.320 GTexel/s, both driven by the 4 ROPs and 4 TMUs respectively. These three figures are identical in magnitude, which reflects the balanced but very low throughput of the design. The memory clock is 702 MHz, with an effective data rate of 1404 Mbps. Combined with the 64-bit bus, this yields a bandwidth of 11.23 GB/s.

The bandwidth-to-compute ratio is actually reasonable for the era, but the absolute numbers are tiny by modern standards. The 50th percentile ranking, if taken at face value, would put this GPU in the middle of the database's distribution, a position that seems generous for a part with these specifications, and one that likely reflects the database's inclusion of many similarly low-end mobile parts. The identical pixel and texture rates suggest that the chip is fill-rate limited in a very balanced way: neither ROPs nor TMUs are a bottleneck relative to the other, and the shading units are the primary constraint on overall performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the thermal design power of the GeForce 9300M GS GDDR3?

A: The TDP is 13 W, and the GPU requires no external power connectors.

Q: Does this GPU support ray tracing or tensor-based features?

A: No. The fact pack lists no RT cores and no tensor cores, and the architecture is Tesla, which predates hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration.

Q: What API levels are supported?

A: DirectX 11.1 is exposed at the 10_0 feature level, OpenGL 3.3 is supported, and Vulkan is not listed.

Q: How much memory does it have and what is the bandwidth?

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 process node and die size are used?

A: The G98 chip is fabricated by UMC on a 55 nm process, with 210 million transistors on an 80 mm² die, for a density of 2.6M / mm².

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

A: It was released on 2008-06-03, is now end-of-life, and sits between the GeForce 8M (predecessor) and GeForce 100M (successor) in NVIDIA's mobile lineup.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem of the GeForce 9300M GS GDDR3 is defined by three numbers: 256 MB of GDDR3, a 64-bit bus width, and 11.23 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 702 MHz, translating to 1404 Mbps effective. These figures are small, but they must be understood in the context of a 13 W mobile GPU from 2008.

The 256 MB capacity is the most limiting factor. At high resolutions and with modern texture-heavy workloads, 256 MB is simply insufficient, the GPU would have to spill to system memory, which is far slower. The 64-bit bus is narrow, and it caps the bandwidth at 11.23 GB/s. The implication for high resolutions is clear: this GPU is not designed for them. The combination of 256 MB VRAM and 11.23 GB/s bandwidth means that any workload with large framebuffers or high-resolution textures will quickly exhaust both capacity and bandwidth.

The pixel rate of 2.320 GPixel/s further constrains how many pixels can be filled per second. At lower resolutions and with reduced detail settings, the memory subsystem is adequate for the basic tasks this GPU targets. The use of GDDR3 rather than other memory types is notable for the era. GDDR3 offers higher bandwidth per pin, which helps compensate for the narrow 64-bit bus. The 1404 Mbps effective data rate is modest, but it is a reasonable match for the 8 shading units and 4 TMUs. The memory subsystem, like the rest of the chip, is balanced around a low-power, low-performance design point, and the data shows that balance is consistent across compute, fill rate, and memory.