GeForce GTX 260 vs ATI Radeon HD 5850

Place in the ranking	621	751
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.64	0.16
Power efficiency	2.34	1.19
Architecture	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)	Tesla 2.0 (2007−2013)
GPU code name	Cypress	GT200
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	30 September 2009 (15 years ago)	16 June 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$299	$449

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

ATI HD 5850 has 300% 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 cores	1440	192
Core clock speed	725 MHz	576 MHz
Number of transistors	2,154 million	1,400 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	151 Watt	182 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	105 °C
Texture fill rate	52.20	36.86
Floating-point processing power	2.088 TFLOPS	0.4769 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	28
TMUs	72	64

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).

Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	241 mm	267 mm
Height	no data	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	2x 6-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 type	GDDR5	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	896 MB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	448 Bit
Memory clock speed	1000 MHz	999 MHz
Memory bandwidth	128.0 GB/s	111.9 GB/s

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	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort	Dual Link DVIHDTV
Multi monitor support	no data	+
HDMI	+	+
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	no data	S/PDIF

API compatibility

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

DirectX	11.2 (11_0)	11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model	5.0	4.0
OpenGL	4.4	2.1
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	N/A	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.

ATI HD 5850 5.16
+63.8%

GTX 260 3.15

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.

ATI HD 5850 1988
+63.6%

GTX 260 1215

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:

900p	59 +68.6%	35−40 −68.6%
Full HD	56 +86.7%	30−35 −86.7%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

5.34

14.97

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

9−10
+80%

5−6

−80%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Battlefield 5	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Far Cry 5	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
Hitman 3	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	30−35 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
Metro Exodus	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Watch Dogs: Legion	45−50 +74.1%	27−30 −74.1%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Battlefield 5	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Far Cry 5	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
Hitman 3	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	30−35 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
Metro Exodus	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Watch Dogs: Legion	45−50 +74.1%	27−30 −74.1%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Far Cry 5	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
Hitman 3	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	30−35 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Watch Dogs: Legion	45−50 +74.1%	27−30 −74.1%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

14−16

+75%

8−9
−75%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Far Cry New Dawn	8−9 +100%	4−5 −100%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	0−1	0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Far Cry 5	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%
Forza Horizon 4	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Hitman 3	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Horizon Zero Dawn	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Metro Exodus	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−35 +77.8%	18−20 −77.8%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

9−10
+80%

5−6

−80%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Far Cry New Dawn	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Hitman 3	1−2	0−1
Horizon Zero Dawn	8−9 +100%	4−5 −100%
Metro Exodus	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	1−2	0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Cyberpunk 2077	0−1	0−1
Far Cry 5	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Forza Horizon 4	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Watch Dogs: Legion	1−2	0−1

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

6−7
+100%

3−4

−100%

This is how ATI HD 5850 and GTX 260 compete in popular games:

ATI HD 5850 is 69% faster in 900p
ATI HD 5850 is 87% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	5.16	3.15
Recency	30 September 2009	16 June 2008
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	896 MB
Chip lithography	40 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	151 Watt	182 Watt

ATI HD 5850 has a 63.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 14.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 62.5% more advanced lithography process, and 20.5% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 5850 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.