NVIDIA GeForce MX250 vs GeForce MX130 – both are worthy but MX250 is the better performer

The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 and MX130 are entry-level GPUs that have their place in affordable devices. The MX250 is the fastest graphics card from the MX series. The MX130 is placed almost at the “bottom” alongside MX110.

Still, as you may already know from our article, the MX130 is faster than powerful iGPUs like Intel Iris Plus G4 graphics. If the iGPU power (like Iris G4 or Vega 8/10) isn’t enough for you the MX130 is a good solution for your needs and there are a lot of MX130-based devices on the market with a pleasant price tag.

But how far ahead is the MX250 compared to MX130 and is it worth the extra price? Let’s find the answer.

See all configurations with GeForce MX250 / GeForce MX130

Contents


Specs overview

The GeForce MX250 has 384 shader units, 16 ROPs, up to 4GB GDDR5 memory, and 64-bit memory bus. The base and boost clocks are 1518 MHz to 1582MHz, the memory has a 7000MHz frequency. This is a Pascal-based GPU that uses GP108 chip.

The MX130 is a lot different than the MX250. It is a Maxwell graphics cards and it’s N16S-GTR-based. It has the same shader count as the MX250 but that’s the only closest spec between those GPUs. The Maxwell VGA has half the ROPs (8), and it has lower frequencies – 1122MHz/1242MHz base/boost and 5012MHz memory clock.

GPU comparison table

 GeForce MX250GeForce MX130
ArchitecturePascalMaxwell
GPU chipGP108N16S-GTR
Shader units384384
ROPs16 (+50%)8
Base Clock (MHz)1518 (+35%)1122
Boost clock (MHz)1582 (+27%)1242
Memory clock (MHz)7000 (+40%)5012
Memory size (MB)2048-40962048-4096
Memory typeGDDR5DDR3/GDDR5
Memory bus width (bit)6464
TGP (Total Graphics Power)TDP:10-25WTDP:15-30W(+50 – +20%)
DirectX version12.112.0
Technology14nm28nm
RTX capabilitiesNoNo
Release date02.201901.2018
Detailed specsLinkLink

Let’s check the synthetic benchmarks and the gaming tests.

Synthetic benchmarks

Expectedly, the MX250 is way faster than the MX130 in the synthetic benchmarks.

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus dem 3DMark: Time Spy (Graphics) Benchmark (je höher die Punktzahl, desto besser)

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus dem 3DMark: Fire Strike (Grafik) Benchmark (je höher die Punktzahl, desto besser)

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus dem Unigine Superposition Benchmark (je höher die Punktzahl, desto besser)

GeForce MX250 over GeForce MX1303Dmark Fire Strike (G)Unigine Heaven 3.0Unigine Heaven 4.0Unigine SuperpositionAverage difference %
NVIDIA GeForce MX25066%97%78%35%69%
NVIDIA GeForce MX130

 

Gaming tests

The gaming tests are always the real deal because you don’t play synthetic benchmarks, right?

cs-go-benchmarks

CS:GOHD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings)HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings)
NVIDIA GeForce MX250118 fps (+27%)90 fps (+58%)66 fps (+61%)
NVIDIA GeForce MX13093 fps57 fps41 fps

The MX250 is much faster than the MX130 in CS:GO. No matter what, the game is still playable with the Maxwell GPU at Low preset.

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
NVIDIA GeForce MX250110 fps (+26%)80 fps (+23%)56 fps (+93%)
NVIDIA GeForce MX13087 fps65 fps29 fps

The same situation as the one above – the Pascal GPU outperforms the MX130 in DOTA 2 but MX130 can deliver acceptable performance at Low or Medium preset.

GTA-V-benchmarks

Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5)HD 768p, Normal (Check settings)HD 768p, High (Check settings)HD 768p, Very High (Check settings)
NVIDIA GeForce MX250124 fps (+46%)59 fps (+74%)29 fps
NVIDIA GeForce MX13085 fps34fps– fps

In GTA V the MX250 shows its power again – 59 FPS (768p High preset) isn’t bad at all for a cost-effective GPU. The MX130 can provide smooth gameplay at Normal settings.

Performance summary (gaming tests)

More ROPs, higher frequencies, new architecture – the MX250 is over 50% faster than its smaller sibling.

NVIDIA MX250 over MX130Full HD, LowFull HD, NormalFull HD, HighAverage difference %
NVIDIA GeForce MX250+33%+52%+77%+54%
NVIDIA GeForce MX130

Verdict

At the end of the day, both GPUs are worthy. The MX250 is the better performer here, there is no doubt in that. It has more hardware under the hood and that why its performance is significantly higher. No matter the game, no matter the settings – the MX250 is much faster than the MX130. The Pascal graphics card is able to show good FPS values at Medium preset in some popular and not-so-heavy games like DOTA 2.

The MX130 is a decent low-cost graphics solution that is good-enough for Low settings in games like GTA V (but at 768p) and CS:GO (93 FPS is a respectable result). If your budget is really tight and the MX250 notebooks are too expensive for you, the MX130 is still a decent choice but remember – it’s suitable for Low settings mainly.

If you want to play Crysis 3 with max-out eye-candy graphics you have to look for a much more expensive GTX/RTX configured notebook.

All laptops equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce MX250

All laptops equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce MX130

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