NVIDIA GeForce GT 220M

NVIDIA GeForce GT 220M is a 55 nm Tesla-architecture mobile GPU built on the G96C chip, featuring 314 million transistors on a 121 mm² die. It targets entry-level laptop graphics from the GeForce 200M generation, with its performance landing at the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the database, though it holds no benchmark score data.

Who Should Consider It

The GT 220M is suited for users running legacy applications or older 3D titles at modest resolutions. With 32 shading units, 16 texture mapping units, and 8 raster output units, the data suggests a GPU capable of handling 720p gaming on low-to-medium settings for titles from its 2009 release era. The pixel rate of 4.400 GPixel/s and texture rate of 8.800 GTexel/s indicate that resolutions beyond 1366x768 will strain the hardware, as fill-rate demands quickly outpace what the chip can deliver. For 1080p output, the 16.00 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck, particularly in texture-heavy scenes. Users who prioritize modern game compatibility or high-refresh-rate displays should look elsewhere, as the DirectX 11.1 (10_0) support is feature-limited compared to contemporary parts. The 1024 MB DDR2 frame buffer is adequate for older titles but insufficient for current games with large texture packs. Essentially, this GPU fits a very narrow niche: retro gaming, basic productivity, or as a fallback for systems where integrated graphics are unavailable.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The GT 220M has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, as these hardware features did not exist in the Tesla architecture. Consequently, any ray-traced effects are entirely unsupported at the hardware level. The API support includes DirectX 11.1 with a 10_0 feature level, which means it can run DirectX 10-class shaders but not the full DirectX 11 feature set. OpenGL 3.3 is supported, enabling compatibility with many older PC titles that rely on that API. Vulkan is not supported, which eliminates access to modern cross-platform graphics APIs. This feature set places the GPU firmly in the pre-2010 era, where geometry shaders and tessellation were nascent or absent. Benchmark results indicate the FP32 compute throughput is 88.00 GFLOPS, a figure that underscores the lack of dedicated compute hardware. For users interested in hardware-accelerated ray tracing or AI-based upscaling, the data shows no support whatsoever. The absence of tensor cores also rules out any deep-learning super sampling features. In practice, this means the GT 220M relies entirely on traditional rasterization, and even then, only within the constraints of its lower-tier DirectX 10_0 feature level.

Power and Cooling

The GT 220M carries a TDP of 14 W, which is remarkably low by modern standards but typical for a 55 nm mobile chip of its generation. This low power draw means the GPU can be cooled by a basic heatsink and fan arrangement, with no dedicated power connector required—the "None" entry for power connectors confirms that the card draws all power from the MXM-II bus interface. The slot width is specified as MXM Module, indicating a replaceable mobile graphics module. Since no suggested PSU is listed, the data implies that any laptop chassis designed for this MXM-II form factor will have adequate power delivery. The 55 nm process node contributes to the modest thermal output, though the 121 mm² die size with 314 million transistors suggests a relatively dense layout for its time. For cooling, a simple heatpipe or even passive cooling might suffice in low-load scenarios, but sustained gaming would require active airflow. The lack of a specified length or height dimensions means physical compatibility must be checked against the laptop’s MXM slot. Overall, the power profile is a non-issue for most systems, but the aging process node means efficiency is far below what modern 5 nm or 4 nm parts achieve.

How It Compares

The GT 220M has no nearest rivals listed in the benchmark database, as the `nearestRivals` array is empty. This absence of comparative data makes it challenging to position the GPU relative to contemporaries. However, the 50th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests it sits exactly at the median of the entire database, which includes many far more powerful desktop and mobile parts from later years. Given that the database likely includes GPUs from 2009 through the present, a 50th percentile score indicates the GT 220M outperforms half of all recorded GPUs—but this is misleading because many entries are likely integrated graphics or low-end variants. Without specific rival scores or delta percentages, any direct comparison must remain qualitative. The predecessor is the GeForce 100M series, and the successor is the GeForce 300M series, implying incremental performance gains across those generations. The G96C chip is a revision of the older G96 core, common in mid-2000s laptops. In practical terms, the GT 220M would trail any discrete GPU from 2012 onward by a wide margin, but it would surpass many integrated solutions from its era. The lack of rival data means no exact percentages can be cited, but the architectural gap is evident from the 32 shading units and 128-bit memory bus.

Memory Subsystem

The GT 220M is equipped with 1024 MB of DDR2 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 16.00 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 500 MHz with an effective data rate of 1000 Mbps. This configuration was common for entry-level mobile GPUs in 2009, but the DDR2 type and relatively narrow bus are severe limitations by modern standards. For high-resolution gaming, the 16.00 GB/s bandwidth becomes a critical constraint. At 1080p, the pixel throughput required to fill the screen, combined with texture fetches and geometry data, can easily saturate this bandwidth. The 128-bit bus width is half of what mid-range parts used even in that generation, and DDR2’s lower efficiency compared to GDDR3 or GDDR5 compounds the issue. The 1024 MB capacity is sufficient for low-detail textures at 720p, but larger texture sets in newer games will cause stuttering due to memory swapping. The pixel rate of 4.400 GPixel/s means that even if bandwidth were adequate, the ROPs would limit fill rate to roughly 4.4 billion pixels per second, which is inadequate for 60 fps at 1080p (requiring ~124 million pixels per second, but with overdraw and effects, the margin is thin). For users considering this GPU, the memory subsystem is the primary bottleneck in any modern workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the manufacturing process and chip size of the GT 220M?

A: The GT 220M uses a 55 nm process node at TSMC, with the G96C chip measuring 121 mm² and containing 314 million transistors.

Q: Does the GT 220M support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No, the GT 220M has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. It relies entirely on traditional rasterization with 32 shading units.

Q: What is the maximum supported DirectX version?

A: The GPU supports DirectX 11.1 but only at the 10_0 feature level, meaning it cannot use full DirectX 11 features like tessellation.

Q: What power connector does this GPU require?

A: The GT 220M uses no power connectors, drawing all power from the MXM-II bus interface, with a TDP of 14 W.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does the GT 220M have?

A: It provides 16.00 GB/s of bandwidth from 1024 MB of DDR2 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 500 MHz (1000 Mbps effective).

Q: Is this GPU still in production?

A: No, the GT 220M is end-of-life, with a release date of 2009-06-14 and a successor in the GeForce 300M series.

Benchmark Performance

The GT 220M holds a 50th percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database, yet its average benchmark score is listed as 0. This contradiction suggests that no standardized benchmarks were run or recorded for this specific model, leaving the percentile as a positional placeholder based on architectural similarity. Without any benchmark scores or nearest rival data, exact performance deltas cannot be computed. However, the raw specifications provide a basis for inference. The FP32 performance of 88.00 GFLOPS places it far below any modern entry-level GPU; for context, a typical 2020 integrated GPU would exceed 1,000 GFLOPS. The pixel rate of 4.400 GPixel/s and texture rate of 8.800 GTexel/s indicate that the GPU can process roughly 8.8 billion texels per second, which is adequate for 2009-era titles at 720p but insufficient for 1080p with high-detail textures. The memory bandwidth of 16.00 GB/s is a decisive factor—modern GPUs with 128-bit buses and GDDR6 memory exceed 200 GB/s, meaning the GT 220M is over 12 times slower in memory throughput. Given the 50th percentile, the GPU outranks half of all entries in the database, but this is likely because the database includes many older integrated graphics chips with even fewer resources. In direct comparison to its successor, the GeForce 300M series, the GT 220M’s 32 shading units and 8 ROPs would be matched or exceeded, but without specific benchmark deltas, any percentage difference is speculative. The data strongly implies that this GPU is only suitable for legacy software and should not be considered for any modern workload. The lack of benchmark scores also means that user-driven performance variability cannot be assessed, leaving only the theoretical peak rates as the measure of capability.