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ATI Rage
ATI Rage
ATI Rage
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ATI Rage series
ATI 3D Rage logoATI Rage 128 logo
Release date1996; 29 years ago (1996)
DiscontinuedYes (official support)[1]
CodenameRage
ArchitectureRage
Cards
Entry-level3D Rage, 3D Rage II, XL, Pro
Mid-range128 VR, 128 GL
High-end128 Pro
EnthusiastFury MAXX
API support
OpenGLOpenGL 1.0
History
PredecessorMach series
SuccessorRadeon 7000 series
Support status
Unsupported

The ATI Rage (stylized as RAGE or rage) is a series of graphics chipsets developed by ATI Technologies offering graphical user interface (GUI) 2D acceleration, video acceleration, and 3D acceleration developed by ATI Technologies. It is the successor to the ATI Mach series of 2D accelerators.

3D RAGE (I)

[edit]

The original 3D RAGE (also known as Mach64 GT) chip was based upon a Mach64 2D core with new 3D functionality and MPEG-1 acceleration. The 3D RAGE was released in April 1996.[2] The 3D RAGE was used in ATI's 3D Xpression video board. Additionally, this chip was found integrated into the IBM Aptiva 2176 line with the Stealth case, and came with a Free Copy of MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat that only worked with this graphics chip to showcase its abilities. The memory configuration on this integrated chip was 2 Megabytes.

3D RAGE II (II+, II+DVD, IIc)

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ATI Rage II+DVD chip
ATI 3D Rage II Graphics Card
ATI 3D Rage II+ DVD with Vertex M1 panel removed
ATI Rage IIc PCI card

The second generation Rage (aka Mach64 GT-B) offered roughly two times greater 3D performance. Its graphics processor was based again on a re-engineered Mach64 GUI engine that provided optimal 2D performance with either single-cycle EDO memory or high-speed SGRAM. The 3D Rage II chip was an enhanced, pin compatible version of the 3D Rage accelerator. The second-generation PCI-bus compatible chip boosted 2D performance by 20 percent and added support for MPEG-2 (DVD) playback. The chip also had driver support for Microsoft Direct3D and Reality Lab, QuickDraw 3D Rave, Criterion RenderWare, and Argonaut BRender. OpenGL drivers are available for the professional 3D and CAD community and Heidi drivers are available for AutoCAD users. Drivers were also provided in operating systems including Windows 95, Windows NT, the Mac OS, OS/2, and Linux.[3] ATI also shipped a TV encoder companion chip for RAGE II, the ImpacTV chip.

RAGE II was integrated into several Macintosh Computers, including the first revision of the Macintosh G3 (Beige) and the Power Mac 6500. In IBM-compatible PCs, several motherboards and video cards used the chipset as well including: the 3D Xpression+, the 3D Pro Turbo, and the original All-in-Wonder.

The 3D Rage IIc was the last version of the Rage II core and offered optional AGP support. The Rage IIc was used in the original iMac (Revision A) in 1998.

  • Specifications for the Rage II+DVD:
    • 60 MHz core
    • up to 83 MHz SGRAM memory
    • 480 MB/s memory bandwidth
    • DirectX 5.0

3D RAGE Pro

[edit]
RAGE Pro chip
ATI Xpert@Play, AGP, 8 MB RAM
ATI Xpert@Work, PCI, 8 MB RAM

ATI made a number of changes over the 3D RAGE II: a new triangle setup engine, perspective correction improvements, fog support and transparency implementations, specular lighting support, and enhanced video playback and DVD support. The 3D Rage Pro chip was designed for Intel's Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), taking advantage of execute-mode texturing, command pipelining, sideband addressing, and full 2×-mode protocols. Initial versions relied on standard graphics memory configurations: up to 8 MiB of SGRAM or 16 MB of WRAM, depending on the model.

RAGE Pro offered performance in the range of Nvidia's RIVA 128 and 3dfx's Voodoo accelerator, but generally failed to match or exceed its competitors. This, in addition to its (early) lack of OpenGL support, hurt sales for what was touted to be a solid game renderer.

In February 1998, ATI introduced the 2× AGP version of the Rage Pro to the OEM market and attempted to reinvent the Rage Pro for the retail market, by simultaneously renaming the chip to Rage Pro Turbo, and releasing a new Rage Pro Turbo driver-set (4.10.2312) that supposedly increased performance by 40%. In reality, early versions of the new driver only delivered increased performance in benchmarks such as Ziff-Davis' 3D Winbench 98 and Final Reality. In games, however, performance actually suffered.

Despite this poor introduction, the Rage Pro Turbo name stuck, and eventually ATI was able to release updated versions of the driver which granted a visible performance increase in games, however this was still not enough to garner much interest from PC enthusiasts.

The 3D Rage Pro was mainly sold in the retail market as the Xpert@Work or the Xpert@Play, with the only difference being a TV-out port on the Xpert@Play version. It was also the built-in graphic chipset in the Sun Ultra 5/10 workstations, their first computer model to offer commodity PC hardware components, as well as the built-in graphic chipset of the second revision of the Macintosh G3 (Beige). It was also used in later revisions of the original iMac, namely Revision B and C.

  • General Specifications for the 3D Rage Pro:
    • 75 MHz core
    • 4, 8, and 16 MB 100 MHz SGRAM/WRAM memory
    • 800 MB/s memory bandwidth
    • DirectX 6.0

RAGE LT (laptop) and RAGE LT Pro (desktop)

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Rage LT chip
ATI Rage LT Pro AGP, 8 MB SDRAM

Rage LT or Mach64 LT was often implemented on motherboards and in mobile applications like notebook computers. This late 1996 chip was very similar to the Rage II and supported the same application coding. It integrated a low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) transmitter for notebook LCDs and advanced power management (block-by-block power control). The RAGE LT PRO, based on the 3D RAGE PRO, was the very first mobile GPU to use AGP.

It offered Filtered Ratiometric Expansion, which automatically adjusted images to full-screen size. ATI's ImpacTV2+ is integrated with the RAGE LT PRO chip to support multi-screen viewing; i.e., simultaneous outputs to TV, CRT and LCD. In addition, the RAGE LT PRO can drive two displays with different images and/or refresh rates with the use of integrated dual, independent CRT controllers.

The Rage LT Pro was often used in desktop video cards that had a VESA Digital Flat Panel port to drive some desktop LCD monitors digitally.

After ATI stopped producing the RAGE LT, ATI used the Rage 128 and Rage 128 Pro as the base chip for their new Mobility Mobile Graphics.

RAGE XL

[edit]

The Rage XL was a low-cost RAGE Pro-based card. As a low-power chip with capable 2D & 3D acceleration, the Rage XL was used on many low-end graphics cards. It was also seen on Intel motherboards as recently as 2004, and was still used in 2006 for server motherboards. The Rage XL has been succeeded by the ATI ES1000 for server use.

The chip was basically a die-shrunk Rage Pro, optimized to be very inexpensive for applications where only basic graphics output was necessary.

Rage XL has improved bilinear filtering on transparent textures compared to the Rage Pro.[4]

RAGE 128 (entry and mid-range)

[edit]
Rage XL chip
Rage 128 chip
ATI Rage 128GL, 32 MB SGRAM

In the continuing struggle to create the fastest and most advanced 3D accelerator, ATI came up with the RAGE 128. The chip was announced in two flavors, the RAGE 128 GL and the RAGE 128 VR. Aside from the VR chip's lower price, the main difference was that the former was a full 128-bit design, while the VR, still a 128-bit processor internally, used a 64-bit external memory interface.

  • Magnum - A workstation board for OEMs with 32 MB SDRAM.
  • Rage Fury - 32 MB SDRAM memory and same performance as the Magnum, this add-in card was marketed for PC games.
  • Xpert 128 - 16 MB SDRAM memory and, like the others, used the RAGE 128 GL chip.
  • Rage Orion - RAGE 128 GL design specifically intended for Mac OS with 16 MB SDRAM memory, OpenGL and QuickDraw 3D/RAVE support,[5] essentially a market-specific Xpert 128. This card supported more and different video resolutions than later Mac-specific RAGE 128 designs. This card was marketed for Macintosh games.
  • Nexus 128 - Also a Mac-specific RAGE 128 GL design, but with 32 MB of RAM, similar to the Rage Fury. This card was targeted at graphics professionals.
  • Xclaim VR 128 - Also a Mac-specific RAGE 128 GL design with 16 MB SDRAM memory, but included video capture, video out, TV tuner support and QuickTime video acceleration.[5]
  • Xpert 2000 - RAGE 128 VR design using 64-bit memory interface.

Rage 128 was compliant to Direct3D 6 and OpenGL 1.2. It supported many features from the previous RAGE chips, such as triangle setup, DVD acceleration, and a capable VGA/GUI accelerator core.

RAGE 128 added inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) acceleration to the DVD repertoire. It was ATI's first dual texturing renderer, in that it could output two pixels per clock (two pixel pipelines). The processor was known for its well-performing 32-bit color mode, but also its poorly dithered 16-bit mode; the RAGE 128 was not much faster in 16-bit color despite the lower bandwidth requirements.

In 32-bit mode, RAGE 128 was more than a match for the RIVA TNT, and the Voodoo 3 did not support 32-bit at all. The chip was meant to compete with the NVIDIA RIVA TNT, Matrox G200 and 3dfx Voodoo 2 in 1998.

ATI implemented a caching technique it called Twin Cache Architecture (TCA) with Rage 128. The Rage 128 used an 8 kB buffer to store texels that were used by the 3D engine. In order to improve performance even more, ATI engineers also incorporated an 8 KB pixel cache used to write pixels back to the frame buffer.

Rage 128 Pro / Rage Fury (high-end) & Rage Fury MAXX (enthusiast)

[edit]
ATI Rage 128 Pro DVI, 32 MB SGRAM

Later, ATI developed a successor to the original Rage 128, called the Rage 128 Pro. This chip carried several enhancements, including an enhanced triangle setup engine that doubled geometry throughput to eight million triangles/s, better texture filtering, DirectX 6.0 texture compression, AGP 4×, DVI support, and a Rage Theater chip for composite and S-Video TV-in. This chip was used on the game-oriented Rage Fury Pro boards and the business oriented Xpert 2000 PRO. The Rage 128 Pro was generally an even match for the Voodoo 3 2000, RIVA TNT2 and Matrox G400, but was often hindered by its lower clock (often at 125 MHz) when competing against the high end Voodoo3 3500, TNT2 ultra and G400 MAX.

Alternate frame rendering on the RAGE Fury MAXX

[edit]
ATI Rage Fury MAXX, 2× 32 MB SDRAM

The Rage Fury MAXX board held dual Rage 128 Pro chips in an alternate frame rendering (AFR) configuration to allow a near-double increase in performance. As the name says, AFR renders each frame on an independent graphics processor. This board was meant to compete with the NVIDIA GeForce 256 and later the 3dfx Voodoo 5. While it was able to somewhat match 32 MB SDR GeForce 256 boards, the GeForce 256 cards with DDR memory still easily came out on top.[6] Though there were few games that supported hardware transform, clipping, and lighting (T&L) at the time, the MAXX's lack of hardware T&L would put it at a disadvantage when such titles became more widespread.

It was later discovered by ATI that Windows NT 5.x operating systems (Windows 2000, XP) did not support dual AGP GPUs in the way ATI had implemented them. NT put them both on the AGP bus and switched between them, and so the board could only operate as a single Rage 128 Pro with the performance of a Rage Fury card. The optimal OS for the Rage Fury MAXX is Windows 98/ME.[citation needed] Windows 95 and Mac OS were not supported.

Rage 6 (now called "Radeon")

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The Rage 128 Pro graphics accelerator was the final revision of the Rage architecture and the last use of the Rage brand name. While the next iteration was initially code-named as Rage 6, ATI decided to rename it Radeon for release. The name is still in use today by AMD after acquiring ATI in 2006 (and indeed after the ATI brand was phased out in 2010).

Rage Mobility (laptops)

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An ATI Rage Mobility-M from a Fujitsu Lifebook P series laptop

Rage Mobility succeeded the Rage LT and Rage LT Pro. Almost every version of Rage was used in mobile applications, but there were also some special versions of these chips which were optimized for this. They were ATI's first graphics solutions to carry the Mobility naming. Such chips included:

  • RAGE Mobility C / EC / L / M2, (RAGE Pro-based) (Motion Compensation)
  • RAGE Mobility P / M / M1 (RAGE Pro-based) (Motion Compensation, IDCT)
  • RAGE Mobility 128 / M3 / M4 (RAGE 128 Pro-based) (Motion Compensation, IDCT)

Models

[edit]
Main article: Comparison of ATI Graphics Processing Units

Original Reference Card # (RAGE 128 Pro) : 109-60600-10

Desktop Models

[edit]
  • Entry Level
    • 3D RAGE
    • 3D RAGE II / II+DVD / IIc
    • 3D RAGE XL
    • 3D RAGE Pro / Xpert@Play / Xpert@Home
  • Middle Range
    • RAGE Magnum (OEM Workstation Graphics)
    • RAGE 128 VR / Xpert 2000 Pro
    • RAGE 128 GL / Xpert 128
  • High-End
    • RAGE 128 Pro
    • RAGE 128 Ultra (OEM Version of 128 Pro)
  • Enthusiast
    • RAGE Fury Pro (Single Rage 128 Pro)
    • RAGE Fury MAXX (Dual Rage 128 Pro with Theater Chip)

Apple Specific Cards (based on RAGE 128 GL chip)

[edit]
  • Xclaim VR 128
  • Nexus 128
  • Rage Orion

List

[edit]
Model Launch
GPU arch
Fab (nm)
Bus interface
Core clock (MHz)
Memory clock (MHz)
Core config1
 Fillrate Memory
Performance (FLOPS)
TDP (Watts)
 API compliance
MOperations/s
MPixels/s
MTexels/s
MVertices/s
Size (MiB)
Bandwidth (GB/s)
Bus type
Bus width (bit)
Direct3D
3D Rage April 1996[7] Mach64 500 PCI 40 40 1:0:1:1 40 40 40 0 2 0.32 EDO 64 ? ? 5.0 None2
3D Rage II September 1996 Mach64 (Rage2 for Rage IIc) AGP 1× (Rage IIc only), PCI 60 83 (66 MHz with EDO) 60 60 60 2, 4, 8 0.664 EDO, SGRAM, SDR ? ?
Rage Pro March 1997 Rage 3 350 AGP 1x, AGP 2×, PCI 75 75 75 75 75 4, 8, 16 0.6 ? 6 6.0 1.1
Rage XL[8][9][10][11] August 1998 250 AGP 2×, PCI 83 125 83 83 83 8 1.0 SDR ? 9
Rage 128 VR Rage 4 80 120 2:0:2:2 160 160 160 8, 32 0.96 ? ? 1.2
Rage 128 GL 103 103 206 206 206 16, 32 1.648 SGRAM, SDR 128 ? ?
Rage 128 Pro August 1999 AGP 4×, PCI 125 143 250 250 250 2.288 ? 5
Rage 128 Ultra 130 130 260 260 260 16, 32, 64 2.088 SDR ? ?
Rage Fury MAXX October 1999 AGP 4× 125 143 2:0:2:2 ×2 500 500 500 32 ×2 4.576 128 ×2 ? ?

1 Pixel pipelines : Vertex shaders : Texture mapping units : Render output units
2 OpenGL 1.0 (Generic 2D) is provided through software implementations.

Rage Mobility series

[edit]

These GPUs are either integrated into the mainboard or occupy a Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM).

Model Launch
Fab (nm)
Core clock (MHz)
Memory clock (MHz)
Hardware T&L
Core config1
 Fillrate Memory API compliance (version)
Notes
Pixel (GP/s)
Texture (GT/s)
Size (MB)
Bandwidth (GB/s)
Bus type
Bus width (bit)
Rage LT (Rage II) Nov 1996 500 PCI 60 66 No 0:1:1:1 0.06 0.06 4 0.53 EDO, SDR, SGR 64 5 N/A
Rage LT Pro (Rage Pro) Nov 1997 350 AGP, PCI 75 100 0.075 0.075 8 0.80 6 1.1 Motion compensation
Rage Mobility M/P (Rage Pro) Nov 1998 250 90 Unknown 0.18 0.18 Unknown SDR, SGR Unknown Unknown M had 4 MB of integrated SDRAM, P had none. IDCT, motion compensation.
Rage Mobility M1 (Rage Pro) Feb 1999 90 90 0.72 SDR 6 1.2 M1 had 8 MB of integrated SDRAM, P had none. IDCT, motion compensation.
Rage 128 GL Aug 1998 103 103 0:2:2:2 0.206 0.206 32 1.65 128
Rage Mobility 128 (Rage 128 Pro) Oct 1999 105 105 0.21 0.21 16 2.28 IDCT, Motion Compensation
Rage Mobility M3 (AGP 4×) (Rage 128 Pro) 2.28 M3 had 8 MB of integrated SDRAM, IDCT, Motion Compensation.
Rage Mobility M4 (AGP 4×) (Rage 128 Pro) 32 2.28 M4 had 16 MB of integrated SDRAM, IDCT, Motion Compensation.

1 Vertex shaders : Pixel shaders : Texture mapping units : Render output units.

Die shots

[edit]
  • 3D RAGE II
    3D RAGE II
  • Rage XL
    Rage XL
  • Rage PRO
    Rage PRO
  • Rage IIC
    Rage IIC
  • Rage 128 GL
    Rage 128 GL
  • Rage 128 Pro
    Rage 128 Pro

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

ATI Rage

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from Grokipedia
The ATI Rage (often stylized as RAGE) is a family of graphics chipsets developed by , Inc., primarily from the mid-1990s to late 1990s, that integrated 2D graphical user interface (GUI) acceleration, entry-level capabilities, and multimedia decoding features such as and later support. Launched as a response to growing demand for affordable multimedia and gaming hardware, the series evolved from ATI's earlier Mach64 architecture and marked the company's entry into consumer 3D graphics, competing with rivals like S3 and through cost-effective designs suitable for PCs and integrated motherboards. Key models in the lineup included the 3D Rage, Rage II, Rage Pro, and Rage 128, which collectively shipped millions of units and influenced the shift toward unified 2D/3D accelerators in the PC market. The series originated with the 3D Rage chipset, announced in fall 1995 at and released in spring 1996, initially codenamed the 264GT before adopting the "Rage" branding derived from ATI's arcade graphics heritage. Built on a 500 nm process with approximately 5 million transistors, it featured a 44 MHz core clock, support for up to 4 MB of memory, and basic compatibility including , bilinear texture filtering, alpha blending, and fog effects, though it lacked and was limited to resolutions like 640x480 at 16-bit color. This chip achieved up to 456 MB/s bandwidth and was notable for its "Free-D" concept, allowing flexible integration of 2D, 3D, and video acceleration, which enabled its use in IBM's Aptiva PCs—the first 3D graphics chip on a . Despite modest performance (claimed 600,000 triangles per second), it sold over 1 million units per quarter and helped popularize multimedia PCs for home entertainment. Subsequent iterations built on this foundation, with the Rage II (late 1996) introducing a 0.5 μm process, 73 MHz memory clock, 16-bit , and roughly double the 3D performance of its predecessor, alongside improved 2D acceleration inherited from the Mach64. The Rage Pro (1997) further advanced the line as ATI's first chip with a floating-point setup engine capable of processing 1.2 million triangles per second, AGP interface support, and 100 MHz SGRAM memory, positioning it as a competitor to Nvidia's while maintaining strong 2D capabilities. By 1998, the Rage 128 represented the series' pinnacle and decline, featuring a , 128-bit memory bus, dual texture-mapping units, single-pass multi-texturing, hardware acceleration, and AGP 4x compatibility, though it omitted texture compression and faced driver challenges. Variants like the OEM-focused Rage XL and the dual-GPU Rage Fury Maxx (1999) extended the lineup, but the Rage family transitioned into ATI's more advanced series amid intensifying competition. Overall, the ATI Rage series was significant for democratizing 3D graphics in consumer hardware, emphasizing affordability and integration over raw performance, which propelled ATI's market share in the late before its acquisition by in 2006. While criticized for inconsistent drivers and limited high-end appeal, its innovations in unified accelerators and support laid groundwork for modern GPUs.

History and Development

Origins in ATI's Graphics Lineage

ATI Technologies, founded in 1985, initially focused on graphics solutions for personal computers, entering the market with products like the VGA Wonder series in the late 1980s, which provided compatibility with emerging display standards but lacked dedicated acceleration. The company's push into hardware-accelerated graphics began with the Mach8 chipset, released in 1991 as its first 2D graphics accelerator. Designed as a clone of IBM's 1987 8514/A standard, the ATI 38800 (Mach8) chip accelerated operations such as line drawing and bit-block transfers, targeting high-resolution displays up to 1024x768 with 256 colors, though it required separate VGA support and was priced at around $900 for boards like the Graphics Ultra. This marked ATI's entry into the competitive 2D acceleration space, driven by the need to offload GUI rendering from CPUs in an era of increasing Windows adoption. Building on this foundation, ATI advanced to the Mach64 series in 1994, introducing a 64-bit GUI accelerator with integrated features like hardware color space conversion and support for up to 24-bit true color. The Mach64 chips, such as the ATI 264GT, evolved from the Mach8 and Mach32 architectures, incorporating PCI bus support and linear frame buffers for improved performance in applications. Priced more accessibly at $500–$800 for cards like the Graphics Xpression, these accelerators addressed limitations in prior designs, such as multi-chip requirements, amid fierce 2D market rivalry from and , whose single-chip solutions pressured pricing and innovation. By 1995, ATI reported improved sales, but the landscape was shifting toward 3D capabilities. The rise of 3D graphics in the early 1990s, exemplified by Sega's Model 1 arcade board in 1992—which powered groundbreaking titles like and introduced polygonal 3D rendering to mainstream entertainment—influenced PC hardware demands, signaling a need for affordable 3D integration beyond pure 2D acceleration. In response, ATI developed the Rage series as its fifth-generation graphics solution, evolving directly from the Mach64 core to combine cost-effective 2D/3D functionality for consumer PCs. Announced in November 1995 and launched in April 1996 with the 3D Rage I chipset, this initiative aimed to capture the emerging 3D market without alienating the established 2D user base, positioning ATI against nascent 3D competitors.

Key Releases and Technological Shifts

The ATI Rage series marked ATI Technologies' entry into consumer 3D graphics acceleration, beginning with the launch of the 3D Rage I in April 1996 as the company's first dedicated 3D chip. This processor featured a single texture mapping unit (TMU) and was fabricated on a 500 nm process, integrating basic 3D capabilities like Gouraud shading and perspective-correct texture mapping alongside 2D acceleration on a PCI bus. However, its performance was limited by the absence of z-buffering and reliance on software emulation for advanced effects, positioning it as an affordable option for OEM systems amid the emerging 3D market dominated by 3dfx's Voodoo Graphics and its Glide API. In late 1996, ATI introduced the 3D Rage II, which addressed some shortcomings with the addition of , palletized textures, and hardware decoding in variants like the 3D Rage II+DVD to support emerging DVD playback. Launched on September 5, 1996, this chip improved fill rates to around 60 megapixels per second and doubled 3D performance over its predecessor through higher clock speeds and a larger texture cache, while maintaining PCI connectivity. These enhancements reflected ATI's response to Voodoo's superior Glide-optimized rendering, as ATI emphasized broader compatibility and multimedia integration to appeal to mainstream PC users rather than niche gamers. The Rage Pro debuted in March 1997, introducing (AGP) support as a key technological shift from PCI, enabling faster data transfer rates up to 533 MB/s with AGP 1.0 features like pipelining and addressing. This transition, solidified by 1998 with 2x AGP variants, improved bandwidth for texture-heavy applications and positioned the Rage Pro in budget-oriented products like the Xpert@Play and cards, which bundled TV tuners and . Concurrently, the Rage 128 arrived in August 1998, featuring a 128-bit memory bus for enhanced bandwidth and synchronous SDRAM clocking up to 108 MHz, marking a substantial update to compete with maturing rivals like Nvidia's Riva series. By 1999, ATI explored multi-GPU configurations with the Rage Fury MAXX, released in October, which paired two Rage 128 Pro chips in a single AGP card using MAXX technology for near-linear performance scaling, akin to early SLI setups, and delivering up to 500 megapixels per second fill rate with 64 MB of . This innovation targeted high-end gaming but struggled without hardware transform and lighting (TnL), limiting its edge against Nvidia's 256. The series concluded its Rage branding in 2000, as the planned Rage 6—ATI's next-generation chip with advanced pixel shaders and DDR support—was rebranded to to refresh the product line and emphasize 3D prowess in response to intensifying competition.

Core Architecture and Innovations

2D GUI Acceleration and 3D Rendering Pipeline

The ATI Rage series built upon the established Mach64 architecture for its 2D engine, incorporating a redesigned (GUI) accelerator derived from the Mach64 CT family, which included integrated digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and clock synthesizers while eliminating support for older VRAM configurations. This foundation enabled efficient handling of 2D operations such as fills, line draws, bit-block transfers (bitblts), and fills across bit depths from 1 to 32 bits per (bpp), with features like scissoring, masking, and monochrome-to-two-color expansion to optimize display rendering. The addition of a pipeline in the Mach64 GT variant and subsequent chips introduced triangle setup with Gouraud and flat shading support, sub-pixel accurate rasterization, and perspectively correct texturing via UV interpolation and bilinear filtering. Early Rage implementations featured a single-pixel pipeline with one texture mapping unit (TMU) and one raster operations pipeline (ROP), processing packed formats like RGB , 565, and 8888 alongside planar modes such as YVU9 and YVU12 through a 64-bit wide data path. Later iterations expanded this to dual pipelines with up to two TMUs and ROPs, incorporating hardware alpha blending via source/destination compare logic and a 5-bit multiplier for , while was added starting with the Rage II series using 16-bit depth for hidden surface removal. These components formed a fixed-function that supported basic 3D transformations and rendering without vertex shaders, emphasizing integration with the 2D engine for seamless mode switching. The memory architecture employed a unified frame buffer shared between 2D GUI operations and , allowing a single —up to 16 MB—for display, drawing, and texture storage, configured via linear or paged apertures with 32 KB pages. This design supported DRAM in initial chips, transitioning to SDRAM compatibility beginning with the Rage Pro for improved bandwidth in shared buffer access. A key innovation was the hardware-accelerated GUI for , which offloaded bit-block transfers and other display primitives from the CPU, reducing system load through and direct memory operations. The series supported APIs such as 5 and 6 for 3D acceleration.

Supported Standards and Hardware Features

The ATI Rage series provided varying levels of support for graphics APIs across its generations, enabling compatibility with contemporary software and games. Early models like the 3D Rage I and 3D Rage II supported 5.0, facilitating basic 3D acceleration through features such as and alpha blending. The Rage Pro advanced this to 6.0, incorporating enhancements like multitexturing and improved vertex handling. Later, the Rage 128 series fully complied with 6.0, including support for stencil planes, , and vertex buffers, while also offering 1.2 via installable client driver (ICD) implementation. support was more limited in earlier chips; the 3D Rage II utilized a mini-client driver (MCD) model for basic functionality, and the Rage Pro provided early 1.1 compatibility. For proprietary APIs like 3dfx's Glide, the Rage series lacked native hardware support but achieved partial emulation through third-party wrappers, allowing some Glide-based games to run on non-Voodoo cards. These wrappers translated Glide calls to or , though performance and feature fidelity varied depending on the implementation. Hardware features extended beyond core rendering to and display capabilities. Starting with the 3D Rage II+ DVD variant, an integrated MPEG-2 decoder was included, handling inverse (iDCT) and for efficient DVD playback with minimal CPU overhead, along with a hardware subpicture decoder for overlays. This capability persisted and improved in subsequent models, such as the Rage Pro and Rage 128, where it supported full DVD acceleration. TV-out functionality appeared in Rage Pro variants and models, enabling /PAL output via integrated encoders compliant with Macrovision 7.01 . The Rage 128 series introduced DVI output in select configurations, alongside VGA, for higher-resolution digital displays. Connectivity evolved to meet bandwidth demands. Initial Rage models, including the 3D Rage I and II, relied on the PCI bus for integration into standard desktop systems. The shift to AGP in the Rage Pro and especially the Rage 128 series provided faster data transfer, with support for AGP 2x mode, sideband addressing, and AGP texturing to optimize texture fetching from system memory. Multi-monitor setups were enabled through features like the ATI DeskTop utility, allowing panning and scrolling across a virtual workspace spanning multiple displays. A key limitation across the entire Rage lineup was the absence of dedicated hardware for transform and lighting (T&L) of vertices, requiring the CPU to handle these computations in software for games leveraging the feature. This dependency became more pronounced with emerging titles optimized for hardware T&L, persisting until ATI's transition to the architecture.

First-Generation Chips

3D Rage I

The 3D Rage I, launched on April 1, 1996, represented ' initial foray into consumer 3D graphics acceleration, building directly on the established Mach64 GT 2D core by integrating basic and video decoding capabilities. Fabricated on a 500 nm process with approximately 5 million transistors, the chip featured a 90 mm² die and supported 2 MB of DRAM via a 64-bit memory interface. This design allowed for affordable integration into entry-level systems, emphasizing combined 2D/3D functionality over high-end 3D specialization. Performance-wise, the 3D Rage I operated at a core clock of 44 MHz and a memory clock of 57 MHz, equipped with a single unit (TMU) and render output unit (ROP), yielding a of 44 million per second and a texture of 44 million texels per second, with 5.0 support but lacking . Targeted at budget-oriented 3D applications, it provided playable frame rates in titles like Quake at low resolutions, though its single-pixel-per-clock pipeline limited scalability for more demanding scenes. The chip connected via PCI interface without AGP support, and variants were typically offered as standalone 2 MB EDO-equipped cards or integrated solutions. Primarily deployed in OEM systems for cost-sensitive consumer PCs, the 3D Rage I appeared in basic configurations from manufacturers seeking reliable 2D acceleration alongside nascent 3D support. Reception highlighted its value as an economical all-in-one solution, with strong Windows GUI acceleration outperforming contemporaries in 2D tasks, but it was notably surpassed by 3dfx's Voodoo in dedicated speed and feature depth. This positioned the 3D Rage I as a transitional product, paving the way for architectural refinements in the subsequent Rage II series.

3D Rage II Variants

The 3D Rage II variants represented incremental enhancements to ATI's initial 3D architecture, building on its for improved and capabilities while maintaining compatibility with PCI interfaces. Released starting in late 1996 with further variants in 1997, these chips were fabricated on a 500 nm process and supported up to 8 MB of VRAM (typically , SGRAM, or SDRAM), operating at core clocks of 55 MHz for the base Rage II and Rage II+ DVD or 60 MHz for the Rage IIc, and memory speeds ranging from 60 to 83 MHz. The Rage II+ introduced modest performance gains over the base Rage II, including a 20% improvement in 2D acceleration and roughly double the 3D throughput, enabling better handling of through refined pipeline inheritance from the original 3D Rage. The Rage II+ DVD variant added dedicated hardware support for decoding, facilitating smooth DVD playback without excessive CPU overhead, while retaining the single unit (TMU) configuration for basic 3D rendering. The Rage IIc, positioned as a budget-oriented option, offered similar core specs but was adapted for both PCI and early AGP implementations, achieving fill rates of 60 million pixels per second to support entry-level 3D applications. These variants found prominent use in ATI's product line, where the Rage II+ DVD integration combined graphics acceleration with TV tuner and functionality, appealing to enthusiasts in the mid-1990s PC market. Cards featuring the Rage IIc AGP, for instance, provided cost-effective upgrades for systems transitioning to AGP buses, emphasizing reliability in 2D/3D hybrid workloads over high-end gaming.

Rage Pro Series

Rage Pro Core

The ATI Rage Pro core, introduced in March 1997, marked a pivotal upgrade in ATI's graphics architecture by integrating comprehensive 2D and 3D acceleration into a single-chip solution optimized for desktop PCs, while pioneering support for the (AGP) standard. This design addressed previous bandwidth constraints in ATI's Rage II series by leveraging AGP's high-speed interface for direct texture data fetching from system memory, reducing reliance on local video RAM and enabling smoother in resource-intensive applications. The chip was fabricated on a at UMC, with a die size of 47 mm² and approximately 8 million transistors, emphasizing efficiency in a compact form factor. Key specifications included a 75 MHz core clock and support for up to 16 MB of SDRAM or SGRAM, with memory operating at up to 100 MHz on a 64-bit bus to deliver peak bandwidth of 800 MB/s. The 3D rendering pipeline featured a floating-point setup engine capable of processing up to 1.2 million triangles per second, alongside advanced effects such as fogging, MIP mapping for texture detail optimization, alpha blending for transparency, and specular lighting for realistic surfaces. These capabilities ensured compatibility with DirectX 6.0 and OpenGL 1.1, allowing the Rage Pro to handle early consumer 3D titles with improved visual fidelity compared to prior generations. Performance-wise, the Rage Pro achieved a fill rate of 75 million pixels per second and 75 million texels per second, positioning it as a direct competitor to NVIDIA's in benchmarks for games and GUI acceleration. This metric established important context for its , offering roughly three times the 3D throughput of the Rage II+ while maintaining strong 2D performance for office and tasks. As the foundational design in the Rage Pro series, it paved the way for cost-optimized derivatives like the Rage LT and XL, which trimmed features for broader OEM adoption without altering the core pipeline.

Derivatives: Rage LT, XL, and Pro Variants

The Rage LT, introduced in late 1997, served as a low-power derivative of the Rage Pro architecture tailored for , emphasizing energy efficiency and integrated features for laptops. It utilized a PCI interface in its mobile configurations, supporting up to 8 MB of SDR memory via a 64-bit bus, with a core clock of 75 MHz and memory clock of 100 MHz. This design incorporated capabilities and optional TV-out support, making it suitable for portable systems requiring balanced 2D/3D performance without excessive heat or battery drain. The Rage XL targeted the budget desktop segment, featuring a cost-optimized implementation of the . Operating at a core and memory clock of 83 MHz in typical configurations, it supported 8 MB of SDR memory over a 64-bit interface and was commonly deployed in value-oriented PCI cards for entry-level PCs. This focus on affordability and basic 3D capabilities allowed it to serve as an economical upgrade option for systems lacking dedicated graphics. Variants of the core Rage Pro extended its availability through PCI and AGP interfaces, accommodating up to 32 MB of to meet varying OEM demands. Some OEM implementations included TV-out functionality via modular add-ons, enhancing connectivity in integrated motherboards and low-end desktops. These adaptations highlighted the Rage Pro's versatility for power-efficient mobile use in laptops like the IBM ThinkPad 600E and Dell Inspiron 7000, as well as entry-level stationary PCs, where thermal and electrical constraints were critical.

Rage 128 Series

Entry-Level and Mid-Range Models

The entry-level and mid-range models of the ATI Rage 128 series were introduced in August 1998, utilizing a 250 nm fabrication process by and featuring a 128-bit bus paired with 16 MB of SDRAM for accessible 3D graphics performance. These chips supported the AGP 4x interface for efficient data transfer and delivered a pixel fill rate of 200 million s per second at a 100 MHz core clock, with transform and lighting operations handled partially through software on the host CPU rather than dedicated hardware. Key features included full 6.0 compatibility, enabling bilinear and trilinear , alpha blending, fog effects, and for immersive rendering in contemporary applications. Representative entry-level models, such as the Rage 128 VR, targeted budget-conscious users and OEM integrations, offering reliable 3D acceleration without the premium pricing of higher-tier options. Mid-range variants like the Rage 128 VR AGP extended this accessibility with configurations supporting memory clocks up to 143 MHz SDR, providing smooth performance in titles such as through enhanced and polygon setup rates of up to 3.2 million triangles per second. These models were widely adopted by system builders for their balance of cost and capability, powering a significant portion of 1998-1999 PCs with integrated acceleration. Compared to the prior Rage Pro series, the Rage 128's doubled memory bandwidth facilitated superior handling of mid-resolution textures and higher frame rates in DirectX 6.0 workloads, making AGP-based 3D viable for mainstream gaming and productivity at an affordable price point. This positioning allowed seamless upgrades to high-end variants like the Rage 128 Pro for users needing additional performance.

High-End: Rage 128 Pro and Rage Fury

The ATI Rage 128 Pro, introduced in 1999, represented the high-end variant of the Rage 128 series, fabricated on a by UMC with approximately 8 million transistors. It utilized a 128-bit with two pixel pipelines, delivering enhanced 3D performance through a core clock speed of 125 MHz and a memory clock of 143 MHz SDR. Equipped with 32 MB of SDRAM on a 128-bit bus, the chip achieved a theoretical pixel fill rate of 250 million pixels per second and a of 2.3 GB/s, enabling support for high-resolution textures and 32-bit color rendering in demanding applications. This configuration positioned the Rage 128 Pro as a competitive option for mid-to-high-end gaming systems of the era. The Rage Fury served as the primary retail graphics card based on the Rage 128 Pro core, marketed specifically toward gamers seeking an alternative to 3dfx's series. It included integrated TV-out functionality with and composite outputs for multimedia connectivity, alongside standard VGA and optional DVI ports in select models. Driver updates from ATI enhanced features such as up to 16x levels, improving texture quality without significant performance penalties, while providing full hardware compliance with 6.0 and 1.2 standards. Variants of the Rage Fury and Rage 128 Pro were available in both AGP 4x and PCI interfaces, with capacities typically at 32 MB, and were integrated into OEM systems like XPS desktops for professional and consumer use. Later iterations, such as the Rage 128 Pro Ultra, pushed clock speeds slightly higher to 130 MHz for core and memory in OEM deployments, maintaining the same architectural strengths for specialized applications. The Rage 128 Pro also formed the foundation for ATI's multi-GPU extensions, including the Rage Fury MAXX.

Multi-GPU and Enthusiast Extensions

Rage Fury MAXX and Alternate Frame Rendering

The ATI Rage Fury MAXX, released in late 1999, represented ATI's push into enthusiast multi-GPU with a single-board solution featuring two Rage 128 Pro chips. Each chip operated at 125 MHz with dedicated 32 MB of SDR memory, providing a total of 64 MB and support for AGP 2x/4x interfaces, building briefly on the single-chip Rage Fury design for high-end gaming. This configuration delivered a combined theoretical fill rate exceeding 500 million pixels per second, enabling enhanced handling of 32-bit textures and high resolutions in demanding applications. Central to the Rage Fury MAXX's capabilities was its implementation of Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR), a load-balancing technique that assigned rendering duties between the two chips on a frame-by-frame basis—one chip handling odd-numbered frames while the other processed even-numbered frames—to maximize throughput without the complexity of scan-line interleaving. This approach allowed for nearly double the performance of a single Rage 128 Pro in supported full-screen 3D scenarios, with the second chip activating only during such modes to avoid conflicts in 2D or windowed operations. ATI provided specialized drivers to enable AFR in titles like , where the card achieved competitive frame rates at 1024x768 resolution in both 16-bit and 32-bit color depths, often matching or approaching single-chip competitors like the SDR despite the Rage architecture's longer per-frame rendering times. Despite its innovations, the Rage Fury MAXX faced notable limitations, including compatibility challenges in games not optimized for AFR, where performance reverted to single-chip levels and could result in suboptimal scaling. Driver support was confined primarily to environments, with issues arising on NT-based systems like due to the dual-AGP emulation, and compatibility varied—working reliably on chipsets but failing on certain VIA KT133A implementations. Additionally, the dual-chip setup contributed to elevated power demands, potentially straining period-appropriate power supplies without auxiliary connectors, though exact consumption figures were not publicly detailed by ATI.

Specialized Implementations for Apple

ATI developed specialized variants of the Rage 128 series tailored for Apple's Macintosh systems, focusing on integration with Mac OS and hardware-specific features like optimized support—including the ICD for enhanced 3D acceleration—and DVD decoding. The Rage 128 GL, introduced in 1999, was designed primarily for the Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) models, featuring a 128-bit memory bus and enhancements for Mac OS acceleration to improve performance in Apple's ecosystem. This chip included hardware decoding capabilities via a daughterboard for DVD playback, reducing CPU load during video operations and aligning with Apple's push toward multimedia features in professional and consumer machines. Discrete cards like the ATI Rage 128 (Mac Edition) PCI offered 16 MB of SDRAM and supported DVI-equivalent connectivity through Apple's ADC (Apple Display Connector) port, which carried digital video signals compatible with DVI monitors alongside analog VGA output. These cards were compatible with systems requiring PCI slots, such as earlier Power Mac G3 models, and provided dual-monitor capabilities in some configurations, though without Windows drivers to ensure focus on macOS exclusivity. The Rage 128 Pro AGP Mac Edition, standard in Power Mac G4 Sawtooth, Mystic, and Digital Audio models, operated at a core clock of 118 MHz and memory clock of 143 MHz, enhancing 2D acceleration for smoother GUI interactions compared to some lower-clocked variants. Custom ROM firmware on these Mac implementations displayed the Apple boot screen and optimized initialization for Macintosh hardware, preventing compatibility issues with non-Apple systems without reflashing. Integration of Rage 128 derivatives extended to consumer products, with the ATI Rage 128 VR embedded as integrated graphics in slot-loading models starting in 1999, providing 8 MB of dedicated SDRAM for entry-level 3D graphics without the need for add-in cards. This marked Apple's transition in the late 1990s from primarily 2D-focused graphics in earlier iMacs (using Rage IIc chips) to 3D-capable accelerators, enabling better support for emerging applications like VR and games while maintaining affordability in all-in-one designs. These implementations underscored ATI's close collaboration with Apple, prioritizing seamless macOS performance over cross-platform versatility. The Mac-specific optimizations, such as QuickDraw 3D RAVE support, provided up to 2x faster 3D rendering in Apple applications compared to generic drivers.

Mobile Variants

Rage Mobility Chips

The ATI Rage Mobility chips, launched between February and October 1999, represented ATI's initial foray into dedicated mobile graphics processors, adapting the Rage Pro and Rage 128 architectures for use with a focus on power efficiency typically around 2 W TDP to support extended battery life. These chips were available in both integrated-memory configurations and discrete implementations, consuming average power from 0.8 W in static display modes to under 2 W under mixed 2D/3D/video loads. Built on 250 nm or 350 nm processes, they prioritized low-voltage operation at 2.5 V core voltage to minimize heat and energy use in portable systems. The entry-level Mobility M and M1 variants, derived from the Rage Pro, featured GPU clock speeds of 75–83 MHz, 64-bit memory buses, and 4–8 MB of integrated SDRAM clocked at 70–125 MHz. The higher-end Mobility M3 featured 8 MB of SDRAM clocked at 105 MHz, while the Mobility 128 operated at 100–105 MHz with an AGP 2x-compatible interface, 64-bit buses, and up to 16 MB of SDR or DDR memory at 105 MHz for improved . All models included 1–2 units and ROPs, with the Rage 4 architecture enabling basic . Key features emphasized mobile optimization, such as support for low-voltage SDRAM and including suspend-to-RAM states that reduced consumption to approximately 0.005 W. These chips provided 6.0 to 7.0 compatibility, along with 1.2, facilitating 3D acceleration for mobile gaming titles like while maintaining portability. There was minor overlap with Rage LT derivatives in some bridged mobile configurations. These processors found applications in prominent business laptops, including the IBM ThinkPad A22m series and Dell Latitude L400 and CPx models, where they delivered efficient 3D performance alongside strong battery endurance for productivity and light gaming. The Mobility 128 variants also appeared in consumer-oriented systems like Dell Inspiron notebooks, balancing graphical capabilities with thermal constraints.

Laptop-Specific Adaptations

The ATI Rage LT Pro, released in , served as a key bridge from desktop Rage Pro designs to implementations, offering a low-power variant optimized for portable systems through reduced clock speeds and enhanced . Operating at a core clock of up to 75 MHz with a PCI interface in its mobile configurations, it supported 4 MB of SDRAM, making it suitable for business-oriented laptops requiring basic 2D/3D acceleration without excessive energy draw. This chip included on-die features like an LVDS transmitter for direct LCD panel connectivity and an integrated TV encoder, enabling simultaneous outputs to CRT, LCD, and displays in compact form factors. Adaptations of the Rage LT Pro extended to clock-throttled variants for portable expansion slots and integration, such as the ATI-215LG chip (device ID 0x4C49), which embedded the core into system-on-chip solutions for ultra-portable devices. These implementations utilized dynamic clock switching and ACPI-compliant power states (On, Standby, Suspend, Off) to minimize consumption, with typical dissipation around 1-2 under load. The chip's single-chip 0.35 µm design facilitated integration, though maximum junction temperatures reached 100°C, necessitating robust in enclosures. In 1990s laptops, the Rage LT Pro faced significant challenges from thermal constraints and battery life limitations, as portable systems lacked advanced cooling like modern heat pipes or vapor chambers; its 1-2 W draw was progressive but still demanded careful power budgeting to avoid rapid drain during 3D tasks. Deployed in models like the Satellite 1625CDT, it handled light 3D workloads such as basic visualizations or early games at resolutions up to 800x600, prioritizing reliability over high in power-sensitive environments. These efforts highlighted the era's trade-offs, with heat buildup often mitigated via and throttled operation. The Rage LT Pro's mobile-focused refinements, including LVDS integration and low-power PCI bridging, directly influenced subsequent developments, paving the way for purpose-built low-voltage chips like the Rage Mobility 128 series introduced around 1999-2000.

Transition to Radeon

Rage 6 and Rebranding

The Rage 6, developed under the internal codename , served as the concluding chapter in ATI's Rage graphics processor lineage, fabricated on a at with a die size of 111 mm² and 30 million transistors. Released in 2000, it incorporated full hardware transform and lighting (T&L) engines to handle 3D geometry computations efficiently, offloading work from the host CPU and supporting 7.0 standards. The core featured a 128-bit interface and AGP 4x compatibility, enhancing data throughput compared to earlier Rage iterations. ATI rebranded the Rage 6 as the R100 upon its launch on April 1, 2000, abandoning the "Rage" name to herald a fresh start amid perceptions that the prior branding evoked outdated performance. Initial models shipped with 32 MB of SDR or DDR memory, positioning the as a viable rival to NVIDIA's in the emerging transform-and-lighting era. This shift emphasized ATI's pivot toward more robust 3D acceleration features. Although compliant with 7.0, the R100's pipeline included foundational programmable elements that presaged pixel shader 1.0 capabilities in future designs, with two pixel processing units and support for advanced multi-texturing. As the final Rage-derived product—albeit under the new moniker—its architecture directly informed derivatives like the 7000 series, solidifying ATI's trajectory in consumer graphics.

Legacy Impact on ATI's Product Line

The ATI Rage series played a pivotal role in positioning as a key player in the consumer 3D market during the late . Prior to the Rage lineup, ATI held an approximately 8% share of the market in 1995, which grew to 13% by 1997 as the 3D Rage and subsequent iterations gained traction among OEMs and consumers seeking integrated 2D/3D solutions. By early 2000, ATI's overall market share had expanded to around 27-31%, reflecting the Rage's contribution to broader adoption in entry-level and mid-range segments. This growth was bolstered by the Rage's integration into products like the series, introduced in 1996, which combined acceleration with TV tuning and , capturing significant OEM demand for versatile PC entertainment solutions. Key innovations from the Rage architecture, such as the unified memory model introduced in the Rage Pro and full support for the (AGP) in the Rage 128, laid foundational principles for ATI's future products. These features enabled more efficient bandwidth sharing and faster data transfer between CPU and GPU, concepts that directly influenced the design of the series launched in 2000, which scaled these efficiencies for higher performance. The Rage's emphasis on integrated 2D/3D and capabilities also enhanced ATI's strategic value, culminating in its acquisition by in 2006 for $5.4 billion, which integrated ATI's graphics expertise into AMD's CPU roadmap and accelerated the development of unified computing architectures. Despite these advancements, the Rage series faced criticisms for initially lagging in dedicated 3D performance compared to competitors like 3dfx's Voodoo cards, with early models like the 3D Rage trailing by about a year in feature parity and raw rendering speed. This gap narrowed significantly with the Rage 128 in 1998, but persisted in some scenarios until the transition to . Additionally, early drivers for Rage cards exhibited compatibility issues under , including slow or unreliable acceleration and lack of support, which frustrated users transitioning from environments. In the 2020s, the Rage series retains enduring relevance in retro computing communities, where original hardware is prized for authentic in titles from the late 1990s, such as and . Emulation efforts have further extended its lifespan, with projects like DOSBox-X incorporating Rage 128 support to replicate period-accurate for preserved software libraries. This ongoing compatibility underscores the Rage's lasting architectural influence on hobbyist preservation of PC gaming history.

Model Catalog

Desktop and OEM Models

The ATI Rage series played a significant role in desktop graphics for personal computers during the late , particularly through OEM integrations and select retail offerings that targeted budget and mid-range segments. Launched starting with the Rage II in 1996, these chips provided affordable 2D/3D acceleration and video playback capabilities, making them popular for consumer systems. Production spanned from 1996 to 2001, with millions of units shipped in budget-oriented configurations to support the growing demand for multimedia PCs. Key desktop implementations included the Rage Pro AGP, which was commonly deployed in Gateway systems as a cost-effective AGP 2x solution for corporate and home desktops. Similarly, the Rage 128 VR variant appeared in OEM builds, offering enhanced 3D features via its 128-bit memory interface for entry-level gaming and productivity. For retail availability, the Rage Fury MAXX stood out as a dual-chip AGP card with 64 MB of dedicated VRAM, marketed directly to enthusiasts seeking higher performance without multi-card setups. OEM adaptations emphasized integration and scalability, such as the Rage II embedded in desktops for seamless support in family-oriented PCs. HP Pavilion models frequently incorporated the Rage 128 Pro, leveraging its AGP interface and hardware MPEG-2 decoding for DVD playback in consumer bundles. These implementations supported both PCI and AGP buses to accommodate varying motherboard designs. Configurations across desktop and OEM Rage models varied to fit budget constraints, with VRAM options ranging from 2 MB EDO in early PCI variants to 64 MB SDRAM in advanced AGP cards like the Fury MAXX. Output interfaces typically included VGA for standard displays, with higher-end models adding DVI for digital monitors and composite/ for TV-out. All-in-Wonder editions, such as those based on the Rage 128 Pro, integrated TV tuners and capture capabilities for enhanced home entertainment, allowing users to record and playback broadcast content directly.

Comprehensive Model List

The ATI Rage series includes a range of graphics processing units (GPUs) developed by from the mid-1990s to early 2000s, categorized here by generation based on architectural advancements and core chip designs. Each generation introduced improvements in 3D acceleration, memory support, and interface compatibility, with variants tailored for desktop, OEM, and specialized uses. The following table provides a comprehensive inventory of principal desktop and OEM models, focusing on core chip identifiers (e.g., 215-series codes), standard VRAM options, bus types, initial release years, and typical applications such as consumer gaming, OEM integration, or professional deployment. Mobile variants are covered in the dedicated Mobile Variants section.
GenerationCore ChipTypical VRAMBus InterfaceRelease YearTypical Use
Rage I (3D Rage)215GT2-4 MB EDOPCI1996Entry-level desktop 3D acceleration for multimedia PCs
Rage II215GT22-4 MB EDO/SDRAMPCI1996Mainstream desktop gaming and GUI acceleration
Rage II+215GT2 (enhanced)4 MB SDRAM/EDOPCI1997Desktop with DVD playback support
Rage IIc215R24-8 MB SDRAMPCI/AGP1997OEM desktop systems for business and light gaming
Rage Pro215R34-16 MB SGRAMPCI/AGP 2x1997Mid-range desktop 3D gaming and professional visualization
Rage XL215XL4-8 MB SDRAMPCI/AGP1998Budget desktop and OEM integrated graphics
Rage 128215RL16-32 MB SDRAM/SGRAMPCI/AGP 2x1998Mid-range desktop gaming with improved texture handling
Rage 128 VR215RL16-32 MB SDRAMAGP 2x1998OEM desktop systems with 128-bit memory interface
Rage 128 GL215RL16-32 MB SGRAMPCI/AGP 2x1998Professional desktop visualization and CAD
Rage 128 Pro215R416-32 MB SGRAMAGP 4x1999Advanced desktop 3D performance for gamers and video editing
Rage XL PCI (budget variant)215XL (PCI)4 MB SDRAMPCI1998Low-cost PCI desktop upgrades for legacy systems
Rage Theater (video variant)Integrated with 215R4N/A (add-on)AGP/PCI1999Video capture and TV-out in All-in-Wonder desktop cards

Technical Details

Die Shots and Fabrication Processes

The ATI Rage series evolved through several semiconductor process nodes, reflecting advancements in manufacturing technology during the mid-to-late . The initial 3D Rage chip, introduced in 1995, was fabricated on a 500 nm process by SGS-Thomson, enabling basic 3D acceleration with approximately 5 million s. Subsequent iterations, such as the Rage II in 1996, remained on a 500 nm node but incorporated refinements for improved 2D/3D integration, maintaining a similar transistor density. The Rage Pro, launched in 1997, advanced to a , primarily through partnerships with UMC, which allowed for higher transistor counts of 8 million while reducing power consumption. By 1998, the Rage 128 series shifted to a 250 nm node, often produced by or UMC, supporting enhanced features like full 32-bit rendering. Die sizes varied across the series, influenced by process shrinks and added functionality. The 3D Rage die measured approximately 90 mm², accommodating its 5 million transistors in a relatively spacious layout for the era's 500 nm technology. The Rage Pro variants achieved smaller dies of 47–67 mm² on 350 nm, reflecting optimized architecture for AGP support and multi-texturing units (TMUs). Rage 128 chips expanded to 89–98 mm² on 250 nm, housing 8 million transistors to support wider memory interfaces and improved pixel pipelines, despite the process shrink. Available die shots reveal structured layouts optimized for graphics pipelines. For the Rage 128 Pro (part number 215R4GAUC21), a 250 nm die measuring 9.84 mm × 10.05 mm (98.82 mm²) shows distinct modular blocks, including dedicated TMU arrays for and a central raster engine, with peripheral I/O pads for memory and bus interfaces; the layout emphasizes horizontal symmetry for efficient signal routing in fixed-pipeline designs. Earlier Rage Pro dies, captured in technical analyses, exhibit more compact arrangements with integrated 2D/3D engines and a single ROP/TMU cluster, minimizing interconnects on the 350 nm substrate. These visuals highlight ATI's focus on scalable blocks, such as separable texture units in the Rage 128, to facilitate future shrinks toward the era. As a fabless company, ATI outsourced production to specialized foundries, starting with SGS-Thomson for early Rage chips in the to leverage established 500 nm capabilities. By the Rage Pro era, UMC became a primary partner for 350 nm fabrication, providing cost-effective volume production. ATI transitioned to for the Rage 128 and subsequent models, adopting 250 nm nodes to align with industry leaders like ; this shift, beginning around , supported higher yields and faster time-to-market for competitive 3D features. No in-house fabrication facility like a "Fab 20" was used; all Rage production relied on these external partners.

Performance Characteristics and Benchmarks

The ATI Rage series graphics processors exhibited varying performance characteristics depending on the model, with key metrics centered on fill rates and that defined their capabilities in late-1990s . The Rage Pro, introduced in 1997, achieved a textured fill rate of 75 million per second at its 75 MHz core clock, supported by a 64-bit interface delivering up to 800 MB/s bandwidth with SGRAM configurations. In contrast, the Rage 128, launched in 1998, significantly improved these figures with a 128-bit bus and core speeds up to 125 MHz, yielding a pixel fill rate of approximately 236-250 million per second and bandwidth reaching 2.3 GB/s when paired with SDR at 143 MHz or DDR SGRAM at 125 MHz. These enhancements allowed the Rage 128 to double the Rage Pro's performance across core rendering tasks, addressing bottlenecks in texture handling and pixel throughput. Benchmark results highlighted the Rage series' competitiveness in era-specific applications, particularly in workloads where driver support played a crucial role. For instance, the Rage Pro delivered around 24 frames per second (FPS) in at 640x480 resolution on a MMX 200 MHz system, with performance scaling modestly to 21 FPS on a faster 300 MHz due to its CPU-bound geometry processing. The Rage 128 Pro showed stronger results, achieving 13% higher FPS than NVIDIA's in 's Demo1 benchmark (tested at 640x480 on a 400 MHz), though the gap narrowed to 3% in more demanding scenes like Massive1, underscoring its advantages in textured rendering over rivals optimized for Glide APIs like 3dfx Voodoo cards. In '99, the Rage 128 Pro scored approximately 1276 points on similar hardware, edging out in tests while trailing in OpenGL-heavy scenarios. Performance was influenced by factors such as driver maturity and resolution scaling, with ATI's optimizations enabling better compliance but exposing weaknesses at higher resolutions due to AGP texture transfer limitations. The Rage 128 demonstrated reduced efficiency in AGP-bound demos like S3's Mon2, where it underperformed the TNT by up to 20% owing to slower texture uploads. Within the series, the progression from Rage II+ to Rage Pro represented a roughly 3x uplift in 3D throughput, driven by integrated 3D acceleration, while the Rage 128 further extended this by addressing fill rate deficiencies against contemporaries like the , which often doubled FPS in mixed workloads. Mobility variants, such as the Rage Mobility M1 derived from the Rage Pro architecture, operated at comparable 75 MHz clocks but with power-constrained designs that typically halved desktop performance in sustained loads to manage heat and battery life.

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