NVIDIA GeForce GT 520
NVIDIA graphics card specifications and benchmark scores
At a Glance
NVIDIANVIDIA GeForce GT 520 Specifications
GPU Core
Shader units and compute resources
The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 GPU core specifications define its raw processing power for graphics and compute workloads. Shading units (also called CUDA cores, stream processors, or execution units depending on manufacturer) handle the parallel calculations required for rendering. TMUs (Texture Mapping Units) process texture data, while ROPs (Render Output Units) handle final pixel output. Higher shader counts generally translate to better GPU benchmark performance, especially in demanding games and 3D applications.
GT 520 Clock Speeds
GPU and memory frequencies
Clock speeds directly impact the GeForce GT 520's performance in GPU benchmarks and real-world gaming. The base clock represents the minimum guaranteed frequency, while the boost clock indicates peak performance under optimal thermal conditions. Memory clock speed affects texture loading and frame buffer operations. The GeForce GT 520 by NVIDIA dynamically adjusts frequencies based on workload, temperature, and power limits to maximize performance while maintaining stability.
NVIDIA's GeForce GT 520 Memory
VRAM capacity and bandwidth
VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory for storing textures, frame buffers, and shader data. The GeForce GT 520's memory capacity determines how well it handles high-resolution textures and multiple displays. Memory bandwidth, measured in GB/s, affects how quickly data moves between the GPU and VRAM. Higher bandwidth improves performance in memory-intensive scenarios like 4K gaming. The memory bus width and type (GDDR6, GDDR6X, HBM) significantly influence overall GPU benchmark scores.
GeForce GT 520 by NVIDIA Cache
On-chip cache hierarchy
On-chip cache provides ultra-fast data access for the GT 520, reducing the need to fetch data from slower VRAM. L1 and L2 caches store frequently accessed data close to the compute units. AMD's Infinity Cache (L3) dramatically increases effective bandwidth, improving GPU benchmark performance without requiring wider memory buses. Larger cache sizes help maintain high frame rates in memory-bound scenarios and reduce power consumption by minimizing VRAM accesses.
GT 520 Theoretical Performance
Compute and fill rates
Theoretical performance metrics provide a baseline for comparing the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 against other graphics cards. FP32 (single-precision) performance, measured in TFLOPS, indicates compute capability for gaming and general GPU workloads. FP64 (double-precision) matters for scientific computing. Pixel and texture fill rates determine how quickly the GPU can render complex scenes. While real-world GPU benchmark results depend on many factors, these specifications help predict relative performance levels.
Fermi 2.0 Architecture & Process
Manufacturing and design details
The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 is built on NVIDIA's Fermi 2.0 architecture, which defines how the GPU processes graphics and compute workloads. The manufacturing process node affects power efficiency, thermal characteristics, and maximum clock speeds. Smaller process nodes pack more transistors into the same die area, enabling higher performance per watt. Understanding the architecture helps predict how the GT 520 will perform in GPU benchmarks compared to previous generations.
Power & Thermal
TDP and power requirements
Power specifications for the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 determine PSU requirements and thermal management needs. TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicates the heat output under typical loads, guiding cooler selection. Power connector requirements ensure adequate power delivery for stable operation during demanding GPU benchmarks. The suggested PSU wattage accounts for the entire system, not just the graphics card. Efficient power delivery enables the GeForce GT 520 to maintain boost clocks without throttling.
GeForce GT 520 by NVIDIA Physical & Connectivity
Dimensions and outputs
Physical dimensions of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 are critical for case compatibility. Card length, height, and slot width determine whether it fits in your chassis. The PCIe interface version affects bandwidth for communication with the CPU. Display outputs define monitor connectivity options, with modern cards supporting multiple high-resolution displays simultaneously. Verify these specifications against your case and motherboard before purchasing to ensure a proper fit.
NVIDIA API Support
Graphics and compute APIs
API support determines which games and applications can fully utilize the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520. DirectX 12 Ultimate enables advanced features like ray tracing and variable rate shading. Vulkan provides cross-platform graphics capabilities with low-level hardware access. OpenGL remains important for professional applications and older games. CUDA (NVIDIA) and OpenCL enable GPU compute for video editing, 3D rendering, and scientific applications. Higher API versions unlock newer graphical features in GPU benchmarks and games.
GeForce GT 520 Product Information
Release and pricing details
The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 is manufactured by NVIDIA as part of their graphics card lineup. Release date and launch pricing provide context for comparing GPU benchmark results with competing products from the same era. Understanding the product lifecycle helps evaluate whether the GeForce GT 520 by NVIDIA represents good value at current market prices. Predecessor and successor information aids in tracking generational improvements and planning future upgrades.
About NVIDIA GeForce GT 520
The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 is an end-of-life entry-level discrete GPU based on the Fermi 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. With a benchmark score of 1276 in Geekbench OpenCL, it sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, placing it firmly at the bottom of the performance spectrum. The data describes a card designed for basic display output and legacy applications rather than any form of modern gaming or compute workload.
How It Compares
The GT 520’s closest rival by score is the AMD FirePro M5950, which averages 1279 points. The delta is a mere -0.2%, meaning the GT 520 trails by essentially a rounding error. Both cards are statistically tied in raw OpenCL throughput, though the FirePro M5950 is a mobile workstation part, suggesting the GT 520’s desktop positioning offers no compute advantage over that segment.
Against the NVIDIA GeForce GT 610, the GT 520 scores 0.4% lower (1281 vs. 1276). The GT 610 is itself a rebadged, slightly altered version of the same underlying chip class, so the near-identical scores confirm that the two are effectively interchangeable in performance. The delta is well within run-to-run variance, making any real-world difference negligible.
The comparison to the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 Mobile is more illustrative of the GT 520’s ceiling. The RTX 3000 Mobile scores 1285, which is only 0.7% higher. This is a striking result — a modern, high-end mobile workstation GPU barely outpaces a 2011 entry-level card in this specific OpenCL test, underscoring how limited the benchmark’s relevance is for high-end parts. The GT 520 is not competing with the RTX 3000 Mobile in any practical sense; the scores merely happen to cluster.
The only rival the GT 520 beats is the AMD Radeon HD 6970M, which scores 1262. The delta is +1.1% in the GT 520’s favor. This is a counterintuitive result, as the HD 6970M is a much larger, more power-hungry mobile GPU, yet the GT 520 edges it out in this synthetic workload. The data suggests that OpenCL performance on this test does not correlate with overall graphics capability, as the GT 520’s 48 shading units and 4 ROPs are dwarfed by the HD 6970M’s specifications.
Who Should Consider It
The GT 520’s 1024 MB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus delivers 14.40 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for basic desktop compositing and 2D workloads, but it will struggle with any modern 3D application. The pixel rate of 1.620 GPixel/s and texture rate of 6.480 GTexel/s place hard limits on resolution and detail. For 1080p gaming, the card is not viable; the data shows no scenario where it can sustain playable framerates in current titles.
Users who should consider this card are those running legacy software from its 2011 release era, or those needing a passive, low-power display adapter for office work or media playback. The 29 W TDP and single-slot design, with no power connectors, make it trivial to install in any system with a 200 W suggested PSU. It supports a single DVI, HDMI 1.3a, and VGA output, which covers older monitors and projectors.
At higher resolutions, such as 1440p or 4K, the GT 520 is unsuitable for anything beyond static images or video that is hardware-decoded. The 14.40 GB/s bandwidth will bottleneck any texture-heavy workload, and the 4 ROPs limit fill-rate-bound operations. For users with modern high-resolution displays, the card should be considered a temporary display output solution, not a rendering device.
Benchmark Performance
The Geekbench OpenCL score of 1276 is the single data point for this GPU. The FP32 compute throughput is 155.5 GFLOPS, which is the theoretical peak. The nearest rival scores are tightly clustered between 1262 and 1285, a spread of only 1.8%. This clustering indicates that the test is not sensitive to the architectural differences between these GPUs; it likely measures memory-bound operations where the GT 520’s low bandwidth is the limiting factor.
The GT 520 trails the GT 610 by 0.4%, which is the expected result given that the GT 610 has a slightly higher memory clock. The AMD FirePro M5950 leads by 0.2%, a negligible margin. The most notable delta is the +1.1% over the Radeon HD 6970M. This is surprising because the HD 6970M has a wider memory bus and more compute units, but the benchmark results indicate the GT 520’s driver optimizations or test-specific characteristics give it an edge.
The 5th percentile ranking means that 95% of all GPUs in the database score higher. This is not a commentary on the card’s function — it works perfectly for its intended 2011 entry-level market — but it does quantify how far behind modern standards it is. Even the low-end integrated graphics in contemporary CPUs would likely outperform it, though no such data is present in the fact pack. The score is a static snapshot; it does not reflect driver updates or thermal throttling, as the 29 W TDP is low enough to avoid sustained thermal issues.
FAQ
Q: What is the GT 520’s launch MSRP?
A: The launch MSRP was 59 USD.
Q: Does the GT 520 support DirectX 12?
A: It supports DirectX 12 (11_0), meaning it is compliant with the DirectX 12 API but only at the 11_0 feature level, not the full 12_0 feature set.
Q: How much VRAM does the GT 520 have?
A: It has 1024 MB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing 14.40 GB/s of bandwidth.
Q: What is the power consumption of the GT 520?
A: The TDP is 29 W, and it requires no external power connectors. The suggested PSU is 200 W.
Q: Is the GT 520 faster than the AMD Radeon HD 6970M?
A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GT 520 scores 1.1% higher (1276 vs. 1262), though this is a synthetic result and does not reflect real-world gaming performance.
Q: What process node is the GT 520 built on?
A: It uses a 40 nm process at TSMC, with 292 million transistors on a 79 mm² die.
Ray Tracing and Feature Set
The GT 520 has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. It is based on the Fermi 2.0 architecture, which predates any hardware-accelerated ray tracing or AI-based rendering features. The card’s feature set is limited to the DirectX 12 (11_0) API, which is a legacy compatibility level, and OpenGL 4.6. Vulkan support is not listed in the data.
The absence of RT and tensor cores means the GT 520 cannot accelerate any modern rendering techniques such as DLSS or ray-traced shadows. For any workload requiring these features, the card is functionally ineligible. Its 48 shading units are the only compute resource, and they are tasked with all vertex, pixel, and compute shader work. The 8 TMUs and 4 ROPs handle texture fetches and pixel output, respectively, at rates of 6.480 GTexel/s and 1.620 GPixel/s.
The display outputs are limited to 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, and 1x VGA. The HDMI 1.3a standard is old; it does not support 4K at high refresh rates, nor does it carry modern audio formats beyond what the specification allowed in 2006. The card is PCIe 2.0 x16, which is backward compatible with modern slots but offers half the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0 and a quarter of PCIe 4.0. This is not a bottleneck for the GT 520’s performance level, but it does reflect the card’s age.
Memory Subsystem
The memory subsystem is the GT 520’s most constrained aspect. It pairs 1024 MB of DDR3 with a 64-bit memory bus, yielding 14.40 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 900 MHz, which translates to 1800 Mbps effective. This bandwidth figure is roughly one-tenth of what a modern mid-range GPU offers, and it is the primary reason the card cannot handle high-resolution textures or complex scenes.
For 1080p gaming, the 1024 MB capacity is below the minimum requirement for most current titles, and the bandwidth is insufficient to stream textures quickly. The pixel rate of 1.620 GPixel/s further limits the card to low resolutions; at 1080p, this equates to a theoretical maximum of around 1.5 frames per second for a full-screen pixel fill, though real workloads are less fill-rate-bound. The texture rate of 6.480 GTexel/s is equally limiting.
The 64-bit bus width is the key structural weakness. A wider bus, even with slower memory, would provide more bandwidth, but the GT 520’s design prioritizes low cost and power consumption over throughput. The 14.40 GB/s figure is the hard ceiling for all memory traffic, including geometry, textures, and framebuffer operations. This explains why the card’s benchmark score is so low relative to its compute capability; the GPU is constantly waiting on memory. For any task that exceeds the 1024 MB capacity, the system will spill to system memory over the PCIe 2.0 x16 link, causing severe performance degradation.
Detailed benchmark scores and charts for the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 are below.
Benchmark Scores
geekbench_openclSource
Geekbench OpenCL tests GPU compute performance using the cross-platform OpenCL API. This shows how NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 handles parallel computing tasks like video encoding and scientific simulations. OpenCL is widely supported across different GPU vendors and platforms.
Top 5 Performers
Top 5 PerformersNearby Performers
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