NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 vs AMD Radeon R9 280X

VS
Performance
GeForce RTX 3090470% better
61,51859% of 104,598
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 3090 has 470% better performance than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 309014% better
41.0425% of 161.45
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 3090 has 14% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce RTX 3090
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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q3 2020 with a MSRP of $1,499. It is built on the Ampere GPU microarchitecture (codename GA102) and is manufactured on a 8 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 3090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, with a 1,219 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 936.2 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 RTX 3090 includes 10,496 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,395 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,695 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 328 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 112 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 328 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 82 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RTX 3090 is a large graphics card, occupying 3 PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. With a thermal design power (TDP) of 350 W and a large, 3-slot size, it is recommended to use a power supply of 750 W and a case with sufficient space to accommodate the card. Compare your card's model and your case's dimensions to verify compatibility.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RTX 3090 has the 15th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 58.81% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 61,518 score and $1,499 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 41.04. This is the 71st best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon R9 280X GPU

The AMD Radeon R9 280X is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2013 with a MSRP of $299. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Tahiti) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The R9 280X has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,500 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 288 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 280X includes 2,048 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 1,000 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The R9 280X 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 250 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The R9 280X has the 171st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.32% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,792 score and $299 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 36.09. This is the 73rd 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 RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureAmpereGCN 1.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ3 2020Q4 2013
Launch Price (MSRP)$1,499$299
Production StatusActiveEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong
Display FPS for Once Human
Once Human
Display FPS for The First Descendant
The First Descendant
Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Display FPS for Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima
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 Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong
GeForce RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
Low - 1080p
132 FPS
--
Medium - 1080p
101 FPS
--
High - 1080p
79 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
47 FPS
--
QHD - 1440p
36 FPS
--
4K UHD - 2160p
22 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:GeForce RTX 3090 orRadeon R9 280X
GPUFrames Per Second
Radeon RX 7900 XTX32+45%
GeForce RTX 309022
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti13-41%

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 RTX 3090 orRadeon R9 280X
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti30.69-55%
Radeon RX 7900 XTX31.22-54%
GeForce RTX 309068.14

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce RTX 3090470% better
61,51859% of 104,598
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 3090 has 470% better performance than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is ranked 15th with a score of 61,518, and the Radeon R9 280X is ranked 171st with a score of 10,792.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 309014% better
41.0425% of 161.45
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 3090 has 14% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is ranked 71st with a performance per dollar of 41.04, and the Radeon R9 280X is ranked 73rd with a performance per dollar of 36.09.

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 RTX 3090 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER68,373+11%
Radeon RX 7800 XT65,610.5+7%
GeForce RTX 309061,518
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti60,980-1%
GeForce RTX 407059,969-3%
GeForce GTX 165013,645-78%
Radeon R9 38012,191-80%
Radeon R9 280X10,792-82%
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5-82%
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-83%

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 RTX 3090 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti50.86+24%
GeForce RTX 2080 Ti47.21+15%
Radeon R9 390X41.83+2%
GeForce RTX 309041.04
GeForce GTX 750 Ti36.09-12%
Radeon R9 280X36.09-12%
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti34.76-15%
GeForce GTX 98032.07-22%
GeForce GTX 76031.98-22%

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 RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
19,198
(+768.69%)
2,210
3DMark Time Spy Score
18,739
(+683.08%)
2,393
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
231,612
(+344.41%)
52,117
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
47,241
(+466.24%)
8,343
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
142,919
--
3DMark 11 Performance Score
47,895
(+367.68%)
10,241
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
368
--
PassMark G3D Mark
26,746
(+332.92%)
6,178
PassMark G2D Mark
1,046
(+52.48%)
686
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
--
95.2
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 RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
CodenameGA102Tahiti
ArchitectureAmpereGCN 1.0
Process Size8 nm28 nm
Transistors28,300 million4,313 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 RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
Memory Size24 GB3 GB
Memory TypeGDDR6XGDDR5
Memory Bandwidth936.2 Gb/s288 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,219 MHz1,500 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit384 bit
L1 Cache128 KB16 KB
L2 Cache6 MB768 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 RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
Slots3 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 4.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)350 W250 W
Suggested PSU750 W600 W
Power Connectors1x 12-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
OutputsHDMI 2.1, 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 RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
Stream Processors (SP)--2,048
CUDA Cores10,496--
Compute Units (CU)--32
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)82--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)328128
Render Output Units (ROP)11232
Tensor Cores328--
Ray Tracing Cores82--
Core Clock Speed1,395 MHz850 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,695 MHz1,000 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 RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
Pixel Fill Rate189.8 GPixel/s32 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate556 GTexel/s128 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance35.58 TFLOPS4.1 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance556 GFLOPS1,024 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 RTX 3090Radeon R9 280X
DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)12 (11_1)
OpenCL3.02.1 (1.2)
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.5 (5.1)

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