GeForce GTX 260 vs Radeon R7 250

Speed and memory

In our performance index the GeForce GTX 260 scores 2 and the Radeon R7 250 scores 1.8, which makes the GeForce GTX 260 about 11% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

The GeForce GTX 260 has shared GB of video memory and the Radeon R7 250 has 1 GB. That is a small difference and unlikely to decide anything.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Cyberpunk 2077 (7 against 3 fps), and the smallest is in Fortnite (26 against 24 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The GeForce GTX 260 is rated at 182 W and the Radeon R7 250 at 65 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 550 W for the first and 450 W for the second. A gap of 117 W shows up in heat and fan noise, and in your electricity use over a few years.

At launch the GeForce GTX 260 cost $299 and the Radeon R7 250 $89. Per dollar, the Radeon R7 250 gave more performance (2.0 points per $100 against 0.7). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the GeForce GTX 260 if you want the faster card, and you can accept 0 GB of memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon R7 250 if the price gap matters more than the 11% speed difference, and you value the extra video memory. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.