AMD Radeon R9 280X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

VS
Performance
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598
GeForce RTX 4090869% better
104,598Best Performance

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 869% 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 409081% better
65.4141% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 81% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop Radeon R9 280X
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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 4090 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q4 2022 with a MSRP of $1,599. It is built on the Ada Lovelace GPU microarchitecture (codename AD102) and is manufactured on a 5 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, with a 1,313 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 1.01 Tb/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 4090 includes 16,384 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 2,235 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,520 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 512 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 176 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 512 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 128 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RTX 4090 is a large graphics card, occupying 3 PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. With a thermal design power (TDP) of 450 W and a large, 3-slot size, it is recommended to use a power supply of 850 W and a case with sufficient space to accommodate the card. Compare your card's model and your case's dimensions to verify compatibility.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RTX 4090 has the best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. Its 104,598 score and $1,599 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 65.41. This is the 49th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

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

InfoRadeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 4090
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Ada Lovelace
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2013Q4 2022
Launch Price (MSRP)$299$1,599
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong
Display FPS for Once Human
Once Human
Display FPS for The First Descendant
The First Descendant
Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Display FPS for Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima
Display FPS for Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2

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 Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong
Radeon R9 280XGeForce RTX 4090
Low - 1080p
--
219 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
166 FPS
High - 1080p
--
132 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
85 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
67 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
42 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 4090
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce RTX 409042
Radeon RX 7900 XTX32-24%
GeForce RTX 309022-48%
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti13-69%

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 4090
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti30.69-19%
Radeon RX 7900 XTX31.22-18%
GeForce RTX 409038.07
GeForce RTX 309068.14+79%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598
GeForce RTX 4090869% better
104,598Best Performance

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 869% 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 4090 is ranked 1st with a score of 104,598.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45
GeForce RTX 409081% better
65.4141% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 81% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 280X is ranked 73rd with a performance per dollar of 36.09, and the GeForce RTX 4090 is ranked 49th with a performance per dollar of 65.41.

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 RTX 4090104,598+869%
GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER87,055+707%
GeForce RTX 408086,267+699%
Radeon RX 7900 XTX83,322+672%
Radeon RX 7900 XT75,896+603%
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 or

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 4090
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
2,210
36,836
(+1,566.79%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
2,393
30,977
(+1,194.48%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
52,117
260,357
(+399.56%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
8,343
73,447
(+780.34%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
209,337
3DMark 11 Performance Score
10,241
63,861
(+523.58%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
--
326.7
PassMark G3D Mark
6,178
38,576
(+524.41%)
PassMark G2D Mark
686
1,301
(+89.65%)
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 4090
CodenameTahitiAD102
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Ada Lovelace
Process Size28 nm5 nm
Transistors4,313 million76,300 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 4090
Memory Size3 GB24 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6X
Memory Bandwidth288 Gb/s1.01 Tb/s
Memory Clock1,500 MHz1,313 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit384 bit
L1 Cache16 KB128 KB
L2 Cache768 KB72 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 4090
Slots2 slots3 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)250 W450 W
Suggested PSU600 W850 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 16-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a

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 4090
Stream Processors (SP)2,048--
CUDA Cores--16,384
Compute Units (CU)32--
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)--128
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)128512
Render Output Units (ROP)32176
Tensor Cores--512
Ray Tracing Cores--128
Core Clock Speed850 MHz2,235 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,000 MHz2,520 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 4090
Pixel Fill Rate32 GPixel/s443.5 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate128 GTexel/s1,290 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance4.1 TFLOPS82.58 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance1,024 GFLOPS1,290 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 4090
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.