Radeon 890M vs Radeon R9 290 / 390

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.

Radeon 890M

2024

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 15W instead of 300W, a 285W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 / 390 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 24.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Radeon R9 290 / 390

2015

Why buy it

✅18.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 24.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌1900% higher power demand at 300W vs 15W.

Radeon 890M

2024

Radeon R9 290 / 390

2015

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 15W instead of 300W, a 285W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅18.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 24.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 290 / 390 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 24.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌1900% higher power demand at 300W vs 15W.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon 890M better than Radeon R9 290 / 390?

Yes. Radeon 890M is clearly the better overall GPU here. Radeon R9 290 / 390 averages 18.9% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 8,175 vs 8,150 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon 890M is a 2024 card with FSR upscaling, while Radeon R9 290 / 390 is a 2015 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Radeon 890M is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2024 generation instead of 2015, 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware, and a 4nm process instead of 28nm. That makes it the safer long-run choice for modern games.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

Radeon 890M is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon 890M is priced in an unclear MSRP range at an unclear MSRP versus $329 MSRP, and you are getting lower estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and 0.3% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 290 / 390 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is Radeon R9 290 / 390 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon R9 290 / 390 is 2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM, 8,150 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

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.

Radeon 890M Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 290 / 390 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
1080p
low	93 FPS	80 FPS
medium	78 FPS	69 FPS
high	65 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	37 FPS
1440p
low	80 FPS	70 FPS
medium	68 FPS	61 FPS
high	51 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	30 FPS	25 FPS
medium	28 FPS	24 FPS
high	19 FPS	16 FPS
ultra	17 FPS	14 FPS

Open Radeon 890M Open Radeon R9 290 / 390

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
1080p
low	126 FPS	182 FPS
medium	88 FPS	154 FPS
high	63 FPS	128 FPS
ultra	45 FPS	99 FPS
1440p
low	90 FPS	130 FPS
medium	60 FPS	102 FPS
high	44 FPS	82 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	38 FPS	59 FPS
medium	28 FPS	48 FPS
high	22 FPS	43 FPS
ultra	15 FPS	35 FPS

Open Radeon 890M Open Radeon R9 290 / 390

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
1080p
low	314 FPS	367 FPS
medium	276 FPS	293 FPS
high	207 FPS	244 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	183 FPS
1440p
low	237 FPS	275 FPS
medium	214 FPS	220 FPS
high	166 FPS	183 FPS
ultra	132 FPS	138 FPS
4K
low	147 FPS	183 FPS
medium	128 FPS	147 FPS
high	87 FPS	122 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	92 FPS

Open Radeon 890M Open Radeon R9 290 / 390

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
1080p
low	173 FPS	151 FPS
medium	136 FPS	124 FPS
high	112 FPS	107 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	91 FPS
1440p
low	119 FPS	109 FPS
medium	96 FPS	90 FPS
high	81 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	65 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	71 FPS	64 FPS
medium	57 FPS	50 FPS
high	45 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	33 FPS	29 FPS

Open Radeon 890M Open Radeon R9 290 / 390

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon 890M and Radeon R9 290 / 390

Radeon 890M

The Radeon 890M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in July 15 2024. It features the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The core clock ranges from 400 MHz to 2900 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 15W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,175 points.

Radeon R9 290 / 390

The Radeon R9 290 / 390 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,150 points. Launch price was $329.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon 890M scores 8,175 and the Radeon R9 290 / 390 reaches 8,150 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon 890M is built on RDNA 3.5 while the Radeon R9 290 / 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on 4 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,024 (Radeon 890M) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Raw compute: 5.939 TFLOPS (Radeon 890M) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Boost clocks: 2900 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
G3D Mark Score	8,175	8,150
Architecture	RDNA 3.5	GCN 2.0
Process Node	4 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1024	2560+150%
Compute (TFLOPS)	5.939 TFLOPS+16%	5.12 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	2900 MHz+190%	1000 MHz
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	64	160+150%
L1 Cache	256 KB	640 KB+150%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of video memory. Bus width: System vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon 890M) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290 / 390) — the Radeon 890M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	320 GB/s
Bus Width	System	512-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (Radeon 890M) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
DirectX	12.2+2%	12.0
Vulkan	1.3+8%	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 3.0 (Radeon 890M) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Decoder: VCN 3.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (Radeon 890M) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290 / 390).

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
Encoder	VCN 3.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	VCN 3.0	UVD 4.2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon 890M draws 15W versus the Radeon R9 290 / 390's 300W — a 181% difference. The Radeon 890M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon 890M) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 275mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots.

Feature	Radeon 890M	Radeon R9 290 / 390
TDP	15W-95%	300W
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	0mm	275mm
Height	0mm	109mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	—	95°C
Perf/Watt	545.0+1904%	27.2