GeForce GTX 260M vs Radeon HD 5550

CPU

GPU

GeForce GTX 260M

2008Core: 576 MHz

Similar parts

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Radeon HD 5550

2009Core: 725 MHz

Similar parts

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GeForce GTX 260M vs Radeon HD 5550 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 260M

1 GB 182

382

0.0%

GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU

Radeon HD 5550

2 GB 151

384

+0.5%

Mobility Radeon. HD 5470

Radeon R9 Fury + Fury X

Radeon RX 7600M XT

Radeon RX 6700 XT

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 GTX 260M vs Radeon HD 5550 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 GTX 260M vs Radeon HD 5550: 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 GTX 260M

2008

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 5550 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 1 GB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌2008 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 5.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $75 MSRP).
❌20.5% higher power demand at 182W vs 151W.

Radeon HD 5550

2009

Why buy it

✅12.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($75 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 1 GB).
✅Draws 151W instead of 182W, a 31W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2009 hardware with 2 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 5550 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 12.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.5% in PassMark G3D (384 vs 382), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

GeForce GTX 260M 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 HD 5550 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 5550 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 260M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 260M vs Radeon HD 5550 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 260M

The GeForce GTX 260M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 16 2008. It features the Tesla 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 576 MHz. It has 192 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 182W. Manufactured using 65 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 382 points. Launch price was $449.

Radeon HD 5550

The Radeon HD 5550 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 30 2009. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 1440 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 151W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 384 points. Launch price was $299.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 260M scores 382 and the Radeon HD 5550 reaches 384 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 260M is built on Tesla 2.0 while the Radeon HD 5550 uses TeraScale 2, both on 65 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 192 (GeForce GTX 260M) vs 1,440 (Radeon HD 5550). Raw compute: 0.4769 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 260M) vs 2.088 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 5550).

Feature	GeForce GTX 260M	Radeon HD 5550
G3D Mark Score	382	384
Architecture	Tesla 2.0	TeraScale 2
Process Node	65 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	192	1440+650%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.4769 TFLOPS	2.088 TFLOPS+338%
ROPs	28	32+14%
TMUs	64	72+13%
L2 Cache	224 KB	512 KB+129%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 260M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 5550 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 260M	Radeon HD 5550
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 GTX 260M has 1 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 5550 carries 2 GB. Radeon HD 5550 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 260M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 5550. L2 Cache: 224 KB (GeForce GTX 260M) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 5550) — the Radeon HD 5550 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 260M	Radeon HD 5550
VRAM Capacity	1 GB	2 GB+100%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	224 KB	512 KB+129%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce GTX 260M) vs 11.2 (11_0) (Radeon HD 5550). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 3.

Feature	GeForce GTX 260M	Radeon HD 5550
DirectX	11.1 (10_0)	11.2 (11_0)
OpenGL	3.3	4.4+33%
Max Displays	2	3+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: PureVideo HD VP2 (GeForce GTX 260M) vs None (Radeon HD 5550). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP2 vs UVD 2.2. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GTX 260M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 5550).

Feature	GeForce GTX 260M	Radeon HD 5550
Encoder	PureVideo HD VP2	None
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP2	UVD 2.2
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 260M draws 182W versus the Radeon HD 5550's 151W — a 18.6% difference. The Radeon HD 5550 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 260M) vs 200W (Radeon HD 5550). Power connectors: None vs None. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 70.

Feature	GeForce GTX 260M	Radeon HD 5550
TDP	182W	151W-17%
Recommended PSU	350W	200W-43%
Power Connector	None	None
Length	—	168mm
Height	—	69mm
Slots	0-100%	1
Temp (Load)	85°C	70-18%
Perf/Watt	2.1	2.5+19%

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 5550 (2009 vs 2008).

Feature	GeForce GTX 260M	Radeon HD 5550
MSRP	—	$75
Codename	GT200	Cypress
Release	June 16 2008	September 30 2009
Ranking	#821	#682

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