HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) vs GeForce GTS 250
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce GTS 250 with HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge), including specs and performance data.
GTS 250 outperforms HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) by a whopping 353% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 970 | 1294 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.09 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 0.72 | no data |
| Architecture | Tesla (2006−2010) | Gen. 6 Sandy Bridge (2011) |
| GPU code name | G92B | Sandy Bridge |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 4 March 2009 (15 years ago) | 1 May 2011 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $199 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 128 | 6 |
| Core clock speed | 738 MHz | 350 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 1100 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 754 million | no data |
| Manufacturing process technology | 55 nm | 32 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 150 Watt | no data |
| Maximum GPU temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 44.93 | no data |
| Floating-point processing power | 0.3871 TFLOPS | no data |
| ROPs | 16 | no data |
| TMUs | 64 | no data |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | no data |
| Length | 229 mm | no data |
| Height | 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin | no data |
| SLI options | + | - |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | GDDR3 | no data |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | no data |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 64/128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1100 MHz | no data |
| Memory bandwidth | 70.4 GB/s | no data |
| Shared memory | - | + |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | Two Dual Link DVI | no data |
| Multi monitor support | + | no data |
| HDMI | + | - |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | S/PDIF | no data |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 10.1 |
| Shader Model | 4.0 | no data |
| OpenGL | 3.0 | no data |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | no data |
| Vulkan | N/A | - |
| CUDA | + | - |
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
| Full HD | 30−35
+329%
| 7
−329%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 6.63 | no data |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 9−10
+0%
|
9−10
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 9−10
+0%
|
9−10
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Hitman 3 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
1440p
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 0−1 | 0−1 |
4K
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
This is how GTS 250 and HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) compete in popular games:
- GTS 250 is 329% faster in 1080p
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 29 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.54 | 0.34 |
| Recency | 4 March 2009 | 1 May 2011 |
| Chip lithography | 55 nm | 32 nm |
GTS 250 has a 352.9% higher aggregate performance score.
HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge), on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, and a 71.9% more advanced lithography process.
The GeForce GTS 250 is our recommended choice as it beats the HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce GTS 250 is a desktop card while HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
