GeForce GTX 260 is the most affordable solution from the most high-end GPU family from nVidia, GeForce GTX 200, especially now that nVidia is promoting a massive price cut. XFX GeForce GTX 260 640M XXX is an overclocked version of GeForce GTX 260. How does it compare to the standard GTX 260 and to its main competitors? Is it worthwhile paying a little bit more and getting this version instead of the standard GTX 260? Read on.

GeForce GTX 260 standard clocks are 576 MHz for the GPU, 1,242 MHz for the shader processors and 1 GHz (2 GHz DDR) for the memories. The main difference between GTX 260 and the top-of-line GTX 280 is the number of shader processors (192 vs. 240), memory interface (448-bit vs. 512-bit) and memory size (896 MB vs. 1 GB), besides the clock rates, of course.

XFX GeForce GTX 260 640M XXX runs at 640 MHz (hence the “640M” on the model name) with its shader processors running at 1,363 MHz and memories running at 1,150 MHz (2,300 MHz DDR), clock rates that are higher than GTX 280’s (this GPU runs at 602 MHz, with shaders at 1,296 MHz and memories at 1,107 MHz or 2,214 MHz DDR). But, as mentioned, this GPU has less shader processors and a narrower memory interface. During our review we will compare this overclocked card from XFX with a GeForce GTX 280.

If you want to learn more about the architecture used on GeForce GTX 200 family, read our GeForce GTX 200 Series Architecture article.

We will talk more about the differences between GeForce GTX 260 and other current high-end video cards, but before let’s take an in-depth look on XFX GeForce GTX 260 640M XXX.

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Figure 1: XFX GeForce GTX 260 640M XXX.

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Figure 2: XFX GeForce GTX 260 640M XXX.

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Figure 3: XFX GeForce GTX 260 640M XXX.

This video card requires the installation of two 6-pin auxiliary power connectors, see on Figure 4. The product comes with one adaptor for you to convert a standard peripheral power plug into a 6-pin power plug if your power supply doesn’t provide two of them.

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Figure 4: Auxiliary power connectors.