GeForce RTX 4090 vs GTX 260

VS

Aggregate performance score

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

GTX 260
2008
896 MB GDDR3, 182 Watt
3.16

RTX 4090 outperforms GTX 260 by a whopping 3065% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking7521
Place by popularitynot in top-1006
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.1618.83
Power efficiency1.2015.33
ArchitectureTesla 2.0 (2007−2013)Ada Lovelace (2022−2024)
GPU code nameGT200AD102
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date16 June 2008 (16 years ago)20 September 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$449 $1,599

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 4090 has 11669% better value for money than GTX 260.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when 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
Floating-point processing power0.4769 TFLOPS82.58 TFLOPS
ROPs28176
TMUs64512
Tensor Coresno data512
Ray Tracing Coresno data128

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--

Connectivity and outputs

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 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 compatibility

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/A1.3
CUDA+8.9

Synthetic benchmark performance

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. 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.

GTX 260 3.16
RTX 4090 100.00
+3065%

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 1217
RTX 4090 38452
+3060%

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 HD8−9
−3125%
258
+3125%
1440p6−7
−3183%
197
+3183%
4K4−5
−3475%
143
+3475%

Cost per frame, $

1080p56.13
−806%
6.20
+806%
1440p74.83
−822%
8.12
+822%
4K112.25
−904%
11.18
+904%
  • RTX 4090 has 806% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • RTX 4090 has 822% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • RTX 4090 has 904% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 212
+0%
212
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 225
+0%
225
+0%
Elden Ring 249
+0%
249
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 215
+0%
215
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 111
+0%
111
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 555
+0%
555
+0%
Metro Exodus 178
+0%
178
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Valorant 826
+0%
826
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 199
+0%
199
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 107
+0%
107
+0%
Dota 2 200
+0%
200
+0%
Elden Ring 468
+0%
468
+0%
Far Cry 5 149
+0%
149
+0%
Fortnite 300−350
+0%
300−350
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 548
+0%
548
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 174
+0%
174
+0%
Metro Exodus 183
+0%
183
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 210−220
+0%
210−220
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Valorant 750−800
+0%
750−800
+0%
World of Tanks 270−280
+0%
270−280
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 185
+0%
185
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 105
+0%
105
+0%
Dota 2 224
+0%
224
+0%
Far Cry 5 210−220
+0%
210−220
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 544
+0%
544
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 210−220
+0%
210−220
+0%
Valorant 680
+0%
680
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 162
+0%
162
+0%
Elden Ring 343
+0%
343
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 161
+0%
161
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
World of Tanks 500−550
+0%
500−550
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 152
+0%
152
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 77
+0%
77
+0%
Far Cry 5 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 507
+0%
507
+0%
Metro Exodus 152
+0%
152
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 262
+0%
262
+0%
Valorant 572
+0%
572
+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 166
+0%
166
+0%
Dota 2 187
+0%
187
+0%
Elden Ring 198
+0%
198
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 187
+0%
187
+0%
Metro Exodus 137
+0%
137
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 200−210
+0%
200−210
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 187
+0%
187
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 40
+0%
40
+0%
Dota 2 227
+0%
227
+0%
Far Cry 5 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Fortnite 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 284
+0%
284
+0%
Valorant 364
+0%
364
+0%

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

  • RTX 4090 is 3125% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 4090 is 3183% faster in 1440p
  • RTX 4090 is 3475% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.16 100.00
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 147.3% lower power consumption.

RTX 4090, on the other hand, has a 3064.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 14 years, a 2642.9% 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.


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

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
GeForce GTX 260
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
GeForce RTX 4090

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Community ratings

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


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Questions & comments

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