NVS 310 vs Radeon HD 2600 XT

NVS 310

2015Core: 902 MHzBoost: 1033 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 2600 XT

2013Core: 725 MHz
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NVS 310 vs Radeon HD 2600 XT 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.

NVS 310 vs Radeon HD 2600 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.

NVS 310

2015

Why buy it

  • Costs $40 less on MSRP ($159 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
  • Delivers 21.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 1.7 vs 1.4 G3D/$ ($159 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
  • More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2015 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 172% higher power demand at 68W vs 25W.

Radeon HD 2600 XT

2013

Why buy it

  • Draws 25W instead of 68W, a 43W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 25.2% HIGHER MSRP
    $199 MSRPvs$159 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.4 vs 1.7 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $159 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 2600 XT is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.9% in PassMark G3D (283 vs 275), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
NVS 310 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2015 generation instead of 2013. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
NVS 310 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $40 cheaper on MSRP at $159 vs $199, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 21.6% (1.7 vs 1.4), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 2600 XT still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

NVS 310 vs Radeon HD 2600 XT Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

NVS 310

The NVS 310 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in November 4 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 902 MHz to 1033 MHz. It has 512 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 68W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 275 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 2600 XT

The Radeon HD 2600 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: 283 points.

Graphics Performance

The NVS 310 scores 275 and the Radeon HD 2600 XT reaches 283 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The NVS 310 is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 2600 XT uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 512 (NVS 310) vs 480 (Radeon HD 2600 XT). Raw compute: 1.058 TFLOPS ×2 (NVS 310) vs 0.696 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 2600 XT).

FeatureNVS 310Radeon HD 2600 XT
G3D Mark Score
275
283+3%
Architecture
Maxwell
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
512 ×2+7%
480
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.058 TFLOPS ×2+52%
0.696 TFLOPS
ROPs
16 ×2+100%
8
TMUs
32 ×2+33%
24
L1 Cache
256 KB+433%
48 KB
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureNVS 310Radeon HD 2600 XT
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
Standard
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the NVS 310 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 2600 XT. L2 Cache: 1 MB (NVS 310) vs 0.25 MB (Radeon HD 2600 XT) — the NVS 310 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureNVS 310Radeon HD 2600 XT
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The NVS 310 draws 68W versus the Radeon HD 2600 XT's 25W — a 92.5% difference. The Radeon HD 2600 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (NVS 310) vs 350W (Radeon HD 2600 XT). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin.

FeatureNVS 310Radeon HD 2600 XT
TDP
68W
25W-63%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
1x 6-pin
Length
145mm
Height
69mm
Slots
1
Temp (Load)
75°C
Perf/Watt
4.0
11.3+183%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the NVS 310 came in at $159, while the Radeon HD 2600 XT launched at $199. On MSRP, NVS 310 was 20.1% cheaper ($40 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.7 (NVS 310) vs 1.4 (Radeon HD 2600 XT) — the NVS 310 offers 21.4% better value. The newer card here is NVS 310 (2015 vs 2013).

FeatureNVS 310Radeon HD 2600 XT
MSRP
$159-20%
$199
Performance per Dollar
1.7+21%
1.4
Codename
GM107
Thames
Release
November 4 2015
January 7 2013
Ranking
#826
#883

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