GeForce MX450 vs Radeon R9 M485X

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce MX450

2020

Why buy it

✅Costs $200 less on MSRP ($250 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
✅Delivers 76.2% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 14.9 vs 8.4 G3D/$ ($250 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon R9 M485X: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon R9 M485X is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 25W instead of 250W, a 225W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Limited future-proofing: older hardware, 2 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in upcoming AAA games.

Radeon R9 M485X

2016

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
80% HIGHER MSRP
$450 MSRPvs$250 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 8.4 vs 14.9 G3D/$ ($450 MSRP vs $250 MSRP).
❌900% higher power demand at 250W vs 25W.

GeForce MX450

2020

Radeon R9 M485X

2016

Why buy it

✅Costs $200 less on MSRP ($250 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
✅Delivers 76.2% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 14.9 vs 8.4 G3D/$ ($250 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon R9 M485X: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon R9 M485X is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 25W instead of 250W, a 225W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Limited future-proofing: older hardware, 2 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in upcoming AAA games.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
80% HIGHER MSRP
$450 MSRPvs$250 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 8.4 vs 14.9 G3D/$ ($450 MSRP vs $250 MSRP).
❌900% higher power demand at 250W vs 25W.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon R9 M485X better than GeForce MX450?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 3,720 vs 3,801 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon R9 M485X is the overall package: you are getting FSR upscaling.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce MX450 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2020 generation instead of 2016, the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling, and a 12nm process instead of 28nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

Radeon R9 M485X is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon R9 M485X is about 80.0% more expensive on MSRP at $450 MSRP versus $250 MSRP, and you are getting 2.2% higher G3D Mark. GeForce MX450 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does GeForce MX450 make more sense than Radeon R9 M485X?

Yes. GeForce MX450 is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (25W vs 250W), future-proofing, and staying closer to $250 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon R9 M485X. The trade-off is that Radeon R9 M485X currently gives you 2.2% higher G3D Mark. GeForce MX450 still holds the G3D-per-dollar lead, so the performance win comes with a real value premium.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce MX450 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 M485X Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce MX450	Radeon R9 M485X
1080p
low	114 FPS	80 FPS
medium	101 FPS	66 FPS
high	79 FPS	52 FPS
ultra	59 FPS	34 FPS
1440p
low	101 FPS	67 FPS
medium	85 FPS	56 FPS
high	65 FPS	40 FPS
ultra	48 FPS	25 FPS
4K
low	43 FPS	25 FPS
medium	40 FPS	23 FPS
high	27 FPS	15 FPS
ultra	24 FPS	13 FPS

Open GeForce MX450 Open Radeon R9 M485X

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce MX450	Radeon R9 M485X
1080p
low	131 FPS	102 FPS
medium	96 FPS	79 FPS
high	68 FPS	65 FPS
ultra	44 FPS	48 FPS
1440p
low	85 FPS	61 FPS
medium	57 FPS	43 FPS
high	42 FPS	33 FPS
ultra	30 FPS	25 FPS
4K
low	37 FPS	24 FPS
medium	27 FPS	17 FPS
high	22 FPS	14 FPS
ultra	15 FPS	10 FPS

Open GeForce MX450 Open Radeon R9 M485X

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce MX450	Radeon R9 M485X
1080p
low	167 FPS	171 FPS
medium	134 FPS	137 FPS
high	112 FPS	114 FPS
ultra	84 FPS	86 FPS
1440p
low	126 FPS	128 FPS
medium	100 FPS	103 FPS
high	84 FPS	86 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	84 FPS	86 FPS
medium	67 FPS	68 FPS
high	56 FPS	57 FPS
ultra	42 FPS	43 FPS

Open GeForce MX450 Open Radeon R9 M485X

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce MX450	Radeon R9 M485X
1080p
low	167 FPS	146 FPS
medium	134 FPS	117 FPS
high	112 FPS	100 FPS
ultra	84 FPS	82 FPS
1440p
low	126 FPS	107 FPS
medium	100 FPS	87 FPS
high	84 FPS	75 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	58 FPS
4K
low	84 FPS	63 FPS
medium	67 FPS	48 FPS
high	56 FPS	37 FPS
ultra	42 FPS	26 FPS

Open GeForce MX450 Open Radeon R9 M485X

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce MX450 and Radeon R9 M485X

GeForce MX450

The GeForce MX450 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 1 2020. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1395 MHz to 1575 MHz. It has 896 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 25W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,720 points.

Radeon R9 M485X

The Radeon R9 M485X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 15 2016. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 723 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,801 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce MX450 scores 3,720 and the Radeon R9 M485X reaches 3,801 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce MX450 is built on Turing while the Radeon R9 M485X uses GCN 3.0, both on 12 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 896 (GeForce MX450) vs 2,048 (Radeon R9 M485X). Raw compute: 3.226 TFLOPS (GeForce MX450) vs 2.961 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 M485X).

Feature	GeForce MX450	Radeon R9 M485X
G3D Mark Score	3,720	3,801+2%
Architecture	Turing	GCN 3.0
Process Node	12 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	896	2048+129%
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.226 TFLOPS+9%	2.961 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	64	128+100%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce MX450 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 M485X relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce MX450	Radeon R9 M485X
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 2 GB of video memory. Bus width: 64-bit vs 128-bit.

Feature	GeForce MX450	Radeon R9 M485X
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	80 GB/s	Unknown
Bus Width	64-bit	128-bit+100%

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce MX450 draws 25W versus the Radeon R9 M485X's 250W — a 163.6% difference. The GeForce MX450 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce MX450) vs 350W (Radeon R9 M485X). Power connectors: Mobile vs Mobile.

Feature	GeForce MX450	Radeon R9 M485X
TDP	25W-90%	250W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	Mobile	Mobile
Temp (Load)	—	80°C
Perf/Watt	148.8+879%	15.2

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce MX450 launched at $250 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 M485X launched at $450. The GeForce MX450 costs 44.4% less ($200 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 14.9 (GeForce MX450) vs 8.4 (Radeon R9 M485X) — the GeForce MX450 offers 77.4% better value. The GeForce MX450 is the newer GPU (2020 vs 2016).