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Most people wouldn’t dream of playing video games on a laptop, let alone a budget or mid-range one.
The MX150 is a graphics card that is used mostly in laptops priced between $500-$1000.
It’s not going to turn your laptop into a $2000 Razer or Alienware one, but it will let you do some light gaming.
That said, you don’t have to be a gamer to see the benefits of a dedicated graphics card.
With the MX150, you’ll see a better overall performance from your laptop.
Whether it’s gaming, work tasks, or browsing the internet, you could see up to 4x better performance.
In this article, I’ll tell you exactly why you should choose a laptop with the MX150.
I will also discuss which laptops to buy, as well as the games you can expect to run and the FPS you may achieve.
Why You Should Choose Nvidia GeForce MX150
Nvidia claims that the MX150 supercharges your laptop for work and play with up-to 4x better performance when compared to integrated graphics.
Below is a list of features and benefits that the Nvidia GeForce MX150 will give you:
Nvidia Pascal
Nvidia Pascal is the award-winning architecture that promises to deliver higher performance, innovation, and a fully immersive gaming experience while being power efficient.
In a mid-range laptop, this means you’ll see lower temperatures and less power drain while actually being able to run games.
Nvidia Optimus
Modern laptops are notorious for having short battery life. It’s even worse with gaming laptops.
With Nvidia Optimus, they’ve managed to make it so that you can enjoy the full performance benefits of a graphics card, without the ridiculous battery drain.
Optimus will automatically optimize the laptop on the fly to offer the best performance or battery life depending on the tasks that the user is performing.
You can read more about Nvidia Optimus here.
GeForce Experience
This one is for the gamers.
Nvidia GeForce Experience is a software that helps to optimize and streamline your gaming experience.
I believe that part of the fun of PC gaming is adjusting the graphics to find the best looks and performance, however, with a laptop, it may not be so fun.
GeForce Experience allows you to optimize a game in one click based on your preference for either picture or performance.
DirectX 12 Support
DirectX is a software developed by Microsoft that’s designed to handle graphical and audio rendering tasks.
Each version of this software is better than the last one, helping your PC to render quicker and more efficiently.
To run most new releases, you’ll need to have a GPU that’s compatible with the latest version. In this case, it’s Direct X 12.
The MX150 is DirectX 12 compatible and will likely be supported for many more versions to come.
Pascal, Optimus, GeForce Experience and DirectX 12 support are the main benefits you’ll receive on a laptop with the MX150.
Nvidia also states that the MX150 uses the GPU Boost 3.0 technology that dynamically maximizes clockspeeds allowing you to push performance to new highs.
It’s a low to mid-range laptop graphics card nvidia, Lets not get carried away.
Other Things To look For In a Laptop
When buying a laptop you have to make sure it’s the right one. They’re much harder to upgrade and change around than a desktop.
Making sure you buy right the first time, will prevent you from having to rebuy in the future. Second-hand laptops don’t hold much value, so it will save you from a lot of potential hurt.
Below is a list of the main components you should pay attention to when buying a laptop with MX150.
Processor
Because you’re looking at a laptop with a dedicated graphics card, I’m going to assume you want to do some gaming or use demanding software.
I’ve found that most MX150 laptops come with an 8th generation Intel processor.
The Intel Core i5 8000 processors that are most commonly used, have 4 cores, 6mb of cache, and base clock speeds of 1.6 GHz.
In comparison to most desktop processors, laptop ones are seriously disappointing.
That being said, Intel i5 8250’s or better will provide with you enough computing power to do almost everything you want.
Whether it’s light gaming, forex trading, video editing or simply browsing the internet, these laptops will allow you to do it.
RAM (Memory)
If you don’t already know the job of RAM or Memory, it’s a super-fast component that temporarily stores all of the information your PC needs in the short term.
With your RAM temporarily storing everything that is running on your PC, you’ll be able to load new tabs, game levels, and software assets quicker than you would directly from a hard drive or SSD.
What you’re looking for is at least 4GB of DDR4 RAM. Most of the MX150 laptops I’ve seen come with 8GB, so that’s not a problem.
More is better, however, you’ll probably not see many benefits of 16gb of RAM vs 8GB in a mid-range laptop.
Resolution
I’m sure most of us can agree. It’s 2020, 4K is becoming much more common, why are laptops still being made with 720P resolutions?
Since you’re spending a fair amount on a relatively modern laptop, you should get one that’s Full HD (1080P).
A Laptop with 1080p support will allow you to see more of what you’re working on, and the image will be much sharper.
You’ll also find that laptops with low-resolution screens also have smaller displays. This is a trick manufacturers use to keep the image quality respectable.
While you may not see much of a difference between 1080p and 720p on a small laptop screen, the technology suggests otherwise.
1080p resolution will produce a grand total of 2,073,600 pixels at any given moment whereas 720p produces 921,600 pixels. This is a difference of 1,152,000 pixels.
Funnily enough, when you put it into numbers like that, it becomes a lot more clearer…
HDD / SSD
Solid State Drives or SSD’s are considered to be much better than old, traditional hard drives.
This is because they’re at least 4x quicker, they don’t degrade over time and they’re completely silent.
That said, they’re much more expensive. If you were to choose a laptop with 250+ GB of SSD storage, you could be looking at paying over $1000.
If you can, the best option will be to get a laptop with both an SSD and an HDD.
This will allow you to install your operating system and important programs on the SSD and experience much quicker operating speeds while also giving you plenty of storage.
Best Laptops With MX150
Everybody has different requirements for their laptops and PCs. Just because I think one laptop is better than the other, doesn’t mean that’s the case for you.
Each laptop on this list offers a unique experience.
- Highest Spec – Huawei Matebook X Pro Signature Edition
- Best Value For Money – Acer Swift 3 Laptop
- Cheapest MX150 Laptop – Asus Zenbook 13
Below is a list of the best MX150 laptops on the market. I’ve compiled all the important information in one place to help you learn more and easily compare your options.
Asus Vivobook S Ultra Thin Laptop
Specifications
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Processor: Intel i5-8250U
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Memory: 8GB
The Asus Vivobook is a super thin and lightweight laptop that’s made for those on the move.
Coming in at 14.21″ wide, 0.7″ thin & 3.75lbs, this laptop is perfect for fitting in your backpack or using on long commutes.
Despite its size, ASUS still included a 15.6″ Full HD (1080p) color-rich display.
This laptop was one of the first to use Asus NanoEdge technology which was created to maximize the screen-to-body ratio. The Asus Zenbook, for example, has a 95% screen to body ratio.
In this case, the Vivobook is only 80% but that’s nothing to scoff at. I remember the days where laptops were more plastic than display.
The processor used in this machine is very commonly used in laptops with MX150 GPUs. It’s the Intel Core i5-8250U, for most people this offers more than enough processing power with 4 cores and a 1.6 GHz clock speed.
If you want a laptop with a higher base clock speed, you may need to buy a laptop with an i7 processor, that being said, the i7-8565U will only give you an increase of .2 GHz on the base clock.
While I don’t necessarily recommend overclocking CPUs on laptops that are thin and without any serious cooling, Asus claims you can get up to 3.4 GHz without stability issues.
The battery life is considered to be good enough. However, it’s always best to carry a charger with you. Obviously the MX150 auto-optimises for longevity, but depending on the tasks you are doing, you may see it quickly drain.
As one of the cheaper options on this list, I’d consider the Vivobook S to be the best value for money.
A 256gb SSD is enough to get you started, but you may need to install a secondary 2.5″ hard drive for extra storage.
The biggest issue with this laptop is the trackpad. It can be pretty inconsistent. Some people say they’ve gone out of their way to buy a mouse because of this.
You’ll also find that while the build quality is rather good, the screen is so light, you need to hold the base every time you open the laptop. It’s not a major issue, but I still consider it to be an inconvenience.
Acer Aspire E 15 Laptop
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Processor: Intel i5-8250U
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Memory: 8GB
There are many different Acer Aspire E15 laptops. You want to make sure that you get one with the MX150 or MX250 GPU.
The other models are slightly cheaper and come with either integrated graphics or an AMD alternative.
At Full 1080p, the widescreen LED-lit IPS display is perfect for watching Netflix, gaming, and even light photo/video editing.
The processing power is similar to the rest of the laptops on this list. You cannot fault the efficiency of the 8250U CPU. It’s relatively fast for a laptop processor and only draws 15W of power.
Acer promises up to 15 hours of battery life, however, I’ve never had a laptop serve me that well. Especially from Acer.
You should probably expect anywhere between 5-10 hours, depending on the tasks you’re performing.
This is one of the heavier machines on the list at 5.2lbs. It’s definitely a thicker and sturdier laptop, and the screen to body ratio is lower than most others.
That being said, it’s one of the more feature-rich.
There aren’t many laptops that still have disc drives in. You also get 2 built-in stereo speakers, an HD webcam, as well as Bluetooth functionality.
The other thing that makes this super appealing, especially to newbies, is the accessibility.
If you want to add a second hard drive or upgrade the ram, there’s a convenient compartment door.
Remove this door, slot in your HDD or RAM and voila, you’re good to go.
It’s a really good laptop that can represent good value for money. However, due to the current situation, I believe that production has stopped.
This means the laptop is out of stock in most places, or comically overpriced by second-hand sellers.
It’s a real shame because it has over 1,600 amazon reviews, a 4-star rating, and is a great option for most users.
Dell Inspiron (7786) 2-in-1 FHD Touch Laptop
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Processor: Intel i7-8565U
- Storage: 1TB HDD
- Memory: 16 GB
When it comes to laptops and features, not everyone is looking for the same thing.
The Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 doubles up as a tablet, as well as a notebook. Pretty nifty!
Of course, for most people, this will just be a gimmick, but for students, artistic types and people on the move this 2-in-1 device could be exactly what you need.
Despite the fact that it can double up as a tablet, let’s not kid ourselves. The screen is a 17.3″ inch display which is almost double that of an iPad.
Unfortunately, while dell has experimented with 4k laptops in the past, they’ve never mass-produced a 4k Laptop.
This Inspiron laptop is full-HD 1080p, but for the price, you may want a little more.
Being the first laptop on this list with an intel i7 processor, it does have slightly more processing power than the before mentioned laptops.
You can see the i5 8250u and i7 8565u benchmark comparison here.
Even though this laptop has a better processor and 16GB of ram, you may find that it’s not as fast as the other options. This is because it doesn’t have an SSD.
There are 2 slots where you can add an SSD (SATA & NVME). If you buy one and install windows on it, this laptop will be unbelievably quick.
Unfortunately, because of the size, power, and Full-HD resolution, the battery drains fairly quickly. You should expect to be plugged in most of the time, making this laptop a lot less convenient than most others.
With a fingerprint reader, touch screen, backlit keyboard, numerous inputs & outputs it really is a feature-rich laptop.
Because of this, it’s slightly heavier at 6.5lbs. Again, making it less portable and convenient than you’d expect for a tablet/notebook.
If you’re looking to game with a laptop, for the price, you could get a laptop with a better graphics card.
If you’re looking for a versatile, touchscreen tablet/notebook & that can do it all, this could be the one.
Lenovo Ideapad 530s Laptop
- Resolution: 2560 x 1440
- Processor: Intel i7-8550U
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Memory: 8 GB
Coming in slightly cheaper than the Dell Inspiron laptop, Lenovos Ideapad 530s offers power and practicality.
While the 530s has a slightly older processor, 1 year older to be exact, you can see the performance is not that different.
The biggest difference between the 2 laptops, performance-wise, is the fact that the 530s has only 8GB of RAM.
Disappointing thing is, the everyday user cannot upgrade this laptop to 16GB RAM because there’s only one slot.
It does come with an SSD, but with demanding programs you may really miss out on that extra 8GB of memory.
The one area where it does excel though is the battery life.
Straight out of the box, the 530s boasts up to 8 hours of battery life.
You’ll also be able to use Rapid Charge technology which gives you 2 hours of battery in 15 minutes of charging. (Powered off, using a 65W power supply).
While it may not look it, the Lenovo Ideapad 530s is actually the thinnest laptop so far on this list at 0.65″ thin.
It’s also fairly light at 3.5lbs, making it super easy to carry around and be productive on the go.
The 530s does include a fingerprint scanner, Bluetooth, and Harman speakers but the best feature by far is the 1440p IPS display.
Because I don’t value the 2-in-1 touchscreen feature, I’d probably choose this over the Dell Inspiron
For under $1000, this is a very nice option.
Acer Swift 3 Laptop
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Processor: Intel i7-8565U
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Memory: 8 GB
The Acer Swift 3 is one of the cheaper i7 laptops.
Despite the lower price, this laptop offers pretty much the same experience as its competitors.
At 0.59 inches thin, it’s the smallest laptop on this list. As a result, it’s also one of the lightest, weighing just under 3lbs.
When it comes to viewing pleasure, the Swift 3 has a 14″ Full HD IPS widescreen display.
While 14 inches may be slightly smaller than you first wanted, the high screen to body ratio makes the screen feel much bigger than it actually is.
Using the 8565U processor, a 256GB SSD and 8 GB of ram. This laptop is as fast as any other. Giving you a solid platform for productivity or entertainment.
Because laptop batteries are so inconsistent and the lifespan is based mostly on the tasks you perform, most of them only last 3-6 hours.
While manufacturer recommendations aren’t always accurate, Acer suggests that you can get up to 12 hours use out of the swift 3 until you have to plug it in.
If you’re looking for a laptop that has all of the bells & whistles, this probably isn’t it.
Yes, it has your basic features such as a backlit keyboard, a solid wi-fi adapter, and Bluetooth 5.0, but it’s not anything special.
The biggest downside of this laptop is probably its size.
Yes, it’s lightweight, thin, and powerful, but it’s also 14″ rather than the standard 15.6″. Depending on your situation, this could be positive, but for those wanting a laptop to use at home, it’s probably a negative.
Huawei Matebook x Pro Signature Edition
The Huawei Matebook X Pro is a very interesting laptop. It’s one that nobody asked for, but, Huawei still delivered.
When you first started your search for a laptop, you probably decided to choose between a 1080p, 1440p, or 4K laptop.
The Matebook Pro has a 13.9″ display at 3K resolution (3000 x 2000).
Thanks to the ultra-thin 4.4mm bezel, this screen looks absolutely huge. It works out at a 91% screen to body ratio.
Another benefit is that it is a touchscreen. However, even with the anti-fingerprint coating, I’d probably never use the touchscreen but it’s a nice option to have.
In terms of actual processing power, again, it’s another laptop that uses the 8th gen i7-8550U. It also comes with 16 GB of RAM and a whopping 512GB SSD.
As mentioned before, the 8550U and 8565U processors were released in the space of 1 year. They’re pretty similar and the performance difference is negligible, especially when it comes to “turbo” speeds.
You’ll see a much bigger difference across the board with the extra RAM and SSD space, that’s for sure.
The one area where this laptop really excels is the battery life. To achieve a full charge, it will take around 90 minutes.
When at full charge, Huawei promises an impressive 15 hours of use. This will allow you to get through a full workday and still use it at home.
Overall it’s an incredible laptop but I’m not sure you can really justify the price. If you’re paying this much for a laptop, you could probably get a much better graphics card than the MX150.
That said, it’s still an incredible piece of technology and you won’t be disappointed if you buy it.
There’s just better value for money options out there.
Cheapest MX150 Laptop
Laptops with MX150 are priced reasonably well. They’re mid range laptops that are priced exactly in the middle of the market.
You should expect to pay anywhere between $700 & $1200.
Asus Zenbook 13
The Asus Zenbook is the cheapest laptop that I could find that came with the MX150 GPU.
Unfortunately, in this case, you get exactly what you pay for.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the worst laptop in the world, but it’s not the best either.
For your money, you’ll get a laptop with a Full-HD 1080p display. Unfortunately, it’s the smallest display on this list at 13.3″.
The bezel is not big and ugly, but it’s nowhere near as sleek as it could be.
In terms of the processor, it actually has the 8265U which is a newer processor than the Vivobook S and Acer E15 offer.
Unfortunately, the RAM is a letdown. Instead of using DDR4, Asus opted for 8GB of Low-Profile DDR3 RAM in an effort to keep production costs and laptop temperatures down.
While it’s certainly a good option for those looking at cheaper laptops, if you can, you’re much better off saving some money and getting one of the slightly more powerful options.
If you have to buy this laptop, it will definitely do you well. The only issue is that you may look to upgrade quicker than if you chose another option.
MX150 Buyers Guide
There’s not much that you need to know about the MX150, but the more you know…
What Is The GeForce MX150
The Nvidia Geforce MX150 is a dedicated graphics card that supercharges your laptop for work and gaming.
Nvidia claim that you can get up to 4x faster performance from this card in comparison to integrated graphics.
Having a dedicated graphics card no matter how good or bad, will always improve your computers performance.
Don’t expect the world from this card though, it’s only an entry level GPU.
Nvidia GeForce MX150 specs
The MX150 is not a powerful card. The specs confirm this.
It’s built using the Pascal architecture and offers 1468 MHz core speed, with an optional 1532 MHz boost.
Supposedly there are 4GB MX150s out there, however, they seem to be very rare. Every laptop on this list has a 2GB MX150.
The GPU is also compatible with all nvidia programs and software as well as offer DirectX and OpenGL support.
what is the MX150 equivalent to
Benchmarks tell us that the MX150 is equivalent to the 950M, which is another dedicated mobile GPU.
If you’re trying to compare it to a desktop GPU, the closest comparison is the Nvidia GT 1030. The GT 1030 is slightly better though, performing better in almost every benchmark.
No matter which card you buy, there will always be something bigger and better around the corner. Try not to worry too much, instead, try to enjoy the technology you have.
What Games Can It Run?
The MX150 can run a lot of modern games.
It doesn’t necessarily run them well, however, if you are comfortable playing at 720p with low-medium settings, you can still have a semi enjoyable experience.
The games that are popular and will run best are CS:GO, Dota 2, League Of Legends, FIFA, and Fortnite.
You should not expect to run the latest AAA titles, the MX150 doesn’t even meet the minimum specifications for most of them.
