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日本NVIDIA GeForce MX110 vs AMD RX Vega 8 – this Vega is 25% faster than its green contender
The GeForce MX110 is the least powerful NVIDIA dedicated graphics solution. Based on our tests, the latter is slower than Intel Iris Plus G7. As you may know, the laptops configured with the Iris G7 iGPU aren’t that cheap. Luckily, the ones with AMD RX Vega 8 are much more affordable (ok, at least most of them) than the Iris-based notebooks.
The situation is the following – the notebooks with Ice Lake CPUs aren’t very affordable, but the new Intel iGPUs are very potent graphics solutions, and at the same time, the MX110-based laptops are cheaper but the NVIDIA GPU isn’t that fast. That’s why (maybe) the AMD RX Vega 8 is our hero because the devices configured with it will not hurt your wallet and at the same time the CPU / iGPU combo is snappy-enough.
Our task for today is to find out whether Vega 8 is faster than MX110 or not.
See all configurations with GeForce MX110 / AMD RX Vega 8
Contents
Specs overview
The GeForce MX110 is Maxwell GPU that uses a GM108 chip. Nothing special, this is a simple and cost-effective video card – 256 shaders. 8 ROPs, 965 MHz / 993 MHz base and boost clock (relatively low frequencies), and 5012 MHz for the 2GB memory buffer.
The AMD RX Vega 8 has its place in Ryzen 5 APUs. It’s based on 5th generation GCN architecture (a.k.a. Vega) and it has 8 CUs, 512 shaders, 1200MHz boost clock, and higher TDP values than MX110. The iGPU can be boosted additionally if you use dual-channel 2400 MHz memory (ergo if your laptop is configured with a single stick RAM clocked at 2133 MHz, Vega 8 will not perform at its optimal levels).
At least for now, the AMD iGPU doesn’t look weaker when compared to MX110.
GPU comparison table
| MX110 | AMD RX Vega 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 5.0 |
| GPU chip | GM108 | Vega |
| Shader units | 256 (+100%) | 512 |
| ROPs | 8 | 8 |
| Base Clock (MHz) | 965 (+222%) | – |
| Boost clock (MHz) | 993 | 1200 (+21%) |
| Memory clock (MHz) | 5012 | depends on RAM frequency |
| Memory size (MB) | 2048 | variable |
| Memory type | DDR3/GDDR5 | DDR4 |
| Memory bus width (bit) | 64 | – |
| TGP (Total Graphics Power) | TDP: 5-12W | TDP: 12-25+W (+140% – 108%) |
| DirectX version | 12.0 | 12.1 |
| Technology | 28nm | 14nm |
| RTX capabilities | No | No |
| Release date | 01.2018 | 10.2017 |
| Detailed specs | Link | Link |
Let’s check the benchmarks.
Synthetic benchmarks
Newer architecture, double the shader count, bigger TDP – AMD RX Vega 8 is clearly faster in our benchmarks.
Results are from the 3DMark: Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)
| GeForce MX110 over AMD RX Vega 8 | 3Dmark Fire Strike (G) | Unigine Heaven 3.0 | Unigine Heaven 4.0 | Unigine Superposition | Average difference % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX110 | – | ||||
| AMD RX Vega 8 | 41% | – | 5% | 57% | 26% |
Gaming tests
After we saw the graphs above, we are almost sure that the AMD product will be faster than its NVIDIA rival.
| CS:GO | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) | HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX110 | 55 fps | 44 fps | 40 fps (+5%) |
| AMD RX Vega 8 | 65 fps (+18%) | 50 fps (+14%) | 38 fps |
CS:GO isn’t that heavy but it’s still a challenge for today’s iGPUs. In this comparison, only Vega 8 is able to offer smooth gameplay experience at 1080p but on Low settings. The MX110 struggles everywhere no matter the settings.
| DOTA 2 | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) | HD 1080p, High (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX110 | 59 fps | 31 fps | — fps |
| AMD RX Vega 8 | 84 fps (+42%) | 56 fps (+81%) | 38 fps |
The same situation in DOTA 2 – Vega 8 is much faster than MX110.
| Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) | HD 768p, Normal (Check settings) | HD 768p, High (Check settings) | HD 768p, Very High (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX110 | 57 fps | 29 fps | – fps |
| AMD RX Vega 8 (720P) | 68 fps (+19%) | 29 fps | – fps |
Both GPUs have similar performance in GTA V but again, the AMD iGPU is a bit faster.
Performance summary (gaming tests)
Surprisingly,RX Vega 8 is faster than MX110. An iGPU has more power than dedicated video card.
| GeForce MX110 over AMD RX Vega 8 | Full HD, Low | Full HD, Normal | Full HD, High | Average difference % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX110 | – | |||
| AMD RX Vega 8 | +26% | +48% | – | 25% |
Verdict
Good news, Ryzen 5 (Zen+) and AMD RX Vega 8 are a good combo for light and not-so-heavy games. Ryzen 5 is still fast enough for CPU demanding games and it looks like the Vega iGPU is able to provide good frame rate at low-to-medium details. The laptops configured with that APU don’t cost that much and most of them are affordable.
Ok, maybe some MX110-based devices are a bit cheaper but the GeForce GPU is slower than its iGPU contender. The RX Vega 8 is the better choice because it doesn’t take extra space, it’s more battery-friendly than MX110, and it dissipates less heat. When you add 25% better performance in the mix, it’s clear for everybody that the AMD RX Vega 8 is the winner in this comparison.
The MX110 is a good choice only if you plan to play games mainly at 768p resolution. For example, it’s not powerful enough for CS:GO even at Low details (1080p). If you play games from time to time after work, the RX Vega 8 is better than MX110 but if you want a GeForce GPU you can have a look for some notebooks configured with MX130 or better video cards. The MX110 is slower than Iris G7, Vega 8 / 10, and its performance is close to Iris G4. This NVIDIA GPU is a good choice only if you find it in a really discounted device.
All laptops equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce MX110
All laptops equipped with the AMD RX Vega 8
