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日本NVIDIA GeForce MX230 vs AMD RX Vega 8 – the NVIDIA GPU is almost 50% faster but Vega 8 is still fast for an iGPU
As we already know, GeForce MX250 is the fastest low-end GPU on the market right now. It’s around 25% faster than MX230. The latter is still a fast affordable graphics card that is able to show some good FPS values if you aren’t “hungry” for high settings. With a GPU like that, low-to-medium presets will be your best friends. This NVIDIA GPU doesn’t draw a lot of power like its GTX and RTX siblings.
On the other hand, we have AMD RX Vega 8. It’s a powerful iGPU that is collaborating with some Zen+ CPU like AMD Ryzen 5 3500U. This AMD integrated video card has enough power to beat a dedicated GPU like NVIDIA MX110. The MX230 is definitely faster than Vega 8 but we have to find how big the gap is.
Let’s check the specs and the graphs.
See all configurations with GeForce MX230 / AMD RX Vega 8
Contents
Specs overview
The AMD RX Vega 8 can be found in Ryzen 5 APUs. It’s based on Vega architecture (5th generation GCN) and it has 512 shader units, 8 CUs, 1200MHz boost clock, and a bit lower TDP values than MX230. Additionally, you can boost this iGPU if you use dual-channel 2400 MHz memory (Vega 8 will not perform at its optimal levels if your notebook is equipped with a single stick RAM with 2133 MHz frequency).
The GeForce MX230 is a cut-down version of MX250 (fewer shaders and lower frequencies). It has 256 shader units, 16 ROPs, 1519 MHz / 1531 MHz base and boost clocks, 7000 MHz memory frequency, and 64-bit memory bus.
GPU comparison table
| GeForce MX230 | AMD RX Vega 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Pascal | GCN 5.0 |
| GPU chip | GP108 | Vega |
| Shader units | 256 | 512 (+100%) |
| ROPs | 16 | 8 (+100%) |
| Base Clock (MHz) | 1519 | – |
| Boost clock (MHz) | 1531 (+28%) | 1200 |
| Memory clock (MHz) | 7000 | depends on RAM frequency |
| Memory size (MB) | 2048-4096 | variable |
| Memory type | GDDR5 | DDR4 |
| Memory bus width (bit) | 64 | – |
| TGP (Total Graphics Power) | TDP: 10-30W | TDP: 12-25+W (+20%) |
| DirectX version | 12.1 | 12.1 |
| Technology | 14nm | 14nm |
| RTX capabilities | No | No |
| Release date | 02.2019 | 10.2017 |
| Detailed specs | Link | Link |
Now, some benchmarks.
Synthetic benchmarks
As we mentioned in the beginning, the MX230 is faster than Vega 8. In terms of synthetic benchmarks, the gap between them is 29%.
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 MX230 over AMD RX Vega 8 | 3Dmark Fire Strike (G) | Unigine Heaven 3.0 | Unigine Heaven 4.0 | Unigine Superposition | Average difference % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX230 | 14% | 65% | 51% | 29% | |
| AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 | 15% |
Gaming tests
We have three of the most popular gaming titles and with their help, we will test the performance of those two video cards.
| CS:GO | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) | HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX230 | 80 fps (+23%) | 69 fps (+38%) | 57 fps (+50%) |
| AMD RX Vega 8 | 65 fps | 50 fps | 38 fps |
Good results for both GPUs. The MX230 is really good for a 1080p CS:GO gaming but at Low or Medium settings. The AMD RX Vega 8 is still good-enough for this game (Low preset).
| DOTA 2 | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) | HD 1080p, High (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX230 | 92 fps (+10%) | 66 fps (+18%) | 49 fps (+29%) |
| AMD RX Vega 8 | 84 fps | 56 fps | 38 fps |
Again, good results for both GPUs. DOTA 2 isn’t a fast-paced game like Counter-Strike and you can enjoy maximum visual quality with those graphics adapters. Of course, the MX230 is faster than the AMD iGPU.
| Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) | HD 768p, Normal (Check settings) | HD 768p, High (Check settings) | HD 768p, Very High (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX230 | 110 fps (+62%) | 70 fps (+141%) | 47 fps |
| AMD RX Vega 8 (720P) | 68 fps | 29 fps | – fps |
Things are getting serious in GTA V and here, the MX230 shows its power with much higher FPS results than Vega 8. The latter is still powerful-enough for Low settings.
Performance summary (gaming tests)
Expectedly, the Vega 8 is slower than MX230 but it’s still a decent iGPU.
| GeForce MX230 over AMD RX Vega 8 | Full HD, Low | Full HD, Normal | Full HD, High | Average difference % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce MX230 | +32% | +66% | +40% | 46% |
| AMD RX Vega 8 |
Verdict
The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 is 46% faster on average than AMD RX Vega 8. This is a big difference but we have to admit that the AMD iGPU is still good for Low (and maybe Medium settings in some particular games) settings at 1080p resolution. Of course, if you want a more future-proof machine with good power for its money – the MX230 looks like a good choice. It has its own memory (the iGPUs use system RAM and if you have 8GB RAM and you set 2GB for the integrated video card maybe it’ll be a bit hard for your laptop to handle some games with just 6GB of system memory), and it’s just faster which is a good argument for the future buyers.
The AMD RX Vega 8 has its pros too – it doesn’t take additional space inside of the laptop, it’s more battery-friendly than MX230, the whole Zen+ combo (Ryzen 5 and Vega 8) can be fitted in much slimmer machines than the MX230-based notebooks. Yes, and one last thing – Vega 8 is still a fast iGPU.
All laptops equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce MX230
All laptops equipped with the AMD RX Vega 8
The number of games you test with are very limited thus I believe they do not paint the whole picture. Please add more games to your test methodology.
Edit: misspelling correction