ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 vs GeForce GTX 260

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 260 and Radeon HD 4870 X2, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 260
2008
896 MB GDDR3, 182 Watt
3.15

ATI HD 4870 X2 outperforms GTX 260 by a small 8% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking751732
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.160.15
Power efficiency1.190.81
ArchitectureTesla 2.0 (2007−2013)TeraScale (2005−2013)
GPU code nameGT200R700
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date16 June 2008 (16 years ago)12 August 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$449 $550

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 260 has 7% better value for money than ATI HD 4870 X2.

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 cores192800
Core clock speed576 MHz700 MHz
Number of transistors1,400 million956 million
Manufacturing process technology65 nm55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)182 Watt286 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature105 °Cno data
Texture fill rate36.8628.00
Floating-point processing power0.4769 TFLOPS1.12 TFLOPS
ROPs2816
TMUs6440

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 2.0 x16
Length267 mm267 mm
Height4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-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 typeGDDR3GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount896 MB1 GB
Memory bus width448 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed999 MHz900 MHz
Memory bandwidth111.9 GB/s115.2 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 ConnectorsDual Link DVIHDTV2x DVI, 1x S-Video
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)10.1 (10_1)
Shader Model4.04.1
OpenGL2.13.3
OpenCL1.11.1
VulkanN/AN/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 260 3.15
ATI HD 4870 X2 3.40
+7.9%

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 1215
ATI HD 4870 X2 1309
+7.7%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.15 3.40
Recency 16 June 2008 12 August 2008
Maximum RAM amount 896 MB 1 GB
Chip lithography 65 nm 55 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 182 Watt 286 Watt

GTX 260 has 57.1% lower power consumption.

ATI HD 4870 X2, on the other hand, has a 7.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 month, a 14.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 18.2% more advanced lithography process.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between GeForce GTX 260 and Radeon HD 4870 X2.


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
ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
Radeon HD 4870 X2

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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

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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