NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 vs AMD Radeon R9 280X

VS
Performance
GeForce RTX 4090869% better
104,598Best Performance
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 869% better performance than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 409081% better
65.4141% of 161.45
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 81% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce RTX 4090
Shop Radeon R9 280X
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Summary

#

About the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q4 2022 with a MSRP of $1,599. It is built on the Ada Lovelace GPU microarchitecture (codename AD102) and is manufactured on a 5 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, with a 1,313 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 1.01 Tb/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 4090 includes 16,384 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 2,235 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,520 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 512 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 176 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 512 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 128 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RTX 4090 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 450 W and a large, 3-slot size, it is recommended to use a power supply of 850 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 4090 has the best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. Its 104,598 score and $1,599 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 65.41. This is the 49th 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 4090Radeon R9 280X
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureAda LovelaceGCN 1.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2022Q4 2013
Launch Price (MSRP)$1,599$299
Production StatusActiveEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

#

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 4090Radeon R9 280X
Low - 1080p
219 FPS
--
Medium - 1080p
166 FPS
--
High - 1080p
132 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
85 FPS
--
QHD - 1440p
67 FPS
--
4K UHD - 2160p
42 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 4090 orRadeon R9 280X
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce RTX 409042
Radeon RX 7900 XTX32-24%
GeForce RTX 309022-48%
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti13-69%

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.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce RTX 4090 orRadeon R9 280X
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti30.69-19%
Radeon RX 7900 XTX31.22-18%
GeForce RTX 409038.07
GeForce RTX 309068.14+79%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce RTX 4090869% better
104,598Best Performance
Radeon R9 280X
10,79210% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 869% better performance than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 4090 is ranked 1st with a score of 104,598, and the Radeon R9 280X is ranked 171st with a score of 10,792.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 409081% better
65.4141% of 161.45
Radeon R9 280X
36.0922% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 81% better value for the money than the Radeon R9 280X for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 4090 is ranked 49th with a performance per dollar of 65.41, 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 4090 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 4090104,598
GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER87,055-17%
GeForce RTX 408086,267-18%
Radeon RX 7900 XTX83,322-20%
Radeon RX 7900 XT75,896-27%
GeForce GTX 165013,645-87%
Radeon R9 38012,191-88%
Radeon R9 280X10,792-90%
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5-90%
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-90%

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:GeForce RTX 4090 or

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 4090Radeon R9 280X
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
36,836
(+1,566.79%)
2,210
3DMark Time Spy Score
30,977
(+1,194.48%)
2,393
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
260,357
(+399.56%)
52,117
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
73,447
(+780.34%)
8,343
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
209,337
--
3DMark 11 Performance Score
63,861
(+523.58%)
10,241
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
326.7
--
PassMark G3D Mark
38,576
(+524.41%)
6,178
PassMark G2D Mark
1,301
(+89.65%)
686
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
--
95.2
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.

SpecGeForce RTX 4090Radeon R9 280X
CodenameAD102Tahiti
ArchitectureAda LovelaceGCN 1.0
Process Size5 nm28 nm
Transistors76,300 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 4090Radeon R9 280X
Memory Size24 GB3 GB
Memory TypeGDDR6XGDDR5
Memory Bandwidth1.01 Tb/s288 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,313 MHz1,500 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit384 bit
L1 Cache128 KB16 KB
L2 Cache72 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 4090Radeon R9 280X
Slots3 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 4.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)450 W250 W
Suggested PSU850 W600 W
Power Connectors1x 16-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 4090Radeon R9 280X
Stream Processors (SP)--2,048
CUDA Cores16,384--
Compute Units (CU)--32
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)128--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)512128
Render Output Units (ROP)17632
Tensor Cores512--
Ray Tracing Cores128--
Core Clock Speed2,235 MHz850 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)2,520 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 4090Radeon R9 280X
Pixel Fill Rate443.5 GPixel/s32 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate1,290 GTexel/s128 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance82.58 TFLOPS4.1 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance1,290 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 4090Radeon R9 280X
DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)12 (11_1)
OpenCL3.02.1 (1.2)
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.5 (5.1)

Check out these comparisons for similar GPUs:

Looking for alternatives? Check out these similar GPUs:

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