GeForce MX230 vs Radeon HD 7870 XT

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce MX230 and Radeon HD 7870 XT, 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 MX230 stacks up against Radeon HD 7870 XT, check out specs charts below.
Radeon HD 7870 XT

GeForce MX230 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce MX230 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 MX230 here:

Main Specs

  GeForce MX230 Radeon HD 7870 XT
Power consumption (TDP) 10 Watt 185 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 7870 XT has 1750% more power consumption, than GeForce MX230.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • GeForce MX230 has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7870 XT.
  • GeForce MX230 is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - in Desktops.
  • GeForce MX230 is build with Pascal architecture, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - with GCN 1.0.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce MX230 is 594 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7870 XT.
  • GeForce MX230 is manufactured by 14 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce MX230 is 1000 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7870 XT.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 9−10 35−40
ultra / 1080p 5−6 21−24
QHD / 1440p 0−1 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 21−24 60−65
medium / 1080p 12−14 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 241% more, than GeForce MX230.

Full Specs

  GeForce MX230 Radeon HD 7870 XT
Architecture Pascal GCN 1.0
Code name N17S-G0 Tahiti
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 20 February 2019 19 November 2012
Pipelines 256 1536
Core clock speed 1519 MHz 925 MHz
Boost Clock 1531 MHz 975 MHz
Transistor count 1,800 million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 14 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 25.31 93.60
Floating-point performance 2,995 gflops
Length 267 mm
Memory bus width 64 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 7000 MHz 6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 48.06 GB/s 192.0 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 (12_1) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 6.4 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131 1.2.131
CUDA +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 346 Mh/s
Laptop size medium sized
Optimus +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 14.5 Mh/s
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