GeForce GT 120
Mobility Radeon HD 5430
GeForce GT 120 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5430 Performance Spectrum
About G3D Mark
G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.
GeForce GT 120 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5430 FPS Benchmarks
Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.
Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.
Path of Exile 2
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
GeForce GT 120 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5430: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict
See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.
GeForce GT 120
2017Why buy it
- ✅Draws 30W instead of 50W, a 20W reduction.
- ✅More future proof: Pascal (2016−2021) on 14nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
Trade-offs
- ❌Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌2017 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌104.1% HIGHER MSRP$100 MSRPvs$49 MSRP
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.9 vs 3.7 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).
- ❌16700% longer card at 168mm vs 1mm.
Mobility Radeon HD 5430
2010Why buy it
- ✅Costs $51 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
- ✅Delivers 96.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 3.7 vs 1.9 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
- ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).
- ✅Measures 1mm instead of 168mm, a 167mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.
Trade-offs
- ❌2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌66.7% higher power demand at 50W vs 30W.
Quick Answers
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GeForce GT 120 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5430 Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce GT 120
The GeForce GT 120 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 17 2017. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1228 MHz to 1468 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 188 points. Launch price was $79.
Mobility Radeon HD 5430
The Mobility Radeon HD 5430 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2010. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 700 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 181 points.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce GT 120 scores 188 and the Mobility Radeon HD 5430 reaches 181 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 120 is built on Pascal while the Mobility Radeon HD 5430 uses TeraScale 2, both on 14 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 120) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 5430). Raw compute: 1.127 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 120) vs 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 5430).
| Feature | GeForce GT 120 | Mobility Radeon HD 5430 |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 188+4% | 181 |
| Architecture | Pascal | TeraScale 2 |
| Process Node | 14 nm | 40 nm |
| Shading Units | 384 | 800+108% |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 1.127 TFLOPS | 1.12 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 16 | 16 |
| TMUs | 24 | 40+67% |
| L1 Cache | 144 KB+80% | 80 KB |
| L2 Cache | 512 KB+100% | 256 KB |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce GT 120 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 5430 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce GT 120 | Mobility Radeon HD 5430 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling Tech | Upscaling support | FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 |
| Frame Generation | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| Ray Reconstruction | No | No |
| Low Latency | NVIDIA Reflex | AMD Anti-Lag |
Video Memory (VRAM)
The GeForce GT 120 has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5430 carries 1 GB. Mobility Radeon HD 5430 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce GT 120 and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5430. L2 Cache: 512 KB (GeForce GT 120) vs 256 KB (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) — the GeForce GT 120 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | GeForce GT 120 | Mobility Radeon HD 5430 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 0.5 GB | 1 GB+100% |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | Unknown | Unknown |
| Bus Width | 64-bit | 128-bit+100% |
| L2 Cache | 512 KB+100% | 256 KB |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 10.0 (GeForce GT 120) vs 11.2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5430). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 0.
| Feature | GeForce GT 120 | Mobility Radeon HD 5430 |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 10.0 | 11.2+12% |
| Max Displays | 2 | 0 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: No (GeForce GT 120) vs UVD 2.2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5430). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP3 vs UVD 2.2.
| Feature | GeForce GT 120 | Mobility Radeon HD 5430 |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | No | UVD 2.2 |
| Decoder | PureVideo HD VP3 | UVD 2.2 |
| Codecs | MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 | — |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce GT 120 draws 30W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5430's 50W — a 50% difference. The GeForce GT 120 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 120) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5430). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 168mm vs 1mm, occupying 1 vs 0 slots.
| Feature | GeForce GT 120 | Mobility Radeon HD 5430 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 30W-40% | 50W |
| Recommended PSU | 350W | 350W |
| Power Connector | PCIe-powered | PCIe-powered |
| Length | 168mm | 1mm |
| Height | 111mm | — |
| Slots | 1 | 0-100% |
| Temp (Load) | 65°C | — |
| Perf/Watt | 6.3+75% | 3.6 |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce GT 120 came in at $100, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5430 launched at $49. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 5430 was 51% cheaper ($51 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.9 (GeForce GT 120) vs 3.7 (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) — the Mobility Radeon HD 5430 offers 94.7% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GT 120 (2017 vs 2010).
| Feature | GeForce GT 120 | Mobility Radeon HD 5430 |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $100 | $49-51% |
| Performance per Dollar | 1.9 | 3.7+95% |
| Codename | GP108 | Broadway |
| Release | May 17 2017 | January 7 2010 |
| Ranking | #641 | #846 |
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