NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M

The Nividia GeForce GT 230M is a DirectX 10.1 graphics adapter for notebooks based on the GT216 core. Because of the 48 shader cores, it should perform better than the GT 130M and due to the 40nm production process the power consumption should stay the same.

The core of the GT230M is internally called GT216 and according to Nvidia based on the current high-end desktop architecture (GTX 200 series). Furthermore, Nvidia has improved the micro-architecture for further power saving and performance increases. Therefore, the performance per shader unit should be slightly improved compared to the previous generation.

As the GeForce 9700M GTS, the GT 230M features 48 stream processors that do the work of the former dedicated pixel- and vertex-shaders. The unified shaders of Nvidia are 1-dimensional (AMD has 5-dimensional shaders which leads to the higher number of shaders).

The GeForce GT230M also supports CUDA, DirectX Compute, OpenCL, and PhysiX to use the shaders for other tasks than rendering images (like encoding videos, calculating the physics of a game or mathematical tasks). For these special tasks, the GPU can be noticeably faster than current CPUs.

The mobile graphics card has a built in video decoder called PureVideo HD with VP4. The Video Processor 4 (VP4) supports the full decoding of H.264, VC-1, and now also MPEG-4 ASP (e.g. DivX or XviD). MPEG-1 still wont be supported, but the decoding of this codec is quite trivial on a CPU.

In conjunction with a chipset from Nvidia with integrated graphics (e.g. 9400M), the GT 230M supports Hybrid-SLI (HybridPower and GeForceBoost). HybridPower is a technique to choose between the integrated and dedicated graphics core, if performance or battery runtime is needed. This works only in Windows Vista (and possibly Windows 7). Up to now the user has to use a tool to switch between the GPUs. Later Nvidia wants to switch automatically in the drivers. GeForceBoost is not supported by the G 230M because the SLI combination would not perform better.

The performance of the middle class gpu GT 230M should be somewhere between the GeForce GT130M and the 9700M GTS and below the GT 240M because of the lower clock rate. Demanding DirectX 10 games like Crysis should run fluently in medium details. Older or less demanding games should run in high detail settings and high resolutions.

Depending on the the used type of graphics memory (GDDR2, GDDR3 or perhaps even DDR2/DDR3) the performance may differ noticeably.

The power consumption of the mobile graphics card is - like the GT 130M and GT 240M - 23 Watt (TDP). Furthermore, according to Nvidia, the new improved core does only need half of the power in Idle mode.

benchmarks

3DMark 2001: - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
      min: 21391, avg: 21596, max: 21800 Points ... More Details

3DMark 03: - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
      min: 15333, avg: 15989, max: 17121 Points ... More Details

3DMark 05: - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
      min: 10397, avg: 10689, max: 11266 Points ... More Details

3DMark 06:
0% 100%
      min: 5647, avg: 5882, max: 6324 Points ... More Details

Cinebench R10: - Shading
0% 100%
      min: 2529, avg: 2819, max: 3109 Points ... More Details

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
Based on 13 benchmarks

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailled information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010) - Approximation!

ultra:

4+ fps (GeForce G 210M)

high:

9+ fps (GeForce G 210M)

med.:

15+ fps (GeForce G 210M)

low:

28+ fps (GeForce G 210M)

CoD Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

low:

88.4

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

med.:

33

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

high:

28.5

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.

Risen (2009)

low:

53.3

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

med.:

23

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.

Need for Speed Shift (2009)

low:

52

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

med.:

29

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

high:

19.5

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.

Colin McRae: DIRT 2 (2009) - Approximation!

med.:

26+ fps (Mobility Radeon HD 4570)

low:

41+ fps (Mobility Radeon HD 4570)

Anno 1404 (2009)

low:

53

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

ultra:

17.4

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.

Sims 3 (2009) - Approximation!

high:

39+ fps (Mobility Radeon X1900)

med.:

52+ fps (Mobility Radeon X1900)

low:

151+ fps (Mobility Radeon X1900)

F.E.A.R. 2 (2009)

low:

94.5

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

med.:

45.5

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

high:

27.5

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..

GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto (2008) - Approximation!

high:

26+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

med.:

26+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

low:

38+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

Left 4 Dead (2008) - Approximation!

high:

63+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

low:

99+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

Far Cry 2 (2008) - Approximation!

high:

18+ fps (GeForce 9600M GT)

low:

43+ fps (GeForce GT 220M)

Crysis Warhead (2008) - Approximation!

ultra:

7+ fps (GeForce 9600M GT)

low:

45+ fps (GeForce 9600M GT)

Racedriver: GRID (2008)

low:

67

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

med.:

34.9

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

high:

28

[X] Vaio VPC-CW1S1E
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M, 512MB bis zu 2270 MByte shared memory
4096MB RAM

 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.

Trackmania Nations Forever (2008) - Approximation!

ultra:

7+ fps (GeForce 9600M GT)

low:

45+ fps (GeForce 9600M GT)

Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare (2007) - Approximation!

high:

31+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

med.:

67+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

low:

181+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

Supreme Commander - FA Bench (2007) - Approximation!

high:

21+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

med.:

30+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

low:

58+ fps (GeForce Go 7900 GTX)

Crysis - GPU Benchmark (2007)

low:

43.1

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

61.5

[X] Satellite A500-1DN
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz
GeForce GT 230M (500MHz), 1024MB (790MHz) GDDR3
4096MB RAM

~ 52 fps

med.:

27.1

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

34.5

[X] Satellite A500-1DN
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz
GeForce GT 230M (500MHz), 1024MB (790MHz) GDDR3
4096MB RAM

~ 31 fps

high:

17

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

20.3

[X] Satellite A500-1DN
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz
GeForce GT 230M (500MHz), 1024MB (790MHz) GDDR3
4096MB RAM

~ 19 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.

Crysis - CPU Benchmark (2007)

low:

44.8

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

63

[X] Satellite A500-1DN
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz
GeForce GT 230M (500MHz), 1024MB (790MHz) GDDR3
4096MB RAM

~ 54 fps

med.:

25

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

34

[X] Satellite A500-1DN
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz
GeForce GT 230M (500MHz), 1024MB (790MHz) GDDR3
4096MB RAM

~ 30 fps

high:

15.3

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

18.7

[X] Satellite A500-1DN
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz
GeForce GT 230M (500MHz), 1024MB (790MHz) GDDR3
4096MB RAM

~ 17 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.

World in Conflict - Benchmark (2007) - Approximation!

high:

16+ fps (GeForce 8600M GT SLI)

med.:

37+ fps (GeForce 8600M GT SLI)

low:

89+ fps (GeForce G 210M)

Command and Conquer III (2007) - Approximation!

high:

30+ fps (GeForce 8700M GT)

Call of Juarez Benchmark (2006) - Approximation!

high:

11+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion (2006) - Approximation!

high:

41+ fps (GeForce 9600M GT)

Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark (2005) - Approximation!

high:

126+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

Quake 4 (2005) - Approximation!

ultra:

112+ fps (GeForce Go 7800 GTX SLI)

high:

115+ fps (GeForce Go 7800 GTX SLI)

med.:

116+ fps (GeForce Go 7800 GTX SLI)

low:

116+ fps (GeForce Go 7800 GTX SLI)

F.E.A.R. (2005)

low:

343

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

 fps

med.:

159

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

 fps

high:

58

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.

World of Warcraft (2005) - Approximation!

high:

22+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

med.:

90+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

low:

261+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

Counter-Strike Source (2004) - Approximation!

high:

207+ fps (GeForce GT 130M)

low:

30+ fps (Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100)

Doom 3 (2004) - Approximation!

ultra:

138+ fps (GeForce 8600M GT SLI)

high:

155+ fps (GeForce 8600M GT SLI)

med.:

161+ fps (GeForce 8600M GT SLI)

low:

160+ fps (GeForce 8600M GT SLI)

Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo (1999)

high:

454.9

[X] Vaio CW
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.1GHz
GeForce GT 230M (450MHz), 512MB (680MHz) GDDR3, ForceWare 186.47
4096MB RAM

 fps

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.

Notebook reviews with NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M graphics card

HP Pavilion dv6-2090eg (Intel Core i7 720QM, 15.6")
» HP Pavilion dv6-2090eg - External Review

HP Pavilion dv6-2190US (Intel Core i7 720QM, 15.6")
» HP Pavilion dv6-2190US - External Review

HP Pavilion dv7-3080us (Intel Core i7 720QM, 17.3")
» HP Pavilion dv7-3080us - External Review

HP Pavilion dv7-3085dx (Intel Core i7 720QM, 17.3")
» HP Pavilion dv7-3085dx - External Review

HP Pavilion dv7-3170eg (Intel Core i5 520M, 17.3")
» HP Pavilion dv7-3170eg - External Review

HP Pavilion dv7-3180us (Intel Core i7 720QM, 17.3")
» HP Pavilion dv7-3180us - External Review

HP Pavilion dv8 (Intel Core i7 720QM, 18.4")
» HP Pavilion dv8 - External Review

Sony Vaio VPC-CW1S1E (Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 14.0")
» Review Sony Vaio VPC-CW1S1E Notebook - Review
» Sony Vaio VPC-CW1S1E - External Review

Toshiba Satellite A500-17X (Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 16")
» Toshiba Satellite A500-17X - External Review

Toshiba Satellite A505-S6999 (Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 16.0")
» Toshiba Satellite A505-S6999 - External Review

Toshiba Satellite P500-12D (Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 18.4")
» Toshiba Satellite P500-12D - External Review

Toshiba Satellite P500-12E (Intel Core 2 Duo P8700, 18.4")
» Toshiba Satellite P500-12E - External Review