GeForce RTX 3090 vs Radeon RX 7900 GRE

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 3090

2020Core: 1395 MHzBoost: 1695 MHz

Popular choices:

VS
AMD

Radeon RX 7900 GRE

2023Core: 1287 MHzBoost: 2245 MHz

Popular choices:

Performance Spectrum - GPU

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce RTX 3090

2020

Why buy it

  • Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
  • 50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (24 GB vs 16 GB).

Trade-offs

  • No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
  • Weaker long-term outlook: Radeon RX 7900 GRE is the safer future-proof pick thanks to newer hardware and better gaming feature support.
  • 173% HIGHER MSRP
    $1,499 MSRPvs$549 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 17.7 vs 49.5 G3D/$ ($1,499 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
  • 34.6% higher power demand at 350W vs 260W.

Radeon RX 7900 GRE

2023

Why buy it

  • Costs $950 less on MSRP ($549 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
  • Delivers 178.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 49.5 vs 17.7 G3D/$ ($549 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
  • Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).
  • More future proof: RDNA 3.0 on 5nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
  • Draws 260W instead of 350W, a 90W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 16 GB vs 24 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • No DLSS support; it relies on FSR 3 (2023) instead.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon RX 7900 GRE better than GeForce RTX 3090?
Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 26,594 vs 27,162 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon RX 7900 GRE is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, FSR 3 + AFMF, plus much lower power draw (260W vs 350W).
Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon RX 7900 GRE is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2023 generation instead of 2020, better upscaling support with FSR 3 (2023) instead of DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020) and better frame-generation support with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023) instead of DLSS Super Resolution, and a 5nm process instead of 8nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.
Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?
Radeon RX 7900 GRE can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $549 MSRP. Radeon RX 7900 GRE is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon RX 7900 GRE is about $950 cheaper on MSRP at $549 MSRP versus $1,499 MSRP, and you are getting 2.1% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $549 MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (260W vs 350W), and FSR 3 + AFMF.
Is GeForce RTX 3090 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?
Yes. GeForce RTX 3090 is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is excellent for 1080p, very strong for 1440p, and still capable at 4K with sensible settings or upscaling. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below $1,499 MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. Radeon RX 7900 GRE is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with newer hardware and FSR 3 + AFMF.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

PresetGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
1080p
low328 FPS246 FPS
medium313 FPS227 FPS
high259 FPS193 FPS
ultra203 FPS165 FPS
1440p
low313 FPS233 FPS
medium262 FPS195 FPS
high202 FPS153 FPS
ultra161 FPS132 FPS
4K
low181 FPS159 FPS
medium149 FPS130 FPS
high106 FPS94 FPS
ultra94 FPS83 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

PresetGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
1080p
low702 FPS523 FPS
medium599 FPS453 FPS
high472 FPS353 FPS
ultra413 FPS309 FPS
1440p
low500 FPS417 FPS
medium420 FPS357 FPS
high331 FPS286 FPS
ultra276 FPS226 FPS
4K
low242 FPS228 FPS
medium201 FPS200 FPS
high167 FPS174 FPS
ultra141 FPS144 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

PresetGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
1080p
low999 FPS900 FPS
medium957 FPS746 FPS
high798 FPS662 FPS
ultra598 FPS565 FPS
1440p
low898 FPS696 FPS
medium718 FPS571 FPS
high598 FPS495 FPS
ultra449 FPS417 FPS
4K
low569 FPS484 FPS
medium479 FPS399 FPS
high399 FPS340 FPS
ultra299 FPS276 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

PresetGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
1080p
low904 FPS525 FPS
medium841 FPS471 FPS
high733 FPS413 FPS
ultra598 FPS350 FPS
1440p
low707 FPS433 FPS
medium658 FPS391 FPS
high570 FPS332 FPS
ultra449 FPS278 FPS
4K
low513 FPS294 FPS
medium479 FPS269 FPS
high399 FPS221 FPS
ultra299 FPS187 FPS

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce RTX 3090 and Radeon RX 7900 GRE

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 3090

The GeForce RTX 3090 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 1 2020. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1395 MHz to 1695 MHz. It has 10496 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 350W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 82 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 26,594 points. Launch price was $1,499.

AMD

Radeon RX 7900 GRE

The Radeon RX 7900 GRE is manufactured by AMD. It was released in July 27 2023. It features the RDNA 3.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1287 MHz to 2245 MHz. It has 5120 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 260W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 80 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 27,162 points. Launch price was $549.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce RTX 3090 scores 26,594 and the Radeon RX 7900 GRE reaches 27,162 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce RTX 3090 is built on Ampere while the Radeon RX 7900 GRE uses RDNA 3.0, both on 8 nm vs 5 nm. Shader units: 10,496 (GeForce RTX 3090) vs 5,120 (Radeon RX 7900 GRE). Raw compute: 35.58 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 3090) vs 45.98 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 7900 GRE). Boost clocks: 1695 MHz vs 2245 MHz. Ray tracing: 82 RT cores (GeForce RTX 3090) vs 80 (Radeon RX 7900 GRE) with 328 Tensor cores.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
G3D Mark Score
26,594
27,162+2%
Architecture
Ampere
RDNA 3.0
Process Node
8 nm
5 nm
Shading Units
10496+105%
5120
Compute (TFLOPS)
35.58 TFLOPS
45.98 TFLOPS+29%
Boost Clock
1695 MHz
2245 MHz+32%
ROPs
112
160+43%
TMUs
328+3%
320
L1 Cache
10.3 MB+312%
2.5 MB
L2 Cache
6 MB
6 MB
Ray Tracing Cores
82+3%
80

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

A critical advantage for the Radeon RX 7900 GRE is support for FSR Frame Generation + AFMF. This allows it to generate entire frames using AI/Algorithms, essentially doubling the frame rate in CPU-bound scenarios or heavy ray-tracing titles. The GeForce RTX 3090 lacks specific hardware/driver support for this native frame generation tier.The GeForce RTX 3090 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon RX 7900 GRE relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
Upscaling Tech
DLSS 2 Super Resolution
FSR 3
Frame Generation
Not Supported
FSR Frame Generation + AFMF
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce RTX 3090 comes with 24 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon RX 7900 GRE has 16 GB. The GeForce RTX 3090 offers 50% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 936 GB/s (GeForce RTX 3090) vs 576 GB/s (Radeon RX 7900 GRE) — a 62.5% advantage for the GeForce RTX 3090. Bus width: 384-bit vs 256-bit.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
VRAM Capacity
24 GB+50%
16 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6X
GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth
936 GB/s+63%
576 GB/s
Bus Width
384-bit+50%
256-bit
L2 Cache
6 MB
6 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (GeForce RTX 3090) vs 12 Ultimate (Radeon RX 7900 GRE). Vulkan: 1.4 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
DirectX
12 Ultimate
12 Ultimate
Vulkan
1.4+8%
1.3
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 7th gen (GeForce RTX 3090) vs VCN 4.0 (Radeon RX 7900 GRE). Decoder: NVDEC 5th gen vs VCN 4.0. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1 (GeForce RTX 3090) vs AV1,H.264,H.265/HEVC (Radeon RX 7900 GRE).

FeatureGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
Encoder
NVENC 7th gen
VCN 4.0
Decoder
NVDEC 5th gen
VCN 4.0
Codecs
H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1
AV1,H.264,H.265/HEVC
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 3090 draws 350W versus the Radeon RX 7900 GRE's 260W — a 29.5% difference. The Radeon RX 7900 GRE is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 750W (GeForce RTX 3090) vs 750W (Radeon RX 7900 GRE). Power connectors: 2x 8-pin vs 2x 8-pin. Card length: 312mm vs 276mm, occupying 3 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 60°C.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
TDP
350W
260W-26%
Recommended PSU
750W
750W
Power Connector
2x 8-pin
2x 8-pin
Length
312mm
276mm
Height
140mm
111mm
Slots
3
2-33%
Temp (Load)
85°C
60°C-29%
Perf/Watt
76.0
104.5+38%
💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce RTX 3090 launched at $1499 MSRP, while the Radeon RX 7900 GRE launched at $549. The Radeon RX 7900 GRE costs 63.4% less ($950 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 17.7 (GeForce RTX 3090) vs 49.5 (Radeon RX 7900 GRE) — the Radeon RX 7900 GRE offers 179.7% better value. The Radeon RX 7900 GRE is the newer GPU (2023 vs 2020).

FeatureGeForce RTX 3090Radeon RX 7900 GRE
MSRP
$1499
$549-63%
Performance per Dollar
17.7
49.5+180%
Codename
GA102
Navi 31
Release
September 1 2020
July 27 2023
Ranking
#37
#29