I'd say highly variable.
The first question is: What kind of games and at what settings and resolution.
The second question is: Which integrated graphics.

Most would probably think "Integrated? So those shoddy Intel ones?" And while that might be a good start, even they can vary a lot.

• Starting at the the i754 that was in the i815 chipset and only supports DirectX 6 fully (vertex shader 3.0 support in software, but no support for pixel shader whatsover)
• Then the GMA series, some of which add software PS 2.0 to the still existing software VS 3.0 (So they would be DX 9.0 capable on a theoretical level, but not 9.0c) There should be i900G/i915G boards with GMA900.
• And then the fully SM3 (GMA X3000), and SM4 (GMA X3500, 4500, X4500, X4500HD) supporting chips in the 30 and 40 series chipsets (Core 2 era), which already fall out of Win 9x support.

ATi and AMD have this to offer:

• There is the Radeon 300 series, based on the original Radeon/Radeon 7000, the fastest integrated one is basically a Radeon VE/Radeon 7000, with full Direct3D 7 and OpenGL 1.3 support
• The Radeon 9000 iGPUs, based on the Radeon 9200 chips with cut down TMUs and ROPs, but at a higher clock. Full D3D 8.1 and OpenGL 1.4 support.
• Then the Radeon Xpress X200/X1000/X1150, which are like a Radeon 9550/9600, but again with cut down TMUs and ROPs. D3D 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0 support.
• The Radeon Xpress X1200/X1250/2100, which are also like a 9550/9600, but this time in full.

nVidia brings this to the table:

• nForce 220-D and 415-D come with a Geforce 2 MX integrated. So both will give DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2 (Probably around 20% slower than a full GF2 MX and quite similar to an MX200) (Socket A)
• nForce 2 IGP comes with a Geforce 4 MX integrated. There is a 200 MHz version, pair that with dual channel RAM and it's pretty much a MX440 and runs past the MX420 and MX440 SE) (Socket A)
• nvidia offers 9x drivers for nForce 400, and those come with a Geforce 6100 or 6150, which means full DirectX 9.0c and OpenGL 2.1 support. At about half the performance of a full Geforce 6200 (So around Ti 4200 or FX 5200 performance) (Sockets 754, 939, AM2)

And for the other outliers:

• SiS 540, with SiS 300 graphics: DX 6.0, OpenGL 1.1 (Socket 7)
• SiS 630/730, with SiS 305 graphics: DX 6.0, OpenGL 1.1 (Slot 1, Socket 370, Slot A, Socket A)
• SiS 650/740, with SiS 315 graphics: DX 6.0, OpenGL 1.1 ( Socket 423, Socket 478,Socket A)
• SiS Mirage 1: DX 7.0 (but without T&L), OpenGL 1.3 (Socket A, Socket 775)
• SiS Mirage 2: DX 8.1, OpenGL 1.4 (Socket 754, Socket 939)
• SiS Mirage 3: DX 9.0; OpenGL 1.5 (Socket 775)
• VIA has a bunch of chipsets with Trident Blade 3D, S3 Savage4 and UniChrome based graphics. (Socket 8, Slot 1, Socket 370, Slot A and Socket A)
• ALi has the ALADDiN TNT, which comes with a Riva TNT2, so DirectX 6 and OpenGL 1.2 support. (SLot 1/Socket 370)

=|================================|=

Short overview of supported APIs:
For DX6:
- Intel up to GMA900
- ALADDiN TNT/Riva TNT2
- SiS303/315 graphics (on SiS 540, 630, 650, 730, 740 chipsets)
For DX7:
Radeon 300
- nForce 220-D/415-D
- nForce 2 IGP
- SiS Mirage 1 (no T&L!!!)
For DX8:
- Radeon 9000/9100/9100 Pro
- SiS Mirage 2
For DX9 (SM2):
- Radeon Xpress X200/X1000/X1150
- Radeon Xpress X1200/X1250/2100
- SiS Mirage 3
For DX9.0c (SM3):
- nForce 410/nForce 430

OpenGL 1.1:
- Intel 752/i754
- SiS303/315 graphics (on SiS 540, 630, 650, 730, 740 chipsets)
OpenGL 1.2:
- nForce 220-D/415-D
- ALADDiN TNT/Riva TNT2
OpenGL 1.3:
- SiS Mirage 1
OpenGL 1.4:
- Radeon 9000/9100/9100 Pro
- GMA900/GMA950
OpenGL 1.5:
- SiS Mirage 3
OpenGL 2.0:
- Radeon Xpress X200/X1000/X1150
- Radeon Xpress X1200/X1250/2100
OpenGL 2.1:
- nForce 410/nForce 430

=|================================|=

What does that mean for 9x gaming on integrated graphics?

Should be quite possible.

- If a Riva TNT is fast enough, absolutely. There are plenty of integrated options with sufficient compatibility and performance.

- If a Geforce 4 MX or Radeon 8500/9200 is enough for a game, then yes. Quite some that will deliver that level of performance of better.

- The fastest with support for the most games would probably an nForce 430 with Geforce 6150.
From what I can find from old tests is around 20-22 FPS in Far Cry, 29-33 FPS in Half Life 2 and around 75 FPS in Painkiller, all in 800x600. Dropping to 640x480 will give almost 50 fps in Far Cry.
So games around 2003-04, the time of release did run. Surprisingly good even if you manage expectations.
I'd say that is plenty for Windows 98, I doubt anyone would use that to play Oblivion or F.E.A.R anyway. But if you drop the settings far enough, even Half Life 2 should be "playable" enough 😀

Thanks for comment.
I should get that ECS board in this week.

Btw someone knows how VIA Chrome9 from P4M900 or K8M890 performs? Seems like there are drives for w98.

shfil wrote on 2025-01-19, 23:39:

Thanks for comment.
I should get that ECS board in this week.

Btw someone knows how VIA Chrome9 from P4M900 or K8M890 performs? Seems like there are drives for w98.

if there are win98 drivers then it should perform well for 98 games, ive got an msi P4m900 with chrome9, ive never tried the onboard so not sure if its win98 compatible, but ive got a mini VIA board with the first unichrome and it works well, i only tried a few win98 games like tomb raider II/quake II/thief 1+2 and its very usable, i mainly use it for dos games, chrome9 is an updated version of Unichrome pro II, which is an updated version of unichrome pro which is an updated version of the original unichrome which is an update of the pro savage which is a savage4/savage2000 hybrid, so it should have good compatibilty for dos/98 and decent enough perfromance.

Can someone explain me how to edit first post? (Wanna update with my findings.)

shfil wrote on 2025-02-11, 20:02:

Can someone explain me how to edit first post? (Wanna update with my findings.)

You should have a pencil icon beside the "reply with quote" option.
but this is disabled till you have made a number of posts (I forget how many)
We are pretty smart around here, if you add it below we'll see it 😉