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AMD Radeon R5 M230

AMD Radeon R5 M230

The AMD Radeon R5 M230 is an entry-level DirectX 12 graphics card for laptops, which is based on the Sun GPU (GCN architecture). The core is clocked at up to 855 MHz and the DDR3 graphics memory runs at 1000 MHz (64-bit interface).

Compared to the Mars chip (e.g. HD 8570M), Sun offers less hardware units. The GPU integrates 320 shaders, 20 TMUs and 4 ROPs and is therefore located in the low-end segment.

The performance of the Radeon R5 M230 is similar to the HD 8500M series, e.g. the HD 8570M. Accordingly, the performance is somewhat below a GeForce 820M and hardly beats Intels HD Graphics 4600. Current and demanding games of 2014 will run fluently only in low resolutions and detail settings.

The 320 shaders can be used with OpenCL 1.2 for general-purpose calculations (as 5 compute units). Compared to old TeraScale 2 chips, the GCN-based architecture offers improved performance in this framework.

The R5 series also supports automatic graphics switching between the integrated GPU and discrete GPU. Called Enduro, the technology supersedes AMD's Dynamic Switchable Graphics and is similar to Nvidia's Optimus. Furthermore, the R5 M230 can directly support multiple monitors using Eyefinity technology.

Other features of the R5 series include ZeroCore for reducing power consumption when the display is turned off and Power Gating to power down areas of the chip that are not used. PowerTune allows automatic overclocking and underclocking of the graphics card as long as the GPU is within its TDP limit. For example, the chip may be underclocked when running FurMark and OCCT, but will overclock in certain games.

The power consumption should be similar to slower models of the HD 8500M or 8600M series. As a result, the R5 M230 is suited for 13-inch notebooks or larger.

Radeon R5 M200 Series

Radeon R5 M255 compare 320 @ 0.94 GHz64 Bit @ 1800 - 2000 MHz
Radeon R5 M240 compare 320 @ 1.03 GHz64 Bit @ 1800 MHz
Radeon R5 M230 320 @ 0.86 GHz64 Bit @ 1800 - 2000 MHz
CodenameJet / Sun
ArchitectureGCN
Pipelines320 - unified
Core Speed855 MHz
Memory Speed1800 - 2000 MHz
Memory Bus Width64 Bit
Memory TypeDDR3
Max. Amount of Memory4 GB
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 12, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 4.3
technology28 nm
FeaturesApp Acceleration, PowerPlay, PowerTune, ZeroCore, Enduro, Eyefinity, Mantle
Date of Announcement07.01.2014
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.amd.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
0.3 pt (1%)
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 1265     avg: 1327     median: 1302 (2%)     max: 1414 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 1138     avg: 1203     median: 1175 (1%)     max: 1295 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +
Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit +
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit +
Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit +
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
red legend - Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

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 detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

low 1024x768
17.5  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
12.6  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
7.8  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
F1 2014

F1 2014

2014
low 1024x768
77  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
52  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
29  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
16  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
low 1024x768
14.8  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
10.4  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
5.6  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1024x768
20.2  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
12.5  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
5.6  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1024x768
27.4  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
18.6  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
9.8  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1280x720
19.1  fps    + Compare
med. 1344x756
13.9  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
6.9  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Fifa 15

Fifa 15

2014
low 1280x720
44  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
27.7  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Sims 4

Sims 4

2014
low 1024x768
130.9  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
38.9  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
16.1  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
low 1024x768
30.5  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
16.9  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
7.2  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1024x768
97 116.9 ~ 107 fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
35.2 45.8 ~ 41 fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
19.1  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
7.3  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
low 1024x768
19.5  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
10.4  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
8.3  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
3.2  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1280x720
31.2  fps    + Compare
med. 1280x720
21.5  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
10.2  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
4  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1024x768
47.2 61.6 ~ 54 fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
24.1 32.5 ~ 28 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
10.2 17.4 ~ 14 fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
5.6  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Thief

Thief

2014
low 1024x768
13 18.2 ~ 16 fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
8.9 11.6 ~ 10 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
7.1 9.2 ~ 8 fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
3.2 4.4 ~ 4 fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1024x768
50.4 56.2 ~ 53 fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
25.3 29.2 ~ 27 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
9.8 11.4 ~ 11 fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
7.3 10.9 ~ 9 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
low 1024x768
29.5 32.8 ~ 31 fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
21.6 26.6 ~ 24 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
9.4 11 ~ 10 fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
6.3  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1024x768
38.6  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
26.1  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
17.4  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
low 1024x768
44  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
24  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
8  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Fifa 14

Fifa 14

2013
low 1024x768
160  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
90.2  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
70.3  fps    + Compare