GeForce GTX 280 vs GeForce MX250

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce MX250, there are a couple of things to consider. Cards with more VRAM in general perform better and allow you to play on higher graphics settings. Size also makes a difference. A model with a large heatsink can occupy up to three expansion slots on a motherboard. Be sure you have enough room in your PC case. When comparing GPUs with different architectures, more processing cores and even higher TFLOPS will not always translate to better performance. To help you decide which GPU you need, we have measured frame rates in a number of popular games. For more on how the GeForce GTX 280 stacks up against GeForce MX250, check out specs charts below.

GeForce MX250 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce MX250 is only used in laptop graphics. It has 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 MX250 here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 280 GeForce MX250
Power consumption (TDP) 236 Watt 10 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x4
Supplementary power connectors 6-pin & 8-pin None
Memory type GDDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 280 has 2260% more power consumption, than GeForce MX250.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and GeForce MX250 uses PCIe 3.0 x4 interface.
  • GeForce MX250 has 3 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 280.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is used in Desktops, and GeForce MX250 - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is build with Tesla 2.0 architecture, and GeForce MX250 - with Pascal.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce MX250 is 222 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 280.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and GeForce MX250 - by 14 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce MX250 is 5893 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 280.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 1−2 12−14
ultra / 1080p 0−1 7−8
QHD / 1440p 0−1 2−3
low / 720p 12−14 27−30
medium / 1080p 3−4 16−18
The average gaming FPS of GeForce MX250 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 216% more, than GeForce GTX 280.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 280 GeForce MX250
Architecture Tesla 2.0 Pascal
Code name GT200 N17S-G2
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 16 June 2008 20 February 2019
Pipelines 240 384
Core clock speed 1296 MHz 1518 MHz
Boost Clock 1582 MHz
Transistor count 1,400 million 1,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 65 nm 14 nm
Texture fill rate 48.2 billion/sec 24.91
Floating-point performance 622.1 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 512 Bit 64 Bit
Memory clock speed 1107 MHz 7000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 141.7 GB/s 48.06 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.1 (10_0) 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 4.0 6.4
OpenGL 2.1 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2
CUDA + 6.1
CUDA cores 240
Height 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
SLI options +
Multi monitor support +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI S/PDIF
Laptop size large
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