GeForce GTX 260 vs Radeon R9 M280X

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 260 and Radeon R9 M280X. 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 R9 M280X. 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 R9 M280X is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon R9 M280X 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 R9 M280X here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 260 Radeon R9 M280X
Power consumption (TDP) 182 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR3 Not Listed
Maximum RAM amount 896 MB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 260 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R9 M280X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M280X - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is build with Tesla 2.0 architecture, and Radeon R9 M280X - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 260 is 342 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M280X.
  • GeForce GTX 260 is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 M280X - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 3−4 2−3
ultra / 1080p 1−2 1−2
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 14−16 14−16
medium / 1080p 5−6 4−5
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 260 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 20% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 260 Radeon R9 M280X
Architecture Tesla 2.0 GCN
Code name GT200 Saturn XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 16 June 2008 1 February 2015
Pipelines 192 896
Core clock speed 1242 MHz 900 MHz
Transistor count 1,400 million 2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology 65 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 36.9 billion/sec 61.60
Floating-point performance 476.9 gflops 1,792 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 448 Bit
Memory clock speed 999 MHz
Memory bandwidth 111.9 GB/s 96 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model 4.0 6.3
OpenGL 2.1 4.4
OpenCL 1.1 Not Listed
Vulkan N/A
CUDA +
FreeSync +
CUDA cores 192
Bus support Not Listed
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
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
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