NVIDIA GeForce 9800S
NVIDIA graphics card specifications and benchmark scores
At a Glance
NVIDIANVIDIA GeForce 9800S Specifications
GPU Core
Shader units and compute resources
The NVIDIA GeForce 9800S 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.
9800S Clock Speeds
GPU and memory frequencies
Clock speeds directly impact the GeForce 9800S'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 9800S by NVIDIA dynamically adjusts frequencies based on workload, temperature, and power limits to maximize performance while maintaining stability.
NVIDIA's GeForce 9800S Memory
VRAM capacity and bandwidth
VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory for storing textures, frame buffers, and shader data. The GeForce 9800S'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 9800S by NVIDIA Cache
On-chip cache hierarchy
On-chip cache provides ultra-fast data access for the 9800S, 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.
9800S Theoretical Performance
Compute and fill rates
Theoretical performance metrics provide a baseline for comparing the NVIDIA GeForce 9800S 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 9800S 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 9800S will perform in GPU benchmarks compared to previous generations.
Power & Thermal
TDP and power requirements
Power specifications for the NVIDIA GeForce 9800S 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 9800S to maintain boost clocks without throttling.
GeForce 9800S by NVIDIA Physical & Connectivity
Dimensions and outputs
Physical dimensions of the NVIDIA GeForce 9800S 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 9800S. 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 9800S Product Information
Release and pricing details
The NVIDIA GeForce 9800S 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 9800S by NVIDIA represents good value at current market prices. Predecessor and successor information aids in tracking generational improvements and planning future upgrades.
About NVIDIA GeForce 9800S
The NVIDIA GeForce 9800S is a mobile graphics processor built on the Tesla architecture, using the G94 chip fabricated by TSMC on a 65 nm process. The die contains 505 million transistors across 240 mm², yielding a transistor density of 2.1M per mm². Released on July 14, 2008, the 9800S belongs to the GeForce 9M generation (9800M) and has since been marked end-of-life. Its predecessor is the GeForce 8M series and its successor is the GeForce 100M series. The card uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 bus interface and draws power without any external connectors, consistent with its integrated mobile design.
Who Should Consider It
The 9800S is a mobile-only part. Its IGP slot width and the absence of power connectors indicate a design meant to be integrated directly onto a notebook motherboard. The display outputs are portable-device dependent, meaning the laptop vendor determines the actual ports. This is not a desktop card, and it was never intended for aftermarket installation. The 75 W TDP is the key constraint for system integration: the host laptop must provide adequate cooling for that heat load, which is feasible in larger chassis but difficult in ultra-thin designs.
The performance envelope suits a specific use case. With 64 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, the card delivers 192.0 GFLOPS of FP32 compute, 19.20 GTexel/s of texture fill, and 9.600 GPixel/s of pixel throughput. The 512 MB GDDR3 frame buffer on a 256-bit bus provides 51.14 GB/s of memory bandwidth. For the 2008 laptop gaming market, these figures positioned the 9800S as a capable mid-range option.
Users who need a laptop GPU that can handle contemporary games at medium detail settings, or who need hardware acceleration for DirectX 10-class applications, would have been the target audience. The 50th percentile ranking across all GPUs in the database reinforces this mid-range positioning. Half of all GPUs perform better, half perform worse. This is not a halo product. It is a workhorse part for mainstream mobile gaming in its era.
Ray Tracing and Feature Set
The 9800S predates hardware ray tracing. There are no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores on this chip. Any ray-traced lighting or shadow effects would have to be computed on the 64 shading units, which are already taxed by the card's 192.0 GFLOPS FP32 throughput. In practice, this means the 9800S is a pure rasterization engine with no path for hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
The API support reflects the hardware's era. DirectX 11.1 (10_0) indicates that the card implements a DirectX 10-level feature set, with the 11.1 runtime providing some backward compatibility. OpenGL 3.3 is the maximum supported version. Vulkan is not supported at all. Modern games that require Vulkan or DirectX 12 will not run on this hardware. Even DirectX 11 titles that rely on feature levels above 10_0 are outside the card's capability.
The memory subsystem is one of the card's stronger features. The 512 MB of GDDR3 operates at 799 MHz (1598 Mbps effective) across a 256-bit interface, delivering 51.14 GB/s of bandwidth. This was a healthy figure for a mobile GPU in 2008. The bandwidth is sufficient to feed the 32 TMUs and 16 ROPs at their rated fill rates, meaning the card is unlikely to be bandwidth-starved in most 2008-era workloads.
The card connects via PCIe 2.0 x16, which was the current interconnect standard at the time of release. The lack of power connectors and the IGP slot width confirm that power is drawn from the motherboard rather than a separate PSU connection. The Tesla architecture and G94 chip are shared across several GeForce 9M parts, making the 9800S one implementation of a common design.
How It Compares
The dataset lists no nearest rivals for the GeForce 9800S. This means direct percentage comparisons against competing GPUs cannot be made from the available data. Instead, the 9800S can be positioned by its place in NVIDIA's own product stack. It sits between the GeForce 8M series (its predecessor) and the GeForce 100M series (its successor). This transitional position means it inherits some features from the older series while establishing the baseline for the newer one.
The 50th percentile ranking across all GPUs is the primary comparative signal available. This places the 9800S at the exact median of the GPU performance distribution in the database. It is neither a high-end part nor a low-end one. It is a mid-pack performer, which is a meaningful statement given that the database includes desktop and mobile GPUs from multiple generations.
The G94 chip is a 240 mm² die with 505 million transistors at a density of 2.1M per mm². These figures are typical for a 65 nm part from 2008. The transistor density is low by modern standards, but it reflects the process technology available at the time. The 65 nm process from TSMC was widely used for mid-range GPUs in that era, and the G94's die size is consistent with a mid-range positioning.
FAQ
Q: What architecture does the GeForce 9800S use?
A: The 9800S uses the Tesla architecture with the G94 chip, fabricated by TSMC on a 65 nm process.
Q: How much memory does the 9800S have?
A: It has 512 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 51.14 GB/s of bandwidth at 799 MHz (1598 Mbps effective).
Q: Does the 9800S support ray tracing?
A: No. It has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. Hardware ray tracing is not available.
Q: What API versions are supported?
A: DirectX 11.1 (10_0) and OpenGL 3.3 are supported. Vulkan is not supported.
Q: What is the power consumption of the 9800S?
A: The TDP is 75 W, with no external power connectors. The slot width is IGP, indicating a motherboard-integrated mobile design.
Q: When was the 9800S released and what is its status?
A: It was released on July 14, 2008, and its production status is end-of-life.
Benchmark Performance
The average benchmark score for the 9800S is 0, and its percentile rank is 50. A zero average score indicates that no benchmark submissions exist in the database for this part. Consequently, the performance analysis must be derived from the hardware specifications rather than from measured results. This is a limitation of the dataset, but the specification sheet provides enough information to draw meaningful conclusions.
The compute metrics are modest by modern standards but were competitive in 2008. The 64 shading units produce 192.0 GFLOPS of FP32 throughput. The 32 TMUs generate a texture fill rate of 19.20 GTexel/s, and the 16 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 9.600 GPixel/s. These figures align with a mid-range mobile GPU of the GeForce 9M generation. The texture rate and pixel rate are well matched, indicating a balanced configuration for its era.
The memory bandwidth of 51.14 GB/s is a strong point. The 256-bit GDDR3 interface at 1598 Mbps effective provides ample headroom for the shading units and texture units. In bandwidth-constrained workloads, the 9800S would perform closer to its theoretical limits than a card with a narrower memory bus. The 256-bit bus width is notable for a mobile part, as many competing mobile GPUs of the era used narrower interfaces.
The 512 MB capacity is the primary constraint. For 2008-era games with moderate texture sizes, 512 MB was sufficient at moderate resolutions. However, games with large texture packs or higher resolutions would exceed this capacity, forcing the card to rely on slower memory access patterns. This is the most likely bottleneck in real-world gaming scenarios.
Without rival scores in the dataset, percentage deltas cannot be computed. The 50th percentile rank is the only comparative metric, and it indicates that the 9800S performs at the median of all GPUs in the database. For a 2008 mobile part, this is a respectable position. It means the card is neither a bottleneck for its era's mainstream games nor a performance leader.
The absence of Vulkan support and the DirectX 10-level feature set mean that modern games are largely out of reach. The card's 192.0 GFLOPS of FP32 compute would be insufficient for contemporary game engines that expect vastly higher throughput. The 9800S is best understood as a product of its time — a mid-range mobile GPU that delivered solid 2008-era performance within a 75 W power envelope. Its 50th percentile ranking confirms that it was exactly average in the broader GPU landscape, which is a fair summary of its capabilities.
Detailed benchmark scores and charts for the NVIDIA GeForce 9800S are below.
Benchmark Scores
No benchmark data available for this GPU.
Compare with Other GPUs
Select another GPU to compare specifications and benchmarks side-by-side.
Browse GPUs