GeForce GTX 260 vs Radeon HD 7870M

When choosing between GeForce GTX 260 and Radeon HD 7870M, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between GeForce GTX 260 and Radeon HD 7870M.

Radeon HD 7870M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 7870M 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 7870M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 260 Radeon HD 7870M
Power consumption (TDP) 182 Watt 45 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 2 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 260 has 304% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7870M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 260 has 894 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 7870M - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is build with Tesla 2.0 architecture, and Radeon HD 7870M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 260 is 442 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7870M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 3001 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 260.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 3−4 6−7
ultra / 1080p 1−2 4−5
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 14−16 16−18
medium / 1080p 5−6 8−9
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 50% more, than GeForce GTX 260.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 260 Radeon HD 7870M
Architecture Tesla 2.0 GCN
Code name GT200 Heathrow XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 16 June 2008 24 April 2012
Pipelines 192 640
Core clock speed 1242 MHz 800 MHz
Transistor count 1,400 million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 65 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 36.9 billion/sec 32.00
Floating-point performance 476.9 gflops 1,024 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 448 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 999 MHz 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 111.9 GB/s 64 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
Laptop size large
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