Mobility Radeon X1900 vs Quadro NVS 420

AMD

Mobility Radeon X1900

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
NVIDIA

Quadro NVS 420

2018Core: 1227 MHzBoost: 1647 MHz
Similar parts
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Mobility Radeon X1900 vs Quadro NVS 420 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 X1900 vs Quadro NVS 420: 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 X1900

2010

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • Draws 50W instead of 100W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 256 MB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2010 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quadro NVS 420

2018

Why buy it

  • 1500% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 256 MB).
  • Mobility Radeon X1900 is already obsolete for modern gaming, so Quadro NVS 420 is the less risky modern option long term.
  • More future proof: Pascal (2016−2021) on 16nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2018 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 2.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $49 MSRP).
  • 100% higher power demand at 100W vs 50W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Quadro NVS 420 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.5% in PassMark G3D (137 vs 135), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Quadro NVS 420 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 4 GB vs 256 MB of VRAM, a 16nm process instead of 40nm, and a newer 2018 generation instead of 2010. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon X1900 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, Mobility Radeon X1900 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Quadro NVS 420 has the stronger long-term case.

Mobility Radeon X1900 vs Quadro NVS 420 Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Mobility Radeon X1900

The Mobility Radeon X1900 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: 135 points.

NVIDIA

Quadro NVS 420

The Quadro NVS 420 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in February 21 2018. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1227 MHz to 1647 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 137 points.

Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon X1900 scores 135 and the Quadro NVS 420 reaches 137 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon X1900 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Quadro NVS 420 uses Pascal, both on 40 nm vs 16 nm. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon X1900) vs 2,304 (Quadro NVS 420). Raw compute: 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon X1900) vs 7.589 TFLOPS (Quadro NVS 420).

FeatureMobility Radeon X1900Quadro NVS 420
G3D Mark Score
135
137+1%
Architecture
TeraScale 2
Pascal
Process Node
40 nm
16 nm
Shading Units
800
2304+188%
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.12 TFLOPS
7.589 TFLOPS+578%
ROPs
16
64+300%
TMUs
40
144+260%
L1 Cache
80 KB
864 KB+980%
L2 Cache
0.25 MB
2 MB+700%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureMobility Radeon X1900Quadro NVS 420
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
Standard
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Mobility Radeon X1900 has 256 MB of VRAM, while the Quadro NVS 420 carries 4 GB. Quadro NVS 420 gives you 1500% 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 X1900 and 64-bit on the Quadro NVS 420. L2 Cache: 0.25 MB (Mobility Radeon X1900) vs 2 MB (Quadro NVS 420) — the Quadro NVS 420 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureMobility Radeon X1900Quadro NVS 420
VRAM Capacity
0.25 GB
4 GB+1500%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
128-bit+100%
64-bit
L2 Cache
0.25 MB
2 MB+700%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 9.0c (Mobility Radeon X1900) vs 10_0 (Quadro NVS 420). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 4.

FeatureMobility Radeon X1900Quadro NVS 420
DirectX
9.0c
10_0+11%
Max Displays
2
4+100%
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon X1900 draws 50W versus the Quadro NVS 420's 100W — a 66.7% difference. The Mobility Radeon X1900 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon X1900) vs 350W (Quadro NVS 420). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureMobility Radeon X1900Quadro NVS 420
TDP
50W-50%
100W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
160mm
Slots
1
Temp (Load)
90°C
Perf/Watt
2.7+93%
1.4
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon X1900 came in at $49, while the Quadro NVS 420 launched at $0. On MSRP, Quadro NVS 420 was 100+% cheaper ($49 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.8 (Mobility Radeon X1900) vs Infinity (Quadro NVS 420) — the Quadro NVS 420 offers Infinity% better value. The newer card here is Quadro NVS 420 (2018 vs 2010).

FeatureMobility Radeon X1900Quadro NVS 420
MSRP
$49
$0-100%
Performance per Dollar
2.8
Infinity
Codename
Broadway
GP104
Release
January 7 2010
February 21 2018
Ranking
#846
#266

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