NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200

The NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200 is an end-of-life graphics card built on the Celsius architecture, manufactured by NVIDIA on a 180 nm TSMC process. It packs 20 million transistors on a 64 mm² die, with a transistor density of 312.5K per mm². Released on March 2, 2001, it sits between the GeForce 256 and GeForce 3 in the product lineage. The card operates over an AGP 4x bus and offers a single-slot design with no auxiliary power connectors. Its memory subsystem consists of 32 MB of SDR memory on a 64-bit bus, running at 166 MHz and delivering 1.328 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU features 4 texture mapping units and 2 ROPs, achieving a pixel rate of 350.0 MPixel/s and a texture rate of 700.0 MTexel/s. In the benchmark database, this model holds a 50th percentile rank among all GPUs, though no individual benchmark scores are recorded.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark database lists no scores for the GeForce2 MX 200, and its average benchmark score is recorded as 0. This absence of data means the only quantitative performance indicators available are the theoretical fill rates. The pixel rate of 350.0 MPixel/s and texture rate of 700.0 MTexel/s represent the maximum throughput the GPU can sustain under ideal conditions. These figures are derived from the clock speeds and the number of texture mapping units and ROPs, but they do not translate directly into real-world frame rates. The 50th percentile ranking places this card exactly in the middle of all GPUs tracked by the database, suggesting a balanced position relative to the entire historical spectrum, neither a standout performer nor a laggard. However, without rival scores or deltas, any further comparative analysis is impossible. The theoretical rates imply that the card was designed for a specific era of games, but the lack of benchmark results prevents a direct assessment of its practical capabilities.

Power and Cooling

The GeForce2 MX 200 does not have a listed TDP in the database, but its power requirements are modest by design. The card uses no auxiliary power connectors, drawing all power from the AGP slot. NVIDIA recommends a 200 W power supply for systems using this GPU, which reflects the low overall system draw typical of early 2000s hardware. The single-slot cooling solution is sufficient given the lack of a dedicated power input and the likely thermal output of the 180 nm process. The absence of a TDP figure means we cannot quantify the exact heat generation, but the combination of no power connectors and a 200 W PSU suggestion indicates that the card was intended for mainstream desktop builds with minimal power delivery infrastructure. Users upgrading from older systems would not need to replace their power supplies, as 200 W was a common rating for entry-level PSUs of that period.

Who Should Consider It

Given the specifications, the GeForce2 MX 200 is suited for legacy gaming at low resolutions and modest detail settings. The 32 MB SDR memory and 1.328 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for DirectX 7.0 era titles, which typically required 16–32 MB of VRAM and used relatively small textures. The pixel rate of 350.0 MPixel/s allows for smooth rendering at low resolutions, though high resolutions with heavy effects would quickly saturate the limited fill rate. The card supports DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2, meaning it can run games from 2000 and earlier, but it lacks hardware features for later API versions. Users who want to revisit classic titles such as late-90s first-person shooters or real-time strategy games will find this card adequate, provided they are willing to accept lower resolution and reduced texture quality. It is not suitable for modern gaming, high-definition video playback, or any workload requiring shader model 2.0 or later, as those are absent from the feature set.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory type and size of the GeForce2 MX 200?

A: It has 32 MB of SDR memory on a 64-bit bus, with a memory clock of 166 MHz.

Q: Does this GPU support DirectX 8 or later?

A: No, it supports DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2 only.

Q: What power connectors does the card require?

A: It requires no power connectors; power is supplied entirely through the AGP 4x slot.

Q: What display outputs are available?

A: The card offers 1x DVI, 1x VGA, and 1x S-Video output.

Q: What is the process node and transistor count?

A: It is manufactured on a 180 nm process with 20 million transistors.

Q: Is the card still in production?

A: No, its production status is listed as end-of-life.

How It Compares

The database lists no nearest rivals for the GeForce2 MX 200, meaning there are no direct comparative scores or performance deltas available. This absence of rival data prevents any quantitative positioning against other GPUs. However, the card's 50th percentile rank among all GPUs in the database offers a broad reference point: it sits exactly at the median, indicating that half of all GPUs tracked perform better and half perform worse. Its predecessor, the GeForce 256, and successor, the GeForce 3, are noted in the fact pack but not as rivals with scores. The GeForce2 MX 200 was likely positioned as a budget-oriented variant within the GeForce 2 MX series, but without explicit competitor data, any such inference remains speculative. The lack of nearest rivals also means the theoretical fill rates, 350.0 MPixel/s and 700.0 MTexel/s, cannot be contextualized against other cards.

Memory Subsystem

The memory configuration of the GeForce2 MX 200 is a critical bottleneck for its era. It uses 32 MB of SDR memory, which is half the capacity of higher-end cards of the same generation, and the 64-bit bus width is narrower than the 128-bit or 256-bit interfaces common in contemporary flagship GPUs. The memory clock of 166 MHz yields a bandwidth of 1.328 GB/s, a figure that is low even by early 2000s standards. This bandwidth limitation directly impacts high-resolution performance because texture and geometry data must be transferred between the GPU and memory more frequently. At low resolutions, the limited bandwidth is less noticeable, but as resolution increases, the fill rate and memory bandwidth become the primary constraints. The SDR memory type also lacks the efficiency of DDR memory, which was emerging at the time. For a card with only 32 MB of VRAM, the 64-bit bus is a deliberate cost-saving measure, but it means that games with large textures will experience stuttering or reduced frame rates. The pixel rate of 350.0 MPixel/s and texture rate of 700.0 MTexel/s are also modest, and together with the narrow memory bus, they cap the card's performance at low settings.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The GeForce2 MX 200 has no dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these technologies were not introduced until much later generations. The GPU is built on the Celsius architecture, which predates any hardware acceleration for ray tracing or AI-based features. Its API support is limited to DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2, which means it lacks the programmable shader pipelines introduced in DirectX 8.0. Consequently, the card cannot execute vertex or pixel shaders, and it relies on fixed-function pipeline rendering. This restricts its compatibility with games that require shader model 1.1 or higher. The absence of Vulkan support is expected, as Vulkan did not exist until 2016. The feature set is thus entirely focused on the fixed-function 3D rendering of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The card does support DVI output, which was advanced for its time, but the lack of any modern features makes it purely a legacy device. For users seeking ray tracing or tensor-based upscaling, this GPU offers none of those capabilities.