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 Pro Duo

2016

Why buy it

✅27.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).
✅Measures 240mm instead of 275mm, a 35mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
275.7% HIGHER MSRP
$1,499 MSRPvs$399 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.5 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($1,499 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
❌27.3% higher power demand at 350W vs 275W.

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅Costs $1,100 less on MSRP ($399 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
✅Delivers 270.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.5 vs 5.5 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
✅Draws 275W instead of 350W, a 75W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon Pro Duo across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌14.6% longer card at 275mm vs 240mm.

Radeon Pro Duo

2016

Radeon R9 290

2013

Why buy it

✅27.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).
✅Measures 240mm instead of 275mm, a 35mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Why buy it

✅Costs $1,100 less on MSRP ($399 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
✅Delivers 270.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.5 vs 5.5 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $1,499 MSRP).
✅Draws 275W instead of 350W, a 75W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
275.7% HIGHER MSRP
$1,499 MSRPvs$399 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.5 vs 20.5 G3D/$ ($1,499 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
❌27.3% higher power demand at 350W vs 275W.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon Pro Duo across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌14.6% longer card at 275mm vs 240mm.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon Pro Duo better than Radeon R9 290?

Yes. Radeon Pro Duo is the better GPU overall here. You are getting 27.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data, 1.4% higher PassMark G3D performance, and 8 GB vs 4 GB of VRAM. It also comes from 2016 instead of 2013, which helps its case as the more complete modern gaming card.

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

Radeon Pro Duo is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2016 generation instead of 2013 and more VRAM at 8 GB instead of 4 GB. That extra memory headroom makes it the safer pick for newer games, heavier textures, and higher settings over time.

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

Radeon Pro Duo is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon Pro Duo is about 275.7% more expensive on MSRP at $1,499 MSRP versus $399 MSRP, and you are getting 27.8% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and 1.4% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 290 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

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

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon R9 290 is 2013 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM, 8,184 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 Pro Duo Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 290 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	120 FPS	83 FPS
medium	103 FPS	71 FPS
high	85 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	59 FPS	39 FPS
1440p
low	97 FPS	72 FPS
medium	81 FPS	64 FPS
high	61 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	30 FPS
4K
low	43 FPS	26 FPS
medium	37 FPS	25 FPS
high	26 FPS	17 FPS
ultra	22 FPS	14 FPS

Open Radeon Pro Duo Open Radeon R9 290

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	243 FPS	185 FPS
medium	207 FPS	156 FPS
high	165 FPS	129 FPS
ultra	133 FPS	100 FPS
1440p
low	175 FPS	132 FPS
medium	147 FPS	103 FPS
high	123 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	96 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	98 FPS	60 FPS
medium	83 FPS	49 FPS
high	69 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	52 FPS	36 FPS

Open Radeon Pro Duo Open Radeon R9 290

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	373 FPS	368 FPS
medium	299 FPS	295 FPS
high	249 FPS	246 FPS
ultra	187 FPS	184 FPS
1440p
low	280 FPS	276 FPS
medium	224 FPS	221 FPS
high	187 FPS	184 FPS
ultra	140 FPS	138 FPS
4K
low	187 FPS	184 FPS
medium	149 FPS	147 FPS
high	124 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	93 FPS	92 FPS

Open Radeon Pro Duo Open Radeon R9 290

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
1080p
low	237 FPS	152 FPS
medium	206 FPS	123 FPS
high	171 FPS	105 FPS
ultra	142 FPS	87 FPS
1440p
low	180 FPS	110 FPS
medium	160 FPS	90 FPS
high	128 FPS	78 FPS
ultra	105 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	104 FPS	64 FPS
medium	87 FPS	49 FPS
high	70 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	55 FPS	28 FPS

Open Radeon Pro Duo Open Radeon R9 290

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon Pro Duo and Radeon R9 290

Radeon Pro Duo

The Radeon Pro Duo is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 26 2016. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 4096 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 350W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,299 points. Launch price was $1,499.

Radeon R9 290

The Radeon R9 290 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 5 2013. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 947 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,184 points. Launch price was $399.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon Pro Duo scores 8,299 and the Radeon R9 290 reaches 8,184 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon Pro Duo is built on GCN 3.0 while the Radeon R9 290 uses GCN 2.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 4,096 (Radeon Pro Duo) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290). Raw compute: 8.192 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon Pro Duo) vs 4.849 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
G3D Mark Score	8,299+1%	8,184
Architecture	GCN 3.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	4096 ×2+60%	2560
Compute (TFLOPS)	8.192 TFLOPS ×2+69%	4.849 TFLOPS
ROPs	64 ×2	64
TMUs	256 ×2+60%	160
L1 Cache	1 MB+59%	0.63 MB
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
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)

The Radeon Pro Duo comes with 8 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 290 has 4 GB. The Radeon Pro Duo offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 128-bit vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon Pro Duo) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290) — the Radeon Pro Duo has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
VRAM Capacity	8 GB+100%	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit	512-bit+300%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.0 (Radeon Pro Duo) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
DirectX	12.0	12.0
Vulkan	1.1	1.2+9%
OpenGL	4.5	4.6+2%
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 3.4 (Radeon Pro Duo) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290). Decoder: UVD 6.3 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (Radeon Pro Duo) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290).

Feature	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
Encoder	VCE 3.4	VCE 2.0
Decoder	UVD 6.3	UVD 4.2
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon Pro Duo draws 350W versus the Radeon R9 290's 275W — a 24% difference. The Radeon R9 290 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon Pro Duo) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 240mm vs 275mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 95°C.

Feature	Radeon Pro Duo	Radeon R9 290
TDP	350W	275W-21%
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	240mm	275mm
Height	111mm	109mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	75°C-21%	95°C
Perf/Watt	23.7	29.8+26%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon Pro Duo launched at $1499 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 290 launched at $399. The Radeon R9 290 costs 73.4% less ($1100 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.5 (Radeon Pro Duo) vs 20.5 (Radeon R9 290) — the Radeon R9 290 offers 272.7% better value. The Radeon Pro Duo is the newer GPU (2016 vs 2013).