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AMD Radeon R9 290X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

AMD
VS
NVIDIA
Performance
Radeon R9 290X
16,167.512% of 129,772
GeForce RTX 5080520% better
100,19077% of 129,772

The GeForce RTX 5080 has 520% better performance than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 290X
29.4518% of 165.13
GeForce RTX 5080241% better
100.2961% of 165.13

The GeForce RTX 5080 has 241% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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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 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 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q1 2025 with a MSRP of $999. It is built on the Blackwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GB203) and is manufactured on a 5 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 5080 has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, with a 1,875 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 960 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 5080 includes 10,752 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 2,295 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,617 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 336 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 112 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 336 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 84 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RTX 5080 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1b, DisplayPort 2.1b display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 750 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 360 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RTX 5080 has the 3rd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 567 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 77.20% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. Its 100,190 score and $999 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 100.29. This is the 23rd 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 RTX 5080
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureGCN 2.0Blackwell 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2013Q1 2025
Launch Price (MSRP)$549$999
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

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Black Myth: Wukong
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Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
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 God of War Ragnarök
God of War Ragnarök
Radeon R9 290XGeForce RTX 5080
Low - 1080p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
--
--
High - 1080p
--
--
Ultra - 1080p
--
275 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
219 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
129 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 290X orGeForce RTX 5080
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce RTX 4090139.6+8%
GeForce RTX 5080129
Radeon RX 7900 XTX109-16%
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti109-16%
GeForce RTX 4080100.8-22%
Radeon RX 907094-27%
Radeon RX 7900 XT86.1-33%
GeForce RTX 507081.5-37%

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 RTX 5080

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon R9 290X
16,167.512% of 129,772
GeForce RTX 5080520% better
100,19077% of 129,772

The GeForce RTX 5080 has 520% better performance than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 290X is ranked 154th with a score of 16,167.5, and the GeForce RTX 5080 is ranked 3rd with a score of 100,190.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 290X
29.4518% of 165.13
GeForce RTX 5080241% better
100.2961% of 165.13

The GeForce RTX 5080 has 241% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 290X is ranked 91st with a performance per dollar of 29.45, and the GeForce RTX 5080 is ranked 23rd with a performance per dollar of 100.29.

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 RTX 5090129,772+703%
GeForce RTX 4090104,527+547%
GeForce RTX 5080100,190+520%
Radeon RX 9070 XT98,912+512%
Radeon RX 907088,618+448%
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
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti114.57+289%
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER114.15+288%
GeForce RTX 5080100.29+241%
GeForce RTX 4070100.14+240%
Radeon RX 680099.8+239%
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 RTX 5080
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
4,003
32,317.5
(+707.33%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
4,114
29,175
(+609.16%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
73,987
335,663
(+353.68%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
11,717
72,807
(+521.38%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
225,007
3DMark 11 Performance Score
13,415
72,606.5
(+441.23%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
142
--
PassMark G3D Mark
8,463
36,357
(+329.6%)
PassMark G2D Mark
752
1,401
(+86.3%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
140
--
Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL
111
--
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

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.

SpecRadeon R9 290XGeForce RTX 5080
CodenameHawaiiGB203
ArchitectureGCN 2.0Blackwell 2.0
Process Size28 nm5 nm
Transistors6,200 million45,600 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 RTX 5080
Memory Size4 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR7
Memory Bandwidth320 Gb/s960 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,250 MHz1,875 MHz
Memory Interface512 bit256 bit
L1 Cache16 KB128 KB
L2 Cache1,024 KB64 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 290XGeForce RTX 5080
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 5.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)290 W360 W
Suggested PSU600 W750 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 16-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2HDMI 2.1b, DisplayPort 2.1b

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 RTX 5080
Stream Processors (SP)2,816--
CUDA Cores--10,752
Compute Units (CU)44--
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)--84
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)176336
Render Output Units (ROP)64112
Tensor Cores--336
Ray Tracing Cores--84
Core Clock Speed1,000 MHz2,295 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--2,617 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 RTX 5080
Pixel Fill Rate64 GPixel/s293.1 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate176 GTexel/s879.3 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance5.63 TFLOPS56.28 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance704 GFLOPS879.3 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 RTX 5080
DirectX12 (12_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
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.