AMD Radeon R9 290X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660

VS
Performance
Radeon R9 290X
16,167.515% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 166030% better
21,063.520% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 1660 has 30% better performance than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 290X
29.4518% of 161.45
GeForce GTX 1660227% better
96.1860% of 161.45

The GeForce GTX 1660 has 227% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop Radeon R9 290X
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Summary

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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 137th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 15.46% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 16,167.5 score and $549 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 29.45. This is the 80th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q1 2019 with a MSRP of $219. It is built on the Turing GPU microarchitecture (codename TU116) and is manufactured on a 12 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 1660 has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 2,001 MHz memory clock and a 192 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 192.1 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 GTX 1660 includes 1,408 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,530 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,785 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 88 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 1660 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 300 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 120 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 1660 has the 109th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 20.14% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 21,063.5 score and $219 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 96.18. This is the 18th 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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureGCN 2.0Turing
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2013Q1 2019
Launch Price (MSRP)$549$219
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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
Low - 1080p
--
42 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
30 FPS
High - 1080p
--
22 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
11 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
--
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 290X orGeForce GTX 1660

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 290X orGeForce GTX 1660
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER17.62-12%
GeForce GTX 166019.91
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER21+5%
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER31.8+60%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon R9 290X
16,167.515% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 166030% better
21,063.520% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 1660 has 30% better performance than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 290X is ranked 137th with a score of 16,167.5, and the GeForce GTX 1660 is ranked 109th with a score of 21,063.5.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 290X
29.4518% of 161.45
GeForce GTX 1660227% better
96.1860% of 161.45

The GeForce GTX 1660 has 227% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 290X is ranked 80th with a performance per dollar of 29.45, and the GeForce GTX 1660 is ranked 18th with a performance per dollar of 96.18.

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 290X or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti22,891.5+42%
GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER21,980.5+36%
GeForce GTX 166021,063.5+30%
Radeon RX 5500 XT19,499+21%
Radeon RX 57018,967+17%
GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)17,401+8%
Radeon R9 Nano17,282+7%
Radeon R9 290X16,167.5
GeForce GTX 97016,033-1%
GeForce GTX 780 Ti15,619-3%

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 290X or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Radeon RX 47098.46+234%
Radeon RX 660096.58+228%
GeForce GTX 166096.18+227%
GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER95.98+226%
GeForce GTX 165091.58+211%
GeForce GTX 76031.98+9%
Radeon R9 FURY31.95+9%
Radeon R9 290X29.45
GeForce GTX 660 Ti28.14-4%
Radeon R9 Nano26.63-10%

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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
4,003
5,439
(+35.87%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
4,114
6,042
(+46.86%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
73,987
81,755
(+10.5%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
11,717
14,164
(+20.88%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
64,188
3DMark 11 Performance Score
13,415
21,550
(+60.64%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
142
--
PassMark G3D Mark
8,623
11,679
(+35.44%)
PassMark G2D Mark
765
784
(+2.48%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
140
--
Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL
111
--
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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
CodenameHawaiiTU116
ArchitectureGCN 2.0Turing
Process Size28 nm12 nm
Transistors6,200 million6,600 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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
Memory Size4 GB6 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth320 Gb/s192.1 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,250 MHz2,001 MHz
Memory Interface512 bit192 bit
L1 Cache16 KB64 KB
L2 Cache1,024 KB1,536 KB

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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)290 W120 W
Suggested PSU600 W300 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2DVI, HDMI 2.0, 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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
Stream Processors (SP)2,816--
CUDA Cores--1,408
Compute Units (CU)44--
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)--22
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)17688
Render Output Units (ROP)6448
Core Clock Speed1,000 MHz1,530 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--1,785 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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
Pixel Fill Rate64 GPixel/s85.68 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate176 GTexel/s157.1 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance5.63 TFLOPS5.03 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance704 GFLOPS157.1 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 290XGeForce GTX 1660
DirectX12 (12_0)12 (12_1)
OpenCL2.13.0
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.56.8

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