GeForce FX 5500 vs FX 5950 Ultra
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 | NV38 | NV34 B1 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 23 October 2003 (21 year ago) | 17 March 2004 (20 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $499 | $36.99 |
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 | 475 MHz | 270 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 135 million | 45 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 130 nm | 150 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 74 Watt | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 3.800 | 1.080 |
| 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 8x |
| Length | 229 mm | 152 mm |
| Width | 2-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 | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 475 MHz | 166 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 30.4 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 | 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 | 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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 23 October 2003 | 17 March 2004 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Chip lithography | 130 nm | 150 nm |
FX 5950 Ultra has a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 15.4% more advanced lithography process.
FX 5500, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 months.
We couldn't decide between GeForce FX 5950 Ultra and GeForce FX 5500. We've got no test results to judge.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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