Radeon PRO W6400 vs Radeon R9 290X / 390X

AMD

Radeon PRO W6400

2022Core: 2331 MHzBoost: 2331 MHz

Popular choices:

VS
AMD

Radeon R9 290X / 390X

2015Boost: 1050 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.

Radeon PRO W6400

2022

Why buy it

  • Costs $320 less on MSRP ($229 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
  • Delivers 141.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 36.8 vs 15.3 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
  • More future proof: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
  • Draws 50W instead of 275W, a 225W reduction.
  • Measures 168mm instead of 275mm, a 107mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Radeon R9 290X / 390X

2015

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • Poor future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
  • 139.7% HIGHER MSRP
    $549 MSRPvs$229 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 15.3 vs 36.8 G3D/$ ($549 MSRP vs $229 MSRP).
  • 450% higher power demand at 275W vs 50W.
  • 63.7% longer card at 275mm vs 168mm.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon PRO W6400 better than Radeon R9 290X / 390X?
Yes. Radeon PRO W6400 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 8,428 vs 8,380 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon PRO W6400 is a 2022 card with FSR upscaling, while Radeon R9 290X / 390X 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 W6400 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2022 generation instead of 2015, 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware, and a 6nm 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 W6400 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $229 MSRP. Radeon PRO W6400 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon PRO W6400 is about $320 cheaper on MSRP at $229 MSRP versus $549 MSRP, and you are getting 0.6% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $229 MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (50W vs 275W), and FSR upscaling.
Is Radeon R9 290X / 390X still worth buying for gaming in 2026?
Yes. Radeon R9 290X / 390X is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below $549 MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. Radeon PRO W6400 is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with newer hardware and FSR upscaling.

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

PresetRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
1080p
low132 FPS80 FPS
medium118 FPS69 FPS
high101 FPS56 FPS
ultra75 FPS37 FPS
1440p
low118 FPS70 FPS
medium100 FPS61 FPS
high83 FPS45 FPS
ultra62 FPS28 FPS
4K
low49 FPS25 FPS
medium46 FPS24 FPS
high34 FPS16 FPS
ultra30 FPS14 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

PresetRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
1080p
low169 FPS185 FPS
medium134 FPS157 FPS
high99 FPS130 FPS
ultra66 FPS103 FPS
1440p
low110 FPS130 FPS
medium86 FPS102 FPS
high64 FPS82 FPS
ultra46 FPS63 FPS
4K
low57 FPS59 FPS
medium44 FPS48 FPS
high35 FPS43 FPS
ultra22 FPS35 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

PresetRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
1080p
low377 FPS377 FPS
medium303 FPS302 FPS
high249 FPS251 FPS
ultra190 FPS189 FPS
1440p
low265 FPS283 FPS
medium228 FPS226 FPS
high186 FPS189 FPS
ultra142 FPS141 FPS
4K
low155 FPS189 FPS
medium143 FPS151 FPS
high102 FPS126 FPS
ultra70 FPS94 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

PresetRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
1080p
low285 FPS155 FPS
medium206 FPS128 FPS
high180 FPS110 FPS
ultra146 FPS94 FPS
1440p
low210 FPS110 FPS
medium149 FPS91 FPS
high132 FPS79 FPS
ultra104 FPS65 FPS
4K
low105 FPS66 FPS
medium76 FPS52 FPS
high67 FPS41 FPS
ultra51 FPS31 FPS

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon PRO W6400 and Radeon R9 290X / 390X

AMD

Radeon PRO W6400

The Radeon PRO W6400 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 19 2022. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 2331 MHz to 2331 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 6 nm process technology. It features 12 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,428 points.

AMD

Radeon R9 290X / 390X

The Radeon R9 290X / 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: 8,380 points. Launch price was $429.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon PRO W6400 scores 8,428 and the Radeon R9 290X / 390X reaches 8,380 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon PRO W6400 is built on RDNA 2.0 while the Radeon R9 290X / 390X uses GCN 2.0, both on 6 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 768 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 2,816 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X). Raw compute: 3.58 TFLOPS (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 5.914 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290X / 390X). Boost clocks: 2331 MHz vs 1050 MHz.

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
G3D Mark Score
8,428
8,380
Architecture
RDNA 2.0
GCN 2.0
Process Node
6 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
768
2816+267%
Compute (TFLOPS)
3.58 TFLOPS
5.914 TFLOPS+65%
Boost Clock
2331 MHz+122%
1050 MHz
ROPs
32
64+100%
TMUs
48
176+267%
L1 Cache
256 KB
704 KB+175%
L2 Cache
1 MB
1 MB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling + RSR
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 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 4 GB of video memory. Bus width: 256-bit vs 512-bit.

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
VRAM Capacity
4 GB
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
GDDR5
Bus Width
256-bit
512-bit+100%
L2 Cache
1 MB
1 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 6.

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
DirectX
12.2+2%
12.0
Vulkan
1.2+9%
1.1
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
2
6+200%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 3.0 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X). Decoder: VCN 3.0 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (Radeon PRO W6400) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X).

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
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 PRO W6400 draws 50W versus the Radeon R9 290X / 390X's 275W — a 138.5% difference. The Radeon PRO W6400 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290X / 390X). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 168mm vs 275mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 95°C.

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
TDP
50W-82%
275W
Recommended PSU
500W-33%
750W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
6-pin + 8-pin
Length
168mm
275mm
Height
69mm
109mm
Slots
1-50%
2
Temp (Load)
70°C-26%
95°C
Perf/Watt
168.6+453%
30.5
💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon PRO W6400 launched at $229 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 290X / 390X launched at $549. The Radeon PRO W6400 costs 58.3% less ($320 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 36.8 (Radeon PRO W6400) vs 15.3 (Radeon R9 290X / 390X) — the Radeon PRO W6400 offers 140.5% better value. The Radeon PRO W6400 is the newer GPU (2022 vs 2015).

FeatureRadeon PRO W6400Radeon R9 290X / 390X
MSRP
$229-58%
$549
Performance per Dollar
36.8+141%
15.3
Codename
Navi 24
Grenada
Release
January 19 2022
June 18 2015
Ranking
#308
#287