ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250

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Combined performance score

GTS 250
1.55

Radeon HD 2900 XT outperforms GeForce GTS 250 by 10% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking921888
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money0.05no data
ArchitectureTesla (2006−2010)TeraScale (2005−2013)
GPU code nameG92BR600
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date4 March 2009 (15 years old)14 May 2007 (16 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$199 $399
Current price$131 (0.7x MSRP)no data
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores128320
CUDA cores128no data
Core clock speed738 MHz743 MHz
Number of transistors754 million720 million
Manufacturing process technology55 nm80 nm
Power consumption (TDP)150 Watt215 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature105 °Cno data
Texture fill rate47.2 billion/sec11.89
Floating-point performance387.1 gflops475.5 gflops

Size and 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 1.0 x16
Length9" (228.6 mm) (22.9 cm)241 mm
Height4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors6-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
SLI options+no data

Memory

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 typeGDDR3GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount1 GB512 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit512 Bit
Memory clock speed1100 MHz1656 MHz
Memory bandwidth70.4 GB/s106.0 GB/s

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsTwo Dual Link DVI2x DVI, 1x S-Video
Multi monitor support+no data
HDMI+no data
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIS/PDIFno data

API support

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

DirectX11.1 (10_0)10.0 (10_0)
Shader Model4.04.0
OpenGL3.03.3
OpenCL1.1N/A
VulkanN/AN/A
CUDA+no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

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


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTS 250 1.55
ATI HD 2900 XT 1.70
+9.7%

Radeon HD 2900 XT outperforms GeForce GTS 250 by 10% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

GTS 250 602
ATI HD 2900 XT 659
+9.5%

Radeon HD 2900 XT outperforms GeForce GTS 250 by 9% in Passmark.

Gaming performance

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

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 1.55 1.70
Recency 4 March 2009 14 May 2007
Cost $199 $399
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 512 MB
Chip lithography 55 nm 80 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 215 Watt

We couldn't decide between GeForce GTS 250 and Radeon HD 2900 XT. The differences in performance seem too small.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250
GeForce GTS 250
ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT
Radeon HD 2900 XT

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User ratings: view and submit

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


3.5 1517 votes

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3.8 59 votes

Rate ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions and comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.