Matrox Parhelia 256 MB vs GeForce FX 5900
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 1509 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Architecture | Rankine (2003−2005) | Parhelia (2002−2006) |
| GPU code name | NV35 | Parhelia-512 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 12 May 2003 (22 years ago) | 25 June 2002 (23 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $399 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.
Performance to price scatter graph
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 | 400 MHz | 200 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 135 million | 80 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 130 nm | 150 nm |
| Texture fill rate | 3.200 | 0.8 |
| ROPs | 4 | 4 |
| TMUs | 8 | 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 | AGP 8x | AGP 4x |
| Length | 218 mm | 175 mm |
| Width | 1-slot | 1-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x Molex | 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 | DDR | DDR |
| Maximum RAM amount | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 425 MHz | 250 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 27.2 GB/s | 16 GB/s |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video | 2x DVI |
API and SDK compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 9.0a | 8.1 |
| OpenGL | 1.5 (2.1) | 1.5 |
| OpenCL | N/A | N/A |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 12 May 2003 | 25 June 2002 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Chip lithography | 130 nm | 150 nm |
FX 5900 has an age advantage of 10 months, and a 15.4% more advanced lithography process.
Matrox Parhelia 256 MB, on the other hand, has a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount.
We couldn't decide between GeForce FX 5900 and Matrox Parhelia 256 MB. We've got no test results to judge.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
