NVIDIA GeForce2 MX + nForce 220

The NVIDIA GeForce2 MX + nForce 220 is an integrated graphics processor built on the Celsius architecture and fabricated on a 180 nm process. Released on 2001-06-03, it pairs the GeForce 2 MX generation with the nForce 220 northbridge via the Crush11 chip. The part carries 20 million transistors on a 65 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 307.7K per mm². It is now end-of-life, with the GeForce 4 MX IGP as its successor.

Benchmark Performance

The database records an average benchmark score of 0 for the GeForce 2 MX + nForce 220. That zero is not a measured performance result but a placeholder: no benchmark entries exist for this part in the database. The percentile field, however, places it at the 50th percentile among all GPUs tracked. That midpoint ranking signals a part that was neither a performance leader nor a laggard in its era — a mainstream integrated solution occupying the center of the distribution.

The raw throughput figures reinforce this position. The pixel rate is 350.0 MPixel/s, and the texture rate is 700.0 MTexel/s. With 4 texture mapping units and 2 raster output units, the chip can generate 700 million texel operations per second and 350 million pixel operations per second. These numbers are modest by modern standards, but for an integrated part from 2001, they defined a usable entry-level experience.

The ratio between texture rate and pixel rate is exactly 2:1, reflecting the 4 TMUs feeding 2 ROPs. That configuration means the chip can apply two textures per pixel before the ROPs become the bottleneck. In games using single-texture or dual-texture passes, the part could keep up with its fill-rate obligations. Heavier multi-texturing workloads would exceed the texture pipeline's capacity.

Because the benchmark score is 0 and no rival data is present, the percentile alone carries the interpretive weight. A 50th percentile placement indicates that half of the GPUs in the database rank above it and half rank below. For an integrated graphics solution sharing system memory, that central position reflects the compromises inherent to the design.

Power and Cooling

The fact pack lists no TDP for the GeForce 2 MX + nForce 220. It also lists no suggested PSU and no power connectors. This absence is consistent with the IGP form factor: the slot width is listed as "IGP," meaning the graphics processor is embedded on the motherboard rather than occupying an expansion slot. Power is drawn from the motherboard's own voltage regulation, and the cooling solution is likewise motherboard-dependent.

The 180 nm process node and 20 million transistor count suggest a modest power envelope, though the fact pack does not quantify it. Without a TDP figure, the analysis can only note that the design requires no auxiliary power connectors and no dedicated expansion-slot power. The display outputs are also motherboard-dependent, which means the number and type of outputs vary by board design.

For system builders, the practical implication is that the IGP imposes no additional power-supply requirements beyond what the motherboard itself demands. A system using this IGP relies on the motherboard's integrated voltage regulators to feed the Crush11 chip. The absence of a suggested PSU rating in the fact pack indicates that no minimum power supply is specified for this part.

Who Should Consider It

The GeForce 2 MX + nForce 220 is an end-of-life integrated part released on 2001-06-03. Its DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2 support place it firmly in the early-2000s software ecosystem. Games and applications from that era that target DirectX 7.0 features — fixed-function transform and lighting, multitexturing, and basic alpha blending — fall within the part's capability envelope.

The 350.0 MPixel/s pixel rate and 700.0 MTexel/s texture rate define the practical ceiling. At the resolutions common at the time of release, the fill rate would be sufficient for lightly textured scenes. The system-shared memory architecture means performance is tied to the host system's RAM. The bandwidth is "System Dependent," so faster system memory directly improves graphics throughput.

This part is not for modern gaming. DirectX 7.0 is the highest API level supported, so any title requiring a newer DirectX version or a higher OpenGL version is outside its reach. The lack of Vulkan support further limits compatibility with contemporary software. Users considering this part today would be limited to legacy applications and operating systems from the early 2000s.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals field in the fact pack is empty. No direct rival data is available for this part. The only positional references are the successor, GeForce 4 MX IGP, and the 50th percentile ranking.

Against its successor, the GeForce 4 MX IGP, the GeForce 2 MX + nForce 220 represents the earlier generation. The successor would be expected to improve on the 350.0 MPixel/s pixel rate and 700.0 MTexel/s texture rate, though the fact pack does not provide those figures for the successor. The existence of a successor implies the original was superseded in the market.

The empty rival list also means no percentage deltas can be computed. Without named rivals and their scores, the analysis is limited to the percentile placement. The 50th percentile is a central position, suggesting that the part was average among all GPUs in the database at the time of data collection. This is a reasonable outcome for an integrated solution that was never designed to compete with discrete graphics cards.

In the absence of rival data, the most meaningful comparison is between the part's own throughput metrics and its percentile rank. A 50th percentile GPU with a 350.0 MPixel/s pixel rate and 700.0 MTexel/s texture rate occupies a consistent mid-pack position — the fill-rate figures align with the central ranking.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The fact pack lists no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The GeForce 2 MX + nForce 220 predates hardware ray tracing, and the absence of RT cores and tensor cores means no hardware acceleration for ray-traced lighting or AI-based features. The API support is DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2. Vulkan support is not listed, which means the driver stack does not expose a Vulkan interface.

DirectX 7.0 was the fixed-function pipeline era — no programmable shader model support beyond what the hardware could emulate in the fixed-function units. OpenGL 1.2 similarly predates the programmable shader stages that later OpenGL versions introduced. The feature set is therefore limited to fixed-function 3D rendering.

The 4 TMUs and 2 ROPs handle texture mapping and rasterization, but there are no programmable shader units listed. The shading units field is null in the fact pack, confirming that this part does not have dedicated shader processors. For the time period, DirectX 7.0 support was standard for integrated graphics. Games designed around DirectX 7.0 features would run, while titles pushing newer API features would either fall back to software rendering or fail to run.

FAQ

Q: What is the release date of the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX + nForce 220?

A: The fact pack lists the release date as 2001-06-03.

Q: Does this GPU support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The fact pack lists no RT cores and no tensor cores, so there is no hardware acceleration for ray tracing or AI-based features.

Q: What is the manufacturing process node?

A: The chip is fabricated on a 180 nm process, with 20 million transistors on a 65 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 307.7K per mm².

Q: What is the memory configuration?

A: The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," meaning the GPU uses the host system's RAM. Bandwidth is "System Dependent."

Q: What APIs does this GPU support?

A: The fact pack lists DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2. Vulkan support is not listed.

Q: What is the successor to this product?

A: The successor is the GeForce 4 MX IGP.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem is entirely system-shared. The size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," meaning the GeForce 2 MX + nForce 220 has no dedicated VRAM. It borrows from the host system's main memory, and the bandwidth is "System Dependent" — it scales with the memory technology used in the host platform.

This design has significant implications. Because the GPU and CPU share the same memory bus, there is contention for bandwidth. The system's memory bandwidth must serve both the processor and the graphics pipeline. The 700.0 MTexel/s texture rate requires a steady supply of texel data from memory, and the system-shared arrangement means that supply is not guaranteed — it depends on what else the CPU is doing.

The absence of dedicated VRAM also means that texture storage competes with application memory. Larger textures or higher resolutions consume more system memory, potentially reducing the memory available to the operating system and applications. The fact pack does not specify a maximum shared memory allocation, so the effective graphics memory ceiling is defined by the host system's total RAM.

For the era, shared memory was a common cost-saving measure in integrated graphics. The performance impact is most visible in fill-rate-bound scenarios, where the 350.0 MPixel/s pixel rate and the memory subsystem's latency combine to limit frame throughput. Users with faster system memory would see better results, but the fact pack does not provide specific bandwidth figures — only the qualitative "System Dependent" label.

The AGP 4x bus interface connects the IGP to the rest of the system. AGP 4x was a standard interface for graphics at the time, though the fact pack does not specify the bandwidth of the AGP 4x link. The combination of AGP 4x and system-shared memory means the graphics data path is shared with the CPU, which is a fundamental bottleneck of the design.