NVIDIA GeForce MX150

The NVIDIA GeForce MX150 is a mobile-only graphics processor built on the 14 nm Pascal architecture, specifically the GP108 chip, which contains 1,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. With 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output pipelines, this end-of-life part is positioned as an entry-level solution for thin-and-light laptops, operating at a base clock of 1469 MHz and a boost clock of 1532 MHz. The 2 GB GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus delivers a bandwidth of 48.06 GB/s, which fundamentally shapes its performance ceiling across the benchmark results analyzed below.

Benchmark Performance

The aggregate benchmark data places the MX150 at an average score of 2377 points, which corresponds to a percentile rank of just 14 among all GPUs tracked in the database. This is a low position, indicating that the card sits comfortably in the lower quartile of performance, outperforming only a small fraction of the broader GPU landscape. The most representative score is the Passmark G3D result of 2256, which is the primary gaming-oriented metric, while the Geekbench OpenCL score of 9577 and Vulkan score of 8314 show its compute potential is relatively stronger than its rasterization capabilities.

Comparing the MX150 to its nearest rivals by average score reveals a tightly clustered group where the differences are marginal. The nearest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M, scores 2367, which is a delta of 0.4% in favor of the MX150 — effectively a statistical tie. The GeForce GT 550M scores 2363, putting the MX150 ahead by 0.6%, again a negligible difference. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, despite its much larger memory pool, scores 2402, which places the MX150 1% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce 710M scores 2419, making the MX150 1.7% slower than that part. These deltas are all within a two-percentage-point band, meaning the MX150 is neither a leader nor a laggard in its immediate competitive set; it is simply one point in a continuum of similarly-performing legacy parts.

The Passmark sub-tests provide a more granular view of the MX150’s strengths and weaknesses. For DirectX 10, the score is 9, while DirectX 11 yields 17, and DirectX 12 drops to 11 — indicating that the architecture handles older API workloads with relatively better efficiency but struggles with more modern, feature-heavy APIs. The DirectX 9 score of 36 is the highest of the group, reinforcing this pattern. The 2D performance score of 212 and the compute score of 959 further suggest that the card is not designed for compute-heavy tasks, as its FP32 throughput of 1,176.6 GFLOPS is modest, and FP16 performance is severely limited at 18.38 GFLOPS, reflecting a 1:64 ratio. The pixel rate of 24.51 GPixel/s and texture rate of 36.77 GTexel/s are consistent with a 64-bit memory interface, which bottlenecks fill-rate-bound scenarios.

Who Should Consider It

Given the benchmark results, the MX150 is suited for users who prioritize portability and basic graphical output over gaming performance. The Passmark G3D score of 2256 places it in a range where 1080p gaming is possible only at low to medium settings for undemanding titles, and even then, frame rates will be inconsistent. For esports titles that rely on DirectX 9 or 11, the relatively higher scores of 36 and 17, respectively, suggest a playable experience at reduced resolutions, such as 720p, where the memory bandwidth and fill rates are less stressed. Users should avoid 1440p or higher resolutions, as the 48.06 GB/s bandwidth and 2 GB memory capacity will quickly become limiting factors, causing texture thrashing and stutter in modern games.

The card is better suited for productivity tasks, office applications, and media consumption where the 2D score of 212 is adequate. For users who occasionally play older games or lightweight indie titles, the MX150 can serve as a competent companion, but it is not a gaming card by any modern standard. The DirectX 12 score of 11 indicates that newer AAA games with advanced rendering features will run poorly, even at low settings. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 8314 suggests some headroom for Vulkan-based titles, but the overall hardware limitations (2 GB memory, 64-bit bus) will cap playability at casual levels. In short, the target audience is the mobile user who needs a discrete GPU for basic acceleration, not the enthusiast gamer.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The MX150 does not include dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as evidenced by the null values in the data pack. This is consistent with its Pascal architecture, which predates NVIDIA’s RTX line and its hardware-accelerated ray tracing capabilities. Consequently, any ray tracing effects in games must be handled via software fallbacks, which would be severely performance-limited given the card’s low compute throughput. The FP32 performance of 1,176.6 GFLOPS is insufficient for real-time ray tracing computations, and the lack of tensor cores means no AI-accelerated features like DLSS are available.

On the API front, the MX150 supports DirectX 12 with feature level 12_1, which includes some advanced rasterization features but not the full DX12 Ultimate feature set. OpenGL 4.6 is supported, along with Vulkan 1.4, which is a broad API compatibility for its time. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x4, which is a reduced lane count compared to desktop cards, potentially limiting data transfer speeds from the CPU, though the card’s modest performance does not fully saturate even this interface. Display outputs are listed as “Portable Device Dependent,” meaning connectivity varies by laptop implementation, and the card is an integrated GPU package (IGP) with no dedicated slots.

Power and Cooling

The MX150 has a thermal design power (TDP) of 25 W, which is low enough to be passively cooled in some implementations, though most laptops will use a small active fan. The power connectors are listed as “None,” indicating that the card draws all its power from the motherboard slot — in this case, an integrated GPU package — eliminating the need for external PCIe power cables. The suggested PSU field is null, which is unsurprising given that this is a mobile part; end-users do not select a power supply for an IGP. The low power draw is a key selling point for thin-and-light laptops, as it enables sustained operation without significant thermal throttling, provided the laptop’s cooling solution is adequate. The 25 W envelope also means that the card is unlikely to cause excessive battery drain, making it suitable for all-day productivity use when paired with a capable battery.

How It Compares

NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M: The MX150 leads this rival by a mere 0.4% in average benchmark score (2377 vs 2367). The difference is negligible, indicating that the MX150 offers no meaningful performance improvement over the older GT 630M, and users upgrading from that part would see little gain in frame rates or compute workloads.

NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M: The MX150 is 0.6% faster than the GT 550M, which scores 2363. This is another statistically insignificant margin, suggesting that the two GPUs are functionally equivalent in real-world usage, despite the architectural generation gap.

AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB: The MX150 trails this AMD card by 1%, with scores of 2377 vs 2402. The RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, despite its much larger memory capacity, only edges out the MX150 by a hair in aggregate benchmarks, though the 12 GB memory would provide a substantial advantage in texture-heavy scenarios that the MX150’s 2 GB cannot handle.

NVIDIA GeForce 710M: The MX150 is 1.7% slower than the 710M, which scores 2419. This is the largest delta in the rival set, but still a small margin. The 710M outperforms the MX150 in the data, reversing the expected generational order, likely due to driver optimizations or platform differences in the benchmark environment.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score of the MX150?

A: The average benchmark score is 2377 points, placing it in the 14th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: How does the MX150 compare to the GeForce GT 630M?

A: The MX150 is 0.4% faster than the GT 630M, with an average score of 2377 versus 2367.

Q: Does the MX150 support ray tracing?

A: No, the MX150 has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores; it relies on the Pascal architecture without dedicated RT acceleration.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the MX150?

A: It has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 48.06 GB/s.

Q: What DirectX version does the MX150 support?

A: The MX150 supports DirectX 12 with feature level 12_1, as well as OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the TDP of the MX150?

A: The thermal design power is 25 W, with no power connectors required, as it is an integrated GPU package.