Radeon R7 M520 vs GeForce3

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking1505not rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
ArchitectureKelvin (2001−2003)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameNV20 A5Oland
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date27 February 2001 (23 years ago)18 April 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$499 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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.

Pipelines / CUDA coresno data320
Core clock speed200 MHz1030 MHz
Number of transistors57 million1,040 million
Manufacturing process technology150 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)no data50 Watt
Texture fill rate1.60020.60
ROPs48
TMUs820

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 4xPCIe 3.0 x8
Length165 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 typeSDRDDR3
Maximum RAM amount64 MB2 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed230 MHz2000 MHz
Memory bandwidth3.68 GB/s16 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 Connectors1x VGA, 1x DB13W31x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA
HDMI-+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX8.012.0
Shader Modelno data5.0
OpenGL1.34.6
OpenCLN/A1.2
VulkanN/A-

Pros & cons summary


Recency 27 February 2001 18 April 2017
Maximum RAM amount 64 MB 2 GB
Chip lithography 150 nm 28 nm

R7 M520 has an age advantage of 16 years, a 3100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 435.7% more advanced lithography process.

We couldn't decide between GeForce3 and Radeon R7 M520. 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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NVIDIA GeForce3
GeForce3
AMD Radeon R7 M520
Radeon R7 M520

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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Community ratings

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3.3 52 votes

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2.1 16 votes

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Questions & comments

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