AMD Radeon R9 290X vs AMD Radeon 860M
The Radeon R9 290X has 38% better performance than the Radeon 860M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
The Radeon R9 290X has 18% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT.
Summary
About the AMD Radeon R9 290X GPU
The AMD Radeon R9 290X is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2013 with a MSRP of $549. It is built on the GCN 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Hawaii) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.
Memory
The R9 290X has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,250 MHz memory clock and a 512 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 320 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 290X includes 2,816 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,000 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 176 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 64 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.
Compatibility & Power Consumption
The R9 290X 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 290 W.
Benchmark Performance & Value
The R9 290X has the 154th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 567 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 12.46% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. Its 16,167.5 score and $549 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 29.45. This is the 91st best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
About the AMD Radeon 860M GPU
The AMD Radeon 860M is an integrated graphics card that launched in Q1 2025. It is built on the RDNA 3.5 GPU microarchitecture (codename Krackan Point) and is manufactured on a 4 nm process.
Cores and Clock Speeds
The 860M includes 512 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 400 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 3,000 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 32 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 8 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 8 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.
Compatibility & Power Consumption
The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 15 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.
Benchmark Performance
The 860M has the 185th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 567 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 9.00% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090.
General Info
General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.
| Info | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | AMD | AMD |
| Architecture | GCN 2.0 | RDNA 3.5 |
| Market Segment | Desktop | Integrated |
| Release Date | Q4 2013 | Q1 2025 |
| Launch Price (MSRP) | $549 | -- |
| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |
| Shop | Check Price | Check Price |
Gaming Performance
Select a game to compare FPS metrics
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
F1 24 | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| Low - 1080p | -- | 70 FPS |
| Medium - 1080p | -- | 63 FPS |
| High - 1080p | -- | 50 FPS |
| Ultra - 1080p | -- | 11 FPS |
| QHD - 1440p | -- | -- |
| 4K UHD - 2160p | -- | -- |
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.
| GPU | Frames Per Second | |
|---|---|---|
| Iris Xe Graphics G7 (96EU) | 20.4 | +85% |
| Arc Graphics 140T | 19 | +73% |
| Radeon 780M | 12 | +9% |
| Radeon 860M | 11 | |
| Radeon 740M | 2 | -82% |
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.
| GPU | Cost Per Frame | |
|---|---|---|
| Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs. | ||
Benchmark Performance
The Radeon R9 290X has 38% better performance than the Radeon 860M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
The Radeon R9 290X is ranked 154th with a score of 16,167.5, and the Radeon 860M is ranked 185th with a score of 11,680.
The Radeon R9 290X has 45% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090.
Radeon R9 290X's 29.45 performance per dollar ranks it 91st 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.
| GPU | Benchmark Performance | |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) | 17,401 | +8% |
| Radeon R9 Nano | 17,282 | +7% |
| Radeon R9 290X | 16,167.5 | |
| GeForce GTX 970 | 16,033 | -1% |
| GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 15,619 | -3% |
| Radeon 780M | 12,818.5 | -21% |
| Arc Graphics 140T | 12,566 | -22% |
| Radeon 860M | 11,680 | -28% |
| Radeon Pro WX Vega M GL | 10,020 | -38% |
| Radeon 760M | 9,874.5 | -39% |
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.
| GPU | Performance Per Dollar | |
|---|---|---|
| Radeon R9 280X | 36.09 | +23% |
| GeForce GTX 980 Ti | 35.53 | +21% |
| GeForce GTX 980 | 32.07 | +9% |
| GeForce GTX 760 | 31.98 | +9% |
| Radeon R9 FURY | 31.95 | +9% |
| Radeon R9 290X | 29.45 | |
| GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 28.14 | -4% |
| Radeon R9 Nano | 26.63 | -10% |
| GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 22.34 | -24% |
| GeForce GTX 680 | 20.47 | -30% |
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
| Benchmark | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy Graphics | 4,003 (+39.57%) | 2,868 |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 4,114 (+30.73%) | 3,147 |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics | 73,987 (+200.59%) | 24,614 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics | 11,717 (+59.74%) | 7,335 |
| 3DMark 11 Performance Score | 13,415 (+13.69%) | 11,800 |
| Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit | 142 | 238 (+67.61%) |
| PassMark G3D Mark | 8,463 (+73.28%) | 4,884 |
| PassMark G2D Mark | 752 | 918 (+22.07%) |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11 | 140 | -- |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL | 111 | -- |
Technical Specs
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.
| Spec | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Hawaii | Krackan Point |
| Architecture | GCN 2.0 | RDNA 3.5 |
| Process Size | 28 nm | 4 nm |
| Transistors | 6,200 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.
| Spec | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| Memory Size | 4 GB | System Shared |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | System Shared |
| Memory Bandwidth | 320 Gb/s | System Dependent |
| Memory Clock | 1,250 MHz | System Shared |
| Memory Interface | 512 bit | System Shared |
| L1 Cache | 16 KB | 128 KB |
| L2 Cache | 1,024 KB | 2 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.
| Spec | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | 2 slots | -- |
| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |
| Thermal Design Power (TDP) | 290 W | 15 W |
| Suggested PSU | 600 W | -- |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | -- |
| Outputs | DVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 | Device 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.
| Spec | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| Stream Processors (SP) | 2,816 | 512 |
| Compute Units (CU) | 44 | 8 |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMU) | 176 | 32 |
| Render Output Units (ROP) | 64 | 8 |
| Ray Accelerators | -- | 8 |
| Core Clock Speed | 1,000 MHz | 400 MHz |
| Core Clock Speed (Boost) | -- | 3,000 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.
| Spec | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Fill Rate | 64 GPixel/s | 24 GPixel/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 176 GTexel/s | 96 GTexel/s |
| FP32 Performance | 5.63 TFLOPS | 3.07 TFLOPS |
| FP64 Performance | 704 GFLOPS | 192 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.
| Spec | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon 860M |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| OpenCL | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Shader Model | 6.5 | 6.8 |
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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.