Radeon 540X vs NVS 5200M

Place in the ranking	1025	706
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	3.71	5.20
Architecture	Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014)	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code name	GF117	Lexa
Market segment	Mobile workstation	Laptop
Release date	1 June 2012 (12 years ago)	5 September 2018 (6 years 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.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	96	512
Core clock speed	625 MHz	980 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1046 MHz
Number of transistors	585 million	2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	25 Watt	50 Watt
Texture fill rate	10.00	33.47
Floating-point processing power	0.24 TFLOPS	1.071 TFLOPS
ROPs	4	16
TMUs	16	32

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	MXM	PCIe 3.0 x8
Supplementary power connectors	no data	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	DDR3	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	2 GB
Memory bus width	64 Bit	64 Bit
Memory clock speed	900 MHz	1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	14.4 GB/s	48 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

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 (11_0)	12 (12_0)
Shader Model	5.1	6.4
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	2.0
Vulkan	N/A	1.2.131
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.

NVS 5200M 1.33

Radeon 540X 3.73
+180%

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.

NVS 5200M 512

Radeon 540X 1437
+181%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

NVS 5200M 1008

Radeon 540X 4097
+306%

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

NVS 5200M 4268

Radeon 540X 11545
+171%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

NVS 5200M 704

Radeon 540X 2779
+295%

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

NVS 5200M 4949

Radeon 540X 15167
+206%

Unigine Heaven 3.0

This is an old DirectX 11 benchmark using Unigine, a 3D game engine by eponymous Russian company. It displays a fantasy medieval town sprawling over several flying islands. Version 3.0 was released in 2012, and in 2013 it was superseded by Heaven 4.0, which introduced several slight improvements, including a newer version of Unigine.

NVS 5200M 10

Radeon 540X 30
+207%

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

−111%

19
+111%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

4−5

−125%

9
+125%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	6−7 −167%	16 +167%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 −100%	8−9 +100%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −75%	7−8 +75%
Far Cry 5	1−2 −600%	7−8 +600%
Far Cry New Dawn	3−4 −233%	10−11 +233%
Forza Horizon 4	3−4 −633%	21−24 +633%
Hitman 3	6−7 −83.3%	11 +83.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 −85.7%	24−27 +85.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	2−3 −850%	19 +850%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	8−9 −75%	14−16 +75%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−35 −27.3%	40−45 +27.3%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	6−7 −83.3%	10−12 +83.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 −100%	8−9 +100%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −75%	7−8 +75%
Far Cry 5	1−2 −600%	7−8 +600%
Far Cry New Dawn	3−4 −233%	10−11 +233%
Forza Horizon 4	3−4 −633%	21−24 +633%
Hitman 3	6−7 −50%	9−10 +50%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 −85.7%	24−27 +85.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	2−3 −600%	14 +600%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	8−9 −150%	20 +150%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−12 −36.4%	14−16 +36.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−35 −27.3%	40−45 +27.3%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	6−7 −83.3%	10−12 +83.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 −100%	8−9 +100%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −75%	7−8 +75%
Far Cry 5	1−2 −600%	7−8 +600%
Forza Horizon 4	3−4 −633%	21−24 +633%
Hitman 3	6−7 −50%	9−10 +50%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 −85.7%	24−27 +85.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	8−9 −113%	17 +113%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−12 +10%	10 −10%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−35 −27.3%	40−45 +27.3%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

2−3

−500%

12
+500%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	1−2 −600%	7−8 +600%
Far Cry New Dawn	2−3 −200%	6−7 +200%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	1−2 −200%	3−4 +200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	0−1	3−4
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 −100%	2−3 +100%
Far Cry 5	1−2 −300%	4−5 +300%
Hitman 3	7−8 −14.3%	8−9 +14.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	5−6 −80%	9−10 +80%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	1−2 −200%	3−4 +200%
Watch Dogs: Legion	6−7 −283%	21−24 +283%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

4−5

−75%

7−8
+75%

4K
High Preset

Far Cry New Dawn

0−1

2−3

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	1−2 −200%	3−4 +200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	1−2 −100%	2−3 +100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	0−1	1−2
Far Cry 5	0−1	2−3

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

3−4

−66.7%

5−6
+66.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12 +0%	12 +0%
Battlefield 5	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Metro Exodus	23 +0%	23 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Battlefield 5	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Metro Exodus	17 +0%	17 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

3−4

+0%

3−4

+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Forza Horizon 4

3−4

+0%

3−4

+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Metro Exodus	0−1	0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077	0−1	0−1
Forza Horizon 4	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%

This is how NVS 5200M and Radeon 540X compete in popular games:

Radeon 540X is 111% faster in 1080p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the NVS 5200M is 10% faster.
in Red Dead Redemption 2, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the Radeon 540X is 850% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

NVS 5200M is ahead in 1 test (2%)
Radeon 540X is ahead in 47 tests (80%)
there's a draw in 11 tests (19%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.33	3.73
Recency	1 June 2012	5 September 2018
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	2 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	25 Watt	50 Watt

NVS 5200M has 100% lower power consumption.

Radeon 540X, on the other hand, has a 180.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 100% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon 540X is our recommended choice as it beats the NVS 5200M in performance tests.

Be aware that NVS 5200M is a mobile workstation card while Radeon 540X is a mobile workstation one.

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