Notebookcheck Logo

NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M

NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M

The Nividia GeForce GTS 250M is a DirectX 10.1 graphics adapter for notebooks based on the 40nm GT215 core. It features 96 shader cores as the 9800M GT, but the memory bus is only 128 bit wide. To compensate this, the GTS 250M supports GDDR5. With DDR3 graphics memory the performance is only a a bit above the Mobility Radeon HD 4670.

The core of the GTS250M is internally called GT215 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 9800M GT, the GTS 250M features 96 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 GTS250M 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 GTS 250M 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 GTS 250M because the SLI combination would not perform better.

The performance of the middle class to high end gpu GeForce GTS 250M should be clearly above the GT 240M because of it features twice as much shader cores. Demanding DirectX 10 games like Crysis should run fluently in medium to high details. Older or less demanding games should run in high detail settings and high resolutions.

Depending on the the used type of graphics memory (GDDR5, GDDR3) the performance may differ.

The power consumption of the mobile graphics card is with 27 Watt TDP relativley low (especially as the GTS 260M which is a bit higher clocked needs 10 Watt more). Furthermore, according to Nvidia, the new improved core does only need half of the power in Idle mode (compared to the previous generation).

Compared to desktop graphics cards, the GeForce GTS 250M is similar to the GeForce GT 220. The desktop GPU is higher clocked (625/1360/500-1000) and therefore should be faster in games.

 

GeForce GTS 200M Series

GeForce GTS 260M compare 96 @ 0.55 GHz128 Bit @ 1800 MHz
GeForce GTS 250M 96 @ 0.5 GHz128 Bit @ 1600 MHz
CodenameN10E-GE
ArchitectureGT2xx
Pipelines96 - unified
Core Speed500 MHz
Shader Speed1250 MHz
Memory Speed1600 MHz
Memory Bus Width128 Bit
Memory TypeDDR3, GDDR3, GDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory1024 MB
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 10.1, Shader 4.1
Power Consumption28 Watt
Transistor Count727 Million
technology40 nm
FeaturesDirectX Compute Support (Windows 7), CUDA, OpenCL, HybridPower, PhysX, SLI, Powermizer 8.0, MXM 3.0 Type-B
Notebook Sizelarge
Date of Announcement15.06.2009
Information360 Gigaflops
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.nvidia.com

Benchmarks

3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 3442     avg: 3848     median: 3659 (1%)     max: 4371 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 14388     avg: 14733     median: 14463 (16%)     max: 15607 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Score Unknown Settings +
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
3DMark 06
min: 7433     avg: 7625     median: 7484 (10%)     max: 8283 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x800 +
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x720 +
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 4310     avg: 4489     median: 4451 (3%)     max: 4753 points
- 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
139.6  fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
47.5 48.5 52 ~ 49 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
42.2 48.7 ~ 45 fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
25.4 30.2 ~ 28 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Risen

Risen

2009
med. 1024x768
31.4 35.5 36.7 ~ 35 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
27.3 29 ~ 28 fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Need for Speed Shift

Need for Speed Shift

2009
med. 1024x768
38.8 42 42.1 ~ 41 fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
31.8 39.2 ~ 36 fps    + Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Anno 1404

Anno 1404

2009
low 1024x768
120.6  fps    + Compare
ultra 1280x1024
24.2 26.2 26.5 29.8 ~ 27 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
F.E.A.R. 2

F.E.A.R. 2

2009
med. 1024x768
69.4  fps    + Compare
high 1280x1024
41.2 44.2 45.5 50.8 ~ 45 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead

2008
low 640x480
152.3  fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
66.5 99.1 100.2 ~ 89 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Crysis - GPU Benchmark

Crysis - GPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
88.4  fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
48 51.8 ~ 50 fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
24.6 26.7 28.1 31.4 ~ 28 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Crysis - CPU Benchmark

Crysis - CPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
95.2  fps    + Compare
med. 1024x768
45.2 49.3 ~ 47 fps    + Compare
high 1024x768
21.9 23.8 25.1 28.3 ~ 25 fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Call of Juarez Benchmark

Call of Juarez Benchmark

2006
high 1024x768
11.9 19.5 ~ 16 fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
lowmed.highultraQHD4K
CoD Modern Warfare 2139.6494528
Risen3528
Need for Speed Shift4136
Anno 1404120.627
F.E.A.R. 269.445
Left 4 Dead152.389
Crysis - GPU Benchmark88.45028
Crysis - CPU Benchmark95.24725
Call of Juarez Benchmark16
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps


2
3

5
1
4
3
1
2








For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

Add one or more devices and compare

In the following list you can select (and also search for) devices that should be added to the comparison. You can select more than one device.

restrict list:

show all (including archived), 2024, 2023
v1.26
log 15. 12:56:25

#0 no ids found in url (should be separated by "_") +0s ... 0s

#1 not redirecting to Ajax server +0s ... 0s

#2 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:40:26 +0100 +0.001s ... 0.001s

#3 composed specs +0.039s ... 0.04s

#4 did output specs +0s ... 0.041s

#5 start showIntegratedCPUs +0s ... 0.041s

#6 getting avg benchmarks for device 1297 +0.013s ... 0.053s

#7 got single benchmarks 1297 +0.024s ... 0.077s

#8 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.077s

#9 min, max, avg, median took s +0.283s ... 0.36s

#10 before gaming benchmark output +0s ... 0.36s

#11 Got 48 rows for game benchmarks. +0.004s ... 0.364s

#12 composed SQL query for gamebenchmarks +0s ... 0.364s

#13 got data and put it in $dataArray +0.004s ... 0.368s

#14 benchmarks composed for output. +0.176s ... 0.545s

#15 return log +0.037s ... 0.582s

Notebook reviews with NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M graphics card

 

Review Toshiba Qosmio X500-10V Notebook

Big Gamer with Multimedia Ambitions. Toshiba presents a 18.4 inch notebook that is predestined for gaming thanks to the heavy duty Core i7 processor and the all...
Intel Core i7-720QM | NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M | 18.40" | 4.8 kg
 

Review MSI GT740 Gaming-Notebook

A Gamer's Desire? MSI releases the newest offshoot of its gaming range with the GT740. The 17 inch notebook has state-of-the-art components with the Core i7 820...
Intel Core i7-820QM | NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M | 17.00" | 3.2 kg
 

Review MSI GT640 Gaming Notebook

New Horizons. MSI provides for a wind of change with its 15.4 inch GT640 and integrates Intel's Core i7 and Nvidia's GeForce GTS 250M into their own gaming rang...
Intel Core i7-720QM | NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M | 15.40" | 2.7 kg
 

Review Acer Aspire 8940G Notebook

All-Inclusive Carefree Package? Acer addresses two groups of buyers at once with the Aspire 8940G. The notebook aims at movie fans with its BluRay drive and lar...
Intel Core i7-720QM | NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M | 18.40" | 4.2 kg

Velocity Micro NoteMagix M17: Intel Core i5-520M, 17.00", 3.2 kg
  External Review » Velocity Micro NoteMagix M17

ZAReason Verix: Intel Core i7-620M, 15.40", 2.7 kg
  External Review » ZAReason Verix

MSI GT740-i7247W7P: Intel Core i7-720QM, 17.00", 2.8 kg
  External Review » MSI GT740-i7247W7P

Toshiba Qosmio X500-10W: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 1.7 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio X500-10W

MSI GT740-021UK: Intel Core i7-720QM, 17.00", 3.2 kg
  External Review » MSI GT740-021UK

Toshiba Qosmio X500-111: Intel Core i7-620M, 18.40", 4.6 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio X500-111

MSI GT640-030UK: Intel Core i7-720QM, 15.40", 2.7 kg
  External Review » MSI GT640-030UK

Toshiba Qosmio X500-110: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 4.5 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio X500-110

Toshiba Qosmio X500-10T: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 4 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio X500-10T

Ibuypower Battalion 101 LX-797: Intel Core i7-720QM, 17.00", 2.4 kg
  External Review » Ibuypower Battalion 101 LX-797

Cyberpower Xplorer X7-7700: Intel Core i7-720QM, 17.00", 3.2 kg
  External Review » Cyberpower Xplorer X7-7700

Toshiba Qosmio X500-10V: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 4.8 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio X500-10V

MSI GT740: Intel Core i7-820QM, 17.00", 3.2 kg
  External Review » MSI GT740

Acer Aspire 8940-6865: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 4.2 kg
  External Review » Acer Aspire 8940-6865

MSI GT640: Intel Core i7-720QM, 15.40", 2.7 kg
  External Review » MSI GT640

MSI GT640-i7247W7P: Intel Core i7-720QM, 15.40", 2.8 kg
  External Review » MSI GT640-i7247W7P

Acer Aspire 8940G-724G64Bn: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 4.6 kg
  External Review » Acer Aspire 8940G-724G64Bn

Acer Aspire 8940G-724G50Bn: Intel Core i7-720QM, 18.40", 4.2 kg
  External Review » Acer Aspire 8940G-724G50Bn

Toshiba Qosmio X505: Intel Core i7-820QM, 18.40", 5 kg
  External Review » Toshiba Qosmio X505

Please share our article, every link counts!

» Comparison of GPUs
Detailed list of all laptop GPUs sorted by class and performance.

» Benchmark List
Sort and restrict laptop GPUs based on performance in synthetic benchmarks.

» Notebook Gaming List
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