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

✅Costs $30 less on MSRP ($399 MSRP vs $429 MSRP).
✅More future proof: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 125W instead of 275W, a 150W reduction.
✅Measures 241mm instead of 277mm, a 36mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 390X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Radeon R9 390X

2015

Why buy it

✅32.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
7.5% HIGHER MSRP
$429 MSRPvs$399 MSRP
❌120% higher power demand at 275W vs 125W.
❌14.9% longer card at 277mm vs 241mm.

Radeon Pro W5500

2020

Radeon R9 390X

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $30 less on MSRP ($399 MSRP vs $429 MSRP).
✅More future proof: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 125W instead of 275W, a 150W reduction.
✅Measures 241mm instead of 277mm, a 36mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Why buy it

✅32.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 390X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌
7.5% HIGHER MSRP
$429 MSRPvs$399 MSRP
❌120% higher power demand at 275W vs 125W.
❌14.9% longer card at 277mm vs 241mm.

Quick Answers

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

Yes. Radeon R9 390X is clearly the better overall GPU here. Radeon R9 390X averages 32.6% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 9,278 vs 8,913 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon R9 390X is a 2015 card with FSR upscaling, while Radeon Pro W5500 is a 2020 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 R9 390X is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon R9 390X is about 7.5% more expensive on MSRP at $429 MSRP versus $399 MSRP, and you are getting 32.6% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and 4.1% higher G3D Mark. Radeon Pro W5500 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does Radeon Pro W5500 make more sense than Radeon R9 390X?

Yes. Radeon Pro W5500 is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (125W vs 275W), future-proofing, and staying closer to $399 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon R9 390X. The trade-off is that Radeon R9 390X currently gives you 4.1% higher G3D Mark and 32.6% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. Radeon Pro W5500 still holds the G3D-per-dollar lead, so the performance win comes with a real value premium.

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 390X Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
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 390X

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
1080p
low	137 FPS	187 FPS
medium	104 FPS	165 FPS
high	75 FPS	137 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	107 FPS
1440p
low	92 FPS	131 FPS
medium	63 FPS	106 FPS
high	47 FPS	85 FPS
ultra	34 FPS	65 FPS
4K
low	43 FPS	60 FPS
medium	32 FPS	50 FPS
high	26 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	19 FPS	37 FPS

Open Radeon Pro W5500 Open Radeon R9 390X

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
1080p
low	401 FPS	418 FPS
medium	321 FPS	334 FPS
high	267 FPS	278 FPS
ultra	201 FPS	209 FPS
1440p
low	301 FPS	313 FPS
medium	241 FPS	251 FPS
high	201 FPS	209 FPS
ultra	150 FPS	157 FPS
4K
low	201 FPS	209 FPS
medium	160 FPS	167 FPS
high	134 FPS	139 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	104 FPS

Open Radeon Pro W5500 Open Radeon R9 390X

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
1080p
low	227 FPS	230 FPS
medium	196 FPS	199 FPS
high	162 FPS	160 FPS
ultra	135 FPS	136 FPS
1440p
low	172 FPS	171 FPS
medium	151 FPS	148 FPS
high	120 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	98 FPS	94 FPS
4K
low	91 FPS	98 FPS
medium	75 FPS	78 FPS
high	60 FPS	62 FPS
ultra	47 FPS	48 FPS

Open Radeon Pro W5500 Open Radeon R9 390X

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

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

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 390X

The Radeon R9 390X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1050 MHz. It has 2816 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 275W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,278 points. Launch price was $429.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon Pro W5500 scores 8,913 and the Radeon R9 390X reaches 9,278 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon Pro W5500 is built on RDNA 1.0 while the Radeon R9 390X uses GCN 2.0, both on 7 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,408 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 2,816 (Radeon R9 390X). Raw compute: 3.942 TFLOPS (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 5.914 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 390X). Boost clocks: 1400 MHz vs 1050 MHz.

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
G3D Mark Score	8,913	9,278+4%
Architecture	RDNA 1.0	GCN 2.0
Process Node	7 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1408	2816+100%
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.942 TFLOPS	5.914 TFLOPS+50%
Boost Clock	1400 MHz+33%	1050 MHz
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	88	176+100%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
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 390X) — the Radeon Pro W5500 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
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 (12_0) (Radeon R9 390X). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
DirectX	12.1	12 (12_0)
Vulkan	1.2	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

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

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

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon Pro W5500 draws 125W versus the Radeon R9 390X's 275W — a 75% difference. The Radeon Pro W5500 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 750W (Radeon R9 390X). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 241mm vs 277mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 80.

Feature	Radeon Pro W5500	Radeon R9 390X
TDP	125W-55%	275W
Recommended PSU	500W-33%	750W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	241mm	277mm
Height	111mm	129mm
Slots	1-50%	2
Temp (Load)	75°C-6%	80
Perf/Watt	71.3+112%	33.7

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon Pro W5500 launched at $399 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 390X launched at $429. The Radeon Pro W5500 costs 7% less ($30 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 22.3 (Radeon Pro W5500) vs 21.6 (Radeon R9 390X) — the Radeon Pro W5500 offers 3.2% better value. The Radeon Pro W5500 is the newer GPU (2020 vs 2015).