GeForce GT 520MX vs Mobility Radeon HD 5165

NVIDIA

GeForce GT 520MX

2013Core: 941 MHzBoost: 967 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5165

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce GT 520MX vs Mobility Radeon HD 5165 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 520MX vs Mobility Radeon HD 5165: 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 520MX

2013

Why buy it

  • Costs $4 less on MSRP ($45 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).
  • Delivers 11.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 6.5 vs 5.8 G3D/$ ($45 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).
  • More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

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.

Mobility Radeon HD 5165

2010

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

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.
  • 8.9% HIGHER MSRP
    $49 MSRPvs$45 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.8 vs 6.5 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs $45 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GT 520MX is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.5% in PassMark G3D (291 vs 284), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GT 520MX is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2013 generation instead of 2010. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce GT 520MX makes the most sense to buy today. It is $4 cheaper on MSRP at $45 vs $49, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 11.6% (6.5 vs 5.8), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce GT 520MX vs Mobility Radeon HD 5165 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GT 520MX

The GeForce GT 520MX is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 9 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 941 MHz to 967 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 291 points.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5165

The Mobility Radeon HD 5165 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: 284 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 520MX scores 291 and the Mobility Radeon HD 5165 reaches 284 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 520MX is built on Kepler while the Mobility Radeon HD 5165 uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 520MX) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 5165). Raw compute: 0.7427 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 520MX) vs 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 5165).

FeatureGeForce GT 520MXMobility Radeon HD 5165
G3D Mark Score
291+2%
284
Architecture
Kepler
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
384
800+108%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.7427 TFLOPS
1.12 TFLOPS+51%
ROPs
16
16
TMUs
32
40+25%
L1 Cache
32 KB
80 KB+150%
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 520MX gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 5165 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GT 520MXMobility Radeon HD 5165
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 128-bit on the GeForce GT 520MX and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5165.

FeatureGeForce GT 520MXMobility Radeon HD 5165
VRAM Capacity
1 GB
1 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce GT 520MX) vs 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 5165). OpenGL: 4.0 vs 3.3. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce GT 520MXMobility Radeon HD 5165
DirectX
11.0+9%
10.1
OpenGL
4.0+21%
3.3
Max Displays
1
2+100%
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 520MX draws 50W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5165's 50W — a 0% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 5165 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 520MX) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5165). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 75°C.

FeatureGeForce GT 520MXMobility Radeon HD 5165
TDP
50W
50W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0
Temp (Load)
70°C-7%
75°C
Perf/Watt
5.8+2%
5.7
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GT 520MX came in at $45, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5165 launched at $49. On MSRP, GeForce GT 520MX was 8.2% cheaper ($4 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 6.5 (GeForce GT 520MX) vs 5.8 (Mobility Radeon HD 5165) — the GeForce GT 520MX offers 12.1% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GT 520MX (2013 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce GT 520MXMobility Radeon HD 5165
MSRP
$45-8%
$49
Performance per Dollar
6.5+12%
5.8
Codename
GK107
Broadway
Release
January 9 2013
January 7 2010
Ranking
#792
#846

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