Mobility Radeon HD 5430 vs Radeon HD 6230

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5430

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 6230

2011Core: 750 MHz
Similar parts
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Mobility Radeon HD 5430 vs Radeon HD 6230 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.

Mobility Radeon HD 5430 vs Radeon HD 6230: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Mobility Radeon HD 5430

2010

Why buy it

  • Costs $1 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $50 MSRP).
  • 100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).
  • Draws 50W instead of 186W, a 136W reduction.
  • 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.

Radeon HD 6230

2011

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2011 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 2% HIGHER MSRP
    $50 MSRPvs$49 MSRP
  • 272% higher power demand at 186W vs 50W.
  • 16700% longer card at 168mm vs 1mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon HD 5430 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.1% in PassMark G3D (181 vs 179), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Mobility Radeon HD 5430 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 1 GB vs 512 MB of VRAM. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon HD 5430 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $1 cheaper on MSRP at $49 vs $50, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 3.2% (3.7 vs 3.6), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

Mobility Radeon HD 5430 vs Radeon HD 6230 Technical Specifications

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

AMD

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.

AMD

Radeon HD 6230

The Radeon HD 6230 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 1 2011. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The core clock speed is 750 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 186W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 179 points. Launch price was $180.

Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 5430 scores 181 and the Radeon HD 6230 reaches 179 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon HD 5430 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon HD 6230 uses TeraScale 3, both on a 40 nm process. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 6230). Raw compute: 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) vs 1.92 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6230).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5430Radeon HD 6230
G3D Mark Score
181+1%
179
Architecture
TeraScale 2
TeraScale 3
Process Node
40 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
800
1280+60%
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.12 TFLOPS
1.92 TFLOPS+71%
ROPs
16
32+100%
TMUs
40
80+100%
L1 Cache
80 KB
320 KB+300%
L2 Cache
256 KB
512 KB+100%
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5430Radeon HD 6230
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Mobility Radeon HD 5430 has 1 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 6230 carries 512 MB. 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 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5430 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6230. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 6230) — the Radeon HD 6230 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5430Radeon HD 6230
VRAM Capacity
1 GB+100%
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB
512 KB+100%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) vs 11.2 (Radeon HD 6230). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 2.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5430Radeon HD 6230
DirectX
11.2
11.2
Max Displays
0
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: UVD 2.2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) vs UVD 2.2 (Radeon HD 6230). Decoder: UVD 2.2 vs UVD 2.2.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5430Radeon HD 6230
Encoder
UVD 2.2
UVD 2.2
Decoder
UVD 2.2
UVD 2.2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 5430 draws 50W versus the Radeon HD 6230's 186W — a 115.3% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 5430 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) vs 350W (Radeon HD 6230). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 1mm vs 168mm, occupying 0 vs 1 slots.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5430Radeon HD 6230
TDP
50W-73%
186W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
1x 6-pin
Length
1mm
168mm
Slots
0-100%
1
Perf/Watt
3.6+260%
1.0
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon HD 5430 came in at $49, while the Radeon HD 6230 launched at $50. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 5430 was 2% cheaper ($1 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 3.7 (Mobility Radeon HD 5430) vs 3.6 (Radeon HD 6230) — the Mobility Radeon HD 5430 offers 2.8% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 6230 (2011 vs 2010).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5430Radeon HD 6230
MSRP
$49-2%
$50
Performance per Dollar
3.7+3%
3.6
Codename
Broadway
Cayman
Release
January 7 2010
December 1 2011
Ranking
#846
#598

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