GeForce GTX 260 vs Radeon HD 8970M

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 260 and Radeon HD 8970M. Here you can take a closer look at graphics cards specs, such as core clock speed, memory type and size, display connectors, etc. The price, overall benchmark and gaming performances are usually defining factors when it comes to choosing between GeForce GTX 260 and Radeon HD 8970M. Make sure that the graphics card has compatible dimensions and will properly fit in your new or current computer case. Also these graphics cards may have different system power recommendations, so take that into consideration and upgrade your PSU if necessary.

Radeon HD 8970M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 8970M is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Radeon HD 8970M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 260 Radeon HD 8970M
Power consumption (TDP) 182 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 896 MB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 260 has 82% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 8970M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 260 has 892 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 8970M - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is build with Tesla 2.0 architecture, and Radeon HD 8970M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 260 is 392 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 8970M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 3801 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 260.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 3−4 20−22
ultra / 1080p 1−2 12−14
QHD / 1440p 0−1 6−7
4K / 2160p 5−6
low / 720p 14−16 35−40
medium / 1080p 5−6 24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 300% more, than GeForce GTX 260.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 260 Radeon HD 8970M
Architecture Tesla 2.0 GCN
Code name GT200 Neptune
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 16 June 2008 15 May 2013
Pipelines 192 1280
Core clock speed 1242 MHz 850 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz
Transistor count 1,400 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 65 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 36.9 billion/sec 72.00
Floating-point performance 476.9 gflops 2,304 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 448 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 999 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 111.9 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.1 (10_0) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 4.0 5.1
OpenGL 2.1 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2.131
CUDA +
CUDA cores 192
Height 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
SLI options +
Multi monitor support +
HDMI +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI S/PDIF
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 30 Mh/s 273 Mh/s
Laptop size large
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