AMD Radeon HD 8690M vs AMD Radeon R7 M260X Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and it shows a clear, though not overwhelming, victory for the AMD Radeon HD 8690M. It scores 6137 points, while the AMD Radeon R7 M260X manages 5690 points. That is a 7.9% advantage for the older card. In this test, the HD 8690M is the decisive winner.

This result is somewhat counterintuitive given the hardware specifications, but the data is unambiguous. The R7 M260X has a larger die, more transistors, more shading units, and a wider memory bus, yet it loses in raw compute performance. The primary reason appears to be clock speed. The HD 8690M runs at a base clock of 925 MHz and boosts to 975 MHz, while the R7 M260X is significantly slower at 620 MHz base and 715 MHz boost. The higher frequency of the HD 8690M translates directly into higher pixel rate (7.800 GPixel/s vs 5.720 GPixel/s) and texture rate (19.50 GTexel/s vs 17.16 GTexel/s), which are critical for OpenCL workloads.

The delta of 7.9% is meaningful but not drastic. It places the HD 8690M in a slightly higher performance tier. In the database, the HD 8690M sits at the 36th percentile of all GPUs, while the R7 M260X is at the 30th percentile. The gap is consistent with the benchmark scores. It is also importantly the R7 M260X's average benchmark score, which includes a Vulkan test, is 5161, dragged down by its Vulkan result of 4631. The HD 8690M only has an OpenCL score recorded, so its average is 6137. This indicates that in OpenCL, the HD 8690M is the superior part, and the R7 M260X does not have a countervailing win in any other recorded test.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8690M scores 6137, which is 7.9% higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M260X's score of 5690.

Q: Does the R7 M260X have any benchmark where it beats the HD 8690M?

A: No. The database records only one head-to-head test, Geekbench OpenCL, and the HD 8690M wins it. The R7 M260X does have a recorded Vulkan score of 4631, but the HD 8690M has no Vulkan score for comparison.

Q: How do these two GPUs compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The HD 8690M is 0.3% ahead of the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 (6117) and 1% ahead of both the NVIDIA RTX A400 (6078) and GeForce MX230 (6077). The R7 M260X is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K3100M (5154) and 1.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon R7 240 (5063).

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M260X has 384 shading units, compared to 320 on the AMD Radeon HD 8690M.

Q: Is there a difference in memory bus width?

A: Yes. The R7 M260X uses a 128-bit bus, while the HD 8690M uses a 64-bit bus. Consequently, the R7 M260X has 64.00 GB/s bandwidth versus 32.00 GB/s for the HD 8690M.

Q: Are both GPUs based on the same architecture?

A: Yes. Both are built on GCN 1.0 architecture, use a 28 nm process from TSMC, and support DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs share the same fundamental architecture: GCN 1.0, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. The transistor density is identical at 12.3M per mm². However, the physical implementation differs substantially. The R7 M260X uses the Opal chip, which is larger at 77 mm² and contains 950 million transistors. The HD 8690M uses the Sun chip, which is smaller at 56 mm² and holds 690 million transistors. This means the R7 M260X has a 26.7% larger die area and a 27.4% higher transistor count, yet it still loses in compute performance.

The core configuration also favors the R7 M260X on paper. It has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The HD 8690M has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The R7 M260X has 20% more shaders and 20% more TMUs. Memory is another area of divergence. The R7 M260X has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 8690M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, yielding only 32.00 GB/s. The R7 M260X has double the memory bandwidth.

Despite these advantages, the R7 M260X's clocks are drastically lower. Its base clock is 620 MHz and boost is 715 MHz, while the HD 8690M runs at 925 MHz base and 975 MHz boost. This is a 49% difference in base clock and 36% in boost clock. The higher clocks of the HD 8690M overcome the R7 M260X's extra resources in the recorded OpenCL test. The generation names differ as well: the HD 8690M belongs to the Solar System generation (HD 8600M), while the R7 M260X belongs to the Gem System generation (R7 M200). The R7 M260X is a later release, coming out in December 2015 versus February 2013 for the HD 8690M, but the older chip is the faster one in this specific benchmark.

The Verdict

From the recorded data, the AMD Radeon HD 8690M is the superior GPU for OpenCL compute tasks. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 7.9%, and its percentile ranking (36th) is higher than the R7 M260X's (30th). If the sole criterion is raw compute performance as measured by Geekbench OpenCL, the HD 8690M is the clear choice. The R7 M260X, despite having more transistors, more shading units, and double the memory bandwidth, simply does not convert those resources into higher OpenCL scores. The clock speed deficit is too large to overcome.

However, the R7 M260X is not without merit. Its 128-bit memory bus and 64.00 GB/s bandwidth suggest that memory-intensive workloads, such as those that rely on large data sets or texture streaming, could favor it, even if the OpenCL score does not reflect that. The R7 M260X also has a recorded Vulkan score of 4631, which means it has been tested in a modern API. The HD 8690M has no Vulkan score, so its compatibility with Vulkan workloads is unverified in this database. For users who prioritize OpenCL compute, the HD 8690M is the better part. For those who might use Vulkan or need higher memory bandwidth, the R7 M260X may be worth considering, but the data does not show a win for it in any direct comparison.

Specification Differences

This section lists only the fields where the two GPUs differ. Both share the same manufacturer (AMD), architecture (GCN 1.0), process node (28 nm), foundry (TSMC), transistor density (12.3M / mm²), memory type (GDDR5), memory clock (1000 MHz, 4 Gbps effective), ROP count (8), bus interface (PCIe 3.0 x8), API support (DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.2.170), and production status (End-of-life).

• Chip: Sun (HD 8690M) vs Opal (R7 M260X)
• Generation: Solar System (HD 8600M) vs Gem System (R7 M200)
• Transistors: 690 million vs 950 million
• Die Size: 56 mm² vs 77 mm²
• Base Clock: 925 MHz vs 620 MHz
• Boost Clock: 975 MHz vs 715 MHz
• Memory Size: 2 GB vs 1024 MB
• Memory Bus Width: 64 bit vs 128 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 32.00 GB/s vs 64.00 GB/s
• Shading Units: 320 vs 384
• TMUs: 20 vs 24
• Pixel Rate: 7.800 GPixel/s vs 5.720 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 19.50 GTexel/s vs 17.16 GTexel/s
• FP32: 624.0 GFLOPS vs 549.1 GFLOPS
• Power Connectors: Not specified vs None
• Display Outputs: Not specified vs Portable Device Dependent
• Release Date: 2013-02-28 vs 2015-12-05
• Predecessor: London vs Solar System
• Successor: Gem System vs Polaris Mobile
• Geekbench OpenCL Score: 6137 vs 5690
• Average Benchmark Score: 6137 vs 5161
• Percentile vs All GPUs: 36 vs 30

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 8690M wins in raw compute throughput. Its OpenCL score is 7.9% higher, and it also has a higher pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 performance. It is the better choice for tasks that depend on shader compute and clock speed, such as general-purpose GPU computing, physics simulation, and image processing in OpenCL. The HD 8690M also has double the memory capacity (2 GB vs 1024 MB), which could be advantageous for holding larger datasets in VRAM, even if the bandwidth is lower.

The AMD Radeon R7 M260X wins in memory bandwidth and resource count. It has a 128-bit bus and 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, exactly double the HD 8690M's 32.00 GB/s. It also has 384 shading units and 24 TMUs, which are 20% more than the HD 8690M. These specifications suggest the R7 M260X could be more efficient in memory-bound scenarios, such as high-resolution texture mapping or framebuffer-heavy tasks, even though the benchmark data does not confirm this. Additionally, the R7 M260X has a recorded Vulkan score, making it a more proven option for Vulkan-based applications. The HD 8690M has no Vulkan score in the database, so its Vulkan performance is unknown. For users who prioritize OpenCL compute, the HD 8690M is the winner. For those who need higher memory bandwidth or plan to use Vulkan, the R7 M260X has structural advantages, but it has not demonstrated a benchmark win in any recorded test.