GeForce GTX 260 vs Radeon RX 5600 XT

Place in the ranking	144	753
Place by popularity	80	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	53.56	0.16
Power efficiency	16.19	1.20
Architecture	RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020)	Tesla 2.0 (2007−2013)
GPU code name	Navi 10	GT200
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	21 January 2020 (5 years ago)	16 June 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$279	$449

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 5600 XT has 33375% 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	2304	192
Core clock speed	1130 MHz	576 MHz
Boost clock speed	1560 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	10,300 million	1,400 million
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	182 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	105 °C
Texture fill rate	224.6	36.86
Floating-point processing power	7.188 TFLOPS	0.4769 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	28
TMUs	144	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 4.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	267 mm	267 mm
Height	no data	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 8-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	GDDR6	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	6 GB	896 MB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	448 Bit
Memory clock speed	14000 MHz	999 MHz
Memory bandwidth	288.0 GB/s	111.9 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	1x HDMI, 3x 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	12 (12_1)	11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model	6.5	4.0
OpenGL	4.6	2.1
OpenCL	2.0	1.1
Vulkan	1.2.131	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.

RX 5600 XT 35.28
+1013%

GTX 260 3.17

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.

RX 5600 XT 13563
+1014%

GTX 260 1217

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	108 +1100%	9−10 −1100%
1440p	62 +1140%	5−6 −1140%
4K	36 +1100%	3−4 −1100%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	2.58 +1831%	49.89 −1831%
1440p	4.50 +1896%	89.80 −1896%
4K	7.75 +1831%	149.67 −1831%

RX 5600 XT has 1831% lower cost per frame in 1080p
RX 5600 XT has 1896% lower cost per frame in 1440p
RX 5600 XT has 1831% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	77 +1183%	6−7 −1183%
Cyberpunk 2077	83 +1086%	7−8 −1086%
Elden Ring	113 +1030%	10−11 −1030%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	95−100 +1125%	8−9 −1125%
Counter-Strike 2	63 +1160%	5−6 −1160%
Cyberpunk 2077	69 +1050%	6−7 −1050%
Forza Horizon 4	190 +1088%	16−18 −1088%
Metro Exodus	139 +1058%	12−14 −1058%
Red Dead Redemption 2	112 +1020%	10−11 −1020%
Valorant	179 +1019%	16−18 −1019%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	95−100 +1125%	8−9 −1125%
Counter-Strike 2	53 +1225%	4−5 −1225%
Cyberpunk 2077	59 +1080%	5−6 −1080%
Dota 2	146 +1117%	12−14 −1117%
Elden Ring	141 +1075%	12−14 −1075%
Far Cry 5	66 +1220%	5−6 −1220%
Fortnite	160−170 +1043%	14−16 −1043%
Forza Horizon 4	158 +1029%	14−16 −1029%
Grand Theft Auto V	126 +1160%	10−11 −1160%
Metro Exodus	94 +1075%	8−9 −1075%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	190−200 +1094%	16−18 −1094%
Red Dead Redemption 2	53 +1225%	4−5 −1225%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	120−130 +1120%	10−11 −1120%
Valorant	87 +1143%	7−8 −1143%
World of Tanks	270−280 +1063%	24−27 −1063%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	95−100 +1125%	8−9 −1125%
Counter-Strike 2	47 +1075%	4−5 −1075%
Cyberpunk 2077	50 +1150%	4−5 −1150%
Dota 2	168 +1100%	14−16 −1100%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +1050%	8−9 −1050%
Forza Horizon 4	141 +1075%	12−14 −1075%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	190−200 +1094%	16−18 −1094%
Valorant	148 +1133%	12−14 −1133%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	61 +1120%	5−6 −1120%
Elden Ring	67 +1017%	6−7 −1017%
Grand Theft Auto V	61 +1120%	5−6 −1120%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	170−180 +1150%	14−16 −1150%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35 +1067%	3−4 −1067%
World of Tanks	220−230 +1150%	18−20 −1150%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	65−70 +1017%	6−7 −1017%
Counter-Strike 2	29 +1350%	2−3 −1350%
Cyberpunk 2077	30 +1400%	2−3 −1400%
Far Cry 5	110−120 +1030%	10−11 −1030%
Forza Horizon 4	97 +1113%	8−9 −1113%
Metro Exodus	88 +1157%	7−8 −1157%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	55−60 +1080%	5−6 −1080%
Valorant	97 +1113%	8−9 −1113%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	19 +1800%	1−2 −1800%
Dota 2	63 +1160%	5−6 −1160%
Elden Ring	25 +1150%	2−3 −1150%
Grand Theft Auto V	63 +1160%	5−6 −1160%
Metro Exodus	30 +1400%	2−3 −1400%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	110−120 +1020%	10−11 −1020%
Red Dead Redemption 2	23 +1050%	2−3 −1050%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	63 +1160%	5−6 −1160%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	40−45 +1233%	3−4 −1233%
Counter-Strike 2	35−40 +1067%	3−4 −1067%
Cyberpunk 2077	12 +1100%	1−2 −1100%
Dota 2	99 +1138%	8−9 −1138%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +1150%	4−5 −1150%
Fortnite	45−50 +1100%	4−5 −1100%
Forza Horizon 4	57 +1040%	5−6 −1040%
Valorant	38 +1167%	3−4 −1167%

This is how RX 5600 XT and GTX 260 compete in popular games:

RX 5600 XT is 1100% faster in 1080p
RX 5600 XT is 1140% faster in 1440p
RX 5600 XT is 1100% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	35.28	3.17
Recency	21 January 2020	16 June 2008
Maximum RAM amount	6 GB	896 MB
Chip lithography	7 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	182 Watt

RX 5600 XT has a 1012.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 years, a 585.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 828.6% more advanced lithography process, and 21.3% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 5600 XT 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.