GeForce MX150 vs Radeon HD 5970

NVIDIA

GeForce MX150

2017Core: 937 MHzBoost: 1038 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 5970

2009Core: 725 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce MX150 vs Radeon HD 5970 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 MX150 vs Radeon HD 5970 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 MX150 vs Radeon HD 5970: 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 MX150

2017

Why buy it

  • Costs $549 less on MSRP ($150 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
  • Delivers 356.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 15.0 vs 3.3 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
  • Draws 10W instead of 294W, a 284W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 5970 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2017 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 5970

2009

Why buy it

  • 78.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • 2009 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 366% HIGHER MSRP
    $699 MSRPvs$150 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 3.3 vs 15.0 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
  • 2840% higher power demand at 294W vs 10W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 5970 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 78.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2% in PassMark G3D (2,297 vs 2,252), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce MX150 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 14nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2017 generation instead of 2009. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce MX150 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $549 cheaper on MSRP at $150 vs $699, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 356.9% (15.0 vs 3.3), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 5970 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce MX150 vs Radeon HD 5970 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce MX150

The GeForce MX150 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 17 2017. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 937 MHz to 1038 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 10W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,252 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 5970

The Radeon HD 5970 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 18 2009. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 1600 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 294W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,297 points. Launch price was $699.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce MX150 scores 2,252 and the Radeon HD 5970 reaches 2,297 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce MX150 is built on Pascal while the Radeon HD 5970 uses TeraScale 2, both on 14 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce MX150) vs 1,600 (Radeon HD 5970). Raw compute: 0.7972 TFLOPS (GeForce MX150) vs 2.32 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 5970).

FeatureGeForce MX150Radeon HD 5970
G3D Mark Score
2,252
2,297+2%
Architecture
Pascal
TeraScale 2
Process Node
14 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
384
1600 ×2+317%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.7972 TFLOPS
2.32 TFLOPS ×2+191%
ROPs
16
32 ×2+100%
TMUs
24
80 ×2+233%
L1 Cache
144 KB
320 KB+122%
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce MX150 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 5970 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce MX150Radeon HD 5970
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 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce MX150 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 5970.

FeatureGeForce MX150Radeon HD 5970
VRAM Capacity
2 GB
2 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
48 GB/s
Unknown
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_1) (GeForce MX150) vs 11.2 (Radeon HD 5970). Vulkan: 1.4 vs N/A. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 3 vs 3.

FeatureGeForce MX150Radeon HD 5970
DirectX
12 (12_1)+7%
11.2
Vulkan
1.4
N/A
OpenGL
4.6+5%
4.4
Max Displays
3
3
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce MX150) vs None (Radeon HD 5970). Decoder: NVDEC (Pascal) vs UVD 2.2. Supported codecs: H.264,HEVC,VP9,VC-1 (GeForce MX150) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 5970).

FeatureGeForce MX150Radeon HD 5970
Encoder
No
None
Decoder
NVDEC (Pascal)
UVD 2.2
Codecs
H.264,HEVC,VP9,VC-1
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce MX150 draws 10W versus the Radeon HD 5970's 294W — a 186.8% difference. The GeForce MX150 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce MX150) vs 650W (Radeon HD 5970). Power connectors: Mobile vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 90.

FeatureGeForce MX150Radeon HD 5970
TDP
10W-97%
294W
Recommended PSU
350W-46%
650W
Power Connector
Mobile
6-pin + 8-pin
Length
305mm
Height
111mm
Slots
0-100%
2
Temp (Load)
75°C-17%
90
Perf/Watt
225.2+2787%
7.8
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce MX150 came in at $150, while the Radeon HD 5970 launched at $699. On MSRP, GeForce MX150 was 78.5% cheaper ($549 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 15.0 (GeForce MX150) vs 3.3 (Radeon HD 5970) — the GeForce MX150 offers 354.5% better value. The newer card here is GeForce MX150 (2017 vs 2009).

FeatureGeForce MX150Radeon HD 5970
MSRP
$150-79%
$699
Performance per Dollar
15.0+355%
3.3
Codename
GP108
Hemlock
Release
May 17 2017
November 18 2009
Ranking
#657
#651

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