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 W5500

2020

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 125W instead of 300W, a 175W reduction.
✅Measures 241mm instead of 275mm, a 34mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌
21.3% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 22.3 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $70 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 20.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 22.3 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌140% higher power demand at 300W vs 125W.
❌14.1% longer card at 275mm vs 241mm.

Radeon Pro W5500

2020

Radeon R9 390

2015

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 125W instead of 300W, a 175W reduction.
✅Measures 241mm instead of 275mm, a 34mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Why buy it

✅Costs $70 less on MSRP ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 20.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 26.9 vs 22.3 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌
21.3% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$329 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 22.3 vs 26.9 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌140% higher power demand at 300W vs 125W.
❌14.1% longer card at 275mm vs 241mm.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon Pro W5500 better than Radeon R9 390?

Yes. Radeon Pro W5500 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 8,913 vs 8,855 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon Pro W5500 is a 2020 card with FSR upscaling, while Radeon R9 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 Pro W5500 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2020 generation instead of 2015 and a 7nm 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 Pro W5500 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon Pro W5500 is about 21.3% more expensive on MSRP at $399 MSRP versus $329 MSRP, and you are getting 0.7% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 390 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

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

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon R9 390 is 2015 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM, 8,855 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 W5500 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 390 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	102 FPS	105 FPS
medium	88 FPS	89 FPS
high	74 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	49 FPS
1440p
low	91 FPS	89 FPS
medium	77 FPS	75 FPS
high	57 FPS	55 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	36 FPS
4K
low	37 FPS	36 FPS
medium	34 FPS	32 FPS
high	21 FPS	20 FPS
ultra	18 FPS	17 FPS

Open Radeon Pro W5500 Open Radeon R9 390

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	137 FPS	198 FPS
medium	104 FPS	173 FPS
high	75 FPS	143 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	111 FPS
1440p
low	92 FPS	138 FPS
medium	63 FPS	110 FPS
high	47 FPS	88 FPS
ultra	34 FPS	67 FPS
4K
low	43 FPS	61 FPS
medium	32 FPS	50 FPS
high	26 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	19 FPS	36 FPS

Open Radeon Pro W5500 Open Radeon R9 390

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	401 FPS	398 FPS
medium	321 FPS	319 FPS
high	267 FPS	266 FPS
ultra	201 FPS	199 FPS
1440p
low	301 FPS	299 FPS
medium	241 FPS	239 FPS
high	201 FPS	199 FPS
ultra	150 FPS	149 FPS
4K
low	201 FPS	199 FPS
medium	160 FPS	159 FPS
high	134 FPS	133 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	100 FPS

Open Radeon Pro W5500 Open Radeon R9 390

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
1080p
low	227 FPS	224 FPS
medium	196 FPS	193 FPS
high	162 FPS	156 FPS
ultra	135 FPS	132 FPS
1440p
low	172 FPS	170 FPS
medium	151 FPS	146 FPS
high	120 FPS	113 FPS
ultra	98 FPS	92 FPS
4K
low	91 FPS	95 FPS
medium	75 FPS	75 FPS
high	60 FPS	59 FPS
ultra	47 FPS	45 FPS

Open Radeon Pro W5500 Open Radeon R9 390

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon Pro W5500 and Radeon R9 390

Radeon Pro W5500

The Radeon Pro W5500 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in February 10 2020. It features the RDNA 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1187 MHz to 1400 MHz. It has 1408 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 125W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,913 points. Launch price was $399.

Radeon R9 390

The Radeon R9 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: 8,855 points. Launch price was $329.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon Pro W5500 scores 8,913 and the Radeon R9 390 reaches 8,855 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon Pro W5500 is built on RDNA 1.0 while the Radeon R9 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on 7 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,408 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 390). Raw compute: 3.942 TFLOPS (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390). Boost clocks: 1400 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
G3D Mark Score	8,913	8,855
Architecture	RDNA 1.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	7 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1408	2560+82%
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.942 TFLOPS	5.12 TFLOPS+30%
Boost Clock	1400 MHz+40%	1000 MHz
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	88	160+82%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 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 8 GB of video memory. Bus width: 128-bit vs 512-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 390) — the Radeon Pro W5500 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
VRAM Capacity	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit	512-bit+300%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 390). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
DirectX	12.1	12.0
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 2.0 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 390). Decoder: VCN 2.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: HEVC,H.264,VP9 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 390).

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
Encoder	VCN 2.0	VCE 2.0
Decoder	VCN 2.0	UVD 4.2
Codecs	HEVC,H.264,VP9	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon Pro W5500 draws 125W versus the Radeon R9 390's 300W — a 82.4% difference. The Radeon Pro W5500 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 750W (Radeon R9 390). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 241mm vs 275mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 95°C.

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390
TDP	125W-58%	300W
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	241mm	275mm
Height	111mm	109mm
Slots	1-50%	2
Temp (Load)	75°C-21%	95°C
Perf/Watt	71.3+142%	29.5

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon Pro W5500 launched at $399 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 390 launched at $329. The Radeon R9 390 costs 17.5% less ($70 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 22.3 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 26.9 (Radeon R9 390) — the Radeon R9 390 offers 20.6% better value. The Radeon Pro W5500 is the newer GPU (2020 vs 2015).