AMD Radeon R9 280X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q

VS
Performance
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q83% better
19,778.519% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q has 83% better performance than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
No data available

The Radeon R9 280X has 22% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: AMD Radeon RX 7600.

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Summary

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About the AMD Radeon R9 280X GPU

The AMD Radeon R9 280X is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2013 with a MSRP of $299. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Tahiti) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The R9 280X has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,500 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 288 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The R9 280X includes 2,048 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 850 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,000 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The R9 280X occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 250 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The R9 280X has the 171st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.32% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,792 score and $299 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 36.09. This is the 73rd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q is a mobile graphics card that launched in Q1 2020. It is built on the Turing GPU microarchitecture (codename TU106) and is manufactured on a 12 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 2060 Max-Q has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 1,375 MHz memory clock and a 192 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 264 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The RTX 2060 Max-Q includes 1,920 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 975 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,185 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 120 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 240 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 30 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 65 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The RTX 2060 Max-Q has the 115th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 18.91% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Turing
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ4 2013Q1 2020
Launch Price (MSRP)$299--
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Gears Tactics
Gears Tactics
Display FPS for Doom Eternal
Doom Eternal
Display FPS for Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3
Display FPS for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Display FPS for Need for Speed Heat
NFS Heat
Display FPS for GRID (2019)
GRID (2019)
Display FPS for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Ghost Recon Breakpoint

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for Gears Tactics
Gears Tactics
Radeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
Low - 720p
--
258 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
120 FPS
High - 1080p
--
76 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
57 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
19 FPS
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X orGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X orGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q83% better
19,778.519% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q has 83% better performance than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 280X is ranked 171st with a score of 10,792, and the GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q is ranked 115th with a score of 19,778.5.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
No data available

The Radeon R9 280X has 55% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

Radeon R9 280X's 36.09 performance per dollar ranks it 73rd among the other benchmarked GPUs in our database.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile20,118.5+86%
Quadro RTX 3000 Mobile19,878.5+84%
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q19,778.5+83%
GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q18,688+73%
RTX A2000 Mobile18,058+67%
GeForce GTX 165013,645+26%
Radeon R9 38012,191+13%
Radeon R9 280X10,792
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5-0%
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-5%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon R9 280X orGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce GTX 96054.11+50%
GeForce GTX 95052.52+46%
GeForce GTX 97048.73+35%
Radeon R9 390X41.83+16%
GeForce GTX 750 Ti36.09+0%
Radeon R9 280X36.09
GeForce GTX 98032.07-11%
GeForce GTX 76031.98-11%
Radeon R9 FURY31.95-11%
Radeon R9 290X29.45-18%

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
2,210
5,638.5
(+155.14%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
2,393
5,844.5
(+144.23%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
52,117
58,890
(+13%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
8,343
14,909.5
(+78.71%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
10,241
18,065
(+76.4%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
--
137
PassMark G3D Mark
6,178
9,756
(+57.92%)
PassMark G2D Mark
686
(+65.3%)
415
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
95.2
--
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
CodenameTahitiTU106
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Turing
Process Size28 nm12 nm
Transistors4,313 million10,800 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
Memory Size3 GB6 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth288 Gb/s264 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,500 MHz1,375 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit192 bit
L1 Cache16 KB64 KB
L2 Cache768 KB3 MB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
Slots2 slots--
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)250 W65 W
Suggested PSU600 W--
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin--
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2Device Dependent

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
Stream Processors (SP)2,048--
CUDA Cores--1,920
Compute Units (CU)32--
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)--30
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)128120
Render Output Units (ROP)3248
Tensor Cores--240
Ray Tracing Cores--30
Core Clock Speed850 MHz975 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,000 MHz1,185 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
Pixel Fill Rate32 GPixel/s56.88 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate128 GTexel/s142.2 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance4.1 TFLOPS4.55 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance1,024 GFLOPS142.2 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
DirectX12 (11_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL2.1 (1.2)3.0
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.5 (5.1)6.8

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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.