GeForce GT 820M vs Radeon R7 M260

NVIDIA

GeForce GT 820M

2014Core: 1038 MHzBoost: 1127 MHz
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VS
AMD

Radeon R7 M260

2015Core: 620 MHzBoost: 715 MHz
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GeForce GT 820M vs Radeon R7 M260 Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce GT 820M vs Radeon R7 M260 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce GT 820M vs Radeon R7 M260: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce GT 820M

2014

Why buy it

  • 73.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2014 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 4.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $110 MSRP).
  • 33.3% higher power demand at 100W vs 75W.

Radeon R7 M260

2015

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($110 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • 700% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 512 MB).
  • Draws 75W instead of 100W, a 25W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce GT 820M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GT 820M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 73.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.8% in PassMark G3D (542 vs 527), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GT 820M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon R7 M260 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R7 M260 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GT 820M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GT 820M vs Radeon R7 M260 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce GT 820M

The GeForce GT 820M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 7 2014. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1038 MHz to 1127 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 542 points.

AMD

Radeon R7 M260

The Radeon R7 M260 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 6 2015. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 620 MHz to 715 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 527 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 820M scores 542 and the Radeon R7 M260 reaches 527 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 820M is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Radeon R7 M260 uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,536 (GeForce GT 820M) vs 384 (Radeon R7 M260). Raw compute: 1.659 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 820M) vs 0.5491 TFLOPS (Radeon R7 M260). Boost clocks: 1127 MHz vs 715 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GT 820MRadeon R7 M260
G3D Mark Score
542+3%
527
Architecture
Maxwell 2.0
GCN 1.0
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1536+300%
384
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.659 TFLOPS+202%
0.5491 TFLOPS
Boost Clock
1127 MHz+58%
715 MHz
ROPs
64+700%
8
TMUs
96+300%
24
L1 Cache
576 KB+500%
96 KB
L2 Cache
2 MB+700%
0.25 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 820M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R7 M260 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GT 820MRadeon R7 M260
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GT 820M has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon R7 M260 carries 4 GB. Radeon R7 M260 gives you 700% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce GT 820M and 128-bit on the Radeon R7 M260. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GT 820M) vs 0.25 MB (Radeon R7 M260) — the GeForce GT 820M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GT 820MRadeon R7 M260
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
4 GB+700%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
L2 Cache
2 MB+700%
0.25 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce GT 820M) vs 12 (FL11_1) (Radeon R7 M260). Vulkan: None vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.0 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce GT 820MRadeon R7 M260
DirectX
11.0
12 (FL11_1)+9%
Vulkan
None
1.2
OpenGL
4.0
4.6+15%
Max Displays
1
2+100%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce GT 820M) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon R7 M260). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP4 vs UVD 4.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GT 820M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon R7 M260).

FeatureGeForce GT 820MRadeon R7 M260
Encoder
No
VCE 1.0
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP4
UVD 4.0
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 820M draws 100W versus the Radeon R7 M260's 75W — a 28.6% difference. The Radeon R7 M260 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 820M) vs 350W (Radeon R7 M260). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs Mobile. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 75°C.

FeatureGeForce GT 820MRadeon R7 M260
TDP
100W
75W-25%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
Mobile
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
70°C-7%
75°C
Perf/Watt
5.4
7.0+30%
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon R7 M260 (2015 vs 2014).

FeatureGeForce GT 820MRadeon R7 M260
MSRP
$110
Codename
GM204
Opal
Release
October 7 2014
December 6 2015
Ranking
#344
#878

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