AMD Radeon R9 280X vs NVIDIA GeForce MX250

VS
Performance
Radeon R9 280X133% better
10,79210% of 104,598
GeForce MX250
4,6334% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 280X has 133% better performance than the GeForce MX250 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45
GeForce MX250
No data available

The Radeon R9 280X has 22% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: AMD Radeon RX 7600.

Shop Radeon R9 280X
Shop GeForce MX250
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Summary

#

About the AMD Radeon R9 280X GPU

The AMD Radeon R9 280X is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2013 with a MSRP of $299. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Tahiti) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The R9 280X has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,500 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 288 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The R9 280X includes 2,048 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 850 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,000 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The R9 280X occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 250 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The R9 280X has the 171st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.32% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,792 score and $299 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 36.09. This is the 73rd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the NVIDIA GeForce MX250 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce MX250 is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q1 2019. It is built on the Pascal GPU microarchitecture (codename GP108B) and is manufactured on a 14 nm process.

Memory

The MX250 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,502 MHz memory clock and a 64 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 48.06 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The MX250 includes 384 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 937 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,038 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 24 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 16 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 10 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The MX250 has the 259th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 4.43% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoRadeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Pascal
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ4 2013Q1 2019
Launch Price (MSRP)$299--
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

#

Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest
Display FPS for Ready or Not
Ready or Not
Display FPS for The Finals
The Finals
Display FPS for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Display FPS for EA Sports WRC
EA Sports WRC
Display FPS for Total War: PHARAOH
Total War: PHARAOH
Display FPS for Assassin's Creed Mirage
Assassin's Creed Mirage

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest
Radeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
Low - 1080p
--
20 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
11 FPS
High - 1080p
--
--
Ultra - 1080p
--
--
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
--
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X orGeForce MX250
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile22.2+107%
Radeon RX 560X Mobile21.5+101%
Radeon 660M16.7+56%
GeForce MX35013.8+29%
GeForce MX25010.7
Radeon RX 550 Mobile8.73-18%

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X orGeForce MX250
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon R9 280X133% better
10,79210% of 104,598
GeForce MX250
4,6334% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 280X has 133% better performance than the GeForce MX250 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 280X is ranked 171st with a score of 10,792, and the GeForce MX250 is ranked 259th with a score of 4,633.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45
GeForce MX250
No data available

The Radeon R9 280X has 55% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

Radeon R9 280X's 36.09 performance per dollar ranks it 73rd among the other benchmarked GPUs in our database.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce GTX 165013,645+26%
Radeon R9 38012,191+13%
Radeon R9 280X10,792
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5-0%
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-5%
Radeon R9 M280X4,698-56%
Radeon RX 540 Mobile4,646-57%
GeForce MX2504,633-57%
Radeon RX 550 Mobile4,559-58%
Radeon Pro 4504,502-58%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X orGeForce MX250
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce GTX 96054.11+50%
GeForce GTX 95052.52+46%
GeForce GTX 97048.73+35%
Radeon R9 390X41.83+16%
GeForce GTX 750 Ti36.09+0%
Radeon R9 280X36.09
GeForce GTX 98032.07-11%
GeForce GTX 76031.98-11%
Radeon R9 FURY31.95-11%
Radeon R9 290X29.45-18%

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkRadeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
2,210
(+100.36%)
1,103
3DMark Time Spy Score
2,393
(+96.07%)
1,220.5
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
52,117
(+141.9%)
21,545
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
8,343
(+127.95%)
3,660
3DMark 11 Performance Score
10,241
(+111.15%)
4,850
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
--
99.6
PassMark G3D Mark
6,178
(+156.14%)
2,412
PassMark G2D Mark
686
(+187.03%)
239
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
95.2
(+118.35%)
43.6
Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL
--
43.7
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

#

Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
CodenameTahitiGP108B
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Pascal
Process Size28 nm14 nm
Transistors4,313 million1,800 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
Memory Size3 GB2 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth288 Gb/s48.06 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,500 MHz1,502 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit64 bit
L1 Cache16 KB48 KB
L2 Cache768 KB512 KB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
Slots2 slots--
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x4
Thermal Design Power (TDP)250 W10 W
Suggested PSU600 W--
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin--
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2Device Dependent

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
Stream Processors (SP)2,048--
CUDA Cores--384
Compute Units (CU)32--
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)--3
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)12824
Render Output Units (ROP)3216
Core Clock Speed850 MHz937 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,000 MHz1,038 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
Pixel Fill Rate32 GPixel/s16.61 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate128 GTexel/s24.91 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance4.1 TFLOPS797.2 GFLOPS
FP64 Performance1,024 GFLOPS24.91 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce MX250
DirectX12 (11_1)12 (12_1)
OpenCL2.1 (1.2)3.0
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.5 (5.1)6.8

Check out these comparisons for similar GPUs:

Looking for alternatives? Check out these similar GPUs:

* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.