Radeon HD 7790 vs Radeon R9 260

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.

Radeon HD 7790 vs Radeon R9 260 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.

Radeon HD 7790 vs Radeon R9 260: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

Radeon HD 7790

2013

Why buy it

✅Draws 85W instead of 275W, a 190W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 260 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
7.2% HIGHER MSRP
$149 MSRPvs$139 MSRP

Radeon R9 260

2013

Why buy it

✅78.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $10 less on MSRP ($139 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌2013 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌223.5% higher power demand at 275W vs 85W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R9 260 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 78.9% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 7790 instead at 3,090 vs 3,048, 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?

Radeon HD 7790 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 R9 260 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $10 cheaper on MSRP at $139 vs $149, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 5.7% (21.9 vs 20.7), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R9 260 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 7790 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 7790 vs Radeon R9 260 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 7790

The Radeon HD 7790 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 22 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 896 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 85W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,090 points. Launch price was $149.

Radeon R9 260

The Radeon R9 260 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 5 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 947 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,048 points. Launch price was $399.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 7790 scores 3,090 and the Radeon R9 260 reaches 3,048 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 7790 is built on GCN 2.0 while the Radeon R9 260 uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 896 (Radeon HD 7790) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 260). Raw compute: 1.792 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7790) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 260).

Feature	Radeon HD 7790	Radeon R9 260
G3D Mark Score	3,090+1%	3,048
Architecture	GCN 2.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	896	2560+186%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.792 TFLOPS	4.849 TFLOPS+171%
ROPs	16	64+300%
TMUs	56	160+186%
L1 Cache	224 KB	640 KB+186%
L2 Cache	0.25 MB	1 MB+300%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 7790	Radeon R9 260
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 7790 and 128-bit on the Radeon R9 260. L2 Cache: 0.25 MB (Radeon HD 7790) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 260) — the Radeon R9 260 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 7790	Radeon R9 260
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	96 GB/s	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	0.25 MB	1 MB+300%

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 7790 draws 85W versus the Radeon R9 260's 275W — a 105.6% difference. The Radeon HD 7790 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (Radeon HD 7790) vs 450W (Radeon R9 260). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 7790	Radeon R9 260
TDP	85W-69%	275W
Recommended PSU	400W-11%	450W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Length	183mm	—
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	—
Temp (Load)	70	—
Perf/Watt	36.4+228%	11.1

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 7790 came in at $149, while the Radeon R9 260 launched at $139. On MSRP, Radeon R9 260 was 6.7% cheaper ($10 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 20.7 (Radeon HD 7790) vs 21.9 (Radeon R9 260) — the Radeon R9 260 offers 5.8% better value.

Feature	Radeon HD 7790	Radeon R9 260
MSRP	$149	$139-7%
Performance per Dollar	20.7	21.9+6%
Codename	Bonaire	Hawaii
Release	March 22 2013	November 5 2013
Ranking	#579	#316

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