GeForce RTX 4090 vs GTX 260

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260 260 Core 216 260 Core 216 Rev. 2 260 OEM 260 Rev. 2 280
VS
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4010 4060 4060 AD106 4060 Ti 4060 Ti 16 GB 4060 Ti AD104 4070 4070 AD103 4070 GDDR6 4070 SUPER 4070 Ti 4070 Ti SUPER 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 4080 4080 SUPER 4090 4090 D

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 260 and GeForce RTX 4090, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 260
2008, $449
896 MB GDDR3, 182 Watt
2.88
RTX 4090
2022, $1,599
24 GB GDDR6X, 450 Watt
91.31
+3070%

RTX 4090 outperforms GTX 260 by a whopping 3070% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

Share:
GTX 260 GTX 260
RTX 4090 RTX 4090

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking8353
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.1431.29
Power efficiency1.2215.70
ArchitectureTesla 2.0 (2007−2013)Ada Lovelace (2022−2024)
GPU code nameGT200AD102
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date16 June 2008 (18 years ago)20 September 2022 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$449 $1,599

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

RTX 4090 has 22250% better value for money than GTX 260.

Performance to price scatter graph

Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores19216384
Core clock speed576 MHz2235 MHz
Boost clock speedno data2520 MHz
Number of transistors1,400 million76,300 million
Manufacturing process technology65 nm5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)182 Watt450 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature105 °Cno data
Texture fill rate36.861,290.2
Floating-point processing power0.4769 TFLOPS82.58 TFLOPS
ROPs28176
TMUs64512
Tensor Coresno data512
Ray Tracing Coresno data128
L1 Cacheno data16 MB
L2 Cache224 KB72 MB

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Length267 mm304 mm
Height4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slot3-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pin1x 16-pin
SLI options+-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR3GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount896 MB24 GB
Memory bus width448 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed999 MHz1313 MHz
Memory bandwidth111.9 GB/s1.01 TB/s
Shared memory--
Resizable BAR-+

Connectivity and outputs

This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.

Display ConnectorsDual Link DVIHDTV1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Multi monitor support+no data
HDMI++
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIS/PDIFno data

API and SDK support

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX11.1 (10_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model4.06.8
OpenGL2.14.6
OpenCL1.13.0
VulkanN/A1.4
CUDA+8.9
DLSS-+

Synthetic benchmarks

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score.

GTX 260 2.88
RTX 4090 91.31
+3070%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 260 1198
Samples: 3078
RTX 4090 38040
+3075%
Samples: 22128

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD7−8
−3414%
246
+3414%
1440p5−6
−3580%
184
+3580%
4K4−5
−3250%
134
+3250%

Cost per frame, $

1080p64.14
−887%
6.50
+887%
1440p89.80
−933%
8.69
+933%
4K112.25
−841%
11.93
+841%
  • RTX 4090 has 887% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • RTX 4090 has 933% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • RTX 4090 has 841% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Counter-Strike 2 351
+0%
351
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 227
+0%
227
+0%
Palworld 240
+0%
240
+0%
Resident Evil 4 Remake 351
+0%
351
+0%

Full HD
Medium

Battlefield 5 190−200
+0%
190−200
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 340
+0%
340
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 224
+0%
224
+0%
Far Cry 5 209
+0%
209
+0%
Fortnite 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
Palworld 239
+0%
239
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Valorant 650−700
+0%
650−700
+0%

Full HD
High

Battlefield 5 190−200
+0%
190−200
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 340
+0%
340
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 270−280
+0%
270−280
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 215
+0%
215
+0%
Dota 2 253
+0%
253
+0%
Far Cry 5 201
+0%
201
+0%
Fortnite 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 174
+0%
174
+0%
Metro Exodus 230
+0%
230
+0%
Palworld 234
+0%
234
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 578
+0%
578
+0%
Valorant 650−700
+0%
650−700
+0%

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 190−200
+0%
190−200
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 211
+0%
211
+0%
Dota 2 224
+0%
224
+0%
Far Cry 5 187
+0%
187
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 305
+0%
305
+0%
Valorant 680
+0%
680
+0%

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
Palworld 232
+0%
232
+0%

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 312
+0%
312
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 500−550
+0%
500−550
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 162
+0%
162
+0%
Metro Exodus 180
+0%
180
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Valorant 450−500
+0%
450−500
+0%

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 190−200
+0%
190−200
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 159
+0%
159
+0%
Far Cry 5 187
+0%
187
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 262
+0%
262
+0%

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Palworld 211
+0%
211
+0%

4K
High

Counter-Strike 2 166
+0%
166
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 187
+0%
187
+0%
Metro Exodus 137
+0%
137
+0%
Palworld 198
+0%
198
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 281
+0%
281
+0%
Valorant 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 81
+0%
81
+0%
Dota 2 227
+0%
227
+0%
Far Cry 5 170
+0%
170
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%

4K
Epic

Fortnite 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Palworld 139
+0%
139
+0%

This is how GTX 260 and RTX 4090 compete in popular games:

  • RTX 4090 is 3414% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 4090 is 3580% faster in 1440p
  • RTX 4090 is 3250% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 65 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 2.88 91.31
Recency 16 June 2008 20 September 2022
Maximum RAM amount 896 MB 24 GB
Chip lithography 65 nm 5 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 182 Watt 450 Watt

GTX 260 has 147% lower power consumption.

RTX 4090, on the other hand, has a 3070% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 14 years, a 2643% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 1200% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 4090 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 260 in performance tests.

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

GTX 260 GeForce GTX 260
vs
R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)
RTX 4090 GeForce RTX 4090
vs
RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090
GTX 260 GeForce GTX 260
vs
UHD Graphics 630 UHD Graphics 630
GTX 260 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
vs
GeForce MX330 GeForce MX330
GTX 260 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
vs
Graphics Radeon Graphics
GTX 260 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
vs
Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs Xe Graphics G7 80EUs
GTX 260 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
vs
UHD Graphics 730 Graphics 730
GTX 260 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
vs
UHD Graphics 770 Graphics 770
GTX 280 NVIDIA GTX 280
vs
GTX 550 Ti 550 Ti
GTX 280 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
vs
ATI HD 5770 HD 5770
GTX 280 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
vs
ATI HD 4850 HD 4850
GTX 280 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
vs
HD 7730 HD 7730
GTX 280 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
vs
HD 6770 HD 6770

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.

3.7 704 votes

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3.7 18237 votes

Rate GeForce RTX 4090 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Comments

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