AMD Ryzen 7 260

The AMD Ryzen 7 260 is a mobile processor built on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Hawk Point, manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process. It integrates 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The chip is designed for the AMD Socket FP8 platform, supports DDR5 memory via a dual-channel bus, and includes Radeon 780M integrated graphics. Its benchmark results place it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,307.

How It Compares

The Ryzen 7 260 sits in a tightly contested performance cluster, with all four nearest rivals within a 3.6-point spread of average scores. Against the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 8945HS, the Ryzen 7 260 posts a 0.7% higher average score (41,307 vs. 41,031). This is a marginal edge, effectively a statistical tie in real-world terms, though it does suggest the Ryzen 7 260 holds a slight advantage in the aggregate of benchmark workloads.

Versus the Intel Core i9-13905H, the Ryzen 7 260 leads by 1.5% (41,307 vs. 40,712). While the Intel part carries higher-tier branding, the data indicates the Ryzen 7 260 is the faster chip on average across the tested workload suite. This is a notable result, as it shows AMD's 8-core mobile design outperforming a competing 14-core Intel H-series processor in general compute.

The closest competitor is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265H, which posts an average score of 41,939. The Ryzen 7 260 trails this part by 1.5%, making the Ultra 7 265H the only rival in the group to beat the Ryzen 7 260. The delta is small, but it does position the Intel part as the performance leader in this immediate comparison set.

Finally, against the AMD Ryzen 7 7700, a desktop-class chip, the Ryzen 7 260 leads by 2.1% (41,307 vs. 40,468). This is the largest margin in the group, and it is notable that a 45 W mobile processor outpaces a desktop part in average benchmark score. The data suggests the Ryzen 7 260's efficiency-oriented design does not sacrifice raw performance relative to that specific desktop rival.

Power and Thermals

The Ryzen 7 260 carries a TDP of 45 W, which places it in the mainstream mobile performance class. This is a moderate power envelope for an 8-core, 16-thread processor, indicating that it is designed for thin-and-light laptops and portable workstations rather than high-power gaming rigs. The 45 W rating suggests the chip can be cooled by a capable air cooler or a modest vapor chamber solution, typical of premium ultrabooks.

Given the 4 nm process node from TSMC and the 25,000 million transistors packed into a 178 mm² die, the power efficiency is a defining characteristic. The 45 W TDP allows for sustained multi-core workloads without the thermal overhead associated with higher-power parts. The data implies that a laptop equipped with this processor should maintain boost clocks under load, provided the cooling solution is appropriately sized for the chassis.

The integrated Radeon 780M graphics add to the thermal budget, but the overall package remains within a range that is manageable for dual-fan designs or thick ultrabooks. The 45 W classification also means this chip does not require exotic cooling, making it suitable for a wide range of form factors. The absence of a vCache3d option and the modest L3 cache of 16 MB further suggest that thermal headroom is allocated to sustained core performance rather than cache-heavy workloads.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark data reveals a processor that excels in multi-threaded tasks while maintaining solid single-thread performance. In Cinebench R23, the Ryzen 7 260 scores 25,427 in multi-core and 3,589 in single-core. The multi-core score is 8.0% higher than the Ryzen 9 PRO 8945HS's average score would imply, but the direct comparison is more nuanced when looking at the full suite.

The average benchmark score of 41,307 places the Ryzen 7 260 0.7% ahead of the Ryzen 9 PRO 8945HS (41,031) and 1.5% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13905H (40,712). However, it trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 265H (41,939) by 1.5% and leads the Ryzen 7 7700 (40,468) by 2.1%. These deltas are consistent across the PassMark suite, where the chip scores 29,955 in multi-thread and 3,823 in single-thread tests.

In specialized workloads, the Ryzen 7 260 shows strong results in integer math (100,397) and floating-point math (60,128), indicating robust general-purpose compute capability. Data encryption scores 22,128, while extended instructions (SIMD) reach 26,270. The physics score of 1,526 and prime number finding score of 89 are lower, but these are typically not representative of mainstream application performance. Data compression hits 364,538, and random string sorting reaches 45,425, both suggesting solid memory and cache handling.

Who Should Consider It

The Ryzen 7 260 is well-suited for mobile users who need consistent multi-core performance in a power-constrained chassis. For content creation, the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25,427 indicates strong capability for video encoding, 3D rendering, and batch photo processing. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration ensures that these tasks scale well across all available threads, making it a viable choice for laptop users who frequently export large projects.

For office and productivity workloads, the single-thread score of 3,589 in Cinebench R23 and 3,823 in PassMark single-thread tests ensure responsive application launches and smooth multitasking in spreadsheets, document editing, and web browsing. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth supports data-intensive tasks like database queries and large file manipulations, which the data compression score of 364,538 reinforces.

Gamers on integrated graphics will find the Radeon 780M capable of esports titles and light gaming, though the processor's primary strength lies in CPU-bound tasks rather than GPU-heavy workloads. The 45 W TDP makes it suitable for laptops that balance portability with performance, such as thin workstations or creator-focused ultrabooks. The 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs means this chip outperforms the majority of processors on the market, making it a strong candidate for users upgrading from older quad-core mobile parts.

Single-Thread vs Multi-Thread Behavior

The Ryzen 7 260 demonstrates a balanced split between single-thread and multi-thread performance, with the latter being the defining characteristic. In Cinebench R23, the multi-core score of 25,427 is 7.1 times the single-core score of 3,589, which is near the theoretical maximum for an 8-core, 16-thread processor. This indicates excellent scaling across cores, meaning workloads that utilize all threads will see near-linear gains.

In PassMark, the multi-thread score of 29,955 is 7.8 times the single-thread score of 3,823, further confirming strong parallel efficiency. This scaling is important for applications like video rendering, 3D modeling, and scientific simulations that can utilize all available threads. The 5.10 GHz boost clock provides competitive single-thread responsiveness, ensuring that lightly-threaded tasks like web browsing and office applications do not feel sluggish.

The ratio between single-thread and multi-thread performance suggests that the processor does not sacrifice one for the other. The 3.80 GHz base clock is relatively high for a 45 W part, allowing for sustained performance even when boost clocks are not sustained. The data shows that the Ryzen 7 260 is a versatile chip that can handle both quick, single-threaded interactions and long-running, multi-threaded workloads without a significant drop-off in either area.