GeForce GT 120M vs Radeon R5 220

NVIDIA

GeForce GT 120M

2017Core: 1228 MHzBoost: 1468 MHz
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VS
AMD

Radeon R5 220

2013Core: 947 MHz
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GeForce GT 120M vs Radeon R5 220 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 120M vs Radeon R5 220 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.

GeForce GT 120M vs Radeon R5 220: 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 120M

2017

Why buy it

  • Draws 30W instead of 275W, a 245W reduction.
  • More future proof: Pascal (2016−2021) on 14nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon R5 220 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2017 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 4.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $35 MSRP).

Radeon R5 220

2013

Why buy it

  • 3.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($35 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • 2013 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 816.7% higher power demand at 275W vs 30W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon R5 220 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 3.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GT 120M instead at 151 vs 147, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GT 120M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 14nm process instead of 28nm and a newer 2017 generation instead of 2013. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon R5 220 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R5 220 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GT 120M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GT 120M vs Radeon R5 220 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce GT 120M

The GeForce GT 120M 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: 151 points. Launch price was $79.

AMD

Radeon R5 220

The Radeon R5 220 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 5 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 947 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 147 points. Launch price was $399.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 120M scores 151 and the Radeon R5 220 reaches 147 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 120M is built on Pascal while the Radeon R5 220 uses GCN 2.0, both on 14 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 120M) vs 2,560 (Radeon R5 220). Raw compute: 1.127 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 120M) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R5 220).

FeatureGeForce GT 120MRadeon R5 220
G3D Mark Score
151+3%
147
Architecture
Pascal
GCN 2.0
Process Node
14 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
384
2560+567%
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.127 TFLOPS
4.849 TFLOPS+330%
ROPs
16
64+300%
TMUs
24
160+567%
L1 Cache
144 KB
640 KB+344%
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
1 MB+100%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 120M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R5 220 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GT 120MRadeon R5 220
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)

Both cards ship with 1 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce GT 120M and 128-bit on the Radeon R5 220. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (GeForce GT 120M) vs 1 MB (Radeon R5 220) — the Radeon R5 220 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GT 120MRadeon R5 220
VRAM Capacity
1 GB
1 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
1 MB+100%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (FL10_0) (GeForce GT 120M) vs 11.2 (Radeon R5 220). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 3.

FeatureGeForce GT 120MRadeon R5 220
DirectX
11.1 (FL10_0)
11.2
Max Displays
2
3+50%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VP3 (GeForce GT 120M) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon R5 220). Decoder: VP3 vs UVD 3.1.

FeatureGeForce GT 120MRadeon R5 220
Encoder
VP3
VCE 1.0
Decoder
VP3
UVD 3.1
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 120M draws 30W versus the Radeon R5 220's 275W — a 160.7% difference. The GeForce GT 120M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 120M) vs 350W (Radeon R5 220). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGeForce GT 120MRadeon R5 220
TDP
30W-89%
275W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
168mm
Slots
0-100%
1
Temp (Load)
80°C
Perf/Watt
5.0+900%
0.5
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce GT 120M (2017 vs 2013).

FeatureGeForce GT 120MRadeon R5 220
MSRP
$35
Codename
GP108
Hawaii
Release
May 17 2017
November 5 2013
Ranking
#641
#316

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