GeForce GTX 260M vs GTX 950M

Place in the ranking	566	1113
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	6.15	1.05
Architecture	Maxwell (2014−2017)	Tesla (2006−2010)
GPU code name	GM107	G92
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	13 March 2015 (9 years ago)	3 March 2009 (15 years ago)

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 cores	640	112
Core clock speed	914 MHz	550 MHz
Boost clock speed	1124 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	1,870 million	754 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	75 Watt	65 Watt
Texture fill rate	44.96	30.80
Floating-point processing power	1.439 TFLOPS	0.308 TFLOPS
Gigaflops	no data	462
ROPs	16	16
TMUs	40	56

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 size	medium sized	large
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	PCI-E 2.0
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x8	PCIe 2.0 x16
SLI options	+	2-way
MXM Type	no data	MXM 3.0 Type-B

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 type	DDR3 or GDDR5	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1000 or 2500 MHz	Up to 950 MHz
Memory bandwidth	32 or 80 GB/s	61 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 Connectors	No outputs	DisplayPortSingle Link DVIDual Link DVIVGALVDSHDMI
VGA аnalog display support	+	no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	+	no data
HDMI	+	+
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	no data	S/PDIF

Supported technologies

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

GameStream	+	-
GeForce ShadowPlay	+	-
GPU Boost	2.0	no data
GameWorks	+	-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	+	-
Optimus	+	-
BatteryBoost	+	-
Power management	no data	8.0
Ansel	+	no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_0)	11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model	5.1	4.0
OpenGL	4.5	2.1
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	1.1.126	N/A
CUDA	+	+

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 950M 6.71
+578%

GTX 260M 0.99

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 950M 2581
+581%

GTX 260M 379

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 950M 15710
+221%

GTX 260M 4901

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 HD	29 +7.4%	27 −7.4%
1440p	21 +600%	3−4 −600%
4K	16 +700%	2−3 −700%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +250%	4−5 −250%
Elden Ring	18−20 +1800%	1−2 −1800%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	18 +800%	2−3 −800%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +250%	4−5 −250%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 +238%	8−9 −238%
Metro Exodus	22 +633%	3−4 −633%
Red Dead Redemption 2	48 +700%	6−7 −700%
Valorant	21−24 +667%	3−4 −667%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	21−24 +600%	3−4 −600%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +250%	4−5 −250%
Dota 2	38 +660%	5−6 −660%
Elden Ring	18−20 +1800%	1−2 −1800%
Far Cry 5	30−33 +233%	9−10 −233%
Fortnite	30 +900%	3−4 −900%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 +238%	8−9 −238%
Grand Theft Auto V	20 +900%	2−3 −900%
Metro Exodus	10 +900%	1−2 −900%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	55 +358%	12−14 −358%
Red Dead Redemption 2	18−20 +217%	6−7 −217%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20 +233%	6−7 −233%
Valorant	21−24 +667%	3−4 −667%
World of Tanks	100−110 +357%	21−24 −357%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	15 +650%	2−3 −650%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +250%	4−5 −250%
Dota 2	67 +644%	9−10 −644%
Far Cry 5	26 +189%	9−10 −189%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 +238%	8−9 −238%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	17 +41.7%	12−14 −41.7%
Valorant	21−24 +667%	3−4 −667%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	7−8 +600%	1−2 −600%
Elden Ring	8−9 +700%	1−2 −700%
Grand Theft Auto V	8−9 +700%	1−2 −700%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 +660%	5−6 −660%
Red Dead Redemption 2	5−6	0−1
World of Tanks	45−50 +860%	5−6 −860%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	12−14 +1100%	1−2 −1100%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%
Far Cry 5	19 +280%	5−6 −280%
Forza Horizon 4	12−14 +1200%	1−2 −1200%
Metro Exodus	9−10 +800%	1−2 −800%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 +150%	4−5 −150%
Valorant	16−18 +183%	6−7 −183%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	0−1	0−1
Dota 2	18−20 +20%	14−16 −20%
Elden Ring	4−5	0−1
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +13.3%	14−16 −13.3%
Metro Exodus	2−3	0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	18−20 +533%	3−4 −533%
Red Dead Redemption 2	4−5	0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 +13.3%	14−16 −13.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	6−7 +500%	1−2 −500%
Counter-Strike 2	0−1	0−1
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Dota 2	18−20 +20%	14−16 −20%
Far Cry 5	9	0−1
Fortnite	6−7	0−1
Forza Horizon 4	7−8 +600%	1−2 −600%
Valorant	6−7 +500%	1−2 −500%

This is how GTX 950M and GTX 260M compete in popular games:

GTX 950M is 7% faster in 1080p
GTX 950M is 600% faster in 1440p
GTX 950M is 700% faster in 4K

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

in Elden Ring, with 1080p resolution and the Low Preset, the GTX 950M is 1800% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 950M is ahead in 35 tests (95%)
there's a draw in 2 tests (5%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	6.71	0.99
Recency	13 March 2015	3 March 2009
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	1 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	75 Watt	65 Watt

GTX 950M has a 577.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 132.1% more advanced lithography process.

GTX 260M, on the other hand, has 15.4% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 950M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 260M in performance tests.

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