GeForce FX 5500 vs 6800 Ultra

Place in the ranking	1278	1487
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	0.31	no data
Architecture	Curie (2003−2013)	Rankine (2003−2005)
GPU code name	NV45	NV34 B1
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	26 July 2004 (20 years ago)	17 March 2004 (20 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$499	$36.99

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Core clock speed	425 MHz	270 MHz
Number of transistors	222 million	45 million
Manufacturing process technology	130 nm	150 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	81 Watt	no data
Texture fill rate	6.800	1.080
ROPs	16	4
TMUs	16	4

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Interface	PCIe 1.0 x16	AGP 8x
Length	197 mm	152 mm
Width	2-slot	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	None

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR3	DDR
Maximum RAM amount	256 MB	64 MB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	550 MHz	166 MHz
Memory bandwidth	35.2 GB/s	5.312 GB/s

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors

2x DVI, 1x S-Video

1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	9.0c (9_3)	9.0a
Shader Model	3.0	no data
OpenGL	2.1	1.5 (2.1)
OpenCL	N/A	N/A
Vulkan	N/A	N/A

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

6800 Ultra 0.36
+1700%

FX 5500 0.02

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

6800 Ultra 138
+1625%

FX 5500 8

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.36	0.02
Recency	26 July 2004	17 March 2004
Maximum RAM amount	256 MB	64 MB
Chip lithography	130 nm	150 nm

6800 Ultra has a 1700% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 months, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 15.4% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce 6800 Ultra is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce FX 5500 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.