NVIDIA GeForce MX230 vs AMD Radeon HD 6950M

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Combined performance score

HD 6950M
3.53

GeForce MX230 outperforms Radeon HD 6950M by 35% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking679606
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money0.491.64
ArchitectureTerascale 2 (2009−2015)Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code nameBlackcomb ProN17S-G0
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date6 January 2011 (13 years old)20 February 2019 (5 years old)
Current price$338 $1221
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GeForce MX230 has 235% better value for money than HD 6950M.

Technical specs

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 cores960256
Core clock speed580 MHz1519 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1531 MHz
Number of transistors1,700 million1,800 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)50 Watt10 Watt
Texture fill rate27.8425.31
Floating-point performance1,113.6 gflopsno data

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon HD 6950M and GeForce MX230 compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. 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 sizelargemedium sized
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectorsno dataNone

Memory

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB4 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed900 MHz7000 MHz
Memory bandwidth115.2 GB/s48.06 GB/s
Shared memory--

Video outputs and ports

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 ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs

Technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Optimusno data+

API support

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

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 (12_1)
Shader Model5.06.4
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.21.2
VulkanN/A1.2.131
CUDAno data+

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.

HD 6950M 3.53
GeForce MX230 4.75
+34.6%

GeForce MX230 outperforms Radeon HD 6950M by 35% in our combined benchmark results.


3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

HD 6950M 2452
GeForce MX230 3364
+37.2%

GeForce MX230 outperforms Radeon HD 6950M by 37% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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 HD14−16
−50%
21
+50%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
−117%
13
+117%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2
−300%
4−5
+300%
Battlefield 5 9−10
−122%
20
+122%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
−23.1%
16−18
+23.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%
Far Cry 5 6−7
−150%
15
+150%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
−150%
15
+150%
Forza Horizon 4 10−11
−110%
21
+110%
Hitman 3 7−8
−42.9%
10−11
+42.9%
Horizon Zero Dawn 6−7
−50%
9−10
+50%
Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
−28.6%
9−10
+28.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−11
+0%
10
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
−100%
6−7
+100%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
−66.7%
10
+66.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2
−300%
4−5
+300%
Battlefield 5 9−10
−77.8%
16
+77.8%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
−23.1%
16−18
+23.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%
Far Cry 5 6−7
−117%
13
+117%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
−117%
13
+117%
Forza Horizon 4 10−11
−60%
16
+60%
Hitman 3 7−8
−42.9%
10−11
+42.9%
Horizon Zero Dawn 6−7
−50%
9−10
+50%
Metro Exodus 5−6
+25%
4
−25%
Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
−28.6%
9−10
+28.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−11
+11.1%
9
−11.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
−87.5%
15
+87.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
−100%
6−7
+100%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
+0%
6
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2
−300%
4−5
+300%
Battlefield 5 9−10
−33.3%
12
+33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%
Far Cry 5 6−7
−100%
12
+100%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
−100%
12
+100%
Forza Horizon 4 10−11
−20%
12
+20%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
−12.5%
9
+12.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
−100%
6−7
+100%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 6−7
−33.3%
8−9
+33.3%
Hitman 3 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 10−11
−10%
10−12
+10%
Metro Exodus 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 1−2
−200%
3−4
+200%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 5−6
−40%
7−8
+40%
Far Cry New Dawn 1−2
−300%
4−5
+300%
Forza Horizon 4 3−4
−100%
6−7
+100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 3−4
−33.3%
4−5
+33.3%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Hitman 3 3−4
−66.7%
5−6
+66.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 0−1 1−2

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2
−100%
2−3
+100%
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
−16.7%
7−8
+16.7%
Forza Horizon 4 0−1 3−4

This is how HD 6950M and GeForce MX230 compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

  • GeForce MX230 is 50% faster than HD 6950M

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Metro Exodus, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the HD 6950M is 25% faster than the GeForce MX230.
  • in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GeForce MX230 is 300% faster than the HD 6950M.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 6950M is ahead in 2 tests (3%)
  • GeForce MX230 is ahead in 49 tests (84%)
  • there's a draw in 7 tests (12%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 3.53 4.75
Recency 6 January 2011 20 February 2019
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 50 Watt 10 Watt

The GeForce MX230 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6950M in performance tests.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

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AMD Radeon HD 6950M
Radeon HD 6950M
NVIDIA GeForce MX230
GeForce MX230

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