GeForce GT 720M vs GTS 250
Aggregate performance score
GTS 250 outperforms GT 720M by a substantial 30% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 929 | 1020 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.05 | 0.03 |
| Architecture | Tesla (2006−2010) | Fermi (2010−2014) |
| GPU code name | G92B | N14M-GE |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 4 March 2009 (15 years ago) | 1 April 2013 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $199 | no data |
| Current price | $131 (0.7x MSRP) | $499 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
GTS 250 has 67% better value for money than GT 720M.
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.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 128 | 96 |
| CUDA cores | 128 | no data |
| Core clock speed | 738 MHz | 625 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 938 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 754 million | 915 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 55 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | 33 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 47.2 billion/sec | 12.13 |
| Floating-point performance | 387.1 gflops | 240.0 gflops |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on GeForce GTS 250 and GeForce GT 720M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.
| Laptop size | no data | medium sized |
| Bus support | no data | PCI Express 2.0 |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x8 |
| Length | 9" (228.6 mm) (22.9 cm) | no data |
| Height | 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 6-pin | no data |
| SLI options | + | no data |
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 | GDDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Standard memory configuration | no data | DDR3 |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 64 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1100 MHz | 1800 - 2000 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 70.4 GB/s | 12.8 GB/s |
| Shared memory | no data | - |
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 | Two Dual Link DVI | No outputs |
| Multi monitor support | + | no data |
| eDP 1.2 signal support | no data | Up to 2560x1600 |
| LVDS signal support | no data | Up to 1920x1200 |
| VGA аnalog display support | no data | Up to 2048x1536 |
| DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support | no data | Up to 2560x1600 |
| HDMI | + | + |
| HDCP content protection | no data | + |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | S/PDIF | no data |
| 7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI | no data | + |
| TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming | no data | + |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| Blu-Ray 3D Support | no data | + |
| H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder | no data | + |
| Optimus | no data | + |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 12 API |
| Shader Model | 4.0 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 3.0 | 4.5 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | N/A | 1.1.126 |
| CUDA | + | + |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
GTS 250 outperforms GT 720M by 30% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
GTS 250 outperforms GT 720M by 30% in Passmark.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
| Full HD | 18−20
+20%
| 15
−20%
|
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.55 | 1.19 |
| Recency | 4 March 2009 | 1 April 2013 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Chip lithography | 55 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | 33 Watt |
The GeForce GTS 250 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GT 720M in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce GTS 250 is a desktop card while GeForce GT 720M is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
