AMD Radeon RX 590 vs AMD Radeon HD 6950M

VS
Performance
Radeon RX 590853% better
23,362.522% of 104,598
Radeon HD 6950M
2,4522% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 590 has 853% better performance than the Radeon HD 6950M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon RX 590
83.7452% of 161.45
Radeon HD 6950M
No data available

The Radeon RX 590 has 52% 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 RX 590 GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 590 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q4 2018 with a MSRP of $279. It is built on the GCN 4.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Polaris 30) and is manufactured on a 12 nm process.

Memory

The RX 590 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 2,000 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 256 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 RX 590 includes 2,304 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,469 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,545 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 144 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 590 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 450 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 175 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 590 has the 100th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 22.34% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 23,362.5 score and $279 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 83.74. This is the 32nd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon HD 6950M GPU

The AMD Radeon HD 6950M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q1 2011. It is built on the TeraScale 2 GPU microarchitecture (codename Blackcomb) and is manufactured on a 40 nm process.

Memory

The HD 6950M has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 memory, with a 900 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 115.2 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 HD 6950M includes 960 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 580 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 48 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 50 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The HD 6950M has the 328th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 2.34% 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 RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
ManufacturerAMDAMD
ArchitectureGCN 4.0TeraScale 2
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ4 2018Q1 2011
Launch Price (MSRP)$279--
Production StatusActiveEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
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Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Display FPS for DIRT 5
DIRT 5
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Watch Dogs: Legion
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FIFA 21
Display FPS for Star Wars: Squadrons
Star Wars: Squadrons
Display FPS for Mafia: Definitive Edition
Mafia: Definitive Edition

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 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Radeon RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
Low - 720p
137 FPS
--
Medium - 1080p
96 FPS
--
High - 1080p
86 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
60 FPS
--
QHD - 1440p
47 FPS
--
4K UHD - 2160p
32 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 RX 590 orRadeon HD 6950M
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER37.6+19%
Radeon VII37.2+17%
GeForce RTX 306036.6+15%
Radeon RX 5700 XT33.3+5%
Radeon RX 59031.7
GeForce RTX 207031.7+0%
Radeon RX 570030.9-3%
Radeon RX 660029.3-8%
Radeon RX Vega 6428.1-11%
Radeon RX 5600 XT25.4-20%

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 RX 590 orRadeon HD 6950M

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon RX 590853% better
23,362.522% of 104,598
Radeon HD 6950M
2,4522% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 590 has 853% better performance than the Radeon HD 6950M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon RX 590 is ranked 100th with a score of 23,362.5, and the Radeon HD 6950M is ranked 328th with a score of 2,452.

Performance per dollar
Radeon RX 590
83.7452% of 161.45
Radeon HD 6950M
No data available

The Radeon RX 590 has 128% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

Radeon RX 590's 83.74 performance per dollar ranks it 32nd 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 RX 590 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 206027,162.5+16%
GeForce GTX 107024,652+6%
Radeon RX 59023,362.5
GeForce GTX 980 Ti23,057-1%
Radeon RX 6500 XT22,954-2%
Radeon R7 M3702,524-89%
Radeon HD 7850M2,467-89%
Radeon HD 6950M2,452-90%
Quadro K620M2,434-90%
Quadro K3000M2,427-90%

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 RX 590 orRadeon HD 6950M

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 RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
4,871.5
--
3DMark Time Spy Score
5,271
--
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
86,825
--
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
16,813.5
--
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
62,469
--
3DMark 11 Performance Score
20,421.5
(+672.66%)
2,643
PassMark G3D Mark
9,388
--
PassMark G2D Mark
796
--
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 RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
CodenamePolaris 30Blackcomb
ArchitectureGCN 4.0TeraScale 2
Process Size12 nm40 nm
Transistors5,700 million1,700 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 RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
Memory Size8 GB1,024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth256 Gb/s115.2 Gb/s
Memory Clock2,000 MHz900 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit256 bit
L1 Cache16 KB8 KB
L2 Cache2 MB512 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 RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
Slots2 slots--
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16MXM-B (3.0)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)175 W50 W
Suggested PSU450 W--
Power Connectors1x 8-pin--
OutputsHDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 1.4aDevice 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 RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
Stream Processors (SP)2,304960
Compute Units (CU)3612
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)14448
Render Output Units (ROP)3232
Core Clock Speed1,469 MHz580 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,545 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 RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
Pixel Fill Rate49.44 GPixel/s18.56 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate222.5 GTexel/s27.84 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance7.12 TFLOPS1,114 GFLOPS
FP64 Performance445 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 RX 590Radeon HD 6950M
DirectX12 (12_0)11.2 (11_0)
OpenCL2.11.2
OpenGL4.64.4
Shader Model6.75.0

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