GeForce 6800 XE vs Matrox Parhelia 256 MB

Primary details

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

Place in performance rankingnot ratednot rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
ArchitectureParhelia (2002−2006)Curie (2003−2013)
GPU code nameParhelia-512NV40
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date25 June 2002 (21 year ago)30 September 2005 (18 years ago)
Current price$234 no data

Detailed specifications

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Core clock speed200 MHz275 MHz
Number of transistors80 million222 million
Manufacturing process technology150 nm130 nm
Texture fill rate0.82.200

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).

InterfaceAGP 4xAGP 8x
Length175 mmno data
Width1-slot1-slot
Supplementary power connectorsNoneNone

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 typeDDRDDR2
Maximum RAM amount256 MB256 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed500 MHz532 MHz
Memory bandwidth16 GB/s8.512 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 Connectors2x DVI1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video

API compatibility

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

DirectX8.19.0c (9_3)
Shader Modelno data3.0
OpenGL1.52.1
OpenCLN/AN/A
VulkanN/AN/A

Pros & cons summary


Recency 25 June 2002 30 September 2005
Chip lithography 150 nm 130 nm

We couldn't decide between Matrox Parhelia 256 MB and GeForce 6800 XE. 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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Matrox Parhelia 256 MB
Parhelia 256 MB
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XE
GeForce 6800 XE

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