AMD Radeon R7 M365X vs NVIDIA GeForce MX230 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a split decision between the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 and the AMD Radeon R7 M365X, with each card taking one benchmark victory. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon R7 M365X scores 5939 against the NVIDIA GeForce MX230's 5739, a 3.4% advantage for the AMD part. That is a narrow margin, placing the two within a few percentage points of each other in general compute workloads. In the Geekbench Vulkan test, however, the result flips decisively. The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 scores 6414, while the AMD Radeon R7 M365X manages only 4893, giving the NVIDIA card a 31.1% lead. This is not a small gap; it is a commanding win for the MX230 in modern graphics API performance.

The average benchmark scores reinforce this pattern. The MX230 holds an average score of 6077, while the R7 M365X trails at 5416. That works out to roughly a 12% overall advantage for the NVIDIA part across the two tests, driven almost entirely by its Vulkan performance. The OpenCL result is close enough that it could be considered a tie in practical terms, but the Vulkan result is where the MX230 separates itself.

Looking at the percentile rankings, the MX230 sits at the 35th percentile among all GPUs, while the R7 M365X is at the 32nd percentile. The three-point gap in percentiles aligns with the average score difference and suggests that the MX230 has a slightly stronger overall position in the database. Neither card is a high performer by modern standards, but the data clearly ranks the MX230 ahead.

The nearest rivals in the database provide context for both cards. The MX230's avg score of 6077 sits near the NVIDIA RTX A400 at 6078 (0% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 at 6049 (0.5% ahead), and the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 at 6117 (0.7% behind). The AMD Radeon 760M is 1% behind the MX230 with a score of 6019. For the R7 M365X, its avg score of 5416 places it near the AMD Radeon 610M at 5444 (0.5% behind), the Intel UHD Graphics P630 at 5370 (0.9% ahead), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 at 5467 (0.9% behind), and the AMD Radeon R7 M445 at 5358 (1.1% ahead). These neighboring scores show that both cards are clustered with mid-range and older parts, but the MX230 sits in a slightly higher performance tier.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R7 M365X takes the OpenCL workload. Its 5939 score beats the MX230's 5739 by 3.4%, which is a modest but consistent edge. OpenCL is often used for general-purpose compute tasks, so the R7 M365X has a slight advantage in applications that rely on this API. The margin is small enough that real-world differences would likely be minor, but the data does show a win for AMD in this specific test.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 dominates the Vulkan test. Its 6414 score versus the R7 M365X's 4893 represents a 31.1% lead, which is a substantial gap in any workload. Vulkan is the modern cross-platform graphics API used in many current games and applications, and this is where the MX230 shows its strength. The MX230's Vulkan score is also higher than its own OpenCL score, while the R7 M365X's Vulkan score is significantly lower than its OpenCL score. This suggests the AMD card is comparatively weaker in Vulkan-optimized workloads, while the NVIDIA card performs better in that environment.

The split essentially comes down to API preference. For compute-heavy tasks using OpenCL, the R7 M365X holds a slight edge. For graphics workloads using Vulkan, the MX230 is clearly superior. Since Vulkan is more relevant for gaming and modern rendering, the MX230's win there carries more weight for most users. The average scores reflect this, with the MX230 ahead by about 661 points overall.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 is built on the Pascal architecture with the GP108 chip, fabricated on a 14 nm process at Samsung. It packs 1,800 million transistors into a 74 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 24.3 million per mm². The AMD Radeon R7 M365X uses the older GCN 1.0 architecture with the Litho chip, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, with a transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². The MX230 therefore uses a smaller and denser chip, reflecting its newer manufacturing process.

The memory configurations differ significantly. The MX230 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 48.06 GB/s of bandwidth. The R7 M365X has 1024 MB (1 GB) of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card has a wider bus and higher bandwidth, but half the memory capacity. For frame buffers and texture-heavy workloads, the R7 M365X's bandwidth could help, but the MX230's larger memory pool is more useful for modern games that require more VRAM.

Compute resources also differ. The MX230 has 256 shading units, 16 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The R7 M365X has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and only 8 ROPs. The AMD card has more shaders and TMUs, but fewer ROPs. This explains some of the performance differences: more shaders help with compute throughput, but fewer ROPs can limit pixel output. The pixel rates confirm this: the MX230 achieves 24.50 GPixel/s, while the R7 M365X only manages 6.600 GPixel/s. The texture rates are closer, with the MX230 at 24.50 GTexel/s and the R7 M365X at 19.80 GTexel/s.

FP32 performance favors the MX230 at 783.9 GFLOPS versus 633.6 GFLOPS for the R7 M365X. The MX230 also lists FP16 performance at 12.25 GFLOPS with a 1:64 ratio, while the R7 M365X has no recorded FP16 data. Clock speeds are only partially specified: the MX230 has a base clock of 1519 MHz and a boost of 1531 MHz, while the R7 M365X has no base or boost clocks recorded. Memory clocks are 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for the MX230 and 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) for the R7 M365X.

The MX230 has a 10 W TDP and no power connectors, fitting its IGP slot width. The R7 M365X has no TDP or slot width recorded. The bus interface also differs: the MX230 uses PCIe 3.0 x4, while the R7 M365X uses PCIe 3.0 x8. API support shows the MX230 supporting DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R7 M365X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The DirectX feature level difference (12_1 versus 11_1) and the Vulkan version gap (1.4 versus 1.2.170) align with the MX230's stronger Vulkan results. The R7 M365X's predecessor is listed as Solar System and its successor as Polaris Mobile, while the MX230 has no predecessor or successor recorded.

The Verdict

The data points to the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 as the stronger overall GPU. Its average benchmark score of 6077 beats the R7 M365X's 5416 by a meaningful margin, and its Vulkan score of 6414 is 31.1% higher than the AMD card's 4893. The MX230 also has a higher percentile ranking at 35 versus 32, a newer architecture in Pascal, a smaller 14 nm process, double the memory capacity at 2 GB, and superior pixel and texture rates. Its FP32 output of 783.9 GFLOPS is also ahead of the R7 M365X's 633.6 GFLOPS.

The R7 M365X does have some advantages. Its OpenCL score of 5939 is 3.4% higher than the MX230's 5739, and it has 384 shading units versus 256, along with 64.00 GB/s of memory bandwidth versus 48.06 GB/s. For applications that are heavily dependent on OpenCL compute and memory bandwidth, the R7 M365X could be the better choice. Its 128-bit memory bus also gives it a wider data path, which can help in specific bandwidth-bound scenarios.

For most users, though, the MX230 is the recommended pick. The Vulkan advantage is too large to ignore, and the MX230 leads in every headline metric except OpenCL and raw bandwidth. Gamers and users of modern graphics APIs should choose the MX230. Users who specifically need OpenCL compute performance and can tolerate the older architecture might consider the R7 M365X, but the data shows that the MX230 is the better-performing card overall.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 has an average score of 6077, while the AMD Radeon R7 M365X scores 5416.

Q: How much faster is the MX230 in Vulkan?

A: The MX230 scores 6414 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 31.1% higher than the R7 M365X's 4893.

Q: Does the R7 M365X win any benchmark?

A: Yes, it wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 5939, beating the MX230's 5739 by 3.4%.

Q: What are the memory capacities of these two cards?

A: The MX230 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the R7 M365X has 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M365X has 384 shading units, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 has 256.

Q: What is the DirectX support difference?

A: The MX230 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the R7 M365X supports DirectX 12 (11_1).

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce MX230 | AMD Radeon R7 M365X |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | GP108 | Litho |

| Architecture | Pascal | GCN 1.0 |

| Generation | GeForce MX (2xx) | Gem System (R7 M300) |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 28 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |

| Transistors | 1,800 million | 950 million |

| Die Size | 74 mm² | 77 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.3M / mm² | 12.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1519 MHz | null |

| Boost Clock | 1531 MHz | null |

| Memory Clock | 1502 MHz, 6 Gbps effective | 1000 MHz, 4 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 48.06 GB/s | 64.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 256 | 384 |

| TMUs | 16 | 24 |

| ROPs | 16 | 8 |

| Pixel Rate | 24.50 GPixel/s | 6.600 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 24.50 GTexel/s | 19.80 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 783.9 GFLOPS | 633.6 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | 12.25 GFLOPS (1:64) | null |

| TDP | 10 W | null |

| Slot Width | IGP | null |

| Power Connectors | None | null |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | 2019-02-20 | 2015-05-04 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |

| Predecessor | null | Solar System |

| Successor | null | Polaris Mobile |