AMD Radeon R7 260 Review: The Bonaire GPU Rides Again

Features
By Don Woligroski
published

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: Metro: Last Light

Metro: Last Light also requires that we scale back detail to keep the game playable across our selection of mainstream graphics cards. But the Radeon R7 260 manages a minimum frame rate of 40 and an average of 65 FPS, yielding a smooth experience at 1920x1080.

Only one card struggles with frame time variance: Nvidia's GeForce GT 640. Then again, its frame rates are so low that we can't call this a playable combination of settings for it. At lower resolutions, I suspect the problem might be ameliorated.

Don Woligroski
72 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Novuake
    Mildly frustrating the HD 7790 is not included. Since its bonaire too? You know, the apples with apples concept?:/
    Reply
  • Herr_Koos
    Why is the R7 260 called the "HD260" in your graphs?
    Reply
  • mapesdhs
    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
    It will be fun to se those 260/260x compared to new gtx 750/ti !
    Reply
  • rdc85
    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
    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
    That 260x seems like a decent value. The 260 not so much.
    Reply
  • vertexx
    So now add the R7 250x into the mix, and you have quite a mess in this segment....
    Reply
  • ddpruitt
    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
    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