Radeon 540 vs GeForce MX230

Place in the ranking	646	721
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	0.10
Power efficiency	32.77	4.96
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code name	GP108	Lexa
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	21 February 2019 (5 years ago)	20 April 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$79

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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	256	384
Core clock speed	1519 MHz	1183 MHz
Boost clock speed	1582 MHz	1124 MHz
Number of transistors	1,800 million	2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	10 Watt	50 Watt
Texture fill rate	25.31	28.39
Floating-point processing power	0.81 TFLOPS	0.9085 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	16
TMUs	16	24

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).

Laptop size	medium sized	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x8
Length	no data	145 mm
Width	no data	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	None

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	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	64 Bit	32 Bit
Memory clock speed	1502 MHz	1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	48.06 GB/s	24 GB/s
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

No outputs

2x DisplayPort 1.4a

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Optimus

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (12_0)
Shader Model	6.4	6.7
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.1
Vulkan	1.2.131	1.3
CUDA	+	-

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GeForce MX230 4.76
+32.2%

Radeon 540 3.60

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GeForce MX230 1831
+32.4%

Radeon 540 1383

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

GeForce MX230 6679
+8.5%

Radeon 540 6158

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

21
+50%

14−16

−50%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

no data

5.64

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−11 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Elden Ring	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	13 +44.4%	9−10 −44.4%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−11 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Forza Horizon 4	20−22 +42.9%	14−16 −42.9%
Metro Exodus	15 +50%	10−11 −50%
Red Dead Redemption 2	14−16 +50%	10−11 −50%
Valorant	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	14 +40%	10−11 −40%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−11 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Dota 2	32 +33.3%	24−27 −33.3%
Elden Ring	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%
Far Cry 5	33 +37.5%	24−27 −37.5%
Fortnite	27−30 +33.3%	21−24 −33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	20−22 +42.9%	14−16 −42.9%
Grand Theft Auto V	19 +35.7%	14−16 −35.7%
Metro Exodus	9 +50%	6−7 −50%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	75 +36.4%	55−60 −36.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2	14−16 +50%	10−11 −50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 +33.3%	12−14 −33.3%
Valorant	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%
World of Tanks	65 +44.4%	45−50 −44.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	10 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−11 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Dota 2	43 +43.3%	30−33 −43.3%
Far Cry 5	18 +50%	12−14 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	20−22 +42.9%	14−16 −42.9%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	40−45 +36.7%	30−33 −36.7%
Valorant	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Elden Ring	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Grand Theft Auto V	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	30−35 +33.3%	24−27 −33.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
World of Tanks	30−35 +41.7%	24−27 −41.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	7−8 +40%	5−6 −40%
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +50%	6−7 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Far Cry 5	10−11 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Forza Horizon 4	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%
Metro Exodus	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%
Valorant	12−14 +44.4%	9−10 −44.4%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 +41.7%	12−14 −41.7%
Elden Ring	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +33.3%	12−14 −33.3%
Metro Exodus	0−1	0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Red Dead Redemption 2	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 +33.3%	12−14 −33.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Dota 2	16−18 +41.7%	12−14 −41.7%
Far Cry 5	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Fortnite	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Valorant	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%

This is how GeForce MX230 and Radeon 540 compete in popular games:

GeForce MX230 is 50% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	4.76	3.60
Recency	21 February 2019	20 April 2017
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1 GB
Power consumption (TDP)	10 Watt	50 Watt

GeForce MX230 has a 32.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and 400% lower power consumption.

The GeForce MX230 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon 540 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce MX230 is a notebook card while Radeon 540 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.