Radeon HD 6970 vs Radeon R7 260X

When comparing Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon R7 260X, we look primarily at benchmarks and game tests. But it is not only about the numbers. Often you can find third-party models with higher clock speeds, better cooling, or a customizable RGB lighting. Not all of them will have all the features you need. Another thing to consider is the port selection. Most graphics cards have at least one DisplayPort and HDMI interface, but some monitors require DVI. Before you buy, check the TDP of the graphics card - this characteristic will help you estimate the consumption of the graphics card. You may even have to upgrade your PSU to meet its requirements. An important factor when choosing between Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon R7 260X is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 6970 Radeon R7 260X
Power consumption (TDP) 550 Watt 115 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin 1 x 6-pin
Memory type DDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 6970 has 378% more power consumption, than Radeon R7 260X.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R7 260X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon R7 260X has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6970.
  • Both cards are used in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon R7 260X - with GCN 2.0.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon R7 260X - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is 97 mm longer, than Radeon R7 260X.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 14−16 16−18
ultra / 1080p 9−10 9−10
QHD / 1440p 3−4 4−5
low / 720p 30−35 30−35
medium / 1080p 18−20 20−22
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R7 260X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 6% more, than Radeon HD 6970.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 6970 Radeon R7 260X
Architecture Terascale 2 GCN 2.0
Code name Cayman Bonaire
Type Desktop Desktop
Release date 14 December 2010 8 October 2013
Pipelines 1536 896
Boost Clock 880 MHz 1000 MHz
Transistor count 2,640 million 2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 84.48 61.60
Floating-point performance 2,703.4 gflops 1,971 gflops
Length 267 mm 170 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth 104 GB/s
Shader Model 5.0 6.3
OpenGL 4.4 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 2.0
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0
HDMI + +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 273 Mh/s 225 Mh/s
Eyefinity + +
Design reference reference
CrossFire +
DDMA audio +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 5.16 Mh/s
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