NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 vs AMD Radeon R9 290X

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 1050
8,5718% of 104,598
Radeon R9 290X89% better
16,167.515% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 290X has 89% better performance than the GeForce GTX 1050 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 1050167% better
78.6349% of 161.45
Radeon R9 290X
29.4518% of 161.45

The GeForce GTX 1050 has 167% 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 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2016 with a MSRP of $109. It is built on the Pascal GPU microarchitecture (codename GP107) and is manufactured on a 14 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 1050 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,752 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 112.1 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 1050 includes 640 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,354 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,455 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 40 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 1050 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 250 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 75 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 1050 has the 195th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 8.19% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 8,571 score and $109 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 78.63. This is the 37th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoGeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitecturePascalGCN 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2016Q4 2013
Launch Price (MSRP)$109$549
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

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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
GeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
Low - 1080p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
8 FPS
--
High - 1080p
5 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
--
--
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:GeForce GTX 1050 orRadeon R9 290X
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce GTX 166022+340%
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER15+200%
GeForce GTX 10505

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:GeForce GTX 1050 orRadeon R9 290X
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce GTX 16609.95-54%
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER10.6-51%
GeForce GTX 105021.8

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 1050
8,5718% of 104,598
Radeon R9 290X89% better
16,167.515% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 290X has 89% better performance than the GeForce GTX 1050 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 1050 is ranked 195th with a score of 8,571, and the Radeon R9 290X is ranked 137th with a score of 16,167.5.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 1050167% better
78.6349% of 161.45
Radeon R9 290X
29.4518% of 161.45

The GeForce GTX 1050 has 167% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 290X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 1050 is ranked 37th with a performance per dollar of 78.63, and the Radeon R9 290X is ranked 80th with a performance per dollar of 29.45.

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:GeForce GTX 1050 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)17,401+103%
Radeon R9 Nano17,282+102%
Radeon R9 290X16,167.5+89%
GeForce GTX 97016,033+87%
GeForce GTX 780 Ti15,619+82%
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti9,453+10%
GeForce GTX 5909,166.5+7%
GeForce GTX 10508,571
Radeon R7 3708,518.5-1%
GeForce GTX 660 Ti8,415-2%

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:GeForce GTX 1050 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce GTX 166096.18+22%
GeForce GTX 165091.58+16%
GeForce GTX 105078.63
Radeon RX 48078.25-0%
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti68.01-14%
GeForce GTX 76031.98-59%
Radeon R9 FURY31.95-59%
Radeon R9 290X29.45-63%
GeForce GTX 660 Ti28.14-64%
Radeon R9 Nano26.63-66%

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
BenchmarkGeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
1,797
4,003
(+122.76%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
1,984
4,114
(+107.36%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
40,922
73,987
(+80.8%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
6,797
11,717
(+72.38%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
8,817
13,415
(+52.15%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
132
142
(+7.58%)
PassMark G3D Mark
5,039
8,623
(+71.13%)
PassMark G2D Mark
456
765
(+67.76%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
88.3
140
(+58.55%)
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.

SpecGeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
CodenameGP107Hawaii
ArchitecturePascalGCN 2.0
Process Size14 nm28 nm
Transistors3,300 million6,200 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
Memory Size2 GB4 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth112.1 Gb/s320 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,752 MHz1,250 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit512 bit
L1 Cache48 KB16 KB
L2 Cache1,024 KB1,024 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)75 W290 W
Suggested PSU250 W600 W
Power Connectors--1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4aDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2

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.

SpecGeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
Stream Processors (SP)--2,816
CUDA Cores640--
Compute Units (CU)--44
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)5--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)40176
Render Output Units (ROP)3264
Core Clock Speed1,354 MHz1,000 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,455 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
Pixel Fill Rate46.56 GPixel/s64 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate58.2 GTexel/s176 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance1.86 TFLOPS5.63 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance58.2 GFLOPS704 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 1050Radeon R9 290X
DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_0)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.5

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