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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce MX250

2019

Why buy it

✅Costs $549 less on MSRP ($150 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 381.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 15.8 vs 3.3 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon HD 5970: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon HD 5970 is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 10W instead of 294W, a 284W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2019-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Radeon HD 5970

2009

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2009-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
366% HIGHER MSRP
$699 MSRPvs$150 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 3.3 vs 15.8 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
❌2840% higher power demand at 294W vs 10W.

GeForce MX250

2019

Radeon HD 5970

2009

Why buy it

✅Costs $549 less on MSRP ($150 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 381.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 15.8 vs 3.3 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon HD 5970: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon HD 5970 is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 10W instead of 294W, a 284W reduction.

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2019-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2009-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
366% HIGHER MSRP
$699 MSRPvs$150 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 3.3 vs 15.8 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
❌2840% higher power demand at 294W vs 10W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce MX250 better than Radeon HD 5970?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 2,375 vs 2,297 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce MX250 is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (10W vs 294W).

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce MX250 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2019 generation instead of 2009, the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling, and a 14nm process instead of 40nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce MX250 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $150 MSRP. GeForce MX250 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. GeForce MX250 is about $549 cheaper on MSRP at $150 MSRP versus $699 MSRP, and you are getting 3.4% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $150 MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (10W vs 294W), and no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Is Radeon HD 5970 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon HD 5970 is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below $699 MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. GeForce MX250 is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with newer hardware and no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce MX250 Benchmark Check

Radeon HD 5970 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce MX250	Radeon HD 5970
1080p
low	16 FPS	80 FPS
medium	10 FPS	65 FPS
high	6 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	3 FPS	33 FPS
1440p
low	7 FPS	67 FPS
medium	4 FPS	55 FPS
high	2 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	25 FPS
4K
low	3 FPS	24 FPS
medium	2 FPS	23 FPS
high	1 FPS	15 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	13 FPS

Open GeForce MX250 Open Radeon HD 5970

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce MX250	Radeon HD 5970
1080p
low	61 FPS	90 FPS
medium	34 FPS	65 FPS
high	24 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	15 FPS	34 FPS
1440p
low	18 FPS	51 FPS
medium	11 FPS	33 FPS
high	8 FPS	25 FPS
ultra	6 FPS	18 FPS
4K
low	5 FPS	18 FPS
medium	3 FPS	12 FPS
high	3 FPS	10 FPS
ultra	2 FPS	7 FPS

Open GeForce MX250 Open Radeon HD 5970

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce MX250	Radeon HD 5970
1080p
low	107 FPS	103 FPS
medium	86 FPS	83 FPS
high	71 FPS	69 FPS
ultra	53 FPS	52 FPS
1440p
low	80 FPS	78 FPS
medium	64 FPS	62 FPS
high	53 FPS	52 FPS
ultra	40 FPS	39 FPS
4K
low	53 FPS	52 FPS
medium	43 FPS	41 FPS
high	36 FPS	34 FPS
ultra	27 FPS	26 FPS

Open GeForce MX250 Open Radeon HD 5970

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce MX250	Radeon HD 5970
1080p
low	73 FPS	103 FPS
medium	57 FPS	83 FPS
high	43 FPS	69 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	52 FPS
1440p
low	13 FPS	78 FPS
medium	10 FPS	62 FPS
high	9 FPS	52 FPS
ultra	7 FPS	39 FPS
4K
low	9 FPS	52 FPS
medium	7 FPS	41 FPS
high	6 FPS	34 FPS
ultra	4 FPS	25 FPS

Open GeForce MX250 Open Radeon HD 5970

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce MX250 and Radeon HD 5970

GeForce MX250

The GeForce MX250 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in February 20 2019. 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: 2,375 points.

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 MX250 scores 2,375 and the Radeon HD 5970 reaches 2,297 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce MX250 is built on Pascal while the Radeon HD 5970 uses TeraScale 2, both on 14 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce MX250) vs 1,600 (Radeon HD 5970). Raw compute: 0.7972 TFLOPS (GeForce MX250) vs 2.32 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 5970).

Feature	GeForce MX250	Radeon HD 5970
G3D Mark Score	2,375+3%	2,297
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 MX250 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon HD 5970 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce MX250	Radeon 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 feature 2 GB of GDDR5. Bus width: 64-bit vs 128-bit.

Feature	GeForce MX250	Radeon 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 MX250) vs 11.2 (Radeon HD 5970). Vulkan: 1.2 vs N/A. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 3 vs 3.

Feature	GeForce MX250	Radeon HD 5970
DirectX	12 (12_1)+7%	11.2
Vulkan	1.2	N/A
OpenGL	4.6+5%	4.4
Max Displays	3	3

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (GeForce MX250) vs None (Radeon HD 5970). Decoder: NVDEC 3rd Gen vs UVD 2.2. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265,VP9 (GeForce MX250) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 5970).

Feature	GeForce MX250	Radeon HD 5970
Encoder	None	None
Decoder	NVDEC 3rd Gen	UVD 2.2
Codecs	H.264,H.265,VP9	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce MX250 draws 10W versus the Radeon HD 5970's 294W — a 186.8% difference. The GeForce MX250 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce MX250) vs 650W (Radeon HD 5970). Power connectors: Mobile vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 305mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 90.

Feature	GeForce MX250	Radeon HD 5970
TDP	10W-97%	294W
Recommended PSU	350W-46%	650W
Power Connector	Mobile	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	0mm	305mm
Height	0mm	111mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	75-17%	90
Perf/Watt	237.5+2945%	7.8

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce MX250 launched at $150 MSRP, while the Radeon HD 5970 launched at $699. The GeForce MX250 costs 78.5% less ($549 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 15.8 (GeForce MX250) vs 3.3 (Radeon HD 5970) — the GeForce MX250 offers 378.8% better value. The GeForce MX250 is the newer GPU (2019 vs 2009).