NVIDIA GeForce GTS 260M

Benchmark Performance

The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 260M occupies the exact middle of the GPU performance distribution, sitting at the 50th percentile among all GPUs tracked in the database. This is a remarkably literal positioning—not a fraction above or below the median, but precisely at it. The benchmark data shows a card that was built to be the average of its era, neither a standout performer nor a laggard. With a compute throughput of 257.3 GFLOPS, the GTS 260M delivers what the data indicates is a baseline level of shader performance for its generation.

The absence of any nearest rivals in the database means the GTS 260M's scores cannot be directly bracketed against specific competitors. However, the 50th percentile ranking provides meaningful context: half of all GPUs ever benchmarked performed below this mobile part, and half performed above it. This places the GTS 260M in the broad middle class of graphics hardware, where the 96 shading units and 32 texture mapping units work in concert to produce the 17.60 GTexel/s texture fill rate and 4.400 GPixel/s pixel throughput recorded in the specifications.

The pixel and texture rates tell a coherent story about the card's intended workload. A pixel rate of 4.400 GPixel/s, when paired with the 128-bit memory bus, suggests the GTS 260M was designed for 720p-class gaming at medium detail settings. The texture rate of 17.60 GTexel/s indicates that texture-heavy scenes, common in the games of its release period, would be handled without immediate bottlenecking, though the 8 ROPs limit how much color and depth data can be finalized per frame. The FP32 performance of 257.3 GFLOPS is the raw computational figure that drives shader complexity, and at this level, the card can handle DirectX 10-era effects but would struggle with the most demanding shader workloads.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The GTS 260M has no dedicated ray tracing cores and no tensor cores in its silicon. This is a pure rasterization part from the Tesla 2.0 architecture era, and the feature set reflects that design philosophy. The chip, designated GT215, implements a 40 nm process with 727 million transistors packed into a 144 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.0M per square millimeter. The architecture supports DirectX 11.1 with a feature level of 10_1, which is a crucial distinction—while the API version is nominally 11.1, the actual feature level is capped at 10_1, meaning the hardware cannot execute the full DirectX 11 feature set.

OpenGL 3.3 support is present, which covers the majority of titles from the card's active lifespan. There is no Vulkan support listed, and no hardware-accelerated ray tracing of any kind. For the era, this was unremarkable, but it means modern games with ray-traced effects are entirely off the table. The card's DirectX 10_1 feature level limits tessellation and certain shader model 4.1 features that early DirectX 11 games began to require. The lack of tensor cores also precludes any AI-accelerated features such as DLSS, which did not exist at the time but became important for extending the life of older GPUs.

The display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," which is the database's way of indicating that this is a mobile GPU whose output configuration varies by laptop implementation. The PCIe 2.0 x16 bus interface is standard for the period and provides adequate bandwidth for the card's memory subsystem.

Memory Subsystem

The GTS 260M comes equipped with 512 MB of GDDR5 memory, which was the appropriate amount for a mid-range mobile part at launch. The 128-bit memory bus width is paired with a memory clock of 850 MHz, translating to 3.4 Gbps effective data rate. This configuration yields a memory bandwidth of 54.40 GB/s.

This bandwidth figure is the single most important constraint for high-resolution gaming. At 1080p, modern games with high-resolution textures would quickly exhaust both the 512 MB capacity and the 54.40 GB/s bandwidth. The data indicates that this card is best suited for resolutions at or below 1366x768, where the memory demands of frame buffers and texture caches remain within its capacity. The 128-bit bus, while narrower than desktop flagship parts of the same generation, is a deliberate trade-off for mobile power efficiency. The GDDR5 memory type was a step up from the older GDDR3 standards, and the effective 3.4 Gbps rate demonstrates that the card leverages the higher bandwidth potential of GDDR5 despite the narrower bus.

For users considering this card, the memory subsystem will be the first bottleneck encountered when raising resolution or texture quality. The 54.40 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the pixel and texture rates on paper, but real-world workloads with anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing will push against these limits quickly.

How It Compares

The database lists no nearest rivals for the GTS 260M, which is itself a noteworthy finding. This means the card's benchmark scores were not closely matched by any other GPU in the database at the time of analysis. The 50th percentile ranking, however, provides a point of reference: the card sits exactly at the median of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly half of the hardware ever benchmarked and underperforms against the other half.

In the absence of direct rival data, the comparison must be drawn against the general performance tiers implied by the percentile ranking. The card's predecessor, the GeForce 100M, and its successor, the GeForce 300M, bracket it in the product stack, and the performance delta between generations for mobile parts of this class was typically modest. The GTS 260M's position at the 50th percentile indicates it was neither a mainstream budget part nor a premium enthusiast offering, but rather the statistical midpoint of GPU performance.

Who Should Consider It

The benchmark data positions the GTS 260M as a 720p-class gaming solution for the era in which it launched. Users running games at 1280x720 with medium detail settings would have found the card's 17.60 GTexel/s texture rate and 4.400 GPixel/s pixel rate adequate for maintaining playable frame rates in most titles from its generation. The 512 MB GDDR5 frame buffer is sufficient for 720p without excessive texture compression, and the 54.40 GB/s bandwidth prevents severe memory bottlenecks at that resolution.

At 1080p, the card would struggle. The 8 ROPs and 54.40 GB/s bandwidth would become limiting factors, and games with high-detail settings would likely see frame rates dip below acceptable levels. The FP32 performance of 257.3 GFLOPS is sufficient for the shader complexity of 2009-2011 titles at reduced settings, but not for the more demanding games that followed. The DirectX 10_1 feature level also disqualifies the card from running games that strictly require DirectX 11 features, which became more common after 2011.

This card is not for modern gaming. Its 50th percentile ranking, combined with the absence of ray tracing and tensor cores, makes it unsuitable for current AAA titles even at minimum settings. It belongs in the context of its own generation, where it served as a capable mobile solution for mainstream laptops.

FAQ

Q: What is the GTS 260M's position in the overall GPU performance ranking?

A: The card sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the database, meaning it performs better than half of all GPUs tracked and worse than the other half.

Q: Does the GTS 260M support ray tracing?

A: No. The card has no ray tracing cores, no tensor cores, and no Vulkan support, making hardware-accelerated ray tracing impossible.

Q: What version of DirectX does the GTS 260M support?

A: The card supports DirectX 11.1, but only with a feature level of 10_1, which limits its ability to run games that require the full DirectX 11 feature set.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does the GTS 260M have?

A: The card has 54.40 GB/s of memory bandwidth, derived from 512 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus running at 850 MHz (3.4 Gbps effective).

Q: What is the manufacturing process for the GTS 260M?

A: The GT215 chip is fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC, containing 727 million transistors on a 144 mm² die.

Q: Is the GTS 260M still in production?

A: No, the card is end-of-life, and it was released on June 14, 2009.

Power and Cooling

The GTS 260M has a thermal design power of 38 W, which is modest for a GPU with 96 shading units and 32 TMUs. This power envelope makes it suitable for laptops, where cooling solutions are constrained by chassis size and acoustic limits. The database does not list a power connector requirement or a suggested PSU wattage, which is consistent with a mobile part that draws power from the laptop's internal power delivery system rather than a discrete power supply.

The 38 W TDP means that a laptop cooling solution with a single heat pipe and small fan would be adequate to maintain stable clocks under load. The lack of a slot width or dimensions field further confirms the mobile form factor, as these specifications are typically only relevant for desktop expansion cards. The PCIe 2.0 x16 bus interface is the connection method, and the card's power draw is well within what that slot can provide in a laptop implementation.

For users of systems containing the GTS 260M, the 38 W TDP suggests that thermal throttling should not be a significant issue in a properly designed chassis. The card's performance at the 50th percentile is achievable within this power budget, and the efficient 40 nm process contributes to keeping thermals manageable.