GeForce FX 5900 XT vs FX 5500

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking	not rated	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Architecture	Rankine (2003−2005)	Rankine (2003−2005)
GPU code name	NV34 B1	NV35
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	17 March 2004 (20 years ago)	12 May 2003 (21 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$36.99	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	270 MHz	400 MHz
Number of transistors	45 million	135 million
Manufacturing process technology	150 nm	130 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	no data	35 Watt
Texture fill rate	1.080	3.200
ROPs	4	4
TMUs	4	8

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	AGP 8x	AGP 8x
Length	152 mm	no data
Width	1-slot	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1x Molex

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	DDR	DDR
Maximum RAM amount	64 MB	128 MB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	166 MHz	350 MHz
Memory bandwidth	5.312 GB/s	22.4 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

1x DVI, 1x VGA, 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	9.0a	9.0a
OpenGL	1.5 (2.1)	1.5 (2.1)
OpenCL	N/A	N/A
Vulkan	N/A	N/A

Pros & cons summary

---

Recency	17 March 2004	12 May 2003
Maximum RAM amount	64 MB	128 MB
Chip lithography	150 nm	130 nm

---

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

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.

---