GeForce GTS 160M vs Radeon HD 2900 XT

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 GTS 160M vs Radeon HD 2900 XT 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 GTS 160M vs Radeon HD 2900 XT: 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 GTS 160M

2012

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 2900 XT across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2012 hardware with 1 GB 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 1.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
❌80% higher power demand at 45W vs 25W.

Radeon HD 2900 XT

2013

Why buy it

✅1.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 1.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Draws 25W instead of 45W, a 20W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2013 hardware with 1 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?

Radeon HD 2900 XT is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 1.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTS 160M instead at 679 vs 660, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTS 160M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm. That still leaves it as the safer long-term option on hardware alone.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon HD 2900 XT 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 HD 2900 XT is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTS 160M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTS 160M vs Radeon HD 2900 XT Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTS 160M

The GeForce GTS 160M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 22 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from Up to 900 MHz to 950 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 45W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 679 points.

Radeon HD 2900 XT

The Radeon HD 2900 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2013. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 480 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 25W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 660 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTS 160M scores 679 and the Radeon HD 2900 XT reaches 660 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTS 160M is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD 2900 XT uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GTS 160M) vs 480 (Radeon HD 2900 XT). Raw compute: 0.7296 TFLOPS (GeForce GTS 160M) vs 0.696 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 2900 XT).

Feature	GeForce GTS 160M	Radeon HD 2900 XT
G3D Mark Score	679+3%	660
Architecture	Kepler	TeraScale 2
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	384	480+25%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.7296 TFLOPS+5%	0.696 TFLOPS
ROPs	16+100%	8
TMUs	32+33%	24
L1 Cache	32 KB	48 KB+50%
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTS 160M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 2900 XT leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTS 160M	Radeon HD 2900 XT
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 1 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTS 160M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 2900 XT.

Feature	GeForce GTS 160M	Radeon HD 2900 XT
VRAM Capacity	1 GB	1 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

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Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce GTS 160M) vs 10.0 (Radeon HD 2900 XT). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce GTS 160M	Radeon HD 2900 XT
DirectX	11.1 (10_0)+11%	10.0
Max Displays	2	2

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Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: PureVideo HD VP2 (GeForce GTS 160M) vs UVD+ (Radeon HD 2900 XT). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP2 vs UVD+. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GTS 160M) vs H.264 (Radeon HD 2900 XT).

Feature	GeForce GTS 160M	Radeon HD 2900 XT
Encoder	PureVideo HD VP2	UVD+
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP2	UVD+
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	H.264

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTS 160M draws 45W versus the Radeon HD 2900 XT's 25W — a 57.1% difference. The Radeon HD 2900 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTS 160M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 2900 XT). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	GeForce GTS 160M	Radeon HD 2900 XT
TDP	45W	25W-44%
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	Legacy	1x 6-pin
Length	—	241mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	90°C	—
Perf/Watt	15.1	26.4+75%

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Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 2900 XT (2013 vs 2012).

Feature	GeForce GTS 160M	Radeon HD 2900 XT
MSRP	—	$399
Codename	GK107	Thames
Release	March 22 2012	January 7 2013
Ranking	#828	#883

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