GeForce FX 5900 Ultra vs Radeon R5 230
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon R5 230 and GeForce FX 5900 Ultra, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
R5 230 outperforms 5900 Ultra by a whopping 390% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 1309 | 1523 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Power efficiency | 1.95 | 0.13 |
| Architecture | TeraScale 2 (2009−2015) | Rankine (2003−2005) |
| GPU code name | Caicos | NV35 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Design | reference | no data |
| Release date | 3 April 2014 (12 years ago) | 23 October 2003 (22 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $499 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 160 | no data |
| Core clock speed | no data | 450 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 370 million | 135 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 40 nm | 130 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 19 Watt | 59 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 5.000 | 3.600 |
| Floating-point processing power | 0.2 TFLOPS | no data |
| ROPs | 4 | 4 |
| TMUs | 8 | 8 |
| L1 Cache | 16 KB | no data |
| L2 Cache | 128 KB | no data |
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).
| Bus support | PCIe 1.0 x4 | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | AGP 8x |
| Length | 168 mm | 218 mm |
| Width | 1-slot | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | N/A | 1x Molex |
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 | DDR3 | DDR |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 256 MB |
| Memory bus width | 64 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | no data | 425 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 10.67 GB/s | 27.2 GB/s |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA | 1x DVI, 1x VGA, 1x S-Video |
| Eyefinity | + | - |
| HDMI | + | - |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| CrossFire | + | - |
| PowerPlay | + | no data |
| DDMA audio | - | no data |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | DirectX® 11 | 9.0a |
| Shader Model | 5.0 | no data |
| OpenGL | 4.4 | 1.5 (2.1) |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | N/A |
| Vulkan | - | N/A |
Synthetic benchmarks
Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark score.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. 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.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.49 | 0.10 |
| Recency | 3 April 2014 | 23 October 2003 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 256 MB |
| Chip lithography | 40 nm | 130 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 19 Watt | 59 Watt |
R5 230 has a 390% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 10 years, a 1500% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 225% more advanced lithography process, and 211% lower power consumption.
The Radeon R5 230 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra in performance tests.
Other comparisons
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