Quadro NVS 280 PCI vs GeForce2 MX

Place in the ranking	1527	1486
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	no data	0.11
Architecture	Celsius (1999−2005)	Rankine (2003−2005)
GPU code name	NV11 A2	NV34 B1
Market segment	Desktop	Workstation
Release date	28 June 2000 (24 years ago)	28 October 2003 (21 year ago)

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.

Core clock speed	175 MHz	275 MHz
Number of transistors	20 million	45 million
Manufacturing process technology	180 nm	150 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	no data	13 Watt
Texture fill rate	0.7	1.100
ROPs	2	2
TMUs	4	4

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	AGP 4x	PCI
Length	no data	168 mm
Width	1-slot	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	SDR	DDR
Maximum RAM amount	32 MB	64 MB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	166 MHz	250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	2.656 GB/s	8 GB/s

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

1x VGA

1x DMS-59

API compatibility

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

DirectX	7.0	9.0a
OpenGL	1.2	1.5 (2.1)
OpenCL	N/A	N/A
Vulkan	N/A	N/A

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.

GeForce2 MX 0.01

NVS 280 PCI 0.02
+100%

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.

GeForce2 MX 2

NVS 280 PCI 8
+300%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.01	0.02
Recency	28 June 2000	28 October 2003
Maximum RAM amount	32 MB	64 MB
Chip lithography	180 nm	150 nm

NVS 280 PCI has a 100% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 20% more advanced lithography process.

The Quadro NVS 280 PCI is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce2 MX in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce2 MX is a desktop card while Quadro NVS 280 PCI is a workstation one.

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