AMD Radeon R9 290X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M

VS
Performance
Radeon R9 290X64% better
16,167.515% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 970M
9,877.59% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 290X has 64% better performance than the GeForce GTX 970M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 290X
29.4518% of 161.45
GeForce GTX 970M
No data available

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 7600.

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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 970M GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q4 2014. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM204) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 970M has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,253 MHz memory clock and a 192 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 120.3 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 970M includes 1,280 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 924 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,038 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 80 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 81 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The GTX 970M has the 181st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 9.44% 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 290XGeForce GTX 970M
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureGCN 2.0Maxwell 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ4 2013Q4 2014
Launch Price (MSRP)$549--
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Rage 2
Rage 2
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Anno 1800
Display FPS for Tom Clancy's The Division 2
The Division 2
Display FPS for Dirt Rally 2.0
Dirt Rally 2.0
Display FPS for Anthem
Anthem
Display FPS for Far Cry New Dawn
Far Cry New Dawn
Display FPS for Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus

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 Rage 2
Rage 2
Radeon R9 290XGeForce GTX 970M
Low - 720p
--
67 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
31 FPS
High - 1080p
--
27 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
26 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
17 FPS
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 970M

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 970M
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon R9 290X64% better
16,167.515% of 104,598
GeForce GTX 970M
9,877.59% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 290X has 64% better performance than the GeForce GTX 970M 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 970M is ranked 181st with a score of 9,877.5.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 290X
29.4518% of 161.45
GeForce GTX 970M
No data available

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 4090.

Radeon R9 290X's 29.45 performance per dollar ranks it 80th 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 290X or
GPUBenchmark Performance
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%
Quadro M4000M10,259-37%
GeForce MX55010,005-38%
GeForce GTX 970M9,877.5-39%
FirePro W7170M9,708-40%
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile9,615.5-41%

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 orGeForce GTX 970M
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Radeon R9 280X36.09+23%
GeForce GTX 980 Ti35.53+21%
GeForce GTX 98032.07+9%
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%
GeForce GTX 780 Ti22.34-24%
GeForce GTX 68020.47-30%

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
BenchmarkRadeon R9 290XGeForce GTX 970M
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
4,003
--
3DMark Time Spy Score
4,114
--
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
73,987
(+44.37%)
51,247
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
11,717
(+57%)
7,463
3DMark 11 Performance Score
13,415
(+42.67%)
9,403
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
142
(+56.91%)
90.5
PassMark G3D Mark
8,623
(+50.65%)
5,724
PassMark G2D Mark
765
(+97.67%)
387
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
140
(+50.54%)
93
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 970M
CodenameHawaiiGM204
ArchitectureGCN 2.0Maxwell 2.0
Process Size28 nm28 nm
Transistors6,200 million5,200 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.

SpecRadeon R9 290XGeForce GTX 970M
Memory Size4 GB6 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth320 Gb/s120.3 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,250 MHz1,253 MHz
Memory Interface512 bit192 bit
L1 Cache16 KB48 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 970M
Slots2 slots--
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16MXM-B (3.0)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)290 W81 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 290XGeForce GTX 970M
Stream Processors (SP)2,816--
CUDA Cores--1,280
Compute Units (CU)44--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)17680
Render Output Units (ROP)6448
Core Clock Speed1,000 MHz924 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--1,038 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 970M
Pixel Fill Rate64 GPixel/s49.82 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate176 GTexel/s83.04 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance5.63 TFLOPS2.66 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance704 GFLOPS83.04 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 970M
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.