Radeon HD 7990 vs Radeon R9 280

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 HD 7990

2013

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
258.1% HIGHER MSRP
$999 MSRPvs$279 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.6 vs 19.8 G3D/$ ($999 MSRP vs $279 MSRP).
❌87.5% higher power demand at 375W vs 200W.

Radeon R9 280

2014

Why buy it

✅Costs $720 less on MSRP ($279 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
✅Delivers 255.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 19.8 vs 5.6 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
✅Draws 200W instead of 375W, a 175W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

Radeon HD 7990

2013

Radeon R9 280

2014

Why buy it

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

Why buy it

✅Costs $720 less on MSRP ($279 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
✅Delivers 255.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 19.8 vs 5.6 G3D/$ ($279 MSRP vs $999 MSRP).
✅Draws 200W instead of 375W, a 175W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
258.1% HIGHER MSRP
$999 MSRPvs$279 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.6 vs 19.8 G3D/$ ($999 MSRP vs $279 MSRP).
❌87.5% higher power demand at 375W vs 200W.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon HD 7990 better than Radeon R9 280?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 5,566 vs 5,532 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon HD 7990 is the overall package: you are getting FSR upscaling.

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

Radeon HD 7990 is the safer long-term GPU choice because it gives you the stronger overall hardware and feature outlook for modern games.

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

Radeon HD 7990 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon HD 7990 is about 258.1% more expensive on MSRP at $999 MSRP versus $279 MSRP, and you are getting 0.6% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 280 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does Radeon R9 280 make more sense than Radeon HD 7990?

Yes. Radeon R9 280 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 (200W vs 375W), and staying closer to $279 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon HD 7990. The trade-off is that Radeon HD 7990 currently gives you 0.6% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 280 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 HD 7990 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 280 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon HD 7990	Radeon R9 280
1080p
low	77 FPS	77 FPS
medium	63 FPS	63 FPS
high	50 FPS	50 FPS
ultra	33 FPS	33 FPS
1440p
low	65 FPS	65 FPS
medium	54 FPS	54 FPS
high	38 FPS	38 FPS
ultra	24 FPS	24 FPS
4K
low	24 FPS	24 FPS
medium	23 FPS	23 FPS
high	14 FPS	14 FPS
ultra	12 FPS	12 FPS

Open Radeon HD 7990 Open Radeon R9 280

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon HD 7990	Radeon R9 280
1080p
low	143 FPS	129 FPS
medium	118 FPS	100 FPS
high	97 FPS	79 FPS
ultra	71 FPS	53 FPS
1440p
low	88 FPS	73 FPS
medium	66 FPS	53 FPS
high	49 FPS	39 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	37 FPS	28 FPS
medium	28 FPS	20 FPS
high	21 FPS	16 FPS
ultra	16 FPS	11 FPS

Open Radeon HD 7990 Open Radeon R9 280

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon HD 7990	Radeon R9 280
1080p
low	250 FPS	249 FPS
medium	200 FPS	199 FPS
high	167 FPS	166 FPS
ultra	125 FPS	124 FPS
1440p
low	188 FPS	187 FPS
medium	150 FPS	149 FPS
high	125 FPS	124 FPS
ultra	94 FPS	93 FPS
4K
low	125 FPS	124 FPS
medium	100 FPS	100 FPS
high	83 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	62 FPS

Open Radeon HD 7990 Open Radeon R9 280

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon HD 7990	Radeon R9 280
1080p
low	145 FPS	140 FPS
medium	116 FPS	116 FPS
high	100 FPS	100 FPS
ultra	83 FPS	85 FPS
1440p
low	107 FPS	103 FPS
medium	87 FPS	85 FPS
high	75 FPS	74 FPS
ultra	58 FPS	59 FPS
4K
low	63 FPS	62 FPS
medium	48 FPS	48 FPS
high	38 FPS	38 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	27 FPS

Open Radeon HD 7990 Open Radeon R9 280

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon HD 7990 and Radeon R9 280

Radeon HD 7990

The Radeon HD 7990 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 24 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 950 MHz to 1000 MHz. It has 2048 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 375W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,566 points. Launch price was $999.

Radeon R9 280

The Radeon R9 280 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 4 2014. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 933 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,532 points. Launch price was $279.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 7990 scores 5,566 and the Radeon R9 280 reaches 5,532 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 7990 is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon R9 280 uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 2,048 (Radeon HD 7990) vs 1,792 (Radeon R9 280). Raw compute: 4.096 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 7990) vs 3.344 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 280). Boost clocks: 1000 MHz vs 933 MHz.

Feature	Radeon HD 7990	Radeon R9 280
G3D Mark Score	5,566	5,532
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	2048 ×2+14%	1792
Compute (TFLOPS)	4.096 TFLOPS ×2+22%	3.344 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1000 MHz+7%	933 MHz
ROPs	32 ×2	32
TMUs	128 ×2+14%	112
L1 Cache	512 KB+14%	448 KB
L2 Cache	768 KB	768 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 7990	Radeon R9 280
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 3 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 288 GB/s x2 (Radeon HD 7990) vs 240 GB/s (Radeon R9 280) — a 1100.8% advantage for the Radeon HD 7990. Bus width: 384-bit x2 vs 384-bit.

Feature	Radeon HD 7990	Radeon R9 280
VRAM Capacity	3 GB	3 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	288 GB/s x2+20%	240 GB/s
Bus Width	384-bit x2	384-bit
L2 Cache	768 KB	768 KB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 7990 draws 375W versus the Radeon R9 280's 200W — a 60.9% difference. The Radeon R9 280 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 750W (Radeon HD 7990) vs 500W (Radeon R9 280). Power connectors: 2x 8-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 7990	Radeon R9 280
TDP	375W	200W-47%
Recommended PSU	750W	500W-33%
Power Connector	2x 8-pin	6-pin + 8-pin
Length	305mm	—
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	—
Temp (Load)	85	—
Perf/Watt	14.8	27.7+87%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon HD 7990 launched at $999 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 280 launched at $279. The Radeon R9 280 costs 72.1% less ($720 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.6 (Radeon HD 7990) vs 19.8 (Radeon R9 280) — the Radeon R9 280 offers 253.6% better value. The Radeon R9 280 is the newer GPU (2014 vs 2013).