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NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M

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.

GeForce GT 200M Series

GeForce GT 240M compare 48 @ 0.55 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce GT 230M 48 @ 0.5 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
GeForce GT 220M compare 32 @ 0.5 GHz128 Bit @ 800 MHz
CodenameN10P-GE
ArchitectureGT2xx
Pipelines48 - unified
Core Speed500 MHz
Shader Speed1100 MHz
Memory Speed800 MHz
Memory Bus Width128 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR2, GDDR3
Max. Amount of Memory1024 MB
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 10.1, Shader 4.1
Power Consumption23 Watt
technology40 nm
FeaturesDirectX Compute Support (Windows 7), CUDA, OpenCL, HybridPower, PhysX
Notebook Sizemedium sized
Date of Announcement15.06.2009
Information158 Gigaflops
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.nvidia.com

Benchmarks

3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
min: 15333     avg: 15989     median: 15514 (8%)     max: 17121 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x768 +
3DMark 06
min: 5676     avg: 6000     median: 6000 (8%)     max: 6324 Points
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- 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 800x600
88.4  fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
33  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
28.5  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Risen

Risen

2009
low 800x600
53.3  fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
23  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Need for Speed Shift

Need for Speed Shift

2009
low 800x600
52  fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
29  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
19.5  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Anno 1404

Anno 1404

2009
low 1024x768
53  fps    + Compare
ultra 1280x1024
17.4  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
F.E.A.R. 2

F.E.A.R. 2

2009
low 800x600
94.5  fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
45.5  fps    + Compare
high 1280x1024
27.5  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Racedriver: GRID

Racedriver: GRID

2008
low 800x600
67  fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
34.9  fps    + Compare
high 1280x1024
28  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Crysis - GPU Benchmark

Crysis - GPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
43.1 61.5 ~ 52 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
27.1 34.5 ~ 31 fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
17 20.3 ~ 19 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Additional Benchmarks
High 800x600
22.4
Low 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
46.2
Med 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
31.6
Low 1366x768
36
Medium 1366x768
21.4
High 1366x768
13.4
Very High 1024x768
9.8
Crysis - CPU Benchmark

Crysis - CPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
44.8 63 ~ 54 fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
25 34 ~ 30 fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
15.3 18.7 ~ 17 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Additional Benchmarks
Med 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
29.8
Low 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
51
High 0xAF 0xAA 800x600
19.9
Low 1366x768
38.3
Medium 1366x768
21
High 1366x768
12.7
Very High 1024x768
9
F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R.

2005
low 640x480
343  fps    + Compare
med. 800x600
159  fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
58  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo

Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo

1999
high 1024x768
454.9  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
lowmed.highultraQHD4K
CoD Modern Warfare 288.43328.5
Risen53.323
Need for Speed Shift522919.5
Anno 14045317.4
F.E.A.R. 294.545.527.5
Racedriver: GRID6734.928
Crysis - GPU Benchmark523119
Crysis - CPU Benchmark543017
F.E.A.R.34315958
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo454.9
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

5
3
1
2
5

1
6
1

1
1








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Notebook reviews with NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M graphics card

 

Review Sony Vaio VPC-CW1S1E Notebook

Rainbow Parade. Design and color are the features that strike you first on Sony's new Vaio CW. The compact 14 inch multimedia notebook is supposed to also score...
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M | 14.00" | 2.3 kg

HP Pavilion dv8-1190ee: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 4.1 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv8-1190ee

HP Pavilion dv8-1250ea: Intel Core i7-620M, 18.40", 4 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv8-1250ea

Sony Vaio VPCCW1LFX/B: Intel Core 2 Duo P8700, 14.00", 2.4 kg
  External Review » Sony Vaio VPCCW1LFX/B

HP Pavilion dv7-3165ef: Intel Core i7-720QM, 17.30", 3.5 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv7-3165ef

HP Pavilion dv6-2130eg: Intel Core i5-430M, 15.60", 3.1 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv6-2130eg

HP Pavilion dv6-2190US: Intel Core i7-720QM, 15.60", 2.9 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv6-2190US

HP Pavilion dv7-3170eg: Intel Core i5-520M, 17.30", 3.6 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv7-3170eg

Toshiba Satellite A500-17X: Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 16.00", 2.8 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite A500-17X

HP Pavilion dv7-3180us: Intel Core i7-720QM, 17.30", 3.6 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv7-3180us

Toshiba Satellite P500-12E: Intel Core 2 Duo P8700, 18.40", 4.4 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite P500-12E

HP Pavilion dv7-3085dx: Intel Core i7-720QM, 17.30", 3.6 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv7-3085dx

HP Pavilion dv6-2090eg: Intel Core i7-720QM, 15.60", 2.9 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv6-2090eg

Toshiba Satellite P500-12D: Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 18.40", 4.4 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite P500-12D

Toshiba Satellite A505-S6999: Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 16.00", 3.3 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Satellite A505-S6999

HP Pavilion dv7-3080us: Intel Core i7-720QM, 17.30", 3.4 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv7-3080us

Sony Vaio VPC-CW1S1E: Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 14.00", 2.3 kg
  External Review » Sony Vaio VPC-CW1S1E

HP Pavilion dv8: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 4.1 kg
  External Review » HP Pavilion dv8

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Playable games for each graphics card and their average FPS results.

Class 0

Arc A380

Class 1

Class 2

Radeon PRO W6600M *

Class 3

UHD Graphics 32EUs
UHD Graphics 750

Class 4

Class 5

* Approximate position of the graphics adapter