GeForce GTX 970M vs GeForce MX230

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 970M and GeForce MX230 you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people GeForce GTX 970M will be the best choice, for others GeForce MX230 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

GeForce GTX 970M and GeForce MX230 are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: GeForce GTX 970M and GeForce MX230 are only used in laptop graphics. They have lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with GeForce GTX 970M or GeForce MX230 here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 970M GeForce MX230
Power consumption (TDP) 10 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0) PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 6 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 970M is connected by MXM-B (3.0), and GeForce MX230 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 970M has 2 GB more memory, than GeForce MX230.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 970M is build with Maxwell architecture, and GeForce MX230 - with Pascal.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce MX230 is 595 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 970M.
  • GeForce GTX 970M is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and GeForce MX230 - by 14 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce MX230 is 4500 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 970M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 9−10
ultra / 1080p 21−24 5−6
QHD / 1440p 16−18 0−1
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 60−65 21−24
medium / 1080p 40−45 12−14
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 970M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 241% more, than GeForce MX230.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 970M GeForce MX230
Architecture Maxwell Pascal
Code name GM204 N17S-G0
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 7 October 2014 20 February 2019
Pipelines 1280 256
Core clock speed 924 MHz 1519 MHz
Boost Clock 1038 MHz 1531 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million 1,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 14 nm
Texture fill rate 83.04 25.31
Floating-point performance 2,657 gflops
Memory bus width 192 Bit 64 Bit
Memory clock speed 2500 MHz 7000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 120 GB/s 48.06 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1) 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 6.4
OpenGL 4.5 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan 1.1.126 1.2.131
CUDA + +
CUDA cores 1280
Bus support PCI Express 3.0
SLI options +
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 314 Mh/s
Laptop size large medium sized
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus + +
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
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