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AMD Radeon R7 260 Review: The Bonaire GPU Rides Again

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AMD announced its Radeon R7 260 in December of last year, and we were excited about a $110 Radeon HD 7770 replacement. Almost two months later, one model is available on Newegg for $140. Today, we're testing the card and pondering its curious position.

Results: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag proves more taxing than Battlefield 4 at 1920x1080, so we have to drop its detail level to accommodate the slower cards. Still, the Radeon R7 260 pushes through, maintaining minimum frame rates in excess of 50 through our run.

We've seen low frame time variance results from this title before, so it's no surprise that these numbers are minimal, too. Even the cards that don't sustain at least 30 FPS deliver frames in a consistent enough manner to appear smooth in these two charts.

72 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Novuake 06 February 2014 08:13
    Mildly frustrating the HD 7790 is not included. Since its bonaire too? You know, the apples with apples concept?:/
    Reply
  • Herr_Koos 06 February 2014 08:51
    Why is the R7 260 called the "HD260" in your graphs?
    Reply
  • mapesdhs 06 February 2014 08:59
    If the price difference is so small compared to the 260X, why would anyone
    bother with the 260? Skip a couple of beers and get a 260X. An utterly
    unnecessary product IMO, it's just making use of dies that couldn't make the
    grade for higher models.

    Also, it's sad that we don't see single-slot cards anymore.

    Ian.

    Reply
  • heydol 06 February 2014 09:37
    It will be fun to se those 260/260x compared to new gtx 750/ti !
    Reply
  • rdc85 06 February 2014 09:43
    I'm agreed with the review,I think in their perspective the 7770 still selling well, there no rush to put 260 out...putting it out at 110~120 will cannibalize the 7770...
    Reply
  • wtfxxxgp 06 February 2014 12:02
    Hmmm... I don't really know where I stand on this one. I suppose I want to see what happens when the market forces of supply and demand start having an effect on the price, otherwise, I think it's a pretty decent card but just TOO close to the 260X which may be the one I'd choose if I were looking for a card in that league. I'm getting my GTX 760 at month-end finally, so this is not going to turn my head or change my plans...
    Reply
  • ubercake 06 February 2014 12:29
    That 260x seems like a decent value. The 260 not so much.
    Reply
  • vertexx 06 February 2014 12:33
    So now add the R7 250x into the mix, and you have quite a mess in this segment....
    Reply
  • ddpruitt 06 February 2014 13:16
    Great review, especially given what it's competing at in the same price range. It's interesting that AMD isn't pushing vendors to differentiate the products a bit more and get rid of the 7770s to allow more room for the R260s to breath. However...
    Naturally, discrete graphics cards require a substantial amount of stable power, so XFX sent along its PRO850W 80 PLUS Bronze-certified power supply. This modular PSU employs a single +12 V rail rated for 70 A. XFX claims that this unit provides 850 W of continuous power

    Statements like this are what's causing Watt inflation and the myth that you need a dedicated transformer to run a PC. The review itself points out that system wattage is less than a quarter of the max continuous wattage. I think it's a serious disservice to constantly repeat this statement when it's clearly not true. At the very least it should be rewritten a bit.
    Reply
  • vertexx 06 February 2014 13:30
    12618389 said:
    Also, it's sad that we don't see single-slot cards anymore.

    I agree - that would be one way AMD could differentiate with some of these models is to have one or two designed to be single-slot and/or low profile. That would add some reason for this insanity.
    Reply