GeForce RTX 3090 vs GTX 260M

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 260M with GeForce RTX 3090, including specs and performance data.

GTX 260M
2009
1 GB GDDR3, 65 Watt
0.98

RTX 3090 outperforms GTX 260M by a whopping 6966% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking112027
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data14.97
Power efficiency1.0313.57
ArchitectureTesla (2006−2010)Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code nameG92GA102
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date3 March 2009 (15 years ago)1 September 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$1,499

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

no data

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 cores11210496
Core clock speed550 MHz1395 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1695 MHz
Number of transistors754 million28,300 million
Manufacturing process technology65 nm8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt350 Watt
Texture fill rate30.80556.0
Floating-point processing power0.308 TFLOPS35.58 TFLOPS
Gigaflops462no data
ROPs16112
TMUs56328
Tensor Coresno data328
Ray Tracing Coresno data82

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).

Laptop sizelargeno data
Bus supportPCI-E 2.0no data
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Lengthno data336 mm
Widthno data3-slot
Supplementary power connectorsno data1x 12-pin
SLI options2-way-
MXM TypeMXM 3.0 Type-Bno data

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 amount1 GB24 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speedUp to 950 MHz1219 MHz
Memory bandwidth61 GB/s936.2 GB/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 ConnectorsDisplayPortSingle Link DVIDual Link DVIVGALVDSHDMI1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
HDMI++
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIS/PDIFno data

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Power management8.0no data

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX11.1 (10_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model4.06.5
OpenGL2.14.6
OpenCL1.12.0
VulkanN/A1.2
CUDA+8.5
DLSS-+

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.

GTX 260M 0.98
RTX 3090 69.25
+6966%

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 260M 379
RTX 3090 26682
+6940%

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 260M 4901
RTX 3090 124350
+2437%

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 HD29
−579%
197
+579%
1440p1−2
−13000%
131
+13000%
4K1−2
−8600%
87
+8600%

Cost per frame, $

1080pno data7.61
1440pno data11.44
4Kno data17.23

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 3−4
−10933%
331
+10933%
Counter-Strike 2 7−8
−3043%
220
+3043%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−10350%
209
+10350%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 3−4
−8633%
262
+8633%
Counter-Strike 2 7−8
−2586%
188
+2586%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−8800%
178
+8800%
Fortnite 1−2
−30100%
300−350
+30100%
Forza Horizon 4 5−6
−4980%
254
+4980%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 8−9
−2113%
170−180
+2113%
Valorant 30−35
−1061%
350−400
+1061%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 3−4
−5100%
156
+5100%
Counter-Strike 2 7−8
−2200%
161
+2200%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 21−24
−1109%
270−280
+1109%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−7600%
154
+7600%
Dota 2 14−16
−1450%
217
+1450%
Fortnite 1−2
−30100%
300−350
+30100%
Forza Horizon 4 5−6
−4840%
247
+4840%
Metro Exodus 1−2
−17500%
176
+17500%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 8−9
−2113%
170−180
+2113%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
−7280%
369
+7280%
Valorant 30−35
−1061%
350−400
+1061%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2 7−8
−1986%
146
+1986%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−6700%
136
+6700%
Dota 2 14−16
−1421%
213
+1421%
Forza Horizon 4 5−6
−4240%
217
+4240%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 8−9
−2113%
170−180
+2113%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
−3540%
182
+3540%
Valorant 30−35
−855%
296
+855%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 1−2
−30100%
300−350
+30100%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 1−2
−6200%
60−65
+6200%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 5−6
−9700%
450−500
+9700%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 5−6
−3400%
170−180
+3400%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
−9200%
93
+9200%
Far Cry 5 0−1 171
Forza Horizon 4 2−3
−9750%
197
+9750%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2−3
−7550%
153
+7550%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 1−2
−15000%
150−160
+15000%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 1−2
−5800%
55−60
+5800%
Grand Theft Auto V 14−16
−1113%
182
+1113%
Valorant 5−6
−6520%
300−350
+6520%

4K
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 46
Far Cry 5 1−2
−10700%
108
+10700%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 2−3
−4700%
95−100
+4700%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 2−3
−3850%
75−80
+3850%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 172
+0%
172
+0%
Far Cry 5 208
+0%
208
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 210
+0%
210
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 158
+0%
158
+0%
Far Cry 5 196
+0%
196
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 195
+0%
195
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 171
+0%
171
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 146
+0%
146
+0%
Far Cry 5 183
+0%
183
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Grand Theft Auto V 150
+0%
150
+0%
Metro Exodus 115
+0%
115
+0%
Valorant 400−450
+0%
400−450
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 130
+0%
130
+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Metro Exodus 76
+0%
76
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 154
+0%
154
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 113
+0%
113
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 22
+0%
22
+0%
Dota 2 202
+0%
202
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 153
+0%
153
+0%

This is how GTX 260M and RTX 3090 compete in popular games:

  • RTX 3090 is 579% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 3090 is 13000% faster in 1440p
  • RTX 3090 is 8600% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Fortnite, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the RTX 3090 is 30100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • RTX 3090 is ahead in 42 tests (68%)
  • there's a draw in 20 tests (32%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.98 69.25
Recency 3 March 2009 1 September 2020
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 24 GB
Chip lithography 65 nm 8 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 350 Watt

GTX 260M has 438.5% lower power consumption.

RTX 3090, on the other hand, has a 6966.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 years, a 2300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 712.5% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 260M in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 260M is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 3090 is a desktop one.

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
GeForce GTX 260M
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
GeForce RTX 3090

Other comparisons

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

Community ratings

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3.3 16 votes

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1.2 79367 votes

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