AMD Radeon R9 M290X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
The Radeon R9 M290X has 29% better performance than the GeForce GTX 960M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
We do not have any performance per dollar data for the Radeon R9 M290X and the GeForce GTX 960M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
Summary
About the AMD Radeon R9 M290X GPU
The AMD Radeon R9 M290X is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q1 2014. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Neptune) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.
Memory
The R9 M290X has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,200 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 153.6 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 M290X includes 1,280 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 900 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 80 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.
Compatibility & Power Consumption
The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 100 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.
Benchmark Performance
The R9 M290X has the 221st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 6.51% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M GPU
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q1 2015. It is built on the Maxwell GPU microarchitecture (codename GM107) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.
Memory
The GTX 960M has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,253 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 80.19 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 960M includes 640 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,097 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,176 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 40 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 16 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.
Compatibility & Power Consumption
The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 75 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.
Benchmark Performance
The GTX 960M has the 243rd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 5.04% 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.
| Info | Radeon R9 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | AMD | NVIDIA |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Maxwell |
| Market Segment | Mobile | Mobile |
| Release Date | Q1 2014 | Q1 2015 |
| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |
| 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
Rage 2 | Radeon R9 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| Low - 720p | -- | 33 FPS |
| Medium - 1080p | -- | 16 FPS |
| High - 1080p | -- | 14 FPS |
| Ultra - 1080p | -- | 13 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile | 25 | +88% |
| GeForce GTX 965M | 24.1 | +81% |
| Iris Xe MAX | 23.2 | +74% |
| GeForce MX350 | 15 | +13% |
| GeForce MX250 | 14 | +5% |
| GeForce GTX 960M | 13.3 | |
| GeForce MX330 | 12.9 | -3% |
| GeForce MX230 | 4.1 | -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.
| 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 M290X has 29% better performance than the GeForce GTX 960M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
The Radeon R9 M290X is ranked 221st with a score of 6,817, and the GeForce GTX 960M is ranked 243rd with a score of 5,278.
We do not have any performance per dollar data for the Radeon R9 M290X and the GeForce GTX 960M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Radeon R9 M390 (Mac Edition) | 6,819 | +0% |
| Radeon HD 8970M | 6,818 | +0% |
| Radeon R9 M290X | 6,817 | |
| Radeon Pro 460 | 6,749 | -1% |
| GeForce GTX 680MX (Mac Edition) | 6,736 | -1% |
| Quadro M1200 | 5,310 | -22% |
| Radeon Pro 560 | 5,305 | -22% |
| GeForce GTX 960M | 5,278 | -23% |
| Radeon Pro 555 | 5,185 | -24% |
| Quadro M2000M | 5,143 | -25% |
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Our database does not have enough data to compare the benchmark performance per dollar with other GPUs. | |||
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 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy Graphics | -- | 1,148 |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | -- | 1,202 |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics | 33,147 (+10.18%) | 30,085.5 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics | 5,294 (+22.6%) | 4,318 |
| 3DMark 11 Performance Score | 6,859 (+23.91%) | 5,535.5 |
| Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit | -- | 81.4 |
| PassMark G3D Mark | 3,263 | 3,390 (+3.89%) |
| PassMark G2D Mark | 424 (+70.28%) | 249 |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11 | 62 (+10.32%) | 56.2 |
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 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Neptune | GM107 |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Maxwell |
| Process Size | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Transistors | 2,800 million | 1,870 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 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| Memory Size | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 153.6 Gb/s | 80.19 Gb/s |
| Memory Clock | 1,200 MHz | 1,253 MHz |
| Memory Interface | 256 bit | 128 bit |
| L1 Cache | 16 KB | 64 KB |
| L2 Cache | 512 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 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | MXM-B (3.0) |
| Thermal Design Power (TDP) | 100 W | 75 W |
| Outputs | Device Dependent | 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 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| Stream Processors (SP) | 1,280 | -- |
| CUDA Cores | -- | 640 |
| Compute Units (CU) | 20 | -- |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMU) | 80 | 40 |
| Render Output Units (ROP) | 32 | 16 |
| Core Clock Speed | 850 MHz | 1,097 MHz |
| Core Clock Speed (Boost) | 900 MHz | 1,176 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 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Fill Rate | 28.8 GPixel/s | 18.82 GPixel/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 72 GTexel/s | 47.04 GTexel/s |
| FP32 Performance | 2.3 TFLOPS | 1.51 TFLOPS |
| FP64 Performance | 144 GFLOPS | 47.04 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.
| Spec | Radeon R9 M290X | GeForce GTX 960M |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (11_0) |
| OpenCL | 2.1 (1.2) | 3.0 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Shader Model | 6.5 (5.1) | 6.7 (5.1) |
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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.